KR101559795B1 - The method for transmitting packet at a base station in network using multiple communication schemes - Google Patents

Abstract

A packet transmission method of a terminal and a base station which can operate in a multiple communication system is disclosed. The base station of the multiple communication scheme can determine the transmission path based on the link state of the network, the traffic characteristics of the packet, etc. by receiving the packet from the terminal. The base station enables traffic redirection by transmitting packets of the first communication scheme via a network using the second communication scheme. Resources such as a frequency band to be used between networks using different communication methods between the terminal and the base station can be set cooperatively.

UMA, base station

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method of transmitting a packet of a base station in a network using multiple communication schemes,

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to a method of transmitting packets in a network using multiple communication methods.

Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology can integrate cellular networks with any IP-based wireless access network, such as IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) networks, IEEE 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA), and UWB networks.

With UMA technology, subscribers can move between cellular networks and WLANs, where there is no disruption between voice and data sessions and transparent movement between cells within the cellular network. Seamless handover between the WLAN and the cellular network ensures that the user's location and mobility do not affect the services provided to the user. Subscribers will experience full transparency in terms of service, location and mobility. The service is the same whether it is provided on a WLAN or a cellular network. This UMA is a technology that can take two routes from the core network by changing the structure of the packet.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a case where a wireless LAN router converts one packet path.

Referring to FIG. 1, a terminal 110 may access a wireless LAN router 120 through a wireless LAN. In addition, a terminal 110 may access a Wibro BS 130 through a wireless LAN router 120 . At this time, the data packet transmitted from the terminal 110 is transmitted to the wireless LAN router 120 through the IP layer, the wireless LAN MAC layer, and the wireless LAN physical layer sequentially in the terminal 110. The wireless LAN router 120 receiving the data packet from the terminal 110 may process the data packet and transmit it to the WiBro base station 130.

A data packet processing process of the conventional wireless LAN router 120 will be briefly described.

The wireless LAN sharer 120 can read and read the header portion of the data packet received from the terminal 110 to find the source and destination of the data packet. The wireless LAN router 120 encapsulates the data packet received from the terminal 110 and transmits the encapsulated data packet as a WiBro type data packet. The wireless LAN sharer 120 reads the received data packet and clears the source and destination of the data packet. That is, the wireless LAN router 120 deletes the received data packet and generates a new data packet according to the transmission path. That is, a WiBro type data packet is formed to transmit the received data packet to the WiBro base station 130. Thereafter, the wireless LAN router 120 transmits the generated new data packet to the WiBro base station 130.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for transmitting a packet in a network using multiple communication methods.

The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems and other technical problems which are not mentioned can be understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packet transmission method including: receiving a packet of a first communication method from a terminal; Encapsulating the packet of the first communication scheme by inserting information including a transmission path via a network using the second communication scheme into the received packet of the first communication scheme; And transmitting the encapsulated packet to a destination using a network using the second communication scheme.

In the packet transmission method, the frequency bands used by the networks of the first communication method and the second communication method may be different from each other.

In the packet transmission method, a link using the first communication method with the base station and the terminal and a link between the base station and the network using the first communication method can use the same frequency band.

Also, at this time, the link using the first communication method with the base station and the terminal may use the odd subbands or the even subbands of the same frequency band.

Further, in the receiving step, the packet of the first communication method can be received through the network using the first or the second communication method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of transmitting a packet, the method comprising: receiving a packet of a second communication scheme from a base station operable in a multiple communication scheme or a network using a first communication scheme from the base station controller; And transmitting the received packet of the second communication method through the network using the second communication method.

According to the present invention, the efficiency of packet transmission can be increased by transmitting a packet for a specific communication method through a network using a different communication method in a network using a multiple communication method.

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description, together with the accompanying drawings, is intended to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The following detailed description includes specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. For example, the following detailed description is based on the assumption that the mobile communication system is a 3GPP LTE system, but it is applicable to any other mobile communication system except for the specific aspects of 3GPP LTE.

In some instances, well-known structures and devices may be omitted or may be shown in block diagram form, centering on the core functionality of each structure and device, to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present invention.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

In the following description, it is assumed that the UE collectively refers to a mobile stationary device such as a UE (User Equipment), an MS (Mobile Station), a Handset, or the like. It is also assumed that the base station collectively refers to any node at a network end that communicates with a terminal such as a Node B, an eNode B, a base station, and an access point.

In a mobile communication system, a user equipment can receive information through a downlink from a base station, and the terminal can also transmit information through an uplink. The information transmitted or received by the terminal includes data and various control information, and various physical channels exist depending on the type of information transmitted or received by the terminal.

The 'UMA terminal' used in the present invention may be called 'dual mode terminal' or the like. In the present invention, 'multi-mode terminal' and 'multi-mode base station' will be described as 'dual-mode terminal' and 'dual-mode base station', respectively. That is, the 'dual mode terminal' and the 'dual mode base station' used in the present invention can be sufficiently extended in two or more multiple modes.

2 is a functional block diagram of a UMA network.

Referring to FIG. 2, a UMA terminal (MS) 210 is connected to a UMA network controller (UNC) 220. At this time, the UMA terminal 210 is connected to the UNC 220 through a connection to a standard AP (802.11 Bluetooth) or a broadband IP network. Also, the UNC 220 is connected to a base station controller (BSC) (not shown).

In the uplink, the UMA terminal 210 encapsulates a data packet to be transmitted to the UNC 220, and the UNC 220 decapsulates the received data packet and transmits the decapsulated data packet to the core network.

In contrast, in the downlink, the UNC 220 encapsulates the data packet and transmits it to the UMA terminal 210. The UMA terminal 210 decapsulates the data packet received from the UNC 220.

The UMA terminal 210 connected to the broadband IP network via the UNC 220 is authenticated / authorized to access the GERAN voice and UTRAN data via the license-exempt wireless network. The current position information of the subscriber stored in the core network in the cellular radio access network and the Unlicensed Mobile Access Network (UMAN) is updated in the same manner, and mobile voice and data communication are transmitted.

The UNC 220 and the UMA terminal 210 may perform roaming to the LAN when the terminal 210 having the UMA moves out of the license-exempt wireless network range.

When a user of the terminal 210 moves into the range of the license-exempt wireless network in the state of making a voice call in the GERAN network or making a UTRAN data session, the voice call and data session are automatically handed over between the two networks do. That is, the UMA operates in a dual mode, and a handover occurs automatically between the license-exempt wireless network range and the GERAN / UTRAN network.

Bluetooth is an industry standard for personal area networks (PANs) using the IEEE 802.15.1 standard. Bluetooth allows multiple devices to communicate with each other using radio frequencies that are available globally at a safe and low cost. Bluetooth uses the ISM band 2.45 GHz.

Bluetooth versions 1.1 and 1.2 have a speed of 723.1 kilobits per second and version 2.0 features an Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), which can speed up to 2.1 megabits per second. Bluetooth is a replacement for wired USB, and Wi-Fi is a replacement for Ethernet.

When a user with a UMA handset comes near a UMA wireless base station (Bluetooth or Wi-Fi), the same service as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GPRS) / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is transmitted via unlicensed radio frequency Can be used.

A license-exempt radio frequency is a frequency that allows a user to use an exclusive use of a frequency, but not a specific frequency, without causing interference to a large number of users. The license-free frequency is 2.45 GHz, which is the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band. UMA handset enables seamless handover between cellular base station and UMA base station, as is seamless handover between cellular base stations.

UMA has a new network component called UMA Network Controller (UNC: UMA Network Controller). The UNC plays a similar role as a base station controller (BSC) in a conventional cellular radio access network (RAN). That is, the UMA terminal can be connected to a core mobile network through a BSC in a radio access network (RAN) during a voice call, and can operate in a dual mode manner connected to a core mobile network through a UNC in a UMA network .

Using UMA technology, subscribers can move between the cellular network and the WLAN, where there is no disruption between voice and data sessions and transparent movement between cells within the cellular network. Seamless handover between the WLAN and the cellular network ensures that the user's location and mobility do not affect the services provided to the user. Subscribers can experience full transparency in terms of service, location and mobility. The service is the same whether it is provided on a wireless LAN or a cellular network.

Mobile service providers deploying UMA can provide an enhanced service plan to extend their portfolio from traditional mobile services to absorbing fixed-line service revenues. Wireline service providers can add mobile services to their traditional local, long-haul and broadband access while preserving traffic on their fixed-network infrastructure. In all cases, subscribers will experience seamless services where the boundaries of the base network are invisible.

The UMA implements a parallel wireless access network, or UMA network (UMAN), which interfaces with the mobile core network using existing standard interfaces that enable mobility. The mobile core network does not change.

A common mobile core network provides full service and operational transparency. Existing service providers Business Support Systems (BSS), service delivery systems, content services, regulatory compliance systems and operations support systems (OSS) can support UMA networks without change. Service enhancements and technological advances in mobile core networks are transparent to both cellular access and UMA networks.

UNC is the primary network entity of the UMA solution. It interfaces with the GSM / GPRS core network as if it were a conventional GSM / EDGE radio access network (GERAN) base station subsystem and interfaces with public or private IP networks with UMA capability. For the GSM / GPRS core network, the UNC provides a standard GSM A interface 230 for circuit switched voice service and a GPRS Gb (240) interface for packet data service.

In UMAN, the interface between the UNC and the terminal is defined as an 'up' interface. UNC can support up interfaces for each station using standard IP transport. UNC maintains end-to-end communication with each station and relays GSM / GPRS control and user plane traffic through the A / Gb interface to the mobile core network.

UNC allows an IP-based UMAN access network to look like a conventional GERAN for a core network. The primary functions are as follows.

1) Provide secure, private communication between each terminal and the service provider's core network via an open IP network. Discovery, registration and redirection services to enable countries to access the appropriate UNC

2) relay the GSM / GPRS core network control signaling with the higher layer stations

3) Establish and release UMAN bearer connections for line and packet services

4) Transcoding the voice bearer from the VoIP transport to the voice-over-circuit transport towards the conventional PCM-based A interface

5) Emulate paging, handover and similar radio access procedures for UMAN mobile access

6) Provides A and Gb interfaces that conform to standards and have the appropriate physical, signaling, and bearer interfaces

The dual mode terminal and the dual mode base station operate in a dual mode manner capable of mode switching between a wireless LAN (WLAN) and a cellular network, between a Bluetooth and a cellular network, between a wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth, or between a cellular relay and a femtocell . The dual mode terminal and the dual mode base station may use different individual frequency bands for each mode, or may use the same frequency bands. Dual mode base stations can support single mode legacy handset, which can operate only in a conventional cellular network as well as a dual mode terminal or operate only in an IP network.

In the present invention, a packet switching scheme may be applied to a data packet. The packet switching method refers to a method in which data is encapsulated / decapsulated in a small unit called a packet. Each packet is individually handled and can be transmitted over different paths. If the packets do not arrive at the destination in order, error control and flow control may be difficult. And each packet requires a destination address and a source address. Such a packet switching communication method is suitable for transmitting a small amount of data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a newly proposed technique in accordance with the present invention by taking advantage of the UMA technique.

Referring to FIG. 3, dual mode base station 310 may receive a packet from dual mode terminal 320. The dual mode base station 310 may transmit the received data packets to a base station controller (BSC) 350 or a UMA network controller (UNC) 360 using a private network 330 or an IP network 340, respectively . Here, the private network 330 may be referred to as a cellular network or the like, and the IP network 340 may be referred to as a wireless LAN network, a UMA network, or the like. The frequency band used by the private network 330 and the frequency band used by the IP network 340 may be different from each other.

The dual mode terminal 320 may transmit packets using either the private network 330 (e.g., a cellular network) or the IP network 340 (e.g., a wireless LAN). As described above, the cellular network and the wireless LAN can use different frequency bands. The dual mode terminal 320 may dynamically determine which path to use to transmit the packet according to the required quality of service (QoS) or link state.

For example, the terminal can use the private network 330 in the case of traffic that is highly sensitive to delay and the IP network 340 in the case of traffic that is somewhat insensitive to delay. In this manner, the dual mode terminal 320 can determine the transmission path according to the delay sensitivity of the data packet to be transmitted.

The dual mode terminal 320 can measure the RTT (Round Trip Time) of the path through the UNC 360 and the RTT through the original path when the session establishment step is performed. RTT refers to the time it takes for the packet to travel to the other end of the packet to be transmitted. That is, the RTT may mean the time it takes for the packet to travel from the packet source to the dual mode terminal 320 through the core network 370 or the dual mode terminal 320 through the UMA network, which is the destination of the packet. Factors that affect RTTs include network congestion, distance, and transmission speed. The dual mode terminal 320 may select the transmission path of the packet based on the RTT measurement value or the like.

Alternatively, instead of the dual mode terminal 320, the UNC 360 may measure the RTT value. The UNC 360 may then report the measured RTT value to the dual mode terminal 320. The reporting of the measured RTT value of this UNC 360 to the dual mode terminal 320 may be made at an event-triggered point in time or periodically.

The execution of the RTT measurement of this UNC 360 may be performed at the request of the dual mode terminal 320 or may be preset such that the UNC 360 measures the RTT value. The dual mode terminal 320 may request the UNC 360 to measure RTT, the current link state.

As described above, based on the measured values of the RTT of the dual mode terminal 320 or the UNC 360, the dual mode terminal 320 can selectively determine a transmission path for transmitting the data packet.

The dual mode base station 310 may encapsulate or decapsulate data packets received from the dual mode terminal 320 instead of the dual mode terminal 320 or the UNC 360. That is, the dual mode base station 310 may perform an encapsulation process for transmitting the data packet as it is determined by the dual mode terminal 320.

Meanwhile, the dual mode base station 310 receiving the data packet from the dual mode terminal 320 may redirect the packet traffic. The dual mode terminal 310 may change the transmission path selected by the dual mode terminal 320 even if the dual mode terminal 320 selects a transmission path and transmits the selected data path.

The dual mode base station 310 may transmit the data packet received from the dual mode terminal 320 through the private network 330 or the IP network 340. For example, when the private network 330 near the dual mode base station 310 is congested or the link status is poor, the data packet can be transmitted to the UNC 360 through the IP network 340 rather than the private network 330 . The UNC 360 then redirects the data packet to the BSC 350 and the BSC 350 again sends the data packet to the core mobile network 370 to perform the redirection process.

Alternatively, when the IP network 340 near the dual mode base station 310 is congested or the link status near the dual mode base station 310 is unreliable, the dual mode base station 310 may be configured to broadcast a wireless LAN packet And may be transmitted to the BSC 350 using the network 330. The BSC 350 then forwards the WLAN packet to the UNC 360 and the UNC 360 may redirect the WLAN packet from the BSC 350 to the IP network 340. In this way, the dual mode base station 310 can maintain the redirection session together with the UNC 360.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network including a base station operating in a dual mode.

Referring to FIG. 4, femto and relay use the same technique. The dual mode base station 410 may receive the packets from the macro terminal 420 and the femto terminal 430, respectively. The dual mode base station 410 can distinguish the type of the terminal that transmitted the packet from the received packet.

For example, the macro terminal 420 and the femto terminal 430 may include an identifier (or an indicator) capable of identifying the terminal type in a header part of a packet to be transmitted to the dual mode base station 410. Based on this identifier, the dual mode base station 410 can identify the type of terminal that transmitted the packet. Then, the dual mode base station 410 can transmit the packet through the specific network corresponding to the type of the terminal that transmitted the packet.

For example, the dual mode base station 410 can transmit a packet received from the macro terminal 420 to another base station through the wireless network. In addition, the dual mode base station 410 can transmit a packet received from the femto terminal 430 through a digital subscriber line (DSL). At this time, if the traffic state or the link state of the wireless network is not good, the dual mode base station 410 can transmit the packets received from the macro terminal 420 using the DSL network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a technique proposed by the present invention using the UMA technique.

With reference to FIG. 5, we describe in terms of coodrination of the resources to be used in this network. The cellular link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 530 may be wireless. The dual mode base station 510 may use the same frequency band as the dual mode terminal 520 to serve the dual mode terminal 520. A portion of the frequency band used by the cellular network (which may be any resource in general) may be used as a link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 530. The dual mode base station 510 uses the same frequency band as the dual mode terminal 520 but the frequency band used for the link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 530 is different from that of the dual mode base station 510 and private And may be different from the frequency band used for the link between the network 530 and the network 530. [

For example, the frequency band used for the link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 430 uses the odd subbands among the specific frequency bands, and the link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 430 May use even-numbered subbands among the specific frequency bands.

In order to provide a seamless enhanced access service, both modes may be activated at the same time. For example, while the link between the dual mode base station 510 and the private network 530 is active, the dual mode terminal 520 may transmit data using a wireless LAN connection.

The dual mode base station 510 may transmit data packets to the private network 530 while receiving data packets from the dual mode terminal 520. That is, the dual mode base station 510 receives the data packet from the dual mode terminal 520 through the odd subbands among the specific frequency bands and simultaneously transmits the data packet through the private network 530 using the even subbands in the specific frequency band Data packets can be transmitted.

The IP network 540 between the dual mode base station 510 and the UNC 560 when the private network 530 between the dual mode base station 510 and the BSC 550 is active (i.e., cellular access is activated) May be used to support cellular communication. Conversely, when the IP network 540 between the dual mode base station 510 and the UNC 560 is active (i.e., when the WLAN connection is activated), the cellular connection can be used to support WLAN communication .

The dual mode terminal 520 may transmit the data packet to the dual mode base station 510 by applying a time division duplex (TDD) scheme or a frequency division duplex (FDD) scheme.

The dual mode terminal 520 may transmit the data packet to be transmitted through the private network 530 and the data packet to be transmitted through the IP network 540 to the dual mode base station 510 by applying the TDD scheme. In addition, the dual mode terminal 520 applies the FDD scheme to the data packet to be transmitted through the private network 530 and the data packet to be transmitted through the IP network 540, and transmits the packet to the dual mode base station 510 simultaneously Lt; / RTI >

6 is a diagram illustrating a method of processing and transmitting a data packet by a dual mode BS according to the present invention.

6, a dual mode base station 610 may receive a data packet 630 packet from a dual mode terminal 620. [ This data packet 630 includes a header portion and a data portion. The header includes information about the terminal 610 and the destination of the data packet. This data packet 630 may be encapsulated by the dual mode base station 610 to produce a new type of data packet 640.

Encapsulated contents of the received data packet 630 of the dual mode base station 610 will be briefly described. The dual mode base station 610 inserts the header portion again into the received data packet 630. The inserted header may include information on the dual mode base station 610 and information on the destination.

The dual mode base station 610 may transmit the new data packet 640 to another network 660, another base station (not shown), a network controller (not shown), and so on. The other network 660 decapsulates the received data packet 640.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed herein has been presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, those skilled in the art can utilize each of the configurations described in the above-described embodiments in a manner of mutually combining them.

Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The method of transmitting packets in the network using the multiple communication method as described above can be applied to various other mobile communication systems such as the 3GPP LTE system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

1 illustrates a wireless network structure using a conventional UMA technique,

2 shows a functional structure of a UMA network,

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a newly proposed technique in accordance with the present invention by taking advantage of the UMA technique,

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network including a base station operating in a dual mode,

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a technique newly proposed according to the present invention by utilizing UMA technology, and FIG.

6 is a diagram illustrating a method of processing and transmitting a data packet by a dual mode BS according to the present invention.

Claims (7)

A method for a base station to transmit a packet in a network using a plurality of communication methods, Receiving a packet of a first communication scheme including a selected transmission route from the terminal indicating a transmission route via a first network using the first communication scheme; Encapsulating the packet of the first communication scheme by inserting information about the base station and information including a destination into the packet of the first communication scheme; Changing a path for transmitting the packet of the first communication method to a transmission path via the second network using the second communication method in the selected transmission path based on the traffic state of the selected transmission path; And And transmitting the encapsulated packet to a destination using a transmission path via the modified second network, Wherein the selected transmission path is based on a Quality of Service (QoS) required for the packet of the first communication scheme and a Round Trip Time (RTT) of the selected transmission path measured by the terminal And selecting one of the base station and the base station by the terminal. The method according to claim 1, Wherein a frequency band used between the base station and the terminal is different from a frequency band used between the base station and the second network using the second communication scheme. The method according to claim 1, Wherein a frequency band of a link using the first communication scheme between the base station and the terminal is equal to a frequency band of a link between the base station and the first network. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the packet of the first communication scheme is received via the first network or the second network in the step of receiving the packet of the first communication scheme. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the packet of the first communication scheme further includes an indicator for identifying a communication method type of the terminal. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the base station is a dual mode base station supporting the first communication method and the second communication method. delete

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