Data offload method and user equipment

• US 9,642,031 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2014
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2011
• 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: Han, Guanglin, Zhang, Jian
• Primary Examiner(s): Mattis, Jason
• Application Number:
  US14/159,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20140133298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0231 based on communication conditions dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition based on channel quality criteria H04W72/54
• 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 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a data offload method and a user equipment. The data offload method includes receiving offload configuration signaling sent by a base station. The offload configuration signaling indicates to perform wireless network offload configuration. Offload configuration is performed according to the offload configuration signaling and data is offloaded according to the offload configuration.

Claims

1. A data offload method, comprising:

detecting, by a user equipment (UE), one or more available wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs);

sending offload request signaling in response to one or more first WLAN APs of the available WLAN APs having respective signal strengths at the UE that exceed a predetermined threshold and having respective signal strengths at the UE that exceed a signal strength of a WLAN AP serving the UE, the offload request signaling including one or more WLAN AP notifications each including an identifier of a respective one of the first WLAN APs and an indicator of the signal strength of the respective one of the first WLAN APs;

receiving offload configuration signaling sent by a base station, the offload configuration signaling providing an indication to perform wireless network offload configuration for offload to a second WLAN AP selected from the first WLAN APs by the base station according to at least one of a signal quality of the first WLAN APs and load of the first WLAN APs and further according to at least one of a base station configuration and network topology information, and performing the offload configuration according to the offload configuration signaling; and

offloading data according to the offload configuration;

wherein the offload configuration signaling includes an offload allowing configuration including a first identifier of the second WLAN AP indicating at least one target for offloading data to, the first identifier including at least one of an identifier of a service access point allowing offload, an identifier of a network service node for offloading data, and an identifier of a service data stream allowing offload.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein offloading the data according to the offload configuration comprises:

receiving an adapted layer protocol data unit (AL PDU), wherein the AL PDU carries an AL PDU feature;

de-multiplexing the AL PDU; and

transmitting the de-multiplexed data to a corresponding service access point.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein offloading the data further comprises, in response to receiving the AL PDU, identifying the received AL PDU according to the AL PDU feature and sending the identified AL PDU to an adapted layer unit;

wherein the adapted layer unit is implemented under one of an RLC or a PDCP protocol layer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the AL PDU feature comprises the first identifier, and wherein the identifier includes the identifier of a service access point allowing offload, the identifier of the service data stream allowing offload a user equipment identifier, and at least one of an Internet protocol address or a port number.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein offloading the data according to the offload configuration comprises:

obtaining data that needs to be sent;

assembling the data into an AL PDU; and

sending the AL PDU to a corresponding service access point, wherein the AL PDU carries an AL PDU feature.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein obtaining the data that needs to be sent comprises obtaining the data according to a data sending priority from the offload configuration signaling, wherein the data sending priority comprises a service access point priority and/or a service data stream priority.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein assembling the data into the AL PDU comprises multiplexing and assembling the data into the AL PDU.

8. A data offload method, comprising:

receiving offload request signaling sent from a user equipment (UE) in response to one or more first wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs) of available WLAN APs detected by the UE having respective signal strengths at the UE that exceed a predetermined threshold and having respective signal strengths at the UE that exceed a signal strength of a WLAN AP serving the UE, the offload request signaling including one or more WLAN AP notifications each including an identifier of a respective one of the first WLAN APs and an indicator of the signal strength of the respective one of the first WLAN APs;

receiving offload configuration signaling sent by a base station, offload configuration signaling providing an indication to perform wireless network offload configuration for offload to a second WLAN AP selected from the first WLAN APs by the base station according to at least one of a signal quality of the first WLAN APs and load of the first WLAN APs and further according to at least one of a base station configuration and network topology information, and performing the offload configuration according to the offload configuration signaling;

generating offload configuration signaling which indicates to perform wireless network offload configuration to a second WLAN AP selected from the first WLAN APs according to at least one of a signal quality of the first WLAN APs and load of the first WLAN APs and further according to at least one of a base station configuration and network topology information; and

sending the offload configuration signaling to a user equipment and causing the user equipment to perform the offload configuration according to the offload configuration signaling;

wherein the offload configuration signaling includes an offload allowing configuration including a first identifier of the second WLAN AP indicating at least one target for offloading data to, the first identifier including at least one of an identifier of a service access point allowing offload, an identifier of a network service node for offloading data, and an identifier of a service data stream allowing offload.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the offload configuration signaling further includes offload forbidding configuration;

wherein the offload forbidding configuration comprises one or more of;

an identifier of a service access point requiring offload forbidding;

an identifier of a network service node for forbidding offload data; and

an identifier of a service data stream requiring offload forbidding.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, before generating offload configuration signaling, the method further comprises setting up a long term evolution LTE air interface connection with the user equipment or receiving offload capability information sent by the user equipment during or after LTE connection setup, wherein the offload capability information is used to indicate a offload support capability of the user equipment.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the offload capability information comprises information indicating whether to support wireless network offload, and a supported or unsupported radio access technology.

12. A user equipment, comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by the processor, the program including instructions to;

detect, by the user equipment, one or more available wireless local area network (WLAN) access points (APs);

send offload request signaling in response to one or more first WLAN APs of the available WLAN APs having respective signal strengths at the UE that exceed a predetermined threshold and having respective signal strengths at the user equipment that exceed a signal strength of a WLAN AP serving the user equipment, the offload request signaling including one or more WLAN AP notifications each including an identifier of a respective one of the first WLAN APs and an indicator of the signal strength of the respective one of the first WLAN APs;

receive offload configuration signaling sent by a base station, the offload configuration signaling including an indication to perform wireless network offload configuration for offload to a second WLAN AP selected from the first WLAN APs by the base station according to at least one of a signal quality of the first WLAN APs and load of the first WLAN APs and further according to at least one of a base station configuration and network topology information, and perform the offload configuration according to the offload configuration signaling; and

offload data according to the offload configuration;

wherein the offload configuration signaling includes an offload allowing configuration including an identifier of the second WLAN AP indicating at least one target for offloading data to, the identifier including at least one of an identifier of a service access point allowing offload, an identifier of a network service node for offloading data, and an identifier of a service data stream allowing offload.

13. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the instructions to offload data are implemented under one of an RLC or a PDCP protocol layer and control obtaining the data or offloading the data.

14. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein the instructions to offload data further include instructions to obtain the data according to a data sending priority from the offload configuration signaling, wherein the data sending priority comprises a service access point priority and/or a service data stream priority.

15. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein the instructions to offload data further include instructions to:

multiplex and assemble the obtained data into an adapted layer protocol data unit (AL PDU), and to send the AL PDU to a corresponding service access point; and

de-multiplex the received AL PDU and send the de-multiplexed data to the corresponding service access point, wherein the AL PDU carries an AL PDU feature.

16. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein the AL PDU feature comprises the identifier of the second WLAN AP, and wherein the identifier includes the identifier of a service access point allowing offload, the identifier of the service data stream allowing offload, a user equipment identifier, and at least one of an Internet protocol IP address or a port number.

17. The user equipment according to claim 15, wherein the instructions to offload data include instructions to identify the received AL PDU according to the AL PDU feature and to send the identified AL PDU to the adapted layer unit.