Method of assigning provisional identification to a subscriber unit and group

• US 7,970,426 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2008
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Poe, Brian R., Maher, John W., McDonald, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dean; Raymond S
• Application Number:
  US12/207,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20100062798A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432.1, 455518-521
• US Class Current: 455/519
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an efficient and effective method for allocating provisional PUIDs and PGIDs to subscriber units and groups during a failure, such that when the communication system recovers, there is a decrease in or elimination of the number of dropped or missed communications. The present disclosure reserves a range of provisional PUIDs and PGIDs for resource controllers operating in a region of system failure to assign when subscriber units roam into the region of failure in the communication system. The present disclosure addresses creating PUID and PGID ranges for resource controllers to assign to roaming subscriber units in order to allow for assignment of PUIDs and PGIDs during periods of subsystem isolation and site trunking, i.e., when the particular site or subsystem cannot communicate with the rest of the communication system. The present disclosure also addresses recovering from these situations, re-registration, and reallocation of PUIDs and PGIDs.

Claims

1. A method of assigning a provisional unit identification (PUID) to a subscriber unit in a wireless communications system, the wireless communication system comprising a plurality of resource controllers, the method comprising the steps of, at a resource controller:

knowing a plurality of predetermined ranges of PUIDs used by the plurality of resource controllers to assign to roaming subscriber units;

assigning a PUID to a roaming subscriber unit from a first predetermined range when an operating state of the resource controller is not experiencing a failure; and

assigning a PUID to the roaming subscriber from a second predetermined range when the operating state of the resource controller is experiencing a failure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource controller assigns a new PUID from the first predetermined range to the roaming subscriber when the operating state of the resource controller changes from a failure state to a recovery state.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

rejecting a communication from the roaming subscriber unit if the roaming subscriber unit attempts to initiate the communication using the PUID that was assigned by the resource controller during the failure state before the new PUID is assigned; and

requesting the roaming subscriber unit to perform unit registration with the resource controller.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource controller is one of a site controller and a zone controller.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the failure experienced by the resource controller is one of zone isolation and site trunking.

6. A method of assigning a provisional unit identification (PUID) to a subscriber unit in a wireless communications system, the wireless communication system comprising a plurality of resource controllers, the method comprising the steps of, at a first resource controller:

knowing a plurality of predetermined ranges of PUIDs used by the plurality of resource controllers to assign to roaming subscriber units, wherein a second resource controller assigns a PUID to a roaming subscriber unit from a first predetermined range when an operating state of the second resource controller is not experiencing a failure, and wherein the second resource controller assigns a PUID to the roaming subscriber unit from a second predetermined range when the operating state of the second resource controller is experiencing a failure;

detecting that the roaming subscriber unit having a PUID assigned by the second resource controller has entered the region controlled by the first resource controller;

determining which predetermined range from which the PUID of the roaming subscriber unit was allocated; and

requesting the roaming subscriber unit to perform unit registration with the first resource controller unless the predetermined range from which the PUID of the roaming subscriber unit was allocated was from the first predetermined range and a current state of the first resource controller is not experiencing a failure.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first or second resource controller is one of a site controller and a zone controller.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the failure experienced by the first or second resource controller is one of zone isolation and site trunking.

9. A method of assigning a provisional group identification (PGID) to a subscriber group in a wireless communications system, the wireless communication system comprising a plurality of resource controllers, the method comprising the steps of, at a resource controller:

knowing a plurality of pre-determined ranges of PGIDs used by the plurality of resource controllers to assign to subscriber units affiliated with a non-native subscriber group;

assigning a first PGID to each subscriber unit affiliated with a non-native subscriber group from a first predetermined range when an operating state of the resource controller is not experiencing a failure; and

assigning a second PGID to each subscriber unit affiliated with the same non-native subscriber group from a second predetermined range when the operating state of the resource controller is experiencing a failure.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the resource controller is one of a site controller and a zone controller.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the failure experienced by the resource controller is one of zone isolation and site trunking.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the resource controller assigns a second PGID from the first predetermined range to each subscriber unit in the non-native subscriber group when the operating state of the resource controller changes from a failure state to a recovery state.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the non-native subscriber group comprises subscriber units having a PGID from the first predetermined range and subscriber units having a PGID from the second predetermined range, and wherein the resource controller patches the plurality of PGIDs together by assigning a first traffic channel to the first PGID and assigning a second traffic channel to the second PGID, wherein the subscriber units assigned to the first PGID listen to a group communication on the first traffic channel and subscriber units assigned to the second PGID listen to the group communication on the second traffic channel, and the resource controller routes the group communication between the first and the second traffic channels so that all of the subscribers units affiliated with the non-native subscriber group receives the group communication.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the resource controller assigns the second PGID by transmitting a communication on a control channel indicating a mapping of the non-native subscriber group to the second PGID.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the communication instructs each subscriber unit affiliated with the non-native subscriber group to replace its PGID with the second PGID.

16. A method of assigning a provisional group identification (PGID) to a subscriber group in a wireless communications system, the wireless communication system comprising a plurality of resource controllers, the method comprising the steps of, at a first resource controller:

knowing a plurality of predetermined ranges of PGIDs used by the plurality of resource controllers to assign to subscriber units affiliated with a non-native subscriber group, wherein a second resource controller assigns a PGID to a non-native subscriber group from a first predetermined range when an operating state of the second resource controller is not experiencing a failure, and wherein the second resource controller assigns a PGID to the non-native subscriber group from a second predetermined range when the operating state of the second resource controller is experiencing a failure;

detecting that the non-native subscriber group having a PGID assigned by the second resource controller has entered the region controlled by the first resource controller;

determining which predetermined range from which the PGID of the non-native subscriber group was allocated; and

requesting each subscriber unit affiliated with the non-native subscriber group to affiliate to the non-native subscriber group again unless the predetermined range, from which the PGID of the non-native subscriber group was allocated, was from the first predetermined range and a current state of the first resource controller is not experiencing a failure.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first or the second resource controller is one of a site controller and a zone controller.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the failure experienced by the first or second resource controller is one of zone isolation and site trunking.