Data transmission method, apparatus and system

• US 10,412,650 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2013
• 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: Dai, Mingzeng, Huang, Qufang, Zhong, Tao, Zeng, Qinghai, Zhang, Jian
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Marcus
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sharma, Gautam
• Application Number:
  US15/059,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20160192266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

The present invention provides a data transmission method, where the method is executed by a base station in a communications system, the communications system further includes a wireless local area network access point WLAN AP and user equipment, a bearer used to transmit data of the user equipment is disposed between the base station and a gateway device, a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP tunnel is disposed between the base station and the WLAN AP, and the method includes: sending, by the base station, first offloading indication information to the WLAN AP, where the first offloading indication information is used for instructing the WLAN AP to transmit the target data between the base station and the user equipment, and the first offloading indication information includes identity information of the user equipment.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, wherein the method is executed by a base station in a communications system, the communications system further comprises a wireless local area network access point WLAN AP and user equipment, a bearer used to transmit data of the user equipment is disposed between the base station and a gateway device, a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP tunnel is disposed between the base station and the WLAN AP, and the method comprises:

sending, by the base station, first offloading indication information to the WLAN AP, wherein the first offloading indication information is used for instructing the WLAN AP to transmit data between the base station and the user equipment, and the first offloading indication information comprises identity information of the user equipment, wherein a piece of identity information is used for uniquely indicating a piece of user equipment in the communications system; and

performing, by the base station, transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP, wherein the target data is all or some data on the bearer,

wherein the base station has a first base station-side protocol stack and a second base station-side protocol stack, the first base station-side protocol stack is configured to implement, on a base station side, data processing on communication with the user equipment, and the second base station-side protocol stack is configured to implement, on the base station side, data processing on communication with the WLAN AP, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack is connected to at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack; and

the performing, by the base station, transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP comprises;

performing, by the base station, transmission of the target data with the user equipment by using at least one layer of the first base station-side protocol stack and the second base station-side protocol stack, through the GTP tunnel, and by using the WLAN AP.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack comprises an adaptation layer, the adaptation layer is configured to perform conversion processing on data between the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack and the second base station-side protocol stack, and the second base station-side protocol stack is connected to the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack by using the adaptation layer;

and

the performing, by the base station, transmission of the target data with the user equipment by using at least one layer of the first base station-side protocol stack and the second base station-side protocol stack, through the GTP tunnel, and by using the WLAN AP comprises;

inputting, by the base station, the downlink target data to the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack, converting, by using the adaptation layer, a data format of data output from the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack into a data format that the second base station-side protocol stack can identify, transmitting the data to the second base station-side protocol stack, and sending the data output from the second base station-side protocol stack to the WLAN AP through the GTP tunnel, so as to send the data to the user equipment by using the WLAN AP;

or

inputting, by the base station, data obtained from the WLAN AP through the GTP tunnel to the second base station-side protocol stack, converting, by using the adaptation layer, a data format of data output from the second base station-side protocol stack into a data format that the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack can identify, and transmitting the data to the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack, so as to obtain the uplink target data of the user equipment.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack comprises a bearer mapping layer, and the bearer mapping layer is configured to determine the bearer to which the target data belongs;

and

when the user equipment corresponds to at least two bearers, the performing, by the base station, transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP comprises;

determining, by the base station, a bearer to which downlink target data of the target data belongs by using the bearer mapping layer, and generating first bearer indication information by using the bearer mapping layer, wherein the first bearer indication information is used for indicating the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs; and

sending, by the base station, the first bearer indication information to the WLAN AP, so that the user equipment determines, according to the first bearer indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP, the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the sending, by the base station, the first bearer indication information to the WLAN AP comprises:

encapsulating, by the base station, the first bearer indication information and the downlink target data in a same data packet by using the bearer mapping layer and sending the data packet to the WLAN AP.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack comprises a bearer mapping layer, and the bearer mapping layer is configured to determine the bearer to which the target data belongs;

and

when the user equipment corresponds to at least two bearers, the performing, by the base station, transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP comprises;

obtaining, by the base station by using the bearer mapping layer, second bearer indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP, wherein the second bearer indication information is used for indicating a bearer to which uplink target data of the target data belongs; and

determining, by the base station according to the second bearer indication information, the bearer to which the uplink target data belongs, wherein the second bearer indication information is determined by the user equipment and sent to the WLAN AP.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first base station-side protocol stack comprises a resequencing layer, the resequencing layer is configured to determine a location of the target data in all the data on the bearer, and the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack is the resequencing layer;

and

the performing, by the base station, transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP comprises;

obtaining, by the base station by using the resequencing layer, second location indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP, wherein the second location indication information is used for indicating a location of the uplink target data of the target data in all uplink data on the bearer; and

determining, by the base station, the location of the uplink target data in all the uplink data on the bearer according to the second location indication information, wherein the second location indication information is determined by the user equipment and sent to the WLAN AP.

7. A data transmission method, wherein the method is executed by user equipment in a communications system, the communications system further comprises a base station and a wireless local area network access point WLAN AP, a bearer used to transmit data of the user equipment is disposed between the base station and a gateway device, a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP tunnel is disposed between the base station and the WLAN AP, and the method comprises:

determining, by the user equipment, that the user equipment needs to perform data transmission with the base station through the WLAN AP; and

performing, by the user equipment, transmission of target data with the base station through the WLAN AP, wherein the target data is transmitted between the WLAN AP and the base station through the GTP tunnel, and the target data is all or some data on the bearer,

wherein the user equipment has a first user equipment-side protocol stack and a second user equipment-side protocol stack, the first user equipment-side protocol stack is configured to implement, on a user equipment side, data processing on communication with the base station, and the second user equipment-side protocol stack is configured to implement, on the user equipment side, data processing on communication with the WLAN AP, wherein the second user equipment-side protocol stack is connected to at least one protocol layer of the first user equipment-side protocol stack; and

the performing, by the user equipment, transmission of target data with the base station through the WLAN AP comprises;

performing, by the user equipment, transmission of the target data with the base station by using the at least one layer of the first user equipment-side protocol stack and the second user equipment-side protocol stack and through the WLAN AP.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the determining, by the user equipment, that the user equipment needs to perform data transmission with the base station through the WLAN AP comprises:

receiving, by the user equipment, second offloading indication information sent by the base station, wherein the second offloading indication information is used for instructing to transmit data between the user equipment and the WLAN AP; and

determining, by the user equipment, according to the second offloading indication information that the user equipment needs to perform data transmission with the base station through the WLAN AP.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the second user equipment-side protocol stack comprises a bearer mapping layer, and the bearer mapping layer is configured to determine the bearer to which the target data belongs;

and

when the user equipment corresponds to at least two bearers, the performing, by the user equipment, transmission of target data with the base station through the WLAN AP comprises;

obtaining, by the user equipment by using the bearer mapping layer, first bearer indication information sent by the WLAN AP, wherein the first bearer indication information is used for indicating a bearer to which the downlink target data of the target data belongs; and

determining, by the user equipment according to the first bearer indication information, the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs, wherein the first bearer indication information is obtained by the WLAN AP from the base station, or determined by the WLAN AP according to a second downlink GTP tunnel corresponding to the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first user equipment-side protocol stack comprises a resequencing layer, the resequencing layer is configured to determine a location of the target data in all the data on the bearer, and the at least one protocol layer of the first user equipment-side protocol stack is the resequencing layer;

and

the performing, by the user equipment, transmission of target data with the base station through the WLAN AP comprises;

determining, by the user equipment, a location of the uplink target data of the target data in all uplink data on the bearer by using the resequencing layer, and generating second location indication information by using the resequencing layer, wherein the second location indication information is used for indicating the location of the uplink target data in all the uplink data on the bearer; and

sending, by the user equipment, the second location indication information to the WLAN AP, so that the base station determines the location of the uplink target data in all the uplink data on the bearer according to the second location indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP.

11. A data transmission apparatus, wherein a bearer used to transmit data of user equipment is disposed between the apparatus and a gateway device, a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP tunnel is disposed between the apparatus and the WLAN AP, and the apparatus comprises:

a first base station-side protocol stack, configured to implement data processing on communication with the user equipment;

a second base station-side protocol stack, configured to implement data processing on communication with the WLAN AP, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack is connected to at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack; and

a transceiver unit, connected to the second base station-side protocol stack, and configured to perform transmission of target data with the user equipment through the GTP tunnel by using the WLAN AP,

wherein the second base station-side protocol stack comprises an adaptation layer, the adaptation layer is configured to perform conversion processing on data between the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack and the second base station-side protocol stack, and the second base station-side protocol stack is connected to the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack by using the adaptation layer.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the second base station-side protocol stack comprises a bearer mapping layer, and the bearer mapping layer is configured to determine the bearer to which the target data belongs;

and

when the user equipment corresponds to at least two bearers, the determining unit is specifically configured to determine a bearer to which downlink target data of the target data belongs by using the bearer mapping layer, and generate first bearer indication information by using the bearer mapping layer, wherein the first bearer indication information is used for indicating the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs; and

the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first bearer indication information to the WLAN AP, so that the user equipment determines, according to the first bearer indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP, the bearer to which the downlink target data belongs.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first base station-side protocol stack comprises a resequencing layer, the resequencing layer is configured to determine a location of the target data in all the data on the bearer, and the at least one protocol layer of the first base station-side protocol stack is the resequencing layer;

and

the determining unit is further configured to determine a location of the downlink target data of the target data in all downlink data on the bearer by using the resequencing layer, and generate first location indication information by using the resequencing layer, wherein the first location indication information is used for indicating the location of the downlink target data in all the downlink data on the bearer; and

the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first location indication information determined by the determining unit to the WLAN AP, so that the user equipment determines the location of the downlink target data in all the downlink data on the bearer according to the first location indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP.

14. A data transmission apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a first user equipment-side protocol stack, configured to implement data processing on communication with a base station, wherein a bearer used to transmit data of the user equipment is disposed between the base station and a gateway device, a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol GTP tunnel is disposed between the base station and a WLAN AP;

a second user equipment-side protocol stack, configured to implement data processing on communication with the WLAN AP, wherein the second user equipment-side protocol stack is connected to at least one protocol layer of the first user equipment-side protocol stack; and

a transceiver unit, connected to the second user equipment-side protocol stack, and configured to perform transmission of target data with the base station through the WLAN AP, wherein the target data is transmitted between the WLAN AP and the base station through the GTP tunnel, and the target data is all or some data on the bearer,

wherein the second user equipment-side protocol stack comprises a bearer mapping layer, and the bearer mapping layer is configured to determine the bearer to which the target data belongs; and

when the user equipment corresponds to at least two bearers, the transceiver unit is further configured to determine a bearer to which uplink target data of the target data belongs by using the bearer mapping layer, and generate second bearer indication information by using the bearer mapping layer, wherein the second bearer indication information is used for indicating the bearer to which the uplink target data belongs; and

configured to send the second bearer indication information to the WLAN AP, so that the base station determines, according to the second bearer indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP or a second uplink GTP tunnel corresponding to the bearer to which the uplink target data belongs, the bearer to which the uplink target data belongs.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second offloading indication information sent by the base station, wherein the second offloading indication information is used for instructing to transmit data between the user equipment and the WLAN AP;

and

configured to determine according to the second offloading indication information that the user equipment needs to perform data transmission with the base station through the WLAN AP.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first user equipment-side protocol stack comprises a resequencing layer, the resequencing layer is configured to determine a location of the target data in all the data on the bearer, and the at least one protocol layer of the first user equipment-side protocol stack is the resequencing layer;

and

the transceiver unit is specifically configured to determine a location of the uplink target data of the target data in all uplink data on the bearer by using the resequencing layer, and generate second location indication information by using the resequencing layer, wherein the second location indication information is used for indicating the location of the uplink target data in all the uplink data on the bearer; and

configured to send the second location indication information to the WLAN AP, so that the base station determines the location of the uplink target data in all the uplink data on the bearer according to the second location indication information forwarded by the WLAN AP.