Methods to enable efficient use of multiple radio access technologies

• US 10,064,125 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2016
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Periyalwar, Shalini Suresh, Pecen, Mark E., Steer, David Gwyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Zewdu, Meless
• Application Number:
  US15/173,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20160286472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/196 Integration of transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP and UDP
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A device and method are provided for concurrently using a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) to support a wireless-enabled communications session. A set of data is processed at a client node to identify a subset of priority data. The set of data and the subset of priority data are respectively provided to a first and second protocol stack, which correspond to a first and second RAT. The first and second protocol stacks are then used to control the transmission of a first and second set of transmitted data, which in turn respectively comprise the set of data and the subset of priority data. The first and second sets of transmitted data are received by an access node, which uses corresponding first and second protocol stacks to control their reception. The first and second sets of transmitted data are then processed to generate a set of received data.

Claims

1. A client node for managing concurrent transmission of data, comprising:

a first radio configured to use a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

a second radio configured to use a second RAT;

a first protocol stack corresponding to the first RAT;

a second protocol stack corresponding to the second RAT, wherein the first RAT and the second RAT are different; and

a processor coupled to the first radio and the second radio and configured to execute instructions to instantiate a supervisory layer that spans across the first and second protocol stacks, wherein instantiation of the supervisory layer causes the processor to;

initiate transmission, by the first radio, of a first set of data using the first protocol stack,

wherein the first set of data is associated with a first priority level; and

initiate transmission, by the second radio, of a second set of data using the second protocol stack,

wherein the second set of data is a subset of the first set of data, and

wherein the second set of data is associated with a second priority level.

2. The client node of claim 1, wherein the supervisory layer is an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that duplicates a first portion of the first set of data to form the second set of data according to the second priority level, wherein the IRSL operates below an application layer of the first protocol stack and at a highest layer of the second protocol stack, the highest layer of the second protocol stack being below the application layer of the first protocol stack.

3. The client node of claim 1, wherein the transmission of the second set of data comprises a redundant transmission of a portion of the first set of data, the portion of the first set of data having a higher priority than at least some of a remainder of the first set of data.

4. The client node of claim 1, wherein the second priority level is higher than the first priority level, and wherein the instantiation of the supervisory layer is invoked to generate the second set of data associated with the second priority level.

5. The client node of claim 1, wherein the first set of data is transmitted using a first internet protocol (IP) layer of the first protocol stack, and wherein the second set of data is transmitted using a second IP layer of the second protocol stack.

6. The client node of claim 1, wherein an internet protocol (IP) layer of the first protocol stack appends the second priority level to the second set of data, wherein the IP layer of the first protocol stack forwards the first set of data to a first radio link layer of the first protocol stack, wherein the IP layer of the first protocol stack forwards the second set of data to an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that defines the supervisory layer, and wherein the IRSL replicates the second set of data to the first radio link layer of the first protocol stack and a second radio link layer of the second protocol stack when the second priority level is appended to the second set of data.

7. The client node of claim 1, wherein the client node further comprises a third protocol stack corresponding to a third RAT different from the first and second RATs, wherein the instantiation of the supervisory layer is implemented for a first application in use below an internet protocol (IP) layer of the first and second RATs, and wherein instantiation of a second supervisory layer is implemented for a second application in use above an IP layer between the second and third RATs.

8. A method of managing concurrent transmission of data by a client node, comprising:

transmitting, by a first protocol stack of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) of a first radio, a first set of data associated with a first priority level; and

transmitting, by a second protocol stack of a second RAT of a second radio, a second set of data associated with a second priority level, wherein the second set of data is transmitted when a supervisory layer in the client node is instantiated, the supervisory layer spanning across the first and second protocol stacks,

wherein the second set of data is a subset of the first set of data, and

wherein the second set of data has a higher level of priority than the first set of data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the supervisory layer comprises an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that duplicates a first portion of the first set of data to form the second set of data according to the second priority level, wherein the IRSL operates below an application layer of the first protocol stack and at a highest layer of the second protocol stack, the highest layer of the second protocol stack being below the application layer of the first protocol stack.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the supervisory layer comprises an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that interfaces between an application layer of the first protocol stack, a first radio link layer of the first protocol stack and a second radio link layer of the second protocol stack, wherein the IRSL operates below the application layer and above the first and second radio link layers.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first set of data is transmitted using a first internet protocol (IP) layer of the first protocol stack, and wherein the second set of data is transmitted using a second IP layer of the second protocol stack.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein an internet protocol (IP) layer of the first protocol stack appends the second priority level to the second set of data, wherein the IP layer of the first protocol stack forwards the first set of data to a first radio link layer of the first protocol stack, wherein the IP layer of the first protocol stack forwards the second set of data to an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) defining the supervisory layer, and wherein the IRSL replicates the second set of data to the first radio link layer of the first protocol stack and a second radio link layer of the second protocol stack when the second priority level is appended to the second set of data.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the supervisory layer comprises an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that interfaces between an internet protocol (IP) layer of the first protocol stack and a first radio link layer of the first protocol stack and a second radio link layer of the second protocol stack.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the IRSL is configured to operate with an Inter-RAT eXchange Function (IRXF), and wherein the IRXF is configured to allow an exchange of priority data bits between corresponding protocol layers of the first and second protocol stacks.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein transmission of the second set of data comprises a redundant transmission of a portion of the first set of data having a higher priority than at least some of a remainder of the first set of data.

16. An access node for managing concurrent transmission of data, comprising:

a first radio configured to use a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

a second radio configured to use a second RAT;

a first protocol stack corresponding to the first RAT;

a second protocol stack corresponding to the second RAT; and

a processor coupled to the first radio and the second radio and configured to execute instructions to instantiate a supervisory layer that spans across the first and second protocol stacks, wherein instantiation of the supervisory layer causes the processor to;

receive, via the first radio, a first set of data using the first protocol stack,

wherein the first set of data is associated with a first priority level; and

receive, via the second radio, a second set of data using the second protocol stack,

wherein the second set of data is a subset of the first set of data, and

wherein the second set of data is associated with a second priority level that is higher than the first priority level.

17. The access node of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first data reliability tag of the received first set of data and a second data reliability tag of the received second set of data, the first and second data reliability tags being generated by an application layer of the first protocol stack, wherein the first data reliability tag is associated with the first priority level, and wherein the second data reliability tag is associated with the second priority level.

18. The access node of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to:

forward the first set of data to an application layer of the first protocol stack when the processor determines that the first set of data is correctly received, wherein the supervisory layer operates below the application layer of the first protocol stack and at a highest layer of the second protocol stack; and

discard the second set of data when the processor determines that the first set of data is correctly received.

19. The access node of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to forward the second set of data to an application layer of the first protocol stack when the processor determines that the first set of data is not correctly received and the second set of data is correctly received, wherein the application layer of the first protocol stack is above a highest layer of the second protocol stack.

20. The access node of claim 16, wherein the supervisory layer comprises an Inter-RAT Supervisory Layer (IRSL) that interfaces between a first layer of the first protocol stack and a second layer of the second protocol stack via a Primary Service Access Point of the first protocol stack.

21. The access node of claim 16, wherein the second set of data is received as a redundant transmission of a portion of the first set of data having a higher priority than at least some of a remainder of the first set of data.