KR100630111B1 - Method for setting general packet radio service attach mode in mobile station - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) transmits GPRS attach mode information indicating a general packet radio service (GPRS) attach mode required by the mobile terminal to the downlink of a serving cell to which the mobile terminal belongs. Broadcast via a downlink carrier. The mobile terminal receives GPRS attach mode information broadcast from the PLMN selected by the mobile station through the downlink carrier of the serving cell, and checks the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN from the received GPRS attach mode information. Set the attach mode to the identified GPRS attach mode. Accordingly, the GPRS attach of the mobile terminal is made at the desired time of the PLMN, so that the mobile terminal can adaptively cope with the system environment of the network registered by the mobile terminal.

GPRS, GPRS attach mode, broadcast.

Description

JPPR attach mode setting method of mobile terminal {METHOD FOR SETTING GENERAL PACKET RADIO SERVICE ATTACH MODE IN MOBILE STATION}             

1 is a structural diagram of a GPRS system;

2 is a process flow diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

The present invention relates to a general packet radio service (GPRS) network, and in particular, sets a GPRS attach mode that defines when a mobile station (MS) attaches to a GPRS network. It is about how to.

 GPRS was originally designed for Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), but has also been adopted in Interim Standard (IS) -136. GPRS is a new bearer service for GSM, which simplifies and improves the performance of wireless access to packet data networks.

In order to use the GPRS service, the mobile terminal must perform a GPRS attach procedure, which is a task of registering itself with a GPRS network. GPRS attach refers to a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) through an attach request message, which provides information about the location, identity, security of the registered network and some characteristics it can provide. ), SGSN refers to a series of processes to accept the attachment attempt of the mobile terminal through the authentication process to make the mobile terminal can receive GPRS service.

When the mobile terminal attempts to attach a GPRS, the attach type varies according to a network operation mode where the mobile terminal is located. There are three attach types of the mobile terminal, namely, "GPRS attach", "GPRS". attach while IMSI attached "," Combined GPRS / IMSI attach " "Combined GPRS / IMSI attach" is an attach type used when the GPRS network to which the mobile terminal attempts to attach a GPRS is network operation mode 1, and may include a location update procedure in one attach procedure. Network operation mode 1 refers to a GPRS network in which an interface Gs between SGSN that manages GPRS service and mobile switching center (MSC) / Visitor Location Register (VLR) that manages existing GSM service exists. "GPRS attach" and "GPRS attach while IMSI attached" are referred to as normal GPRS attaches, and are attempted to attach to a GPRS service (GSM service only). Used by mode A or B of the mobile terminal operating in mode 2 or 3.

The operation mode A of the mobile terminal means a mobile terminal capable of using both GPRS and GSM services simultaneously. The operation mode B of the mobile terminal can simultaneously register with both the GPRS and GSM services, but only one of them can be serviced at a time. It means a mobile terminal, the operation mode C of the mobile terminal can be registered in both GPRS and GSM services, but at the same time refers to a mobile terminal that is not supported.

On the other hand, it is called GPRS attach mode that defines when the mobile terminal attaches to the GPRS network. Currently, network operators set their preferred GPRS attach mode and require the mobile terminal to perform a GPRS attach according to the determined GPRS attach mode. Examples of the GPRS attach mode include an automatic GPRS attach mode and a manual GPRS attach mode.

The automatic GPRS attach mode is a mode for defining a mobile terminal to always maintain a GPRS attach state by automatically performing a GPRS attach. The mobile terminal set to the automatic GPRS attach mode performs the GPRS attach and maintains the GPRS attach state since the power is initially turned on or when a new PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) is selected. In contrast, the manual GPRS attach mode specifies that when a user requests GPRS service, the GPRS attach starts and becomes a GPRS attach state, and when the GPRS service is terminated, the GPRS attach state becomes non-GPRS attached. Mode. The mobile terminal set to the manual GPRS attach mode normally maintains only the GSM service state and performs the GPRS attach only when the user requests a GPRS service such as a wireless application protocol (WAP) or a multimedia message system (MMS). After the service is terminated, GPRS detach is performed. In the manual GPRS attach mode, the intention of the network to allocate GPRS resources only when the user of the mobile terminal desires the GPRS service is strongly implied.

The GPRS attach mode as described above is designed by the home PLMN of its own or by the manufacturer's intention, and is set in the mobile terminal as the characteristics of the current mobile terminal. Accordingly, regardless of the PLMN to which the mobile terminal is registered, for example, even if the mobile terminal is in an international roaming state and is in another PLMN, the GPRS attach method is set according to the GPRS attach mode set in the mobile terminal. Done.

Accordingly, the mobile terminal set to the automatic GPRS attach mode always tries to be attached to the GPRS network even if the registered PLMN does not receive GPRS service regardless of which PLMN. The mobile terminal with the GPRS attachment attempts to maintain the GPRS attach state by performing a routing area update as long as the RA (routing area) is changed. In addition, each time the switch from dedicated mode to idle mode, the network must resume the GPRS suspended mobile terminal, which has failed or failed to resume GPRS. If the network is not supported, the mobile station updates the routing area and resumes GPRS service.

In a GPRS network, a RA is a sub-cell concept of a location area (LA). One LA includes one or more RAs, and is usually composed of a plurality of RAs. Accordingly, in the case of a GPRS network in which one LA is composed of N RAs and network operation mode 1, the mobile terminal in which the mobile terminal is set to the automatic GPRS attach mode in one LA where only one location update may be performed is N. If it moves through all the RAs, the RA routing area update is performed N times. This results in N location updates in one LA where location updates only need to be performed once. Even if the mobile terminal is set to automatic GPRS attach mode and is continuously GPRS attached, most of the time the RA routing area updates will result in a waste of resources, given that most of the time the user is not using the GPRS service at all. There is no choice but to. Especially when network resources are scarce, this waste of resources unnecessarily leads to a deterioration of service quality.

On the contrary, a network in network operation mode 1 has paging co-ordination, and CS (Circuit Switched) paging through a GPRS paging channel or a GPRS traffic channel. Can send until. However, the mobile terminal operating in the manual attach mode will not be able to utilize these network characteristics. Accordingly, although recently, GPRS Short Message Service Support (GSMS) has been activated, SMS (Short Message Service) can only be received through GSM paging, not through GPRS paging channel or GPRS traffic channel.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for allowing a network to perform a GPRS attach at a desired time.

In addition, the present invention provides a method that can be made in a time appropriate to meet the situation of the network considering the GPRS attach of the mobile terminal.

According to the present invention, the PLMN broadcasts GPRS attach mode information indicating a GPRS attach mode requested by the mobile terminal through a downlink carrier of a serving cell to which the mobile terminal belongs. . The mobile station receives the GPRS attach mode information broadcast from the PLMN selected by the mobile station through the downlink carrier of the serving cell and checks the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN from the received GPRS attach mode information. Set the attach mode to the identified GPRS attach mode.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the annexed drawings, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

1 is a structural diagram of a GPRS system to which the present invention is applied, and shows types of data transmitted between components by dividing a solid line and a dotted line. That is, user data and signaling data are transmitted between components connected by a solid line, and only signaling data is transmitted between components connected by a dotted line.

Referring to FIG. 1, a GPRS system useful for understanding the present invention will be described. The mobile station (MS) 100 is connected to the base transceiver station (BTS) 102 by a radio link (radio link) and the SGSN 106 through the BTS 102 and the base station controller (BSC) 104. ) The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 106 manages one service area, which in turn is composed of areas referred to as a location area (LA), which is divided into a plurality of routing areas (RAs). Usually one RA consists of multiple cells. One cell is distinguished as a radio area that can be managed by one BTS 102. The BTS 102 is controlled by a single BSC 104, and the BTS 102 and the BSC 104 are collectively referred to as a base station subsystem (BSS). The SGSN 106 is responsible for delivering packets sent by or directed to the mobile terminal 100 in its management area. The functions performed by SGSN 106 include packet routing and transfer, mobility management, logical link management, and authentication and charging. Mobility management includes attach, detach, and location management of the mobile terminal 100. The SGSN 106 is connected to an external Packet Data Network (PDN) 120 through a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 108, may be connected to another SGSN 110, or to another GPRS PLMN 122. It can also be connected to the GGSN (124).

The GGSN 108 is located between the GPRS backbone network and the PDN 120. Packets forwarded from the SGSN 106 are converted to the appropriate Packet Data Protocol (PDP) format via the GGSN 108 and sent to the other side via the PDN 120. Packets forwarded from the PDN 120 to the GGSN 108 undergo the reverse process. The main task in the GGSN 108 is the translation between the PDP address valid in the PDN 120 and the address of the mobile terminal 100 valid in the GSM network. The GGSN 108 needs to know the SGSN 106 currently managing the mobile terminal 100 in order to deliver the packet received from the PDN 120 to the mobile terminal 100. Accordingly, the database held by the GGSN 108 stores the current SGNS information of the user together with the user profile. Similar to SGSN 106, GGSN 108 also performs authentication and charging functions.

In general, a many-to-many relationship is established between SGSN and GGSN. One GGSN may be used as an interface point between multiple SGSNs and one PDN. In contrast, one SGSN may use multiple GGSNs to send packets to different PDNs.

In the MSC / Visitor Location Register (VLR) 112, the MSC is responsible for mobility management and voice call processing for a circuit mode service subscriber, and the VLR is provided to a mobile terminal in a region managed by the MSC. A database that temporarily stores all information about a computer. The MSC / VLR 112 may extend its functionality for effective cooperation between existing GSM circuit switched services and packet switched services using GPRS. For example, location information updates can be combined and processed, and the attach procedure can be integrated and operated in the same manner. Paging of GSM circuit switched services may also be handled through SGSN 106. The Gs interface connects the database between SGSN 106 and MSC / VLR 112 for this integration process.

The Gd interface is defined for exchanging Short Message Service (SMS) messages over GPRS, which is the Short Message Service-Gateway Mobile Switching Center (SMS-GMSC) Short Message Service-Interworking Mobile Switching Center (SMS-IWMSC). The SMS-GMSC and SGSN 106 of 118 are connected.

The Home Location Register (HLR) 114 stores a user profile, current SGSN address, PDP address, etc. for each GPRS user in the PLMN. The Gr interface between the SGSN 106 and the HLR 114 is used to exchange these information between the SGSN 106 and the HLR 114. For example, the SGSN informs the HLR of the current location of the mobile terminal. When the mobile terminal registers with the new SGSN, the HLR informs the SGSN of the information about the mobile terminal. The Gc interface, the signaling path between the GGSN 108 and the HLR 114, is used when the GGSN 108 wants to obtain the current location and profile information of the user. In addition, the EIR (Equipment Identity Register) 116 is used to check the usability of the mobile terminal 100 as a database in charge of managing the identity of the mobile terminal 100.

In the GPRS system as described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the SGSN 106 of the GPRS PLMN may serve information on the GPRS attach mode requested by the mobile terminal 100 to the mobile terminal 100 to which the mobile terminal 100 belongs. Broadcast through a downlink carrier of the cell (serving cell). In this case, as a downlink carrier channel for broadcasting GPRS attach mode information, for example, a broadcasting control channel (BCCH) may be used. The network operator may select the desired GPRS attach mode among the automatic GPRS attach mode or the manual GPRS attach mode as the GPRS attach mode, and select the desired GPRS attach mode to broadcast. Of course, depending on the network provider, the GPRS attach mode may be determined in consideration of the resources of the GPRS network. For example, in another type of GPRS attach mode, the GPRS attach performs a GPRS attach only when the mobile terminal 100 requests a user's GPRS service, and maintains the GPRS attach state even after the GPRS service is terminated. There may be a attach mode.

The mobile terminal 100 receives the GPRS attach mode information broadcast as described above from the PLMN selected by the user through the downlink carrier of the serving cell by a radio link connected with the BTS 102, and the PLMN selected by the mobile terminal 100 The GPRS attach mode is checked from the received GPRS attach mode information, and the own GPRS attach mode is set to the confirmed GPRS attach mode.

2 is a flowchart illustrating an example in which the mobile terminal 100 sets a GPRS attach mode according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a GPRS attach mode broadcast from a GPRS PLMN selected by the mobile terminal 100 is automatically selected. This is an example of either the GPRS attach mode or the manual GPRS attach mode.

An example of setting a GPRS attach mode according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The mobile terminal 100 typically selects an optimal PLMN at step 200 when it is powered on or moves and camps on an appropriate cell. In this state, the mobile terminal 100 decodes GPRS attach mode information broadcast from the PLMN as described above through the downlink carrier received from the camping-on cell, that is, the serving cell, in step 202.

Next, the mobile terminal 100 checks in step 204 the GPRS attach mode obtained for downlink carrier decoding of the serving cell, that is, the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN selected by the mobile station, in step 206. Check whether the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN is automatic GPRS attach mode or manual GPRS attach.

If the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN is the automatic GPRS attach mode, the mobile terminal 100 sets its GPRS attach mode to the automatic GPRS attach mode in step 208. Next, the mobile terminal 100 checks whether it is in the GPRS attach state at step 210. If it is not in the GPRS attach state, the mobile terminal 100 performs the GPRS attach in step 212 to the non-GPRS and GPRS attach state in step 214. Here, 'non GPRS and GPRS state' means 'non GPRS state' and 'GPRS attach state'. 'Non-GPRS state' is a non-GPRS service state according to the relevant technical specification, e.g. ESTI TS 124 008 V5.5.0 (2002-09), i.e. 3GPP TS 24.008 version 5.5.0 Release 5. That is, the circuit service state. In addition, the 'GPRS attach state' refers to the GPRS attach state GPRS. Therefore, 'non GPRS and GPRS attach status' means that both line service and GPRS service are available.
If it is determined in step 210 that the GPRS attach has already been performed, the mobile terminal 100 maintains the non-GPRS and GPRS attach states of step 214 by performing a routing area update or a cell update. When the mobile terminal 100 may be in the GPRS attach state when the mobile terminal 100 selects the PLMN, the mobile terminal 100 roams in the GPRS attach state.

Unlike the above, if the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN is the manual GPRS attach mode, the mobile terminal 100 sets its GPRS attach mode to the manual GPRS attach mode in step 216. When the manual GPRS attach mode is set as described above, the mobile terminal 100 is in a non-GPRS attach state (non-GPRS attached) in step 218. Herein, the non-GPRS attach state means a state in which the GPRS attach is not performed. Therefore, the service state is line service state. Accordingly, the mobile terminal 100 performs a GPRS attach only after the user requests the GPRS service, and the mobile terminal 100 performs a GPRS attach state after the GPRS service is terminated. Then, the user of the mobile terminal 100 performs a GPRS attach. The non-GPRS attach state is maintained until the GPRS service is requested again.

Therefore, the mobile terminal adaptively performs the GPRS attach according to the GPRS attach mode broadcast from the network registered by the mobile terminal, so that the GPRS attach of the mobile terminal is made at the appropriate time determined by the network operator to fit the situation of the network considering the resource. You can do it.

Meanwhile, in the above description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. In particular, although FIG. 2 illustrates examples of the automatic GPRS attach mode and the manual GPRS attach mode as the GPRS attach mode, as described above, other types of GPRS attach modes are determined in consideration of the resources of the GPRS network according to the network operator. It may be done. As another example of the GPRS attach mode, as described above, the mobile terminal 100 performs the GPRS attach only when the user requests the GPRS service, and then, maintains the GPRS attach state even after the GPRS service is terminated. There may be a GPRS attach mode. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the described embodiments, but should be defined by the equivalent of claims and claims.

 As described above, according to the present invention, the PLMN broadcasts the GPRS attach mode required by the mobile station, and the mobile terminal adaptively performs the GPRS attach according to the GPRS attach mode broadcast from the PLMN registered by the mobile terminal. There is an advantage that the attach can be made at the appropriate time determined by the network operator to fit the situation of the network considering the resources.

Claims (6)

In the method for setting the GPRS attach mode that specifies when to attach to the mobile packet General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, The mobile terminal receives GPRS attach mode information broadcast on a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) selected by the mobile terminal from a base transceiver station (BTS) of the PLMN through a broadcast channel of a serving cell and requests the GPRS attach requested by the PLMN. Checking a mode from the received GPRS attach mode information; And setting, by the mobile terminal, its GPRS attach mode to the identified GPRS attach mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN, A first GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to always maintain a GPRS attach state by automatically performing a GPRS attach; The mobile terminal is set to any one of the second GPRS attach mode that specifies that the GPRS attach state only when the user's GPRS service request, and after the GPRS service is terminated non-GPRS attach state. GPRS attach mode setting method. The method of claim 1, wherein the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN, A first GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to always maintain a GPRS attach state by automatically performing a GPRS attach; A second GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to be in the GPRS attach state only when there is a GPRS service request from a user, and then in a non-GPRS attach state when the GPRS service is terminated; The mobile terminal enters the GPRS attach state only when there is a GPRS service request from the user, and then determines any one of the third GPRS attach modes to maintain the GPRS attach state even after the GPRS service is terminated. GPRS attach mode setting method characterized by the load. In the method for setting the GPRS attach mode that specifies when to attach to the mobile packet General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, A public land mobile network (PLMN) selected by the mobile terminal to broadcast GPRS attach mode information indicating a GPRS attach mode requested by the mobile terminal through a broadcast channel of a serving cell to which the mobile terminal belongs; The mobile terminal receives the GPRS attach mode information broadcast from the PLMN from a base transceiver station (BTS) of the PLMN through a broadcast channel of the serving cell, and receives the GPRS attach mode requested by the PLMN. Checking from the attachment mode information, Setting, by the mobile terminal, its GPRS attach mode to the identified GPRS attach mode; And the GPRS attach mode is determined by a network operator of the PLMN. The method of claim 4, wherein the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN, A first GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to always maintain a GPRS attach state by automatically performing a GPRS attach; The mobile terminal is set to any one of the second GPRS attach mode that specifies that the GPRS attach state only when the user's GPRS service request, and after the GPRS service is terminated non-GPRS attach state. GPRS attach mode setting method. The method of claim 4, wherein the GPRS attach mode required by the PLMN, A first GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to always maintain a GPRS attach state by automatically performing a GPRS attach; A second GPRS attach mode for defining the mobile terminal to be in the GPRS attach state only when there is a GPRS service request from a user, and then in a non-GPRS attach state when the GPRS service is terminated; The mobile terminal enters the GPRS attach state only when there is a GPRS service request from the user, and then determines any one of the third GPRS attach modes to maintain the GPRS attach state even after the GPRS service is terminated. GPRS attach mode setting method characterized by the load.

Images