TW201412153A - Mobile communication devices and methods for switching data traffic - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile communication device is provided with a first wireless module, a second wireless module, and a controller module. The first wireless module performs wireless transmissions and receptions to and from a telecommunication network using a cellular technology. The second wireless module performs wireless transmissions and receptions using a Short Range Wireless (SRW) technology. The controller module is configured to perform operations for communication controls, and the operations include detecting a connection loss to an Access Point (AP) via the second wireless module after data traffic which is to be directed to and from the mobile communication device has been offloaded from the telecommunication network to the AP, prioritizing a connection establishment procedure for reconnecting to the telecommunication network in response to the connection loss, and transceiving the data traffic directly to and from the telecommunication network after successfully reconnecting to the telecommunication network.

Description

Mobile communication device and method for switching data flow

The present invention relates generally to techniques for providing communication services across heterogeneous networks, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for switching data traffic that will be offloaded from a telecommunications network to use Short Range Wireless (SRW) technology. The data flow of the access point is switched back to the telecommunication network.

In recent years, due to the significant increase in demand for ubiquitous computing and networking, various wireless technologies have emerged, such as short-range wireless technology and telecommunications technology (or cellular technology). Among them, short-range wireless technologies include Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) technology, Bluetooth technology, and Zigbee technology. Telecommunications technology includes Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, and Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) technology. Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA-2000) technology, time-sharing synchronous code division multiplexing access (Time) Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) technology, global interoperability microwave access (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and Time-Division LTE (TD-LTE) technology. For the convenience and flexibility of users, most mobile stations (MS) (or User Equipment (UE)) have two or more wireless communication modules. To support different wireless technologies. However, each wireless technology has its own characteristics, such as: bandwidth, coverage, and service rate. In particular, the bandwidth and coverage that each wireless network can provide to the mobile station must be regarded as the mobile station. In terms of location and current time.

For example, a mobile station has both a wideband code division multiplex access module and a wireless fidelity module, so that it can selectively use wideband code division multiplexing access technology or wireless fidelity technology to obtain wireless services. In general, wireless services obtained using broadband code division multiplexing access technology have a relatively limited bandwidth, but have better mobility; in contrast, wireless services using wireless fidelity technology have higher Sufficient bandwidth, but its mobility is poor. Therefore, when the wireless service obtained by the mobile station connected to the telecommunication network generates a large amount of data traffic, the best case is that the data traffic can be offloaded from the telecommunication network to the access point of the wireless fidelity technology, that is, The mobile station hands over from the telecommunications network to the access point of the wireless fidelity technology. However, after the handover, the connection between the mobile station and the access point of the wireless fidelity technology may be disconnected, or even near the access point of any available wireless fidelity technology available for connection. This will cause a serious interruption in the ongoing wireless service.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention proposes a handover data flow. The apparatus and method are capable of switching data traffic that is offloaded from the telecommunications network to an access point using short-range wireless technology back to the telecommunications network as quickly as possible to avoid interruption of the ongoing wireless service.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a mobile communication device, including a first wireless module, a second wireless module, and a controller module. The first wireless module is configured to perform wireless transmission and reception with a telecommunications network using a cellular wireless technology. The second wireless module is configured to perform wireless transmission and reception using a short-range wireless technology. The controller module is configured to control the operation of the communication, comprising: detecting, after the data traffic for the mobile communication device is offloaded from the telecommunication network to an access point, by using the second wireless module A disconnection occurs in one of the access points, and the connection establishment procedure is re-connected to the telecommunications network in response to the disconnection of the connection, and after successfully reconnecting to the telecommunications network, directly The telecommunications network transmits and receives data traffic for the mobile communication device.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for switching data traffic, which is suitable for switching data traffic for a mobile communication device between a telecommunication network and an access point using a short-range wireless technology, including the following steps: Discharging data traffic of the mobile communication device to the access point by the telecommunication network; after the data traffic for the mobile communication device is unloaded, the mobile communication device detects that one of the access points is connected A disconnection occurs; the above mobile communication device prioritizes a connection establishment procedure to reconnect to the telecommunication network in response to the disconnection of the connection; and after successfully reconnecting to the telecommunication network, directly in the above action The communication device transmits and receives data traffic to the mobile communication device between the communication device and the telecommunication network.

With regard to other additional features and advantages of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make a little bit of the mobile communication device disclosed in the method of the present invention and the method of switching data traffic without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Changed and retouched.

100‧‧‧Wireless communication environment

110‧‧‧Mobile communication device

120‧‧‧Telecom network

121‧‧‧Access network

122‧‧‧core network

130, 140‧‧‧ access points

10, 20‧‧‧ Wireless Module

30‧‧‧Controller Module

S310~S340, S401~S421‧‧‧ steps

1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication environment according to an embodiment of the invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication device 110 according to an embodiment of the invention.

3 is a flow chart of a method for switching data traffic for a mobile communication device between a telecommunications network and an access point using short-range wireless technology, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B are flowcharts of a method for switching data traffic for a mobile communication device 110 between a telecommunications network 120 and an access point 140, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention is described in the following paragraphs, and is intended to be illustrative of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the following embodiments may be via software, hardware, firmware, or any of the above. Combined to achieve.

1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication environment according to an embodiment of the invention. The wireless communication environment 100 includes a mobile communication device 110, a telecommunications network 120, and access points 130, 140. Mobile communication device 110 can be wisdom A mobile phone, lithographic computer, notebook computer, or any electronic computing device, as long as it supports the short-range wireless technology used by access points 130, 140 and the cellular wireless technology used by telecommunications network 120. The mobile communication device 110 can be selectively coupled to one or both of the telecommunications network 120, and the access point 130 or 140 to obtain wireless service. The telecommunication network 120 can be a global mobile communication system, a universal packet wireless service system, a broadband code division multiplexing access system, a code division multiplexing access-2000 system, a time division synchronous code division multiplexing access system, and a global interworking microwave. Access systems, long-term evolution systems, or time-sharing long-term evolution systems, etc., depending on the cellular technology used. The telecommunications network 120 includes an access network 121 and a core network 122, wherein the access network 121 is controlled by the core network 122 to provide wireless transmission and reception. For example, the telecommunication network 120 can be a wideband code division multiplexing access system, and the access network 121 can be a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The core network 122 can be The universal packet wireless service core includes: a Home Location Register (HLR), at least one Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), and at least one gateway universal packet wireless service support. Gateway (Gateway GPRS Support Node, GGSN). Alternatively, the telecommunications network 120 may be a Long Term Evolution/Long Term Evolution enhanced system, and the access network 121 may be an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), and the core network 122 may be an evolved packet. Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which includes: Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), and Package Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW/P-GW).

The access points 130, 140 can each establish a short-range wireless network as an alternative to providing wireless services to the mobile communication device 110. For example, the access points 130, 140 may be deployed by an operator of the telecommunications network 120 or in a cooperative mode with the telecommunications network 120. The access points 130, 140 can be connected to the wired area network via an Ethernet cable and are typically used to receive, temporarily store, and transmit data traffic to the mobile communication device 110. The access points 130, 140 can be directly connected to the core network 122 or indirectly connected to the core network 122 via the Internet, as shown in FIG. In general, if the short-range wireless technology used by the access points 130, 140 is wireless fidelity technology, it has an average of 20 meters (in the presence of obstacles, such as walls, stairwells, elevators, etc.) to Coverage of 100 meters (in open spaces). In addition to the wireless fidelity technology, the access points 130, 140 may also use other short-range wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth technology, group bee technology, etc., and the present invention is not limited thereto.

2 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communication device 110 according to an embodiment of the invention. The mobile communication device 110 includes wireless modules 10, 20 and a controller module 30. The wireless module 10 is for providing wireless transmission and reception functions with the telecommunication network 120, and the wireless module 20 is for providing wireless transmission and reception functions with the access point 130 or 140. The controller module 30 is used to control the operation of the wireless modules 10, 20 and control other functional components (not shown), for example, as a display unit of a Man-Machine Interface (MMI) and/or Buttons, storage units for storing application or protocol code, and global positioning system for location information (Global Positioning System, GPS) unit, etc. In particular, the controller module 30 is further configured to control the wireless modules 10, 20 to perform the method of switching data traffic according to the present invention.

Further, the wireless modules 10 and 20 may be a radio frequency (RF) unit, and the controller module 30 may be a general-purpose processor or a micro-control unit (MCU). The baseband unit may include a plurality of hardware devices to perform baseband signal processing, including analog to digital conversion (ADC)/digital to analog conversion (DAC), gain adjustment, modulation And demodulation, and encoding/decoding, and the like. The radio unit can receive the radio frequency wireless signal, convert the radio frequency wireless signal into a baseband signal for further processing by the baseband unit, or receive the baseband signal from the baseband unit, and convert the baseband signal into a radio frequency wireless signal for transmission. . The radio frequency unit may further include a plurality of hardware devices to perform the above radio frequency conversion. For example, the radio frequency unit may include a mixer to multiply the baseband signal by one of the radio frequency carriers of the wireless communication system, wherein The radio frequency can be 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, or 5 GHz for wireless fidelity technology, or 900 MHz, 1900 MHz, or 2100 MHz for wideband code division multiplex access technology. Or 900 MHz, 2100 MHz, or 2.6 GHz used by Long Term Evolution or Long Term Evolution, or depending on the wireless technology used.

3 is a flow chart of a method for switching data traffic for a mobile communication device between a telecommunications network and an access point using short-range wireless technology, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method for switching data traffic according to the present invention can be implemented in a communication protocol used between a mobile communication device and a telecommunication network. A medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a non-access stratum (NAS), or an application layer. In this embodiment, the mobile communication device initially obtains wireless service from the telecommunications network. First, the telecommunications network offloads the data traffic for the mobile communication device to the access point (step S310), that is, the mobile communication device is handed over from the telecommunications network to the access point. Then, after the data traffic for the mobile communication device is unloaded, the mobile communication device detects that the connection with the access point is broken (step S320). In order to break the connection in response to the connection, the mobile communication device preferentially processes the connection establishment procedure to reconnect to the telecommunication network (step S330). In an embodiment for step S330, the mobile communication device may set a reason field in the connection request message of the radio resource control to a specific value to indicate a high priority, where the reason field may be a connection request of the radio resource control. Existing fields in the message (for example: "establishmentCause" field), or a new field created separately. In another embodiment for step S330, the mobile communication device can set a low back-off value for the random access program corresponding to the connection establishment program, or perform a previous transmission setting in the random access program. High initial power or power increment step. After successfully reconnecting to the telecommunications network, the mobile communication device and the telecommunications network can directly transmit and receive data traffic for the mobile communication device therebetween (step S340). That is, the mobile communication device is switched back from the access point to the telecommunications network, and the telecommunications network cancels the action of offloading data traffic to the access point.

It should be noted that, by prioritizing the connection establishment procedure, the mobile communication device of the present invention can reconnect to the telecommunication network as soon as possible when the connection with the access point is disconnected, thereby avoiding the ongoing wireless service. An interruption occurred.

4A and 4B are flowcharts of a method for switching data traffic for a mobile communication device 110 between a telecommunications network 120 and an access point 140, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the short range wireless technology used by access points 130, 140 is a wireless fidelity technology. First, the telecommunications network 120 individually transmits an access point setting to the access points 130, 140, with a specific Service Set Identifier (SSID), Internet Protocol (IP) address, and channel identification. The access points 130 and 140 are measured by parameters such as a code and a work frequency (step S401). The mobile communication device 110 initially obtains wireless service from the telecommunications network 120, thereby receiving downlink data from the telecommunications network 120 and transmitting uplink data (steps S402-S403).

Later, when the telecommunication network 120 detects that the current serving cell of the mobile communication device 110 is overloaded, or the signal quality of the mobile communication device 110 is too bad (step S404), then the wireless fidelity report is set to the action. The communication device 110 initiates the search for the access point (step S405). Specifically, broadcast or dedicated instructions/messages can be used to communicate wireless fidelity return settings, and wireless fidelity return settings can be used to indicate access points that meet the reward criteria.

Next, the mobile communication device 110 turns on the function of its short-range wireless technology (in this embodiment, the function of the wireless fidelity technology), that is, turns on the wireless module 20 to perform according to the received wireless fidelity return setting. The search of the access point (step S406), and then, when the search ends, the search result is reported to the telecommunication network 120 (step S407). Based on the search results, the telecommunications network 120 selects the access point 140 from the plurality of searched access points (step S408), and transmits the wireless fidelity access settings of the access point 140 to the mobile communication device 110 (step S409). Wireless fidelity access settings can be used to indicate the selected access point and can be packaged A secure password and/or power saving parameters for the selected access point.

Subsequently, the mobile communication device 110 connects to the access point 140 according to the wireless fidelity access setting by transmitting the access request to the access point 140 and receiving the access permission from the access point 140 (steps S410 to S411). After successfully connecting to the access point 140, the mobile communication device 110 transmits a notification (labeled "Access Successful" in Figure 4A) to the telecommunications network 120 to inform the telecommunications network 120 that the mobile communication device 110 has succeeded. Connected to the access point 140 (step S412).

Thereafter, telecommunications network 120 begins to offload data traffic to mobile communication device 110 to access point 140. Specifically, the data traffic includes downlink data and uplink data, wherein the downlink data is first transmitted from the telecommunications network 120 to the access point 140 (step S413), and then forwarded by the access point 140 to the mobile communication device 110 (step S414). Similarly, the upstream data is first transmitted by the mobile communication device 110 to the access point 140 (step S415), and then forwarded by the access point 140 to the telecommunications network 120 (step S416).

Next, the mobile communication device 110 detects that the connection with the access point 140 is broken (step S417). In response to the disconnection of the connection, the mobile communication device 110 performs a random access procedure (step S418), and a connection establishment procedure (step S419) to reconnect to the telecommunications network 120, wherein the random access procedure and/or connection Line creation procedures can be prioritized. Specifically, a low backoff value may be set for the random access procedure, or a high initial power or a high power increment may be set for the previous transmission in the random access procedure to achieve priority for the random access procedure. Alternatively, the reason field in the connection request message of the RRC connection can be set to indicate a high priority to achieve priority connection establishment. The purpose of the program, where the reason field can be an existing field in the connection request message of the RRC (for example, the "establishment reason" field), or a new field created separately.

After the mobile communication device 110 successfully reconnects to the telecommunications network 120, the unloading action of the above data traffic is immediately cancelled. Therefore, the mobile communication device 110 directly receives the downlink data from the telecommunication network 120 (step S420), and directly transmits the uplink data to the telecommunication network 120 (step S421).

The present invention has been described above with reference to various embodiments, which are intended to be illustrative only and not to limit the scope of the invention, and those skilled in the art can make a few changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. With retouching. The above-described embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

It should be noted that the ordinal “first”, “second” and the like used in the scope of the patent application do not mean that there is any chronological order, difference in priority, or other relationship between the elements described. Order, but to distinguish between different components with the same name.

110‧‧‧Mobile communication device

10, 20‧‧‧ Wireless Module

30‧‧‧Controller Module

Claims (8)

A mobile communication device includes: a first wireless module for performing wireless transmission and reception with a telecommunications network using a cellular technology; and a second wireless module for using one Short Range Wireless (SRW) technology performs wireless transmission and reception; and a controller module for controlling communication operations, including: unloading data traffic from the telecommunications network for the mobile communication device ( Offloading to an access point, detecting that a disconnection occurs with one of the access points through the second wireless module, and preferentially processing a connection establishment procedure to reconnect due to the disconnection of the connection And to the telecommunication network, and after successfully reconnecting to the telecommunication network, directly transmitting and receiving data traffic to the telecommunication network to the telecommunication network. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the priority processing of the connection establishment procedure comprises: transmitting, by the first wireless module, one of the reasons indicating a high priority, radio resource control (Radio Resource Control) , RRC) connection request message to the above telecommunications network. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the priority processing of the connection establishment procedure comprises: setting a low backoff value for one of the random access programs corresponding to the connection establishment procedure; or storing the randomization in the foregoing The previous transmission in the program is set to a high initial power or a power increment step. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the communication is based on a media access control (MAC) in a communication protocol between the mobile communication device and the telecommunication network. a layer, a radio resource control layer, a non-access stratum (NAS), or an application layer. A method for switching data traffic, which is suitable for switching a data traffic for a mobile communication device between a telecommunication network and an access point using a short-range wireless technology, including: the above telecommunication network will be directed to the mobile communication device The data traffic is offloaded to the access point; after the data traffic for the mobile communication device is unloaded, the mobile communication device detects that the connection with one of the access points is disconnected; The device preferentially processes a connection establishment procedure to reconnect to the telecommunication network in response to the disconnection of the connection; and directly after the successful reconnection to the telecommunication network, directly on the mobile communication device and the telecommunication network Transmitting and receiving data traffic for the above mobile communication device. The method for switching data traffic according to claim 5, wherein the priority processing of the connection establishment procedure comprises: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) with one of the reasons indicating a high priority Line request message to the above telecommunications network. For example, the method for switching data traffic as described in claim 5 of the patent scope, The priority processing of the connection establishment procedure includes: setting a low backoff value for one of the random access programs corresponding to the connection establishment procedure; or setting a high initial power or transmitting in the random access procedure. A power increment step. The method for switching data traffic according to claim 5, which is implemented in a communication protocol used between the mobile communication device and the telecommunication network, and a media access control (MAC). Layer, a radio resource control layer, a non-access stratum (NAS), or an application layer.