Moving cellular communication system operative in an emergency mode

• US 9,936,367 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2016
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ELTA Systems Limited (Government of Israel)
• Original Assignee: ELTA Systems Limited (Government of Israel)
• Inventors: Schwartz, Adi, Shoshan, Yaakov, Sherman, Itay, Weinsberg, Udi
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, CONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US15/373,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20170280311A1
• Time in Patent Office: 480 Days
• Field of Search: 4554041, 4554042, 455403, 455434, 455436-439, 455445, 455446, 455521, 4555521, 370331-332
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15542 Selecting at relay station its transmit and receive resources selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02; arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path by two-dimensional division of the resources H04L5/0003, or by allocating sub-channels H04L5/003
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1555 Selecting relay station antenna mode, e.g. selecting omnidirectional -, directional beams, selecting polarizations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/005 of intercell interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0056 Inter-base station aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0018 based on latency requirement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/04 Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 : in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 : Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 : Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 : involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 : Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 : using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 : using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 : adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 : Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A method operative in conjunction with a cellular communication network having a core element and comprising providing moving relays including base and mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located, including providing an emergency moving relay from among the moving relays further including a simulated stationary network that includes a simulated IP connectivity gateway communicating with a simulated mobility management entity. The simulated stationary network simulates a stationary network'"'"'s operation; the emergency moving relay being a root of a sub tree that includes moving relays and mobile stations, and is configured to utilize its mobile and base station functionalities and relay resource manager for operating in:

• • (i) normal mode: emergency moving relay communicates with other relays in the network and with the stationary network;
  • (ii) emergency mode, including, in response to an emergency event, finding new networks to connect to.

Claims

1. A cellular communication method operative in conjunction with a cellular communication network having a core element, comprising:

Providing at least one moving relay including at least one base station functionality and at least one mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located, including

Providing at least one emergency moving relay from among said moving relays further including a simulated stationary network that includes a simulated IP connectivity gateway operative to communicate with a simulated mobility management entity;

wherein said simulated stationary network simulates the operation of a stationary network;

said emergency moving relay being a root of a sub tree that includes at least one moving relay and at least one mobile station, and is configured to utilize its mobile station functionality, base station functionality and relay resource manager for operating in at least the following modes of operations;

(i) normal mode of operation wherein the emergency moving relay communicates with other relays in the network and with the stationary network;

(ii) in response to an emergency event, operating in an emergency mode of operation, including finding new networks to connect to.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the mobile station functionality of the moving relay reflects bearer requests of a mobile station connected thereto by getting at least one bearer assignment whose performance and requirements are at least as high as the performance and requirements, respectively, of at least one bearer assignment of the moving relay'"'"'s connected mobile station.

3. The method according to claim 1 and including at least one static base station, wherein said at least one emergency moving relay comprises at least two emergency moving relays defining at least two hops and wherein, for multi-hop relaying, when in said normal mode of operation, the relays'"'"' base station functionalities and said static base station each comprise tunnel termination point.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein, if in an undo emergency event a mobile station connects to another mobile station, each said at least one emergency relay therebetween, on a hop by hop basis, inspects bearer establishing procedure and is operative to store a sibling node and a TID associated therewith.

5. The method according to claim 4 and wherein, upon disconnection of an individual relay among said at least one emergency relay from the core thereby to define a topological tree headed by said individual relay, the individual relay'"'"'s relay resource manager is operative to either:

locally route communication between designated nodes in a cluster of disconnected nodes;

or directly provide services to mobile station/s in its topology tree.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein when a relay disconnects from the core entity, a virtual core subsystem performs a process of recreating PDP contexts and bearers according to information stored on the virtual core subsystem'"'"'s encapsulation manager and switching packet data to a co-located stand-alone subsystem.

7. The method according to claim 6 and wherein said co-located stand-alone subsystem then is operative to serve as a local core including giving local services.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein reverting to use of the cellular communication network'"'"'s core element instead of the local core includes the virtual core subsystem'"'"'s performing said process in reverse.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein at least one individual moving relay includes a radio resource manager co-located with said base station functionality and mobile station functionality, and the radio resource manager is operative to provide radio resource configuration recommendations to a co-located radio resource controller operative for controlling radio resources of the mobile station functionality and base station functionality.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said simulated stationary network further includes simulating at least one application service having a respective application IP address.

11. The method according to claim 10 and wherein said operating in an emergency mode of operation, further includes:

communicating to a designated application service in said simulated network each message that was received from a moving relay or a mobile station in said sub-tree and said message having an IP address of the designated application service.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said moving relays being an upgraded moving relay.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said relay resource manager further includes a router service application.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said emergency event includes detecting disconnection of the emergency relay from the stationary network.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in response to undo emergency event, said emergency relay is configured to revert to operate in accordance with said normal mode.

16. A moving cellular communication system forming part of a cellular communication network having a core element, the system comprising:

at least one moving relay including at least one base station functionality and at least one mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located,

at least one emergency moving relay from among said moving relays further including

a simulated stationary network that includes a simulated IP connectivity gateway operative to communicate with a simulated mobility management entity;

said simulated stationary network simulates the operation of a stationary network;

said emergency moving relay being a root of a sub tree that includes at least one moving relay and at least one mobile station, and is configured to utilize its mobile station functionality, base station functionality and relay resource manager for operating in at least the following modes of operations;

(i) normal mode of operation wherein the emergency moving relay communicates with other relays in the network and with the stationary network, wherein the emergency moving relay'"'"'s mobile station functionality provides at least one backhauling link toward the core element; and

(ii) in response to an emergency event in which at least one cellular communication link disconnects, operating in an emergency mode of operation in which the emergency relay'"'"'s mobile station functionality is no longer used for the backhauling link and instead, the mobile station functionality is operative for finding new networks to connect to.

17. A system according to claim 16 wherein, when said emergency moving relay is operating in emergency mode, at least one tunnel connecting the core elements'"'"' P/S-GW to the relay'"'"'s base station functionality, rather than terminating at the core element'"'"'s P/S-GW is caused to terminate at a local simulated P/S-GW by setting said tunnel'"'"'s header destination address to the local simulated P/S-GW.

18. A system according to claim 16 wherein, if in an undo emergency event a mobile station connects to another mobile station, each said at least one emergency relay therebetween, on a hop by hop basis, inspects bearer establishing procedure and is operative to store a sibling node and a TID associated therewith.

19. The method according to claim 18 and wherein, upon disconnection of an individual relay among said at least one emergency relay from the core thereby to define a topological tree headed by said individual relay, the individual relay'"'"'s relay resource manager is operative to locally route communication between designated nodes in a cluster of disconnected nodes.

20. A system according to claim 16 wherein upon disconnection of an individual relay among said at least one emergency relay from the core thereby to define a topological tree headed by said individual relay including a cluster of disconnected nodes, the individual relay'"'"'s relay resource manager is operative to directly provide services to mobile station/s in its topology tree.

21. A moving cellular communication system comprising:

at least one moving relay including at least one base station functionality and at least one mobile station functionality and a relay resource manager, all co-located,

at least one emergency moving relay from among said moving relays further including

a simulated stationary network that includes a simulated IP connectivity gateway operative to communicate with a simulated mobility management entity;

said simulated stationary network simulates the operation of a stationary network;

said emergency moving relay being a root of a sub tree that includes at least one moving relay and at least one mobile station, and is configured to utilize its mobile station functionality, base station functionality and relay resource manager for operating in at least the following modes of operations;

(i) normal mode of operation wherein the emergency moving relay communicates with other relays in the network and with the stationary network;

(ii) in response to an emergency event, operating in an emergency mode of operation, including finding new networks to connect to.