UA86200C2 - Method and apparatus for fast link setup in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a communication system provide for fast link setup for a mobile station by transmitting a request message, transmitting an assignment message from the base station to the mobile station, and transmitting a notification message from the base station to a base station controller. The mobile station transmits an indication message to the base station controller indicating a successful completion of acquiring the data packet channel. The base station controller processes the indication message for message integrity and security feature. A portion of the available communication resources at the base station is allocated for an immediate response to the request message for acquiring a data packet channel.

Description

interchangeable without deviating from various aspects of the invention. The base station/node B 101 may include a number of components such as a base transceiver system and an antenna system. For simplicity, such components are not shown.

The base station/node B 101 may be in communication with another base station/node B, for example, with the base station/node B 160, using the base station controller system (B5C) 199.

The base station controller 199 may be referred to as a radio network controller (RNC) in various standards.

The base station/radio network controller 199 can control various aspects of the operation of the communication system 100 and regarding the backhaul communication between the network 105 and the base station/node B 101 and 160. The base station/node B 101 communicates communicating with each mobile station within its coverage area by means of a direct link signal transmitted from the base station/node B 101. The direct link signals destined for the mobile station/user equipment 102-104 may be summed up to form the signal 106 of the direct line of communication. Each of the mobile stations/user equipment 102-104 receiving the direct link signal 106 decodes the direct link signal 106 to extract the information assigned to it. The base station/node B 160 may also communicate with mobile stations within its coverage area using a direct link signal transmitted from the base station/node B 160. Mobile station/user equipment 102-104 communicate with the base station/node B 101 and 160 by means of the corresponding reverse lines of communication. Each reverse link is supported by a reverse link signal, such as reverse link signals 107-109 for mobile stations 102-104, respectively. The reverse link signals 107-109, which although may be intended for one base station/node B, may also be received by another base station/node B. Various aspects of the invention involve establishing a link between a mobile station/user equipment and base station/node B in a rapid manner, while maintaining the integrity and compliance with the secrecy features of the communication system 100.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram 200 of several typical link establishment messages that are transmitted between a mobile station/user equipment and a base station/node B, as well as a base station controller/radio network controller. In general, establishing a communication line involves at least three separate operations. The first operation is the assignment of channel resources, such as the assignment of Walsh code, data rate, Layer 2 communication configurations, etc. The power level is typically regulated and assigned by the base station/node B directly via closed-loop power control. The second operation is the authentication of the request message (message integrity check function) in order to access the system to use communication services. The third operation is designed to provide a sign of secrecy on the communication line. These three operations take time in the order of 100-14 Ohms. As such, establishing a communication link with a base station/node

It may take some time. The mobile station/user equipment may send a request to the base station/node B in order to initiate the establishment of a link. Such a request message may be sent based on a previously received paging message (not shown) from the base station/node B. The base station/node B transmits the request message to the base station controller/radio network controller. One or more message exchanges may take place between the base station controller/radio network controller and the base station/node B to complete the process of determining all the configuration parameters necessary to establish a link. The base station controller/radio network controller generates a configuration message. The base station/node B sends a configuration message to the mobile station/user equipment. After the mobile station/user equipment receives the configuration message, the mobile station/user equipment starts the Packet Data Channel Acquisition (POD) process and generates and sends the final configuration message after the packet data channel acquisition process is successfully completed. Meanwhile, the base station controller/radio network controller starts a timer. The base station controller/radio network controller typically waits to receive the final configuration message within the time interval measured by the timer. After receiving the final configuration message, the base station controller/radio network controller checks the integrity of the message and stops the timer. If the integrity of the message is violated, the message is rejected (ignored). If the timer expires, the base station controller/radio network controller sends a message (not shown) to the base station/node B to complete the link establishment with the mobile station user equipment. In response, the base station/node B stops transmitting to the user's mobile station and stops receiving data packets on the reverse link channel. As a result, the mobile station/user equipment cannot use the received channel to transmit data packets.

As shown in Figure 3, a message block diagram 300 provides a flow of messages transmitted between a mobile station/user equipment, a base station/node B, and a base station controller/radio network controller in accordance with various aspects of the invention, which provides the ability to separate different operations by establishing a communication line to establish a communication line quickly.

According to various aspects of the invention, the channel resource assignment operation, the authentication of the request message, and the provision of confidentiality features are shared between more than one entity in the communication system. In one typical embodiment, channel resource assignment is performed by the base station/node B, while the authentication of the request message using the message integrity function and the provision of confidentiality features are performed by the base station controller/radio network controller. Separate operations can be performed simultaneously or during overlapping time periods or at different times. According to message flow 300, the mobile station/user equipment sends a request message to the base station/node B. The base station/node B, in case of urgency, sends an assignment message to the mobile station/user equipment, informing it of the assigned resources to receive the channel for transmitting data packets . At the same time or shortly thereafter, the base station/node B sends a notification message to the base station controller/radio network controller that the mobile station/user equipment is in the process of establishing a link by receiving a packet data channel.

As soon as the base station controller/radio network controller receives the notification message, the base station controller/radio network controller starts a timer. The timer counts the amount of time that has elapsed from when the notification message is received to when an indication message is received from the mobile station/user equipment that it has successfully received the packet data channel. Once the indication message is received, the base station controller/radio network controller checks the integrity and may perform the operation associated with the secrecy feature. If the indication message is not received from the mobile station/user equipment before the time specified by the timer expires, there is no need to perform the integrity check and the secrecy feature check operation.

In addition, if the integrity of the message is violated, the message is discarded (ignored), and if the time determined by the timer expires, the base station controller/radio network controller forwards the message to the base station/node B to release the radio link resources , intended for the mobile station/user equipment. In such a case, the mobile station/user equipment cannot continue communicating with the base station/node B.

According to various aspects of the invention, the mobile station/user equipment can establish a communication link using a very fast channel reception for the transmission of data packets, while allowing the base station controller/radio network controller to complete the process to verify the integrity of the mobile station/user equipment and provide an indication secrecy for communication. In addition, if the communication resources are insufficient at the time of the request from the mobile station/user equipment and the mobile station/user equipment cannot obtain a channel to transmit data packets, the unavailability of resources may become apparent to the mobile station/user equipment in a more timely manner. than if all operations had to be performed before attempting to acquire a channel for transmitting data packets. In such a case, the mobile station/user equipment may repeat the sending of the request message until the maximum number of such messages is sent, or until the destination message is received before the maximum number of transmissions is exhausted. The processes for checking the integrity and the secrecy feature are performed after receiving a message that the mobile station/user equipment has received a channel for the transmission of data packets.

Base stations 101 and 160 can simultaneously transmit with their common mobile station and user equipment. For example, the mobile station/user equipment 102 may be in close proximity to the base station/node B 101 and 160, which may communicate with the base station/node B both 101 and 160. In a direct line of communication, the base station /node B 101 transmits the signal 106 of the direct line of communication, and the base station/node B 160 - the signal 161 of the direct line of communication. On the reverse link, the mobile station/user equipment 102 transmits a reverse link signal 107, which must be received by both base station/node B 101 and base station/node B 160. To transmit a data packet to the mobile station/equipment of the user 102, one of the base station/node B 101 and 160 may be selected to transmit the data packet to the mobile station/user equipment 102. On the reverse link, both the base station/node B 101 and the base station/node B 160 may attempt to decode transmitting traffic data from the mobile station/user equipment 102. The data rate and the power level of the reverse and forward links can be maintained according to the channel conditions between the base station and the mobile station. Therefore, such a case requires the base station controller/radio network controller 199 to manage the communication resources of both the base station/node B 101 and the base station/node B 160. Accordingly, to support the level of communication resource management that provided by the base station/node B 101 and 160, the base station controller/radio network controller 199 allocates a portion of the resources available at each base station/node B for autonomous control by the base station/node B. Such portion of the resources may be designated as resources quick installation. Therefore, when the base station/node B receives a request message from the mobile station/user equipment to establish a communication line, the base station/node B assigns resources to the mobile station/user equipment from the fast establishment resources. Periodically, the base station controller/radio network controller 199 adjusts the level of fast setup resources at each base station/node B to balance the available resources across the base stations/nodes B in the communication system 100.

As a rule, message integrity is required for data exchange between the mobile station/user equipment and the base station/node B. One or more of the messages transmitted between the mobile station/user equipment and the base station/node B are composed without ensuring message integrity protection, in which while the mobile station/user equipment receives the data channel. The indication message transmitted from the mobile station/user equipment is processed according to the message integrity indicator of the communication system. Therefore, the mobile station/user equipment may be required to generate and process the indication message in accordance with the message integrity verification process. The message integrity verification process is known and described in more detail in the ZORR standard, summarized in document T5 33.102, section 6.5, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Secrecy requires that the user data of the mobile station/user equipment is protected. Such protection is provided by means of a confidentiality feature. Typically, the mobile station/user equipment and the base station controller/radio network controller process the information according to the data encryption process to ensure confidentiality protection. The process associated with the secrecy feature is known and described in more detail in the ZORR standard, which is summarized in document T5 33.102, section 6.6, which is incorporated herein by reference. A privacy token may or may not be established between the mobile station/user equipment and the multi-device controller/radio network controller when the indication message is directed from the mobile station/user equipment to the mobile station controller/radio network controller. Typically, a mobile station/user equipment can have many different modes of operation. The mobile station/user equipment can switch from communication on a common channel to communication on a dedicated channel, or can add communication on a dedicated channel to communication already carried out on a common channel. Therefore, multiple transmissions can take place between the mobile station/user equipment and the base station controller/radio network controller.

If the secrecy token was disabled at the time the indication message was sent in the message flow, then the mobile station/user equipment may use an encryption process to provide the secrecy token to the indication message. Therefore, in accordance with various aspects of the invention, the mobile station/user equipment may switch from common channel communication to dedicated channel communication, or may add dedicated channel communication to communication already carried out by to the common channel in a very fast manner, while ensuring message integrity and secrecy.

The handover process is a well-known process and is used in the communication system. Handover processes are necessary because the mobile station/user equipment can move from one coverage area to another while maintaining communication through telephone calls. There are several types of handover process. A soft handover process is a process by which a mobile station/user equipment is able to continue receiving transmissions in a generally continuous manner when downlink transmissions are switched from one base station/node B to another. A softer (smooth) handover process is one in which the mobile station/user equipment is able to continue receiving transmissions in a generally continuous fashion while downlink transmissions are switched from one sector of the base station/node B to another sector of the same base station/node B. The base station/node B generally manages the availability of resources in all sectors of this base station/node B. Therefore, the mobile station/user equipment may include information about the channel conditions with different sectors of the base station/ node B in the request message to receive a channel for transmitting data packets. The base station/node B accordingly assigns from the fast establishment resources those that establish a channel for the transmission of data packets from the most suitable sector. After the mobile station/user equipment has gone through the process of successfully verifying the integrity of the message in response to sending an indication message to the base station controller/radio network controller, the base station controller/radio network controller may determine that the received channel may be the most suitable for transmitting data packets to be handled by another base station/node B different from the original base station/node B used to establish the packet data channel. In this case, the mobile station/user equipment is directed to use the new base station/node

In for communication on the channel for the transmission of data packets. A base station controller/radio network controller can initiate a handover process from one base station/node B to another.

The resources used to establish the packet data channel at the new base station/node B need not be from the total fast setup resources available at the new base station/node B.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware or software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, or steps have been described above primarily in terms of their functionality. Whether these functionalities are implemented in the form of hardware or software, it depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Those skilled in the art may implement the necessary functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as deviating from the scope of legal protection of this invention.

The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments described herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a specialized integrated circuit (SIC), a programmable gate array (ESA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate logic circuit or transistor logic circuit, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a digital signal processor core, or in any other such configuration.

The steps of the method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by the processor, or in a combination thereof. A software module can reside in random access memory (ARAM), flash memory, non-volatile memory (LPM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electronically programmable read-only memory (EPROM ), registers, hard disk, removable disk, SO-COM or any other form of information carrier known from the state of the art. A characteristic storage medium is connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the data carrier can be combined with the processor. The processor and the information carrier can be mixed in a specialized integrated circuit. A specialized integrated circuit can be placed on the user terminal.

Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may be located as discrete components on the user terminal.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without the use of inventive step. Thus, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments presented herein, but should be accorded the broadest scope of legal protection consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. yo

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