Switch method for ensuring communication continuity in mobile communication system

• US 20080219183A1
• Filed: 10/04/2006
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2004
• 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: Yin, Fang
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 with transfer of context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

The present invention discloses a switch method ensuring communication continuity, mainly including: when a switch occurs to an Mobile Station (MS), the MSC Server controlling the MGW establishing in a context a new termination connected with a new ground circuit; after the MS switching to a new wireless channel, the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting a resource channel from an original termination connected with an original ground circuit and continuing with the communications through the resource channel. The method of the present invention solves the problem of interruption in an announcement service, a data service and a QNC service caused by a switch process and the communication continuity during a switch procedure is ensured.

Claims

1. A switch method for ensuring communication continuity, comprising:

when a switch occurs to a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) Server controlling a Media Gateway (MGW) establishing in a context a new termination connecting to a new ground circuit; and

after the MS switching to a new wireless channel, the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting a resource channel of an original termination connecting to an original ground circuit, and continuing with the communications through the resource channel.

2. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 1, further comprising:

before the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting a resource channel from an original termination, the MSC Server instructing the MGW to transfer the resource channel from the original termination to the new termination.

3. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 2, wherein

the step of instructing comprises the MSC Server indicating a Handover Package to the MGW;

and

the step of controlling the new termination inheriting the resource channel comprises;

the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting the resource channel from the original termination according to the information carried by the Handover Package.

4. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 3, wherein the information carried by the Handover Package comprises such fields as Package Identification, Version, Extends, Properties, Events, Signals and Statistics.

5. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 4, wherein the Signals field comprises a Signal Identification, a Signal Description and an Original Termination Identification.

6. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 5, wherein

the resource channel is an announcement channel used to play announcement for an MS;

the Signal Identification carried in the Handover Package is Take over Announcement Channel; and

the Signal Description carried in the Handover Package is Capture the announcement channel of the termination identified by the Original Termination Identification.

7. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 6, further comprising:

after the MGW receiving the Handover Package with a Take over Announcement Channel signal, the MGW checking, according to the Original Termination Identification parameter carried by the Handover Package, whether the original termination indicated by the Original Termination Identification has an announcement channel and whether the original termination and the new termination are in the same context, if yes, the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting the announcement channel from the original termination;

otherwise, the MGW returning an error message to the MSC Server.

8. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 5, wherein,

the resource channel is an Inter-Working Function (IWF) entity channel for use in communications of data service or Quick Network Connection (QNC) service;

the Signal Identification carried by the Handover Package is Take over Inter-working Function; and

the Signal Description carried by the Handover Package is Capture the IWF channel of the termination identified by the Original Termination Identification.

9. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 8, further comprising:

after the MGW receives the Handover Package with a Take over Inter-working Function signal, the MGW checking, according to the Original Termination Identification parameter carried by the Handover Package, whether the original termination indicated by the Original Termination Identification has an IWF entity, and whether the original termination and the new termination are in the same context, if yes, the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting the IWF entity of the original termination;

otherwise, the MGW returning an error message to the MSC Server.

10. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 2, further comprising:

before the switch of the MS, the MSC Server setting the network topology relationship between the original termination and the termination corresponding to the opposite user or network as a normal network topology relationship;

after the establishment of the new termination, the MSC Server setting the network topology relationship between the new termination and the opposite termination as a switch network topology relationship;

wherein

the step of instructing comprises;

the MSC Server modifying the network topology relationship between the original termination and the opposite termination to a switch network topology relationship, and modifying the network topology relationship between the new termination and the opposite termination to a normal network topology relationship; and

the step of controlling the new termination inheriting the resource channel comprises;

the MGW controlling the new termination inheriting the resource channel of the original termination according to the changes of the network topology between the opposite termination and the original termination and between the opposite termination and the new termination.

11. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 10, wherein

the switch topology relationship is a unidirectional topology relationship with the opposite termination pointing to the original termination or the new termination;

and

the normal topology relationship is a bidirectional topology relationship between the opposite termination and the original termination or the new termination.

12. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 2, if there is no such an opposite termination, further comprising:

before the switch of the MS, the MSC Server establishing a virtual termination corresponding to the opposite network as the opposite termination.

13. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 12, wherein the switch topology relationship is different from the normal topology relationship and is one of the following relationships:

a point-in unidirectional topology relationship, a point-out unidirectional topology relationship, or a bidirectional topology relationship, respectively.

14. The switching method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 1, further comprising:

in terms of an announcement service, before the switch of the MS, the MSC Server establishing a virtual termination and setting the topology relationship between the virtual termination and the original termination as a unidirectional topology relationship with the virtual termination pointing to the original termination, and the virtual termination playing the announcement to the MS via the original termination;

after the establishment of the new termination, the MSC Server setting the topology relationship between the virtual termination and the new termination as a unidirectional topology relationship with the virtual termination pointing to the new termination, and the virtual termination playing the announcement to the mobile user via the original termination and the new termination at the same time; and

the step of inheriting comprises;

the virtual termination playing announcement to the mobile user via the new termination.

15. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 1, further comprising:

the MSC Server resending the event request to the new termination, if the MSC Server has once sent an event request to the original termination.

16. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 15, wherein the event request comprises an announcement ending notice or a rate change notice.

17. The switch method for ensuring communication continuity according to claim 1, further comprising:

after the new termination inherits the resource channel of the original termination, deleting the original termination and releasing the resources of the original termination.