Patent Application
20150098331
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to the provision of communication services across heterogeneous networks, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for handling Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) rules for offloading data traffic associated with a mobile communication device between a telecommunication network utilizing a cellular technology and an Access Point (AP) utilizing a Short Range Wireless (SRW) technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
With growing demand for ubiquitous computing and networking, various wireless technologies have been developed, such as Short Range Wireless (SRW) technologies, including Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) technology, Bluetooth technology, and Zigbee technology, etc., as well as, cellular technologies, including Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA-2000) technology, Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology, and Time-Division LTE (TD-LTE) technology, etc.
For user convenience and flexibility, most Mobile Stations (MSs) (also referred to as User Equipments (UEs)) nowadays are equipped with more than one wireless communication module for supporting different wireless technologies. However, each wireless technology has its own features, such as bandwidth, average coverage, and service rate, etc. Particularly, the bandwidth and coverage provided to an MS by a wireless network may vary according to the conditions of the location of the MS and/or the time conditions.
Using an MS equipped with a WCDMA module and a WiFi module as an example, it may selectively obtain wireless services using WCDMA technology or WiFi technology. Generally, the wireless services obtained from a WCDMA network have a rather limited bandwidth, but better mobility, while the wireless services obtained from a WiFi AP have a sufficient bandwidth, but lack mobility. However, the feature of better mobility of the WCDMA network is more likely accompanied with rapid changes of radio signal quality for the MS, while the feature of low mobility of the WiFi AP is usually accompanied with rather stable radio signal quality for the MS. Thus, it is desirable to have a more flexible way of steering data traffic for the MS across heterogeneous networks.
In one aspect of the invention, a mobile communication device is provided. The mobile communication device comprises a first wireless module, a second wireless module, and a controller module. The first wireless module is configured to perform wireless transmissions and receptions to and from a telecommunication network using a cellular technology. The second wireless module is configured to perform wireless transmissions and receptions to and from an Access Point (AP) using an SRW technology. The controller module is configured to receive at least one Radio Access Network (RAN) rule, at least one Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) rule, and at least one indicator from the telecommunication network via the first wireless module, and determine whether to use the RAN rule or the ANDSF rule according to the indicator for offloading data traffic from the telecommunication network to the AP via the second wireless module.
In another aspect of the invention, a telecommunication network is provided. The telecommunication network comprises an access network and a core network. The access network is configured to transmit at least one RAN rule to a mobile communication device using a cellular technology. The core network is configured to transmit at least one ANDSF rule and at least one indicator to the mobile communication device via the access network, so as to assist the mobile communication device in determining whether to use the RAN rule or the ANDSF rule according to the indicator for offloading data traffic from the telecommunication network to an AP utilizing a SRW technology.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method for handling ANDSF rules for offloading data traffic associated with a mobile communication device between a telecommunication network utilizing a cellular technology and an AP utilizing an SRW technology is provided. The method comprises the steps of: transmitting, by the telecommunication network, at least one RAN rule, at least one ANDSF rule, and at least one indicator to the mobile communication device; and determining, by the mobile communication device, whether to use the RAN rule or the ANDSF rule according to the indicator for offloading data traffic from the telecommunication network to the AP.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following descriptions of specific embodiments of the mobile communication devices, the telecommunication networks, and the methods for handling ANDSF rules for offloading data traffic associated with a mobile communication device between a telecommunication network and an AP.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. It should be understood that the embodiments may be realized in software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.
The APs 130 and 140 may each form an SRW network, implemented as alternatives for providing wireless services for the mobile communication device 110. For example, the APs 130 and 140 may be installed by or operate in cooperation with the operator of the telecommunication network 120. Specifically, the APs 130 and 140 may connect to a local area network by an Ethernet cable, and they typically receive, buffer, and transmit data traffic which is to be directed to and from the mobile communication device 110. The APs 130 and 140 may be connected to the core network 122 directly or indirectly via the Internet, as shown in
The telecommunication network 120 may be any LTE-based system, such as an LTE system, LTE-A system, or TD-LTE system, etc., depending on the cellular technology in use. The telecommunication network 120 comprises at least an access network 121 and a core network 122, wherein the access network 121 is controlled by the core network 122 to provide the functionality of wireless transceiving for the telecommunication network 120. For example, if the telecommunication network 120 is an LTE/LTE-A/TD-LTE system, the access network 121 may be an Evolved-UTRAN (E-UTRAN) which includes at least an evolve Node B (eNB), and the core network 122 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) which includes a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW or P-GW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) entity, and Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) entity.
The ANDSF entity is responsible for assisting the mobile communication device 110 to discover non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) networks, such as the SRW networks formed by the AP 130 and 140, or WiMAX networks, etc, which can be used as an alternative other than the 3GPP networks (i.e., the telecommunication network 120) for data communications. Also, the ANDSF entity is responsible for providing the mobile communication device 110 with rules (or called ANDSF rules) policing the connection to the non-3GPP networks.
To further clarify, each of the wireless modules 10 and 20 may be a respective Radio Frequency (RF) unit, and the controller module 30 may be a Micro Control Unit (MCU) of a baseband unit, e.g., a baseband chip. For example, the wireless module 10 may be an LTE RF unit and the controller module 30 may be an MCU of a LTE baseband unit, while the wireless module 20 may be a WiFi RF unit incorporated with a WiFi baseband unit. Alternatively, each of the wireless modules 10 and 20 may be a respective RF unit incorporated with a respective baseband unit, and the controller module 30 may be a general-purpose processor, an application processor, or an MCU. For example, the wireless module 10 may be an LTE RF unit incorporated with an LTE baseband unit, the wireless module 20 may be a WiFi RF unit incorporated with a WiFi baseband unit, and the controller module 30 may be an MCU.
The baseband unit may contain multiple hardware devices to perform baseband signal processing, including Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)/Digital-to-Analog Conversion (DAC), gain adjusting, modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, and so on. The RF unit may receive RF wireless signals, convert the received RF wireless signals to baseband signals, which are processed by the baseband unit, or receive baseband signals from the baseband unit and convert the received baseband signals to RF wireless signals, which are later transmitted. The RF unit may also contain multiple hardware devices to perform radio frequency conversion. For example, the RF unit may comprise a mixer to multiply the baseband signals with a carrier oscillated in the radio frequency of the wireless communications environment, wherein the radio frequency may be 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, or 5 GHz utilized in WiFi technology, or 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, or 2.6 GHz utilized in LTE/LTE-A technology, or 1880-1920 MHz, 2496-2690 MHz, or 3.5/3.6 GHz utilized in TD-LTE technology, or others depending on the wireless technology in use.
Although not shown, it should be understood that the access network 121 at least include an access node, e.g., an eNB, and similar to the embodiment of
For example, the first validity condition may be defined by an equation as follows:
RSRP or RSRQ<A
, wherein RSRP is short for the Reference Signal Received Power of the telecommunication network, and RSRQ is short for the Reference Signal Received Quality of the telecommunication network. The second validity condition may be defined by an equation as follows:
RSSI>B
, wherein RSSI is short for the Received Signal Strength Indicator of an AP.
In addition to the first and second validity conditions, the ANDSF rule may further include a time condition for specifying a predetermined period of time of a day (e.g., 0:00-06:00 AM), and a location condition for specifying a predetermined location (e.g., Taipei City).
In one embodiment, the RAN rule may be transmitted along with information concerning the amount of data traffic to be offloaded and the level of granularity of data traffic to be reported for offloading. The level of granularity may specify a per Data Radio Bearer (DRB) basis, a per Packet Data Network (PDN) connection basis, or a per PDN basis. In one embodiment, the ANDSF rule may be transmitted along with information concerning the IP flow(s) or Access Point Name (APN) with which the data traffic to be offloaded is associated.
In one embodiment, the RAN rule may be transmitted via an RRC (Radio Resource Control) CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION message, and the ANDSF rule and the indicator may be transmitted via an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Device Management (DM) message.
Subsequent to step S310, the mobile communication device determines whether to use the RAN rule or the ANDSF rule according to the indicator for offloading data traffic from the telecommunication network to an AP (step S320), and the method ends.
In one embodiment, the indicator may be a source action which indicates whether the RAN rule is prioritized over the ANDSF rule or the ANDSF rule is prioritized over the RAN rule.
When the source indicator is set to 0 to indicate that the RAN rule is prioritized over the AND SF rule, the mobile communication device may ignore the ANDSF rule and use the RAN rule to select the AP for offloading the data traffic, which satisfies one or more validity conditions of the RAN rule.
When the source indicator is set to 1 to indicate that the ANDSF rule is prioritized over the RAN rule, the mobile communication device may ignore the RAN rule and use the ANDSF rule to select the AP for offloading the data traffic, which satisfies one or more validity conditions of the ANDSF rule.
In another embodiment, the indicator may be an action indicator which is associated with a respective ANDSF rule and indicates whether the RAN rule is prioritized over the ANDSF rule, or the ANDSF rule is prioritized over the RAN rule, or the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule are equally prioritized.
When the action indicator is set to 1 to indicate that the RAN rule is prioritized over the AND SF rule, the mobile communication device may ignore the ANDSF rule and use the RAN rule to select the AP for offloading the data traffic, which satisfies one or more validity conditions of the RAN rule.
When the action indicator is set to 2 to indicate that the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule are equally prioritized, the mobile communication device may use both the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule to select the AP for offloading the data traffic, which satisfies both the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule. For example, if the validity condition of the ANDSF rule specifies that the system loading of the telecommunication network is lower than 0.6 while the validity condition of the RAN rule specifies that the system loading of the telecommunication network is lower than 0.4, then the mobile communication device may initiate the offloading of data traffic when both the system loading of the telecommunication network is lower than 0.4. Note that, the telecommunication network may periodically broadcast or exclusively transmit its system loading for the mobile communication device to obtain.
When the action indicator is set to 3 to indicate that the ANDSF rule is prioritized over the RAN rule, the mobile communication device may ignore the RAN rule and use the ANDSF rule to select the AP for offloading the data traffic, which satisfies one or more validity conditions of the ANDSF rule.
In yet another embodiment, the indicator may be predetermined in the mobile communication device and the telecommunication network may not need to transmit it. That is, the mobile communication device may use the predetermined indicator for the handling of the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule.
Please note that, unlike conventional designs, the present invention provides an indicator, other than the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule, to assist the mobile communication device in solving the overlapping or contradictory problem between the RAN rule and the ANDSF rule.
Subsequently, the telecommunication network 120 transmits a list of ANDSF rules and an indicator, to the mobile communication device 110 via an OMA DM message (step S403). It is noted that, in this embodiment, the PUSH mode of communications is employed between the telecommunication network 120 and the mobile communication device 110 for delivering the list of ANDSF rules and the indicator, and the mobile communication device 110 does not need to acknowledge the reception of the list of ANDSF rules and the indicator to the telecommunication network 120. In another embodiment, if the PULL mode of communications is employed, the mobile communication device 110 needs to request the list of ANDSF rules and the indicator from the telecommunication network 120, and step S403 is performed after the telecommunication network 120 receives the request.
In another embodiment, the transmission of the ANDSF rules and the indicator may be performed before the transmission of the RAN rules. That is, step S403 may be performed earlier than steps S401 to S402.
Next, the mobile communication device 110 determines whether to use the RAN rules or the ANDSF rules according to the indicator (step S404). The detailed description of how to use the indicator for solving the overlapping or contradictory problem between the RAN rules and the ANDSF rules is similar to the embodiment of
When one of the RAN rules or one of the ANDSF rules (which are used as specified by the indicator) is satisfied, the mobile communication device 110 determines the Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) associated with the data traffic to be offloaded (step S405), and transmits information of the DRBs, the identification of the satisfied rule, and the identification of the AP 130 or 140 to the telecommunication network 120 via a BEARER RESOURCE MODIFICATION REQUEST message (step S406).
When receiving the BEARER RESOURCE MODIFICATION REQUEST message, the telecommunication network 120 transmits a MODIFY EPS (Evolved Packet System) BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message to request the mobile communication device 110 to release the DRBs (step S407).
When receiving the MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message, the mobile communication device 110 releases the DRBs (step S408), and replies with an MODIFY EPS BEARER CONTEXT ACCEPT message to the telecommunication network 120 (step S409). After that, the mobile communication device initiates a connection establishment procedure with the AP 130 or 140 for offloading the data traffic associated with the released DRBs (step S410).
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first” and “second” in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
This Application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/886,858, filed on Oct. 4, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61886858 | Oct 2013 | US |
