KR20100007138A - Method and apparatus for providing a service at a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A service providing method and an apparatus thereof in a multiple RAT terminal are provided to improve the satisfaction of a service by confirming offer not right of the requested service. CONSTITUTION: A first communications unit(210) transmits and receives first communications signals among multiple RATs with one RAT(Radio Access Technology) from a first communications network. A second communications unit(220) transmits and receives second communications signals among the multiple RAT with RAT of the other one from the second communications network. In case the connected network is not the network offering the requested service, the controller performs the network change over through the second communications unit.

Description

Method and Apparatus for providing a service in a terminal for multiple radio access technologies

The present invention relates to a multiple radio access technology, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing a service of a specific network in a terminal supporting the multiple radio access technology.

Radio Access Technology (RAT) is a technology that supports more than one RAT, and is a second generation mobile communication system mainly used in Europe, for example, a GSM (Global System for Mobile Telecommunication) system and a third generation mobile communication system. This technology supports RATs that can be connected to a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) system.

The GSM system is a system for providing voice call services mainly as a second generation mobile communication system, and the UMTS system, a mobile communication system developed from the GSM system, is a system capable of providing high quality voice and multimedia services. The GSM system may be linked with GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) to support packet based services.

For example, a network supporting a second generation system (second generation network), for example, a network supporting a GSM system (hereinafter referred to as a GSM network) and a network supporting a third generation system (a third generation network) In a region where a network supporting the UMTS system (hereinafter, referred to as a 'UMTS network') is mixed, a terminal supporting multiple wireless access technologies measures signals received from a GSM network and a UMTS network for a communication service, and thus provides a good channel environment. You can choose which network. In particular, in case of a terminal set to 'Auto' mode or 'Dual' mode to automatically select a network, signals received from a GSM network and a UMTS network are measured to provide a better channel environment among the two networks. A network is selected to perform network registration processes and access to the selected network.

However, when the terminal in the automatic selection mode measures the received signals in the region where the second and third generation networks are mixed and selects a network of a good channel environment, the service requested by the user of the terminal is selected in the selected network. It may be a service that is not supported. In other words, when the second generation network is selected and connected because the channel environment of the second generation network is good, the service desired by the user may be a service supported only by the third generation network. In this case, when the third generation network is accessed, the service requested by the user, that is, a service supported only by the third generation network, may be provided to the user. Inform the impossible. Therefore, although the user is in an environment in which a service can be provided, a problem arises that the requested service is not provided when requested.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing a service in a multiple radio access technology terminal.

According to one aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a service in a terminal supporting multiple radio access technology (RAT) of the present invention is to check the currently connected network when a service execution provided by a specific network is requested. And performing network switching by a corresponding RAT among the multiple RATs to perform network access to the specific network when the connected network is not the network providing the requested service. If the conversion is successful, the process includes executing the requested service. The network switching process may further include switching to a RAT mode corresponding to the specific network, and registering to the specific network if the switch to the RAT mode corresponding to the specific network is successful.

According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for providing a service in a terminal supporting multiple radio access technology (RAT) of the present invention is a first communication signal from the first communication network by the RAT of one of the multiple RATs And a second communication unit for transmitting and receiving the first communication signals and second communication signals different from the second communication network by another one of the multiple RATs, and an input unit for receiving a service request from a user. And, if the service execution provided by the second communication network is requested through the input unit while connecting with the first communication network, check the currently connected network, and if the connected network is not the network providing the requested service. A control unit for performing network switching through the second communication unit and executing the requested service if the network switching is successful; If a failure to the network switch to the network, a display for displaying the requested service can not be executed to the user. The second communication unit performs synchronization with the second communication network for network switching, and transmits and receives signals for registration in the second communication network when synchronized with the second communication network.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that those skilled in the art may better understand it from the following detailed description of the invention. In addition to these features and advantages, further features and advantages of the present invention which form the subject of the claims of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the invention.

The present invention can improve the user's service satisfaction by notifying the user of the inability to provide the requested service only when the specific network registration is impossible when the service provided in the specific network is requested. In the multi-access technology terminal, if a service provided in a specific network is requested regardless of the network selection by the network selection condition, the probability that the requested service can be provided can be increased by first attempting access to the specific network.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by like reference numerals as much as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may blur the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

According to the present invention, when a service provided by a specific network is requested by a user of a multi-mode terminal capable of supporting heterogeneous networks in a region where heterogeneous networks are mixed, such as a second generation network and a third generation communication network, the present invention accesses a different network from the specific network. If so, try to switch to that particular network. This process will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, for convenience of description in the present invention, a second generation communication network will be described using a GSM network (including a GPRS network for packet service) and a third generation communication network using a UMTS network as an example. In addition, the service provided only in a specific network will be described using a video call service that can be provided only in a third generation or more communication network as an example. Note, however, that the present invention is not limited to, for example, GSM / GPRS networks, UMTS networks, or video calling services.

1 illustrates an example of a heterogeneous network system in a region where a second generation network and a third generation network are mixed.

Referring to FIG. 1, a GSM network, which is a second generation communication network, includes a user equipment (UE) 100, a base transceiver system (BTS) 120, and a base station controller (BSC) 130. It includes. The base station 120 is connected to the mobile terminal 100 through a wireless link to communicate with the mobile terminal 100. The base station controller 130 manages a plurality of base stations 120 and is responsible for radio channel setting, frequency hopping, handover, and the like. Meanwhile, the UMTS network includes a mobile terminal 100, a base station (NodeB) 160, and a base station controller (RNC) 170. As in the GSM network, the base station 160 is connected to the mobile terminal 100 through a wireless link to communicate with the mobile terminal 100. Base station controller 170 manages a plurality of base stations 160. Base station controllers 130 and 170 are connected to a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 140 or a Gateway (GW) 180, respectively. The mobile switching center 140 is connected to a circuit network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 150 and the gateway 180 is an Internet / Packet Switching Data (PDSN). serving node) 150 may be connected to a packet switched network. In this case, when the mobile terminal 100 is connected to the mobile switching center 140 under the control of the base station controller 130, a voice service is provided to the mobile terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 100 is connected to the gateway 180. If so, the mobile terminal 100 is provided with a packet data service.

In other words, when the mobile terminal 100 supporting the dual mode is set to the auto mode or the dual mode, the mobile terminal 100 uses the GSM network or the UMTS by using the signals received from each base station. It measures network reception sensitivity and quality information and decides connection to network having optimal channel environment. At this time, the process of selecting an optimal channel environment, ie, an optimal cell, through the received signal follows the standard protocol (3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) Technology Specification (TS) 25.04). The multi-RAT terminal, for example, the dual mode terminal, can be set by the user. Here, the mode may be 'auto selection mode', 'GSM mode', or 'UMTS mode', and accesses the communication network of the corresponding RAT according to the set mode. If the mode is set to 'auto selection mode', the dual mode terminal enters the optimal cell determined by the cell selection process and accesses the cell through the RAT of the selected cell. Even after being connected to the serving cell which is the connected cell, the dual mode terminal determines the optimal cell while measuring the level of the downlink signal received from the serving cell and the level of the downlink signals received from neighbor cells. Then, it is determined whether to move to the determined cell. In this case, the neighbor cells may be cells belonging to different RATs. The dual mode terminal receives the corresponding service by accessing the corresponding GSM network or UMTS network according to the determined cell. If the mode is set to 'GSM mode', the dual mode terminal accesses only the GSM network, and if the mode is set to 'UMTS mode', the dual mode terminal accesses only the UMTS network and receives the corresponding service.

When the optimal cell is determined in the 'auto selection mode' and the communication network corresponding to the determined optimal cell is the GSM network, the mobile terminal 100 accesses the base station 120 of the GSM network and provides the requested service through the GSM network. Receive. In addition, if the communication network corresponding to the determined optimal cell is a UMTS network, the mobile terminal 100 accesses the base station 160 of the UMTS network and receives the requested service through the UMTS network.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Although the present invention applies to all multi-RAT terminals supporting at least two radio access technologies (hereinafter referred to as 'RAT'), for convenience of description, FIG. 2 shows an example of the dual mode terminal 100. . However, the present invention is not limited to the dual mode terminal as shown in FIG. 2 but may be applied to a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies.

Referring to FIG. 2, the dual mode terminal 100 may include a first communication unit 210, a second communication unit 220, a control unit 230, a storage unit 240, a display unit 250, and an input unit 260. Can be.

The first communication unit 210 is a module that transmits and receives signals for first communication by connecting to one communication network among supportable communication networks. For example, the first communication unit 210 may be a GSM communication module using a second generation communication method. The first communication unit 210 may include a radio frequency (RF) module. The RF module may include an RF transmitter for upconverting and amplifying a frequency of a signal to be transmitted and an RF receiver for low noise amplifying and downconverting a received signal. The second communication unit 220 is a module that transmits and receives signals for second communication by connecting to one of the supportable communication networks, and may be, for example, a UMTS communication module using a third generation communication method. The second communication unit 220 may also be provided with an RF module like the first communication unit 210.

The controller 230 controls the overall operation of the terminal 100. The controller 230 of the present invention may include a network determiner 232 and a network switcher 234. The network determiner 232 may be configured to access a network to which the terminal 100 connects in an area where two or more networks are mixed. Decide At this time, the network to be accessed is determined to perform the cell selection process according to the standard protocol to access the communication network corresponding to the optimal cell among the mixed networks. In the present invention, examples of mixed heterogeneous networks include a second generation communication network and a third generation communication network, and the second generation communication network is a GSM network, and the third generation communication network is a UMTS network. When the communication network corresponding to the optimal cell determined by the cell determination unit 232 through the cell selection process is the second generation communication network, the first communication unit 210 is controlled to access the second generation communication network. In this case, the connection to the second generation communication network is in a state in which the mobile terminal 100 is waiting for a service request from a user or the like in synchronization with the base station 120 through signals received from the base station 120 of FIG. 1. it means. When connected to the second generation communication network, but not provided by the second generation communication network connected from the user of the terminal 100, but if a service provided from the third generation communication network is requested network switching unit 234 attempts to connect to the third generation communication network In order to switch from the current 2nd generation communication mode to the 3rd generation communication mode and attempt to access the switched network. The switching from the second generation communication mode to the third generation communication mode may be performed by transmitting and receiving the first communication signals, that is, the GSM signals, through the first communication unit 210 and the second communication signal through the second communication unit 220. It means to switch to send and receive them. In the present invention, for convenience of description, the signal transmission and reception through the first communication unit 210 and the signal transmission and reception through the second communication unit 220 are described as being controlled by one controller, that is, the control unit 230, but the first communication is described. The control unit for controlling the first communication unit 210 for and the control unit for controlling the second communication unit 220 for the second communication may be provided separately. At this time, the control unit for controlling the first communication unit 210 or the control unit for controlling the first communication unit 220 may be a main control unit for controlling the overall operation of the communication and the terminal, the remaining control unit controls only the corresponding communication. It may be a sub control unit. In addition, the controller 230 may include a baseband module. The baseband module converts a signal to be transmitted through channel coding and interleaving and modulates the signal to be provided to the RF module, and demodulates, equalizes, and channels the signal provided from the RF module. Channel decoding and deinterleaving may be performed. Here, the baseband module is described as being provided in the control unit 230, but the baseband module may be provided in the control unit 230, the first communication unit 210 and the second communication unit 220, respectively, or the control unit 230, the first It may be provided separately from the communication unit 210 and the second communication unit 220.

The storage unit 240 may store user data and application programs, and may store data for first or second communication. The display unit 250 may display user data output from the controller 230 and, in particular, may indicate that the requested service cannot be provided when the service requested by the user cannot be provided. The display unit 250 may use a liquid crystal display (LCD). In this case, the display unit 250 may include an LCD controller, a memory capable of storing display data, and an LCD display device. Herein, when the LCD is implemented using a touch screen method, the LCD may operate as an input unit for receiving an input from a user. The input unit 260 may generate an input signal according to a user's action, and may include at least one of a keypad and a touch pad. For this purpose, the input unit 260 may be configured together with the display unit 250. It is configured in the form of a touch panel (or touch screen) to simultaneously perform input and display functions.

In the above, the configuration necessary for the present invention for switching the RAT in accordance with the service requested in the multi-RAT terminal has been outlined. However, the present invention is not limited to the components illustrated in FIG. 2, but other configurations may be added to perform a function supported by the terminal.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing network switching for executing a requested service in a multi-RAT terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in step 305, the controller 230 of FIG. 2, in particular, the network determiner 232, connects to a second generation communication network for first communication. In this case, the second generation communication network is a network in which the second generation communication network providing the first communication provides an optimal channel environment by a network selection or reselection process through signals received in a cell in which the terminal 100 is currently located. The controller 230 checks whether an execution request for a service provided only in a specific network is received from a user in step 310. In FIG. 3, a video telephone call (hereinafter, referred to as a 'VT call') service that can be provided only in a specific network can be provided as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the VT call service but may be applied to all services provided in a specific network. If the VT call service request is received, the controller 230 proceeds to step 315 and otherwise waits in the state of being connected to the network. In step 315, the controller 230 checks whether the network to which the terminal 100 is currently connected is a second generation communication network or a third generation communication network.

In step 320, the controller 230 checks whether the network to which the terminal 100 is currently connected is a network capable of supporting a VT call service. In other words, since the VT call service can be supported by a 3rd generation or more communication network, the controller 230 checks whether the currently connected network is a 3rd generation communication network. In FIG. 3, it is assumed that a communication network corresponding to a cell determined as an optimal cell through a cell selection process is a GSM network. Therefore, the connected network in step 305 is a GSM network. In addition, when connected to the GSM network, when the optimal cell is selected through the above-described cell selection / reselection process, the mode is set to 'GSM mode' in the terminal or when the network is connected to the second generation communication network design. There may be. If the connected network is a third generation communication network, the controller 230 proceeds to step 345, and if the connected network is not a third generation communication network, that is, a second generation communication network, the controller 230 proceeds to step 325. In step 325, the control unit 230, in particular, the network switching unit 234 attempts to switch the mode from the currently connected second generation communication network to the third generation communication network. Herein, mode switching means that the network switching unit 234 transmits and receives the first communication signal by controlling the first communication unit 210 and then switches to transmit and receive the second communication signal by controlling the second communication unit 220. When the mode switch is attempted to the 3rd generation communication network, the network switching unit 234 receives the 3rd generation communication signal as the second communication signal through the second communication unit 220 and synchronizes with the base station 160 of the 3rd generation communication network. Do this. The network switcher 234 checks whether the mode switch is successful in step 330. Herein, if the mode switch is successful, the terminal 100 is in a state of being synchronized with the base station 160 of the third generation communication network. If the mode is unsuccessful, the terminal 100 is in a state of failing to be synchronized with the base station 160. If the mode switch is successful, the controller 230, in particular the network switcher 234, attempts to register the network for the third generation communication network, such as the authentication process for the subscriber of the terminal 100 in step 335.

If the mode switch fails, the control unit 230, in particular the network switch unit 234 proceeds to step 350 to inform the user of the requested VT call service unavailable. In this case, various methods such as displaying on the display unit 250, outputting an audio signal through a speaker (not shown), or vibration may be used as a method of notifying the user of the service unavailable. In step 340, the controller 230 determines whether the registration for the 3G communication network is successful, and if the registration is successful, in step 345, the controller 230 performs a VT call service requested by the user. If registration for the third generation communication network fails, the controller 230 notifies the user of the VT call service unavailable in step 350. Although not shown in FIG. 3, when the requested VT call service is terminated, the controller 230 may switch the mode back to the second generation communication network, which is the communication network connected before the mode change to the third generation communication network, in step 325.

By doing so, the present invention can improve the service satisfaction of the user by informing the user that the requested service cannot be provided only when the specific network registration is impossible when the service provided in the specific network is requested. That is, even if the specific network registration is possible in the heterogeneous network mixed area, if the specific network is not registered in the specific network under various conditions, the specific network is attempted to switch to the specific network before the service is not informed as in the prior art. The user is notified of the service only when the connection is unavailable. Therefore, it is possible to increase the probability that the service requested from the user is provided, thereby improving user satisfaction.

On the other hand, the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the specification and drawings are merely presented specific examples to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and help the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be carried out in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

1 is an exemplary diagram of a heterogeneous network system in a region where a second generation network and a third generation network are mixed;

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing network switching for executing a requested service in a multi-RAT terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (20)

In the method for providing a service in a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies (RAT), When the service execution provided by the specific network is requested, the process of checking the currently connected network, If the connected network is not the network providing the requested service, performing network switching by a corresponding RAT among the multiple RATs to perform network access to the specific network; And if the network switch is successful, executing the requested service. The method of claim 1, wherein the network conversion process comprises: Switching to the RAT mode corresponding to the specific network; And if the switch to the RAT mode corresponding to the specific network is successful, registering the specific network. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of switching to the RAT mode comprises: And synchronizing with the specific network using the RAT corresponding to the specific network. The method of claim 1, And informing the user of the inability to execute the requested service when the network access fails. The method of claim 2, And informing the user of the inability to execute the requested service if the switch to the RAT mode corresponding to the specific network fails. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provided in the specific network is a service provided in a third generation communication network or higher. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific network is a third generation communication network. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the specific network is a UMTS network. The method of claim 6, wherein the service provided in the specific network is a video call service. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple RATs, Service providing method characterized in that the GSM and UMTS. An apparatus for providing a service in a terminal supporting multiple radio access technologies (RAT), A first communication unit configured to transmit and receive first communication signals from a first communication network by one of the multiple RATs; A second communication unit configured to transmit and receive second communication signals different from the first communication signals from a second communication network by another one of the multiple RATs; An input unit for receiving a service request from a user; If a service execution provided by the second communication network is requested through the input unit during connection with the first communication network, the network connected to the first communication network is checked, and if the connected network is not the network providing the requested service, And a controller for performing network switching through a second communication unit and executing the requested service when the network switching is successful. The method of claim 11, wherein the second communication unit, And synchronizing with the second communication network for network switching, and transmitting and receiving signals for registration in the second communication network when synchronized with the second communication network. The method of claim 11, wherein the control unit, And notifying the user of the inability to execute the requested service when the network switch to the second communication network fails. The method of claim 12, wherein the control unit, And notifying the user of the inability to execute the requested service when synchronization with the second communication network fails. The method of claim 11, And a display unit for indicating to the user that the requested service cannot be executed if the network switch to the second communication network fails. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the service provided in the second communication network is a service provided in a third generation communication network or more. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second communication network is a third generation communication network. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the specific network is a UMTS network. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the service is a video call service. The method of claim 11, wherein the multiple RATs, Service providing device characterized in that the GSM and UMTS.

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