Radio channel controller and radio channel controlling method

• US 8,538,431 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2008
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Obata, Kazunori, Harada, Naoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRITTINGHAM, NATHANIEL P
• Application Number:
  US12/266,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20090117900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,776 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432.1, 455/435.1, 455/435.2, 455/456.1, 455/456.4, 455/456.5, 455/436, 370/331, 370/332, 370/333, 379/60
• US Class Current: 455/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed

Abstract

Even when a general user'"'"'s mobile station in communication enters a use-prohibited cell, the use of the use-prohibited cell is prevented while the communication is being maintained. Regarding a mobile station 100 that enters an area of a cell C12 under handover restriction, the connection utilizing the use-prohibited cell is prohibited and handover of the mobile station is performed to an effectively-operating cell C22 covering an area including the current position of the mobile station within the use-prohibited cell and having another frequency. Alternatively, the handover is performed to a base station of an effectively-operating cell C32 belonging to another mobile communication system.

Claims

1. A radio channel controller, comprising:

a signal analyzing unit for analyzing whether or not a received signal from a mobile station during communication is a handover request of moving from a first cell where the mobile station is currently positioned to a second cell where the mobile station is going to move;

a management information retaining unit for retaining cell information including a use-prohibited cell and an effectively-operating cell, wherein the use-prohibited cell denotes that a connection of the handover request from the mobile station used by a general user for communication is prohibited and a connection from a mobile communication carrier for maintenance or from another mobile station, for maintenance, of a predefined operator serving for the mobile communication carrier is permitted, whereas the effectively-operating cell denotes that the connection of the handover request from the mobile station used by the general user for communication is permitted;

a determination unit for identifying the second cell to be identified by the handover request in accordance with the handover request analyzed by the signal analyzing unit to determine whether the second cell is the use-prohibited cell by referring to the cell information retained in the management information retaining unit; and

an instructing unit for transmitting to a base transceiver station an instruction of causing the mobile station to use the effectively-operating cell that covers an area including a current position of the mobile station from the effectively-operating cells of the cell information retained in the management information retaining unit, when the determination unit determines that the second cell is the use-prohibited cell,

whereby even after the mobile station during communication moves into the second cell that is determined by the determination unit to be the use-prohibited cell, while a connection to the use-prohibited cell is prohibited, the communication is continuously maintained before and after the mobile station moves into the second cell by use of the effectively-operating cell in accordance with the instruction of the instructing unit.

2. The radio channel controller according to claim 1,

wherein the instructing unit selects, as the effectively-operating cell, another cell having another frequency different from a frequency of the use-prohibited cell, after the mobile station moved to the second cell that the determination unit determines to be the use-prohibited cell, and

wherein the instructing unit transmits to the base transceiver station the instruction of causing the mobile station to use the effectively-operating cell having the another frequency cell as the second cell.

3. The radio channel controller according to claim 1,

wherein the instructing unit selects, as the effectively-operating cell, another cell which belongs to another mobile communication system different from a mobile communication system of the use-prohibited cell, after the mobile station moved to the second cell that is determined by the determination unit to be the use-prohibited cell, and

wherein the instructing unit transmits to the base transceiver station the instruction of causing the mobile station to use the effectively-operating cell of the another mobile communication system as the second cell.

4. A radio channel controlling method, comprising:

analyzing whether or not a received signal from a mobile station during communication is a handover request of moving from a first cell where the mobile station is currently positioned to a second cell where the mobile station is going to move;

retaining cell information including a use-prohibited cell and an effectively-operating cell, wherein the use-prohibited cell denotes that a connection of the handover request from the mobile station used by a general user for communication is prohibited and a connection from a mobile communication carrier for maintenance or from another mobile station, for maintenance, of a predefined operator serving for the mobile communication carrier is permitted, whereas the effectively-operating cell denotes that the connection of the handover request from the mobile station used by the general user for communication is permitted;

identifying the second cell to be identified by the handover request in accordance with the handover request analyzed by the analyzing step to determine whether the second cell is the use-prohibited cell by referring to the cell information retained in the retaining step; and

transmitting to a base transceiver station an instruction of causing the mobile station to use the effectively-operating cell that covers an area including a current position of the mobile station from the effectively-operating cells of the cell information retained in the retaining step, when the determining step determines that the second cell is the use-prohibited cell,

whereby even after the mobile station during communication moves into the second cell that is determined in the determining step to be the use-prohibited cell, while a connection to the use-prohibited cell is prohibited, the communication is continuously maintained before and after the mobile station moves into the second cell by use of the effectively-operating cell in accordance with the instruction in the transmitting step.