Router device, datagram transfer method and communication system realizing handoff control for mobile terminals

• US 7,151,758 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2002
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Moriya, Osamu, Matsuzawa, Shigeo, Tsunoda, Keiji, Okamoto, Toshio, Kato, Noriyasu, Kumaki, Yoshinari
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Application Number:
  US10/205,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20020191562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,607 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5607 Radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/562 Routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/563 Signalling, e.g. protocols, reference model
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5667 IP over ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0011 for data sessions of end-to-end connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0019 adapted for mobile IP [MIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/083 wherein at least one of the access points is a moving node
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/18 based on predicted events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/36 due to handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/087 for preserving data network PoA address despite hand-offs
• 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]

Abstract

A mobile supporting router device for realizing the handoff control associated with the moving in high speed is forms by at least one first interface connected with radio base stations, each capable of accommodating at least one mobile terminal; at least one second interface connected with a wire network; an information exchanging unit for exchanging a routing protocol on a network layer, through the second interface; a memory unit for storing information regarding a routing on the network layer based on the routing protocol exchanged by the information exchanging unit; a transfer unit for transferring datagram through the first interface according to the information regarding the routing on the network layer stored in the memory unit; a moving detection unit for detecting a moving of the mobile terminal among the radio base stations; and an information updating unit for updating the information regarding the routing on the network layer stored in the memory unit when the moving of the mobile terminal is detected by the moving detection unit.

Claims

1. A router device, comprising:

at least one first interface connected with a plurality of radio base stations, each radio base station configured to accommodate at least one mobile terminal;

at least one second interface connected with a network;

an information exchanging unit configured to exchange a routing protocol on a network layer, through the second interface;

a memory unit configured to store information regarding a routing on the network layer based on the routing protocol exchanged by the information exchanging unit;

a transfer unit configured to transfer datagram through the first interface according to the information regarding the routing on the network layer stored in the memory unit;

a moving detection unit configured to detect a moving of the mobile terminal among the radio base stations; and

an information updating unit configured to update the information regarding the routing on the network layer stored in the memory unit when the moving of the mobile terminal is detected by the moving detection unit,

wherein the transfer unit transfers the datagram through the first interface according to another information regarding a switching on a lower layer of the network layer for enabling datagram transfer along the routing on the network layer when a prescribed condition for the switching on the lower layer is satisfied.

2. The router device of claim 1, further comprising:

another memory unit for storing said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer,

wherein the information updating unit also updates said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer stored in said another memory unit when the moving of the mobile terminal is detected by the moving detection unit.

3. The router device of claim 1, further comprising:

another memory unit for storing a correspondence between a first virtual connection for connecting the first interface and a radio base station of a currently located site of the mobile terminal and a second virtual connection different from the first virtual connection, as said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer;

wherein when the moving of the mobile terminal corresponding to the first virtual connection is detected by the moving detection unit, the information updating unit also updates said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer stored in said another memory unit, by obtaining a third virtual connection for connecting the first interface and a radio base station of a visited site of the mobile terminal and storing a correspondence between the third virtual connection and the second virtual connection in said another memory unit, while updating the information regarding the routing on the network layer by storing a network layer address of the mobile terminal after the moving and the third virtual connection in the memory unit.

4. The router device of claim 1, further comprising:

another memory unit for storing a correspondence between a first virtual connection for connecting the first interface and a radio base station of a currently located site of the mobile terminal and a second virtual connection different from the first virtual connection, as said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer;

wherein when the moving of the mobile terminal corresponding to the first virtual connection is detected by the moving detection unit, the information updating unit updates the information regarding the routing on the network layer by identifying a correspondence between a network layer address of the mobile terminal and a third virtual connection for connecting the first interface and a radio base station of a visited site of the mobile terminal according to message exchange with the mobile terminal or the radio base station of the visited site of the mobile terminal, and by storing the identified correspondence in the memory unit, while also updating said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer stored in said another memory unit by storing a correspondence between the third virtual connection and the second virtual connection in said another memory unit.

5. The router device of claim 1, further comprising:

a switching unit for switching transfer of the datagram by the transfer unit between datagram transfer according to the information regarding the routing on the network layer and datagram transfer according to said another information regarding the switching on the lower layer of the network layer.