Network-initiated dormant handoffs

• US 20060291420A1
• Filed: 06/27/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ericsson Evdo, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson Evdo, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ng, Dennis
• Application Number:
  US11/167,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20060291420A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/10 Reselecting an access point controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/22 between access point controllers

Abstract

In a radio access network having a first mesh cluster and a second mesh cluster, techniques for enabling an access terminal in a coverage area of the first mesh cluster to maintain a session through a radio node of the first mesh cluster with at least one radio node controller of the second mesh cluster. In a radio access network having a mesh cluster of groups of radio nodes and radio node controllers, techniques for defining a relationship between a pair of groups, the relationship being a neighboring relationship or a non-neighboring relationship, and enabling a radio node of a group to identify a destination radio node controller of a packet received from an access terminal, and to selectively route the packet to a radio node controller based on the relationship between the group of the radio node and the group of the destination radio node controller.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in a radio access network comprising a first mesh cluster and a second mesh cluster, enabling an access terminal in a coverage area of the first mesh cluster to maintain a session through a radio node of the first mesh cluster with at least one radio node controller of the second mesh controller.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the enabling comprises:

providing the radio node of the first mesh cluster with information sufficient to enable the radio node to transmit a packet received from the access terminal to the at least one radio node controller of the second mesh cluster.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the enabling comprises:

providing access by the radio node to a radio node controller identifier for the radio node controller of the second mesh cluster.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the radio node controller identifier comprises a colorcode.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the radio node of the first mesh cluster receiving a packet from the access terminal, selecting a radio node controller, and transmitting the packet to the selected radio node controller.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the selecting comprises:

examining the packet to determine whether its destination is a radio node controller with which the radio node of the first mesh cluster is associated, and if so, selecting an associated radio node controller based on a radio node identifier provided by the packet.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the radio node controller identifier comprises a colorcode.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the selecting comprises:

examining the packet to determine whether its destination is a radio node controller with which the radio node of the first mesh cluster is associated, and if not, selecting an associated radio node controller based on a load-balancing algorithm.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the packet is transmitted to the selected associated radio node controller so as to initiate a dormant handoff of the session of the access terminal from a serving radio node controller to the selected radio node controller.

10. A method comprising:

in a radio access network comprising a mesh cluster of groups of radio nodes and radio node controllers, defining a relationship between a pair of groups, the relationship being a neighboring relationship or a non-neighboring relationship, and enabling a radio node of a group to identify a destination radio node controller of a packet received from an access terminal, and to selectively route the packet to a radio node controller based on the relationship between the group of the radio node and the group of the destination radio node controller.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, if the destination radio node controller and the radio node are in the same group, the packet is routed to the destination node controller.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, if the destination radio node controller and the radio node are in neighboring groups, the packet is routed to the destination node controller.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein, if the destination radio node controller and the radio node are in non-neighboring groups, the packet is routed to a radio node controller in the group of the radio node so as to initiate a dormant handoff of the session of the access terminal from the destination radio node controller.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the packet comprises a destination node controller identifier.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the destination node controller identifier comprises a colorcode.

16. The method of claim 15, where the enabling comprises:

identifying the group of the destination radio node controller from the colorcode, and

determining a relationship between the group of the destination radio node controller and the group of the radio node.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the destination node controller identifier comprises a group identifier.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the enabling comprises:

identifying the group of the destination radio node controller from the group identifier, and

determining a relationship between the group of the destination radio node controller and the group of the radio node.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the radio nodes are associated with all of the radio node controllers of the mesh cluster.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the radio nodes are primarily associated with the radio node controllers of its group.

21. A radio access network comprising:

a first mesh cluster and a second mesh cluster, the first mesh cluster including a radio node that is associated with at least one radio node controller of the second mesh cluster such that an access terminal in a coverage area of the first mesh cluster is able to maintain a session through the radio node of the first mesh cluster with the at least one radio node controller of the second mesh cluster.

22. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the second mesh cluster includes a radio node that is associated with at least one radio node controller of the first mesh cluster such that an access terminal in a coverage area of the second mesh cluster is able to maintain a session with the at least one radio node controller of the first mesh cluster.

23. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the radio node of the first mesh cluster is associated with all of the radio node controllers of the first mesh cluster.

24. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the radio node of the first mesh cluster is associated with all of the radio node controllers of the second mesh cluster.

25. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the coverage area of each mesh cluster is defined by coverage areas of its respective radio nodes.

26. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the first mesh cluster and the second mesh cluster form a partially-connected cluster of the radio access network.

27. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the radio node of the first mesh cluster is located near a geographic boundary between the first mesh cluster and the second mesh cluster.

28. The radio access network of claim 21, wherein the radio access network comprises a code division multiple access network.

29. The radio access network of claim 21, the radio access network comprises a first evolution-data optimized or a first evolution-data/voice compliant network.

30. A radio access network comprising:

a mesh cluster of groups of radio nodes and radio node controllers, each pair of groups having a neighboring relationship or a non-neighboring relationship, wherein a radio node of a group is enabled to identify a destination radio node controller of a packet received from an access terminal, and to selectively route the packet to a radio node controller based on the relationship between the group of the radio node and the group of the destination radio node controller.

31. The radio access network of claim 30, wherein a pair of adjacent groups have a neighboring relationship.

32. The radio access network of claim 30, wherein a pair of non-adjacent groups separated by fewer than N number of groups, where N is a positive integer greater than zero, heave a neighboring relationship.