WO2015161519A1

WO2015161519A1 - Network switching method, device and system

Info

Publication number: WO2015161519A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/076299
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王艺; 黄磊; 林英沛
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2014-04-25
Filing date: 2014-04-25
Publication date: 2015-10-29
Also published as: CN106233788A

Abstract

Disclosed are a network switching method, device and system, which relate to the field of communications, and can realize the switching between a WLAN and a cellular network at an access network side, simplify the switching process and increase the switching efficiency. The method comprises: receiving, by a base station, measurement data reported by a user equipment; performing switching judgement according to the measurement data; sending switching indication information to the user equipment when the judgement result is that switching is required, so that the user equipment associates with a target wireless access point according to the switching indication information; and forwarding to the target wireless access point cache data needing to be transmitted to the user equipment through a data channel between a newly established base station and the target wireless access point. The present invention is applied to network switching.

Description

Network switching method, device and system

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a network switching method, apparatus, and system.

Background technique

Nowadays, in order to alleviate the network congestion caused by the rapid growth of data traffic with the rapid development of the mobile Internet, operators provide a wireless access technology WLAN (Wireless Local Access Network) with high link data rate and low equipment investment cost. Wireless LAN). At the same time, in order to guarantee the user's service experience in the case of poor service quality of the wide-area cellular network, a heterogeneous network is formed in which the wide-area cellular network is the primary and the WLAN is used as the local hotspot coverage. WLAN as a hotspot coverage is widely used in wide-area cellular networks, which not only provides high-speed access for low-speed mobile users in hotspots, but also makes use of wide-area cellular networks in high-speed mobile scenarios. The coverage provides services for users, which complements the advantages of wide-area cellular networks and WLANs, and effectively utilizes wireless resources.

However, the inventors have found that the switching between the existing WLAN and the cellular network usually occurs on the core network side, but because the wireless access point of the WLAN and the access device (for example, the base station) of the cellular network pass through the respective gateway and the Internet. Therefore, when the UE switches between the cellular network and the WLAN, it is required to notify the cellular network or the gateway corresponding to the WLAN, thereby involving interaction between the core networks, making the handover process complicated and the switching time is too long. For example, in the case of LTE, the MME is generally responsible for location management in the LTE. When the UE switches out the tracking area managed by the MME, the MME will complete the location management of the UE after the handover by tracking the area update procedure. Correspondingly, in the WLAN, the route registration of the UE is generally regarded as user location management, that is, the UE registers on the wireless access point of the WLAN to perform location management on the UE. In addition, since the WLAN and the LTE access network are not related to each other, when the UE switches from LTE to the WLAN, it needs to associate with the wireless access point of the WLAN to complete the registration of the routing information. After this switching, the UE is finished. It is completely out of the management of the MME, so that the LTE system will not be able to know the current location of the UE. When the subsequent UE is switched from the WLAN to the LTE, the routing information page registered by the UE on the wireless access point of the WLAN cannot be transmitted to the MME of the LTE, so that the UE needs to be re-registered in the MME, so that the location management of the LTE can be implemented, thereby adding The large delay of switching also makes the switching process too complicated. Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a network switching method, apparatus, and system, which can implement switching between a WLAN and a cellular network on an access network side, simplify a handover process, and increase handover efficiency.

To achieve the above, the embodiment of the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: In a first aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive measurement data reported by the user equipment;

a decision module, configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data received by the receiving module;

a first sending module, configured to send, to the user equipment, handover indication information, when the decision result of the decision module is that a handover is required, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information;

And a second sending module, configured to forward, by the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point, the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point.

In a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal. The dry-to-noise ratio indicates the SINR value. The handover indication information includes: frequency point information of the target wireless access point, a BS SID number, and authentication information required by the user equipment to access the target wireless access point.

With reference to the first aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first sending module includes:

a first sending unit, configured to determine, in the decision module, that the switch needs to be switched Transmitting, to the target wireless access point, handover request information, so that the target wireless access point determines, according to the handover request information, whether to allow handover access;

And a second sending unit, configured to allow handover access at the target wireless access point, and send handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

In conjunction with the second possible implementation of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation of the first aspect:

The sending, by the first sending unit, the handover request information to the target wireless access point includes: forwarding the handover request information to a traffic distribution control entity, so that the traffic distribution control entity forwards the handover request information to the target Wireless access point.

With reference to the first aspect, or any one of the first to the third possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in the fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining module is specifically configured to:

Determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, determining that switching is required; or determining, according to the location information of the user equipment Whether the user equipment is indoors; when it is determined that the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that a handover is required;

Or determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determining whether the user equipment is indoor according to the location information of the user equipment; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the pre- If the value is set and the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that the handover is required.

In a second aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

The reporting module is configured to report the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover indication information to the user equipment when the handover is needed;

An association module, configured to associate, according to the handover indication information, a target wireless access point, to enable the base station to reach the target wireless access point by using a newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point Forwarding cached data to be delivered to the user device. In a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the user equipment further includes:

a measuring unit, configured to perform a measuring operation according to the measurement control information, to obtain measurement data;

The measurement control information is pre-configured or delivered to the user equipment by the base station; wherein the measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: The carrier frequency, the BS SID number, the signal quality, and the transmission delay of the wireless access point that the user equipment can access, and the location information and the moving speed of the user equipment are measured; the reporting manner includes: periodically reporting or triggering Reported.

In a third aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a first sending module, configured to send, to the user equipment and a wireless access point associated with the user equipment, handover notification information when the decision result of the decision module is that a handover is required;

An interrupting module, configured to: after receiving the response information of the user equipment, release a data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment interrupts the user equipment and the wireless connection The connection between the in points.

In a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal. The dry noise ratio indicates the SINR value.

In combination with the third aspect or the first possible implementation of the third aspect, in a second possible implementation of the third party:

And sending, by the first sending module, the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment, specifically: forwarding the handover notification information to the traffic distribution control entity, so that the traffic distribution control entity Transmitting the notification information to the wireless access point; transmitting handover notification information to the user equipment. With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to the third possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the determining module is specifically configured to:

Determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, determining that a handover is required;

Or determining, according to the location information of the user equipment, whether the user equipment is indoors; determining that the user equipment is outside, determining that a handover is required;

Or determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determining whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset width If the value is, and the user equipment is outside, it is determined that a handover is required.

In a fourth aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

The reporting module is configured to report measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data received by the receiving module, and when the handover is needed, the user equipment and the wireless access associated with the user equipment Sending a handover notification message to the base station, where the sending module is configured to send a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases a data channel between the base station and the wireless access point;

And an interruption module, configured to interrupt a connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

In a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the user equipment further includes:

The measurement control information is pre-configured or delivered to the user equipment by the base station; wherein the measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: a carrier frequency, measuring a BS SID number, a signal quality, and a transmission delay of the wireless access point accessible by the user equipment, and measuring location information and a moving speed of the user equipment; the reporting manner includes: periodically Report or trigger escalation.

A fifth aspect provides a network switching method, including:

Receiving, by the base station, measurement data reported by the user equipment;

Performing a handover decision according to the measurement data;

When the result of the decision is that the handover is required, the handover indication information is sent to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information;

And buffering data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point by using a newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point.

In a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal. The dry-to-noise ratio indicates the SINR value. The handover indication information includes: frequency point information, a BS SID number, a SINR value, and an authentication information required by the user equipment to access the target wireless access point.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, when the determination result is that the handover is required, the handover indication information is sent to the user equipment. For the user equipment to associate to the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, specifically:

If the result of the decision is that the handover is required, the handover request information is sent to the target wireless access point, so that the target wireless access determines whether the handover is allowed according to the handover request information.

When the target wireless access point allows handover access, the handover indication information is sent to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

With reference to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, or the second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, The information that the access point sends the handover request includes:

And forwarding the handover request information to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover request information to the target wireless access point. With reference to the fifth aspect, or any one of the first to the third possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the performing, according to the measurement data, The handover decision specifically includes:

In a sixth aspect, a network switching method is provided, including:

The user equipment reports measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends handover indication information to the user equipment when handover is required;

Correlating the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station forwards the target wireless access point to the target wireless access point through the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point The cached data of the user equipment.

In a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, before the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, the method further includes:

Performing a measurement operation according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data;

A seventh aspect provides a network switching method, including:

Receiving, by the base station, measurement data reported by the user equipment; Performing a handover decision according to the measurement data;

Transmitting the notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the result of the decision is that the handover is required;

After receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, releasing the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point.

In a first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal. The dry noise ratio indicates the SINR value.

With reference to the seventh aspect, or the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the user equipment and a wireless access point associated with the user equipment The sending switching notification information specifically includes:

Forwarding the handover notification information to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover notification information to the wireless access point;

Sending handover notification information to the user equipment.

With reference to the seventh aspect, the first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, or the second implementation manner of the seventh aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the performing, according to the measurement data The handover decision specifically includes:

In an eighth aspect, a network switching method is provided, including:

The user equipment reports measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when handover is required; Sending a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases a data channel between the base station and the wireless access point;

Interrupting the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

In a first possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect, before the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, the method further includes:

A ninth aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a communication unit, configured to communicate with an external device;

a receiver, configured to receive, by using the communication unit, measurement data reported by the user equipment;

a processor, configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data;

a transmitter, configured to send, by the communication unit, handover indication information to the user equipment, when the result of the determination is that the handover is required, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information;

The transmitter is further configured to forward, by the communication unit and the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point, a buffer that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point. data.

In a tenth aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

a communication unit, configured to communicate with an external device;

a transmitter, configured to report measurement data to the base station by using the communication unit, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends handover indication information to the user equipment when handover is required;

a processor, configured to associate a target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, to And causing the base station to forward, to the target wireless access point, cache data to be transmitted to the user equipment by using a newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point.

In an eleventh aspect, a base station is provided, including:

a communication unit, configured to communicate with an external device;

a transmitter, configured to send, by the communication unit, handover notification information to the user equipment and a wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the result of the decision is that handover is required;

The processor is further configured to: after the receiver receives the response information sent by the user equipment by using the communication unit, release a data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user The device interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

According to a twelfth aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

a communication unit, configured to communicate with an external device;

a transmitter, configured to report measurement data to the base station by using the communication unit, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and when the handover is needed, to the user equipment and the wireless connection associated with the user equipment The in-point transmitting handover notification information; the transmitter is further configured to send a response message to the base station by using the communication unit, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the base station and the wireless connection Data channel between in points;

The processor is further configured to interrupt a connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

According to a thirteenth aspect, a network switching system is provided, where the network switching system includes a user equipment and a base station, where:

a user equipment, configured to report measurement data to the base station; and the base station is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment, where the decision result is that the handover is required, The user equipment sends the handover indication information, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information; and the base station is further configured to use the newly established data between the base station and the target wireless access point. Transmitting, by the channel, the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point;

Or the user equipment is configured to report the measurement data to the base station, and the base station is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment, and when the determination result is that the handover is required, the user equipment and the wireless device associated with the user equipment are used. The access point sends the handover notification information; the base station is further configured to: after receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, release a data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment is interrupted a connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

The network switching method, device and system provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the base station performs handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment, and if the decision result is that handover is required, and the user equipment needs to switch from the cellular network to the WLAN network, the base station And transmitting, by the user equipment, the handover indication information, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and uses the data channel to target the wireless device. The access point forwards the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment; and when the decision result is that the handover is required, and the user equipment needs to switch from the WLAN network to the cellular network, the base station sends the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment. Sending the handover notification information, so that after receiving the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, and after receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point. , so that the user device interrupts the user device with none The connection between the access points. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only Is some embodiments of the invention, for Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention; An example flow diagram of a network switching method;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a process of another network switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of still another network switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a process of another network switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another base station according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a system of a network switching system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive scope are the scope of the present invention. The embodiment provided by the present invention is applied to a scenario in which a network switch is performed between a cellular network and a WLAN (Wireless Local Access Network), wherein the cellular network may be 2G/3G (second generation mobile communication system/ The third generation mobile communication system) network may also be a 4G (fourth generation mobile communication system) network or other network with similar handover scenarios. Specifically, the network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN in the prior art usually occurs on the core network side, and the wireless access point of the WLAN and the access device (for example, the base station) of the cellular network are through respective gateways. The Internet is connected. Therefore, when the UE switches between the cellular network and the WLAN, the time taken by the UE is relatively long, and even a certain packet loss situation occurs. Based on the foregoing description, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and system for implementing network switching between a cellular network and a WLAN on an access network side.

As shown in FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station. Specifically, the embodiment is mainly directed to a network handover procedure for a user equipment to switch from a cellular network to a WLAN, where the base station 1 includes: a receiving module 1 1 The module 12, the first sending module 13 and the second sending module 14, wherein:

The receiving module 1 1 is configured to receive measurement data reported by the user equipment.

The foregoing measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a basic service set ID (B SSID) number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal dry noise. Specifically, the moving speed information of the user equipment may be directly the speed level information, where the user equipment is divided according to the physical speed of the user equipment (for example, 4). The levels are: stationary, slow, fast, high speed).

The determining module 12 is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data received by the receiving module 11;

The first sending module 13 is configured to send the handover indication information to the user equipment when the decision result of the decision module 12 is that the handover is required, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information. The foregoing handover indication information includes: The frequency information of the target wireless access point, the B SSID number, and the user equipment access target wireless access point The required authentication information.

The second sending module 14 is configured to forward the buffer data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the first sending module 13 specifically includes: a first sending unit 13 1 and a second sending unit 132, where:

The first sending unit 13 1 is configured to send the handover request information to the target wireless access point when the decision result of the decision module 12 is that the handover is required, so that the target wireless access point determines whether to allow the handover access according to the handover request information.

The second sending unit 132 is configured to allow handover access at the target wireless access point, and send handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

Optionally, the sending, by the first sending unit, the handover request information to the target wireless access point, the method includes: forwarding the handover request information to the traffic distribution control entity, so that the traffic distribution control entity forwards the handover request information to the target wireless access point.

Optionally, the decision module 12 is specifically configured to:

Determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to a preset threshold, determining that the switching is required;

Or determining, according to the location information of the user equipment, whether the user equipment is indoors; when determining that the user equipment is indoors, determining that the handover is required;

Or determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determining whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to a preset threshold, and the user equipment is indoors, Then it is determined that a switch is required.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment. If the decision result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is in accordance with the handover indication information. After being associated with the target wireless access point, the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel. In this way, a fast network cut between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side. The change not only simplifies the switching process, but also increases the switching efficiency. At the same time, it can realize more flexible and fast and seamless switching, thereby improving the user experience.

The module division of the base station in the embodiment of the present invention is an exemplary description. In practice, there may be multiple module division methods to constitute the base station of the embodiment of the present invention.

Corresponding to the base station provided in the embodiment of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a user equipment. As shown in FIG. 3, the user equipment 2 includes: a reporting module 21 and an association module 22, where:

The reporting module 21 is configured to report measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover indication information to the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The association module 22 is configured to associate the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station forwards the cached data that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point. .

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the user equipment 2 further includes: a measuring unit 23, wherein: the measuring unit 23 is configured to perform a measurement operation according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

The measurement control information is pre-configured or sent to the user equipment by using the base station; where the measurement control information includes the measurement object and the reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring the carrier frequency, and measuring the user equipment. The BS SID number, the signal quality, and the transmission delay of the accessing wireless access point, and the location information and the moving speed of the user equipment are measured. The reporting manner includes: periodic reporting or triggered reporting. Periodically, after the user equipment obtains the above measurement control information, it reports the measurement data to the base station on the specified resource according to a certain time interval. Trigger reporting, after the user equipment obtains the above measurement control information, when a certain trigger condition is met (for example, the SINR value received from the wireless access point exceeds the SINR value received from the base station by 3 dB), the user equipment is specified. The resource is reported to the base station for measurement data.

Specifically, when the user equipment performs measurement on the user equipment according to the measurement control information, the specific measurement operation includes at least one of the following: the user equipment scans a beacon of the wireless access point of all WLANs in the vicinity of the user equipment, and Calculating a received signal to interference and noise ratio indication (SINR) of the scanned wireless access point; the user equipment passes the user equipment The positioning module or the positioning software installed in the user equipment acquires current location information; the user equipment acquires the current user's moving speed through the speed measuring module of the user equipment or the speed measuring software installed in the user equipment. For example, when the user equipment scans the beacons at all frequency points of the WLAN in the vicinity of the user equipment, the user equipment may perform periodic scanning, or may actively detect, that is, send to all frequency points of all WLANs in the vicinity of the user equipment. The probe request information is acquired to obtain the AC/AP information. The probe request information may be sent to the frequency point specified by the base station according to the B SSID information specified by the base station included in the measurement control information, to obtain the AC/AP information. The beacon on the frequency point specified by the base station may also be directly scanned according to the BS SID information specified by the base station included in the measurement control information.

Specifically, the user equipment can quickly obtain the location information of the user equipment by using one or more of the following positioning sub-modules, where the positioning sub-module includes: a Global Positioning System (GPS) positioning sub-module (positioning by GPS) ), base station positioning sub-module (positioning by wireless signal from the base station), A-GPS positioning sub-module (acquiring GPS through base station wireless signal acceleration), indoor WLAN positioning sub-module (WLAN access point location and wireless signal via WLAN) Achieve positioning).

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station can perform the handover decision according to the measurement data. If the determination result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that After the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the buffer to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel. data. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The module division of the user equipment in the embodiment of the present invention is an exemplary description. In practice, there may be a plurality of module division methods to constitute the user equipment in the embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a base station. Specifically, the embodiment is mainly used for As shown in FIG. 4, the base station 3 includes: a receiving module 31, a decision module 32, a first sending module 33, and an interrupt module 34, where:

The receiving module 3 1 is configured to receive measurement data reported by the user equipment.

The foregoing measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an SINR value of the access signal to interference and noise ratio indication; the handover indication information includes: The frequency point information of the access point and the BS SID number. Specifically, the moving speed information of the user equipment may be directly the speed level information, where the user equipment is divided according to the physical speed of the user equipment (for example, four levels are: static, slow, fast, high speed).

The decision module 32 is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data received by the receiving module 31.

The first sending module 33 is configured to send the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the decision result of the decision module 32 is that the handover is required. The foregoing switching notification information is used to notify the user equipment and the wireless access point base station associated with the user equipment to disconnect the user equipment from the wireless access point.

The interrupt module 34 is configured to release the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point after receiving the response information of the user equipment, so that the user equipment interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

Optionally, the first sending module 33 sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment, where the information about the handover notification information is forwarded to the traffic distribution control entity, so that the traffic distribution control entity forwards the handover notification information to Wireless access point; sends handover notification information to the user equipment.

Optionally, the determining module 32 is specifically configured to: determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determine that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determine that the switching is required; or, according to the location information of the user equipment Determining whether the user equipment is indoors; determining whether the user equipment is indoors; determining whether the user equipment is moving in the room; and determining whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; User equipment moves faster than If the preset threshold is exceeded and the user equipment is outside, it is determined that it needs to be switched.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment. If the decision result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment, to After receiving the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, and after receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment interrupts the The connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

Corresponding to the base station provided in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 4, an embodiment of the present invention provides a user equipment. As shown in FIG. 5, the user equipment 4 includes: a reporting module 41, a sending module 42 and an interrupting module 43, where:

The reporting module 41 is configured to report measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data received by the receiving module, and sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The sending module 42 is configured to send a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point.

The interrupt module 43 is configured to interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6, the user equipment 4 further includes: a measuring unit 44, where:

The measuring unit 44 is configured to perform a measurement operation according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

The measurement control information is pre-configured or sent to the user equipment by using the base station; where the measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring a carrier frequency, and measuring the user Measuring the BS SID number, signal quality, and transmission delay of the wireless access point to which the device can access, measuring the user equipment Location information, moving speed; reporting methods include: periodic reporting or triggered reporting. Periodically, after the user equipment obtains the foregoing measurement control information, the measurement data is reported to the base station on the specified resource according to a certain time interval. Trigger reporting, after the user equipment obtains the above measurement control information, when a certain trigger condition is met (for example, the SINR value received from the wireless access point exceeds the SINR value received from the base station by 3 dB), the user equipment is specified. The resource is reported to the base station for measurement data.

Specifically, the user equipment can quickly obtain location information of the user equipment by using one or more of the following positioning submodules, where the positioning submodule includes: a GPS positioning submodule, a base station positioning submodule, an A-GPS positioning submodule, and an indoor WLAN. Position the submodule.

At the same time, the specific measurement operation when the measurement unit in the embodiment performs measurement on the user equipment is the same as the measurement unit of the user equipment in the corresponding embodiment in FIG. 3, and therefore, the working mechanism involved in the measurement unit, related For technical terms, concepts, and the like, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and details are not described herein again.

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed. After receiving the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, thereby facilitating the user equipment to interrupt the user equipment and the wireless connection. The connection between the in points. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is realized on the access network side, which not only simplifies the switching process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and at the same time enables a more flexible and fast seamless switching, thereby improving the user experience.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a network switching method. As shown in FIG. 6, the embodiment is mainly directed to a method for switching from a cellular network to a WLAN network, which may be implemented by a base station. Specifically, the network switching method specifically includes The following steps:

501. The base station receives measurement data reported by the user equipment.

Wherein, the foregoing measurement data includes but is not limited to: location information of the user equipment and The moving speed information, the BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and the access signal dry to noise ratio indicate a SINR value. Specifically, the moving speed information of the user equipment may be directly the speed level information, where the user equipment is divided according to the physical speed of the user equipment (for example, four levels are: static, slow, fast, high speed).

502. The base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data.

Optionally, step 502 specifically includes:

502a, the base station determines whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, determining that the switching is required; or determining whether the user equipment is indoor according to the location information of the user equipment When it is determined that the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that the switching is required; or, determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determining whether the user equipment is indoor according to the location information of the user equipment; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than Or equal to the preset threshold, and the user equipment is indoors, then it is determined that it needs to be switched.

For example, when the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement information reported by the user equipment, it may first determine whether the user moving speed is greater than a preset preset threshold, for example, the preset threshold threshold is set to 10 kilometers. The hourly, if the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the base station determines that the user equipment preferentially communicates through the WLAN network. Specifically, if the user equipment is previously communicating through the cellular network, the cellular is triggered. The network to WLAN network handover process, if the user equipment is previously communicating through the WLAN network, the WLAN network communication is maintained, and no handover procedure is triggered. If the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, the base station determines, according to the physical location of the user equipment, whether the user equipment is located indoors or outdoors, if the user equipment is determined to be located indoors, and the user equipment If the communication is through the cellular network, the handover process of the cellular network to the WLAN network is triggered. If the user equipment is previously communicated through the WLAN network, the communication of the WLAN network is maintained, and no handover procedure is triggered. If the user equipment is determined to be located outdoors, and the user equipment is previously communicated through the WLAN network, triggering a handover procedure of the WLAN network to the cellular network; if the user equipment is previously communicating for the cellular network, maintaining the cellular network communication, Does not trigger any switching process. It should be noted that, the base station determines whether the user equipment is indoors or outdoors, and can query the operator's location database to determine that the user equipment is located according to the location information reported by the user equipment and the wireless access point information of the WLAN that can be accessed by the neighboring device. Indoor or outdoor. In addition, other methods for comprehensively determining whether the user equipment is indoors or outdoors according to information such as the location of the wireless access point deployment of the base station and the WLAN (indoor or outdoor) and the received wireless signal signal to interference and noise ratio are also within the scope of the present invention. .

503. When the result of the determination is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

The foregoing switching indication information includes: frequency point information of the target wireless access point, a BS SID number, and authentication information required for the user equipment to access the target wireless access point. The frequency points mentioned above include the frequency bands used by the WLAN, such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and the like.

Optionally, step 503 specifically includes the following steps:

503a. After the result of the decision is that handover is required, the base station sends handover request information to the target wireless access point for target wireless access, and determines whether to allow handover by the handover request information.

Specifically, in step 503a, the base station sends the handover request information to the target wireless access point, and directly sends the handover request information to the target wireless access point through a dedicated interface additionally introduced between the base station and the target wireless access point. The handover request information may also be forwarded to the target wireless access point by the newly introduced offload control entity.

Further, when the switching request information is forwarded to the target wireless access point by the traffic distribution control entity, the step 503 a specifically includes: forwarding the handover request information to the traffic distribution control entity, so that the traffic distribution control entity forwards the handover request information to The target wireless access point, in order to target wireless access, ^ determines whether to allow handover access according to the handover request information.

The foregoing shunt control entity is responsible for performing handover request signaling interaction between the base station and the target wireless access point from the control plane.

503b: When the target wireless access point allows handover access, the handover indication information is sent to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information. Exemplarily, after receiving the handover indication information, the target wireless access point determines whether to allow the handover access according to factors such as its own load condition and surrounding interference conditions. If the target wireless access point determines that the handover is allowed, the target wireless access point sends the handover request acknowledgement information to the base station to the base station or directly through the dedicated interface, and after receiving the handover request acknowledgement information, the base station And transmitting the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment performs an authentication operation and an association operation with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station can establish a data channel with the target wireless access point.

504. The base station forwards the cached data that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point.

It should be noted that, before performing the foregoing process of switching the cellular network to the WLAN, the downlink data of the user equipment in the prior art is to be transmitted to the user equipment, and then first needs to be transmitted from the serving gateway to the base station through the S1 interface, and the base station is used. The data is transmitted to the user equipment through the wireless air interface. Correspondingly, the uplink data of the user equipment is to be transmitted to the serving gateway. First, the user equipment needs to transmit the uplink data to the base station through the wireless air interface, and the base station transmits the uplink data through the S1 interface. To the service gateway. After the handover of the cellular network to the WLAN network is completed by the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the downlink data of the user equipment is first transmitted from the serving gateway to the base station through the S1 interface, and the base station transmits the data to the specific user interface. The wireless access point of the WLAN, the wireless access point transmits data to the user equipment through the wireless air interface; the uplink data of the user equipment is first transmitted to the wireless access point of the WLAN through the wireless air interface, and the wireless access point passes the specific user. The interface of the layer transmits data to the base station, and the base station transmits the uplink data of the user equipment to the serving gateway through the S1 interface.

The network switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment, and if the decision result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is according to the handover. After the indication information is associated with the target wireless access point, the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel. This achieves fast communication between the cellular network and the WLAN on the access network side. Fast network switching not only simplifies the switching process, but also increases the switching efficiency. At the same time, it can achieve more flexible and fast and seamless switching, which improves the user experience.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a network switching method. As shown in FIG. 7, the embodiment is mainly directed to a process of switching a user equipment from a cellular network to a WLAN network, and may be implemented by a user equipment. Specifically, the The method specifically includes the following steps:

601. The user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover indication information to the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The foregoing measurement data includes, but is not limited to, location information and mobility speed information of the user equipment, a B S SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal dry to noise ratio indication SINR value. Specifically, the moving speed information of the user equipment may be directly used as speed level information, and the speed level is divided by the user equipment according to the physical speed of the user equipment (for example, four levels are: static, slow, fast, high speed). For example, before the user equipment reports the measurement data, the measurement data is filtered to reduce the feedback overhead of the system. Specifically, the user equipment selects information of the first n wireless access points with the highest SINR according to the measured SINR of each wireless access point of the accessible WLAN. The size of the above n can be obtained according to the measurement control information.

602. The user equipment associates the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station forwards the cached data that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point.

Optionally, before step 601, the method further includes: the user equipment performs measurement according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

The foregoing measurement control information is pre-configured or sent to the user equipment by using a base station; where the measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner. Specifically, the foregoing measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring a carrier frequency, measuring a BS SID number, a signal quality, and a transmission delay of a wireless access point accessible by the user equipment, and measuring location information and a moving speed of the user equipment. The above reporting manners include: periodic reporting or triggered reporting. Exemplarily, the user equipment periodically reports the measurement data, that is, the user equipment receives the measurement control information sent by the base station, and then according to a certain time. The measurement information is reported to the base station on the specified resource; the user equipment triggers the measurement data, that is, after receiving the measurement control information, the user equipment meets a certain trigger condition (for example, when the user equipment measures the WLAN from a certain WLAN) If the SINR value received by the wireless access point exceeds the SINR value received from the base station by 3 dB, the user equipment reports the measurement information to the base station on the specified resource; or the periodicity and offset of the user equipment periodically reported. information.

For example, the foregoing measurement control information may be sent to the user equipment through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or may be sent to the user equipment through MAC layer signaling or RRC layer signaling.

Specifically, when the user equipment performs measurement on the user equipment according to the measurement control information, the specific measurement operation includes at least one of the following: the user equipment scans a beacon of the wireless access point of all WLANs in the vicinity of the user equipment, and Calculating a received signal to interference and noise ratio indication (SINR) of the scanned wireless access point; the user equipment obtains current location information by using a positioning module of the user equipment or a positioning software installed in the user equipment; the user equipment passes the user equipment The speed measuring module or the speed measuring software installed in the user equipment acquires the moving speed of the current user. For example, when the user equipment scans the beacons at all frequency points of the WLAN in the vicinity of the user equipment, the user equipment may perform periodic scanning, or may actively detect, that is, send to all frequency points of all WLANs in the vicinity of the user equipment. The probe request information is acquired to obtain the AC/AP information. The probe request information may be sent to the frequency point specified by the base station according to the BS SID information specified by the base station included in the measurement control information, to obtain the AC/AP information. The beacon on the frequency point specified by the base station may also be directly scanned according to the BS SID information specified by the base station included in the measurement control information.

The network switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the measurement data reported by the user equipment to the base station, enables the base station to perform handover decision according to the measurement data, and if the decision result is that handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, After the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the data to the target wireless access point through the data channel to be transmitted to the user equipment. Cache data. In this way through the access network side The fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and at the same time enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a network switching method. As shown in FIG. 8, the embodiment is mainly directed to a process in which a user equipment switches from a WLAN network to a cellular network, which may be implemented by a base station. Specifically, the network switching method is implemented. Including the following steps:

701. The base station receives measurement data reported by the user equipment.

The foregoing measurement data includes, but is not limited to, location information and mobility speed information of the user equipment, a B S SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an access signal dry to noise ratio indication SINR value. Specifically, the moving speed information of the user equipment may be directly used as speed level information, and the speed level is divided by the user equipment according to the physical speed of the user equipment (for example, four levels are: static, slow, fast, high speed).

702. The base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data.

Optionally, step 702 specifically includes the following content:

702a, the base station determines whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, determining that the switching is required; or determining whether the user equipment is based on the location information of the user equipment When it is determined that the user equipment is outside, it is determined that the user needs to switch; or, it is determined whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; If the speed is greater than the preset threshold and the user equipment is outside, it is determined that it needs to be switched.

For example, when the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement information reported by the user equipment, it may first determine whether the user equipment is greater than a preset preset threshold, and if the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, The base station determines that the user equipment preferentially communicates through the cellular network. Specifically, since the user equipment and the cellular network are always in a real connection state, if the user equipment is previously communicating through the cellular network, only the communication of the cellular network needs to be maintained. If the user equipment is previously communicating through the WLAN network, the handover process of disconnecting the WLAN network is triggered, thereby ensuring that the user equipment preferentially communicates through the cellular network. If If the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, the base station determines, according to the physical location of the user equipment, whether the user equipment is located indoors or outdoors, if the user equipment is determined to be located indoors, and the user equipment If the communication is through the cellular network, the cellular network communication is maintained, and no handover procedure is triggered. If the user equipment is determined to be located indoors, and the user equipment is previously communicated through the WLAN network, the communication of the WLAN network is maintained. If the user equipment is determined to be located outside, and the user equipment is previously communicated through the WLAN network, the handover procedure of disconnecting the WLAN network is triggered, thereby ensuring that the user equipment preferentially communicates through the cellular network. The process of switching the WLAN network to the cellular network is triggered.

703. When the base station determines that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment.

The foregoing switching notification information is used to notify the user equipment and a wireless access point connected to the user equipment, and the base station disconnects the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

Specifically, in step 703, the base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment, and may directly notify the information by using a dedicated interface additionally introduced between the base station and the target wireless access point. Sending to the target wireless access point may also forward the handover notification information to the target wireless access point through the newly introduced offload control entity.

Optionally, when the switching control entity forwards the switching notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point connected to the user equipment, step 703 specifically includes the following steps:

703a. The base station forwards the handover notification information to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover notification information to the wireless access point.

703b. The base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment.

704. After receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

It should be noted that, before performing the foregoing process of switching the WLAN network to the cellular network, the downlink data of the user equipment in the prior art is to be transmitted to the user equipment. First, it needs to be transmitted from the serving gateway to the base station through the S1 interface, and the base station transmits data to the wireless access point of the WLAN network through a specific user-level interface, and the wireless access point transmits the data to the user equipment through wireless air-opening; Correspondingly, the uplink data of the user equipment is to be transmitted to the serving gateway. First, the user equipment needs to transmit the uplink data to the wireless access point of the WLAN through the wireless air interface, and the wireless access point transmits the data to the interface through a specific user plane. The base station and the base station further transmit the uplink data to the serving gateway through the S1 interface. After the WLAN network to the cellular network is switched by the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the downlink data of the user equipment is first transmitted from the serving gateway to the base station through the S1 interface, and the base station transmits the data to the user equipment through the wireless air-opening; The uplink data of the user equipment is first transmitted to the base station through the wireless air interface, and the base station transmits the uplink data of the user equipment to the serving gateway through the S1 interface.

The network switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment, and if the decision result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment. After the user equipment receives the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, and after receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment Interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a network switching method. As shown in FIG. 9, the embodiment is mainly directed to a process for a user equipment to switch from a WLAN network to a cellular network, which may be implemented by a user equipment. Specifically, the network switching is performed. The method includes the following steps:

801. The user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The foregoing switching notification information is used to notify the user equipment and the wireless access point base station associated with the user equipment to disconnect the user equipment from the wireless access point. 802. The user equipment sends a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point.

803. The user equipment interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

The measurement control information is pre-configured or delivered to the user equipment by the base station; wherein the measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring a carrier frequency, and measuring the user equipment can be connected. The BS SID number, the signal quality, and the transmission delay of the incoming wireless access point, and the location information and the moving speed of the user equipment are measured. The reporting manner includes: periodic reporting or triggered reporting.

Optionally, before step 801, the method further includes: the user equipment performs measurement according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

It should be noted that, the specific process of the measurement data obtained by the user equipment according to the measurement control information in the embodiment is similar to the measurement process of the measurement data obtained by the user equipment in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 7, and therefore, the measurement is performed. For the working mechanism, related technical terms, concepts and the like involved in the process, reference may be made to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and details are not described herein again.

The network switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends a handover notification to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed. After the user equipment receives the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, thereby facilitating the user equipment to interrupt the user equipment and the wireless device. The connection between the access points. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and at the same time enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, includes a communication unit 91, a receiver 92, a processor 93, and a transmitter 94, where:

The communication unit 91 is configured to communicate with an external device.

The receiver 92 is configured to receive, by using the communication unit 91, the number of measurements reported by the user equipment. According to.

The foregoing measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BS SID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an SINR value of the access signal to interference and noise ratio indication; the handover indication information includes: The frequency point information of the access point, the BS SID number, and the authentication information required by the user equipment to access the target wireless access point.

The processor 93 is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data.

The transmitter 94 is configured to send the handover indication information to the user equipment by using the communication unit 91 when the result of the decision is that the handover is required, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

The transmitter 94 is further configured to forward the buffer data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the communication unit 91 and the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point.

Optionally, the transmitter 94 sends the handover indication information to the user equipment by using the communication unit 91 when the result of the determination is that the handover is performed, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, specifically:

When the result of the decision is that the handover is required, the communication unit 91 transmits the handover request information to the target wireless access point, so that the target wireless access point determines whether to allow the handover access according to the handover request information.

When the target wireless access point allows handover access, the communication unit 91 sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information.

Optionally, the sending, by the transmitting unit 94, the switching request information to the target wireless access point by using the communication unit 9 1 includes:

The handover request information is forwarded by the communication unit 91 to the offload control entity to cause the offload control entity to forward the handover request information to the target wireless access point.

Optionally, the determining, by the processor 93, the handover decision according to the measurement data includes: determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, determining that the handover is required Or, according to the location information of the user equipment, determine whether the user equipment is indoors; when determining the user setting If it is indoors, it is determined that the switching needs to be performed; or, it is determined whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; when determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset If the value is wide and the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that a handover is required.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment. If the decision result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is in accordance with the handover indication information. After being associated with the target wireless access point, the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention is as shown in FIG. 11. The user equipment 10 includes a communication unit 101, a processor 102, and a transmitter 103, where:

The communication unit 101 is configured to communicate with an external device.

The transmitter 103 is configured to report measurement data to the base station by using the communication unit 101, so that the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover indication information to the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The processor 102 is configured to associate the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station forwards the cached data that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel between the newly established base station and the target wireless access point. .

Optionally, the processor 102 is further configured to perform a measurement operation according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

The measurement control information is pre-configured or sent to the user equipment by using the base station; where the measurement control information includes the measurement object and the reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring the carrier frequency, and measuring the user equipment can access The BS SID number, the signal quality, and the transmission delay of the wireless access point, and the location information and the moving speed of the user equipment are measured. The reporting manner includes: periodic reporting or triggered reporting.

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment reports the measurement number to the base station According to the method, the base station can perform the handover decision according to the measurement data. If the determination result is that the handover is required, the base station sends the handover indication information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information. So that the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the data channel. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the handover process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 12, the base station 11 includes a communication unit 111, a receiver 112, a processor 113, and a transmitter 114, where:

The communication unit 111 is configured to communicate with an external device.

The receiver 112 is configured to receive the measurement data reported by the user equipment through the communication unit 111.

The foregoing measurement data includes: location information and moving speed information of the user equipment, a BSSID number of the at least one accessible wireless access point, and an SINR value of the access signal to interference and noise ratio indication; the handover indication information includes: the target wireless connection The frequency information of the in point and the BSSID number.

The processor 113 is configured to perform a handover decision according to the measurement data.

The transmitter 114 is configured to send, by using the communication unit 111, the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the decision result is that the handover is required.

The processor 113 is further configured to: after the receiver 112 receives the response information sent by the user equipment by using the communication unit 111, release the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment interrupts the user equipment and the wireless access point. connection.

Optionally, the sending, by the communication unit 111, the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment by using the communication unit 111 includes:

The handover notification information is forwarded by the communication unit 111 to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover notification information to the wireless access point; and the handover notification information is transmitted to the user equipment through the communication unit 111.

Optionally, the determining, by the processor 113, the handover decision according to the measurement data includes: Determining whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; determining that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, determining that the switching is required; or determining whether the user equipment is indoor according to the location information of the user equipment; If it is in the room, it is determined that the switching needs to be performed; or, it is determined whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; The value, and the user equipment is outside, it is determined that a handover is required.

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 13, the user equipment 12 includes a communication unit 121, a processor 122, and a transmitter 123, where:

The communication unit 121 is configured to communicate with an external device.

The transmitter 124 is configured to report measurement data to the base station by using the communication unit 121, so that the base station performs handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed.

The transmitter 124 is further configured to send a response message to the base station by using the communication unit 121, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point.

The processor 123 is further configured to interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point. Optionally, the processor 123 is further configured to perform measurement operations according to the measurement control information to obtain measurement data.

The foregoing measurement control information is pre-configured or delivered to the user through the base station. The measurement control information includes a measurement object and a reporting manner, and the measurement object includes at least one of the following: measuring a carrier frequency, measuring a BS SID number, a signal quality, and a transmission of the wireless access point accessible by the user equipment. Delaying, measuring the location information and the moving speed of the user equipment; the reporting manner includes: periodic reporting or triggered reporting.

The user equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the user equipment reports the measurement data to the base station, so that the base station performs the handover decision according to the measurement data, and sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the handover is needed. After receiving the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, thereby facilitating the user equipment to interrupt the user equipment and the wireless access. The connection between the points. In this way, the fast network switching between the cellular network and the WLAN is implemented on the access network side, which not only simplifies the switching process, but also improves the switching efficiency, and also enables more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

The base station and the user equipment provided by the embodiments of the present invention may also constitute a network switching system. As shown in FIG. 14, the communication system 13 includes: a base station 13 1 and a user equipment 132. Illustratively, the network switching system can implement the network switching input method provided by the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, or the network switching system can implement the network switching input provided by the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. method.

In the network switching system provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the base station performs a handover decision according to the measurement data reported by the user equipment. If the decision result is that the handover is required, and the user equipment needs to switch from the cellular network to the WLAN network, the base station sends the user equipment to the user equipment. Transmitting the handover indication information, so that the user equipment is associated with the target wireless access point according to the handover indication information, so that the base station establishes a data channel with the target wireless access point, and forwards the data channel to the target wireless access point through the data channel. The cached data to be transmitted to the user equipment; and when the decision result is that the handover is required, and the user equipment needs to switch from the WLAN network to the cellular network, the base station sends the handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment. After the user equipment receives the handover notification information, the user equipment feeds back a response message to the base station, and after receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment Interrupt the user The connection between the device and the wireless access point. In this way, the cellular network is implemented on the access network side.

Fast network switching between WLANs not only simplifies the handover process, but also increases the switching efficiency. At the same time, it can achieve more flexible and fast and seamless handover, thereby improving the user experience.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, only the division of each functional module described above is exemplified. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function assignment can be completed by different functional modules as needed. The internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to perform all or part of the functions described above. For the specific working process of the system, the device and the unit described above, reference may be made to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided herein, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be used. Combined or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not executed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the embodiment of the present embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a standalone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application is made essentially or prior to the prior art. The contributing portion or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or A network device or the like) or a processor performs all or part of the steps of the method described in various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like, which can store program codes. .

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and are not limited thereto. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that The technical solutions described in the embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently replaced; and the modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

claims

1. A base station, characterized by including:

The receiving module is used to receive the measurement data reported by the user equipment;

A decision module, used to make switching decisions based on the measurement data received by the receiving module;

The first sending module is configured to send handover instruction information to the user equipment when the judgment result of the judgment module is that handover is required, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information;

The second sending module is configured to forward the buffered data that needs to be sent to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point.

2. The base station according to claim 1, characterized in that the measurement data includes: location information and movement speed information of the user equipment, B SSID number and access point of at least one accessible wireless access point. Signal-to-interference and noise ratio indication SINR value; The handover indication information includes: the frequency point information of the target wireless access point, the B S SID number, and the authentication information required for the user equipment to access the target wireless access point.

3. The base station according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first sending module includes:

The first sending unit is configured to send handover request information to the target wireless access point when the judgment result of the judgment module is that handover is required, so that the target wireless access point determines whether to allow it based on the handover request information. switch access;

The second sending unit is configured to allow handover access at the target wireless access point, and send handover instruction information to the user equipment, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information.

4. The base station according to claim 3, characterized in that:

The first sending unit sending the handover request information to the target wireless access point specifically includes: forwarding the handover request information to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover request information to the target. Wireless access point.

5. The base station according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The judgment module is specifically used for:

Determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; when it is determined that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold, it is determined that switching is required; or, determine based on the location information of the user equipment Whether the user equipment is indoors; when it is determined that the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that switching is required;

Or, determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determine whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; when it is determined that the moving speed of the user equipment is less than or equal to the preset threshold. Assuming a threshold value and the user equipment is indoors, it is determined that handover is required.

6. A user equipment, characterized by: including:

A reporting module, configured to report measurement data to the base station, so that the base station can make a handover decision based on the measurement data, and when handover is required, send handover instruction information to the user equipment;

An association module, configured to associate the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information, so that the base station transmits data to the target wireless access point through the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point. Forward cached data that needs to be delivered to the user device.

7. The user equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that the user equipment further includes:

The measurement unit is used to perform measurement operations based on measurement control information and obtain measurement data;

Wherein, the measurement control information is pre-configured or delivered to the user equipment through the base station; wherein the measurement control information includes measurement objects and reporting methods, and the measurement objects include at least one of the following: Measurement Carrier frequency, measure the B S SID number, signal quality and transmission delay of the wireless access point accessible to the user equipment, measure the location information and movement speed of the user equipment; the reporting method includes: periodic reporting or triggering Report form.

8. A base station, characterized by including:

The receiving module is used to receive the measurement data reported by the user equipment; A decision module, configured to make a switching decision based on the measurement data received by the receiving module;

The first sending module is configured to send switching notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment when the judgment result of the judgment module is that handover is required;

An interruption module, configured to release the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point after receiving the response information from the user equipment, so that the user equipment can interrupt the user equipment and the wireless access point. connections between.

9. The base station according to claim 8, characterized in that the measurement data includes: location information and movement speed information of the user equipment, B SSID number and access point of at least one accessible wireless access point. The signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio indicates the SINR value.

10. The base station according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that:

The first sending module sends switching notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment, specifically for: forwarding the switching notification information to the offloading control entity, so that the offloading control entity will The switching notification information is forwarded to the wireless access point; and the switching notification information is sent to the user equipment.

11. The base station according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the decision module is specifically used for:

Determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; when it is determined that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, it is determined that switching is required;

Or, determine whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; when it is determined that the user equipment is outdoors, determine that handover is required;

Or, determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold, and determine whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; when it is determined that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold. value, and the user equipment is outdoors, it is determined that handover is required.

12. A user equipment, characterized by: including:

A reporting module, configured to report measurement data to the base station, so that the base station can make a handover decision based on the measurement data, and when handover is required, report the measurement data to the user equipment and the base station. The wireless access point associated with the user equipment sends switching notification information;

A sending module, configured to send a response message to the base station, so that the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point after receiving the response information;

An interruption module, configured to interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

13. The user equipment according to claim 12, characterized in that the user equipment further includes:

14. A network switching method, characterized by including:

The base station receives the measurement data reported by the user equipment;

Make handover decisions based on the measurement data;

When the judgment result is that handover is required, handover instruction information is sent to the user equipment so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information; communicates with the target wireless access point through the newly established base station The data channel between the access points forwards the cached data that needs to be sent to the user equipment to the target wireless access point.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the measurement data includes: the location information and movement speed information of the user equipment, the B S SID number and access point of at least one accessible wireless access point. Signal-to-interference and noise ratio indication SINR value; The handover indication information includes: the frequency point information of the target wireless access point, the B S SID number, and the authentication information required for the user equipment to access the target wireless access point.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, when the judgment result is that handover is required, handover instruction information is sent to the user equipment so that the user equipment can The user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information specifically includes: when the judgment result is that handover is required, sending handover request information to the target wireless access point so that the target wireless access point can be accessed according to The handover request information determines whether handover access is allowed;

When the target wireless access point allows handover access, handover instruction information is sent to the user equipment, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the sending the handover request information to the target wireless access point specifically includes:

Forward the handover request information to the offload control entity, so that the offload control entity forwards the handover request information to the target wireless access point.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the handover decision based on the measurement data specifically includes:

19. A network switching method, characterized by including:

The user equipment reports measurement data to the base station, so that the base station makes a handover decision based on the measurement data, and sends handover instruction information to the user equipment when handover is required;

Associate the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information, so that the base station forwards the data to the target wireless access point through the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point. Describes the cached data of the user device.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that: the user equipment Before reporting measurement data to the base station, it also includes:

Perform measurement operations based on measurement control information to obtain measurement data;

21. A network switching method, characterized by including:

The base station receives the measurement data reported by the user equipment;

Make handover decisions based on the measurement data;

When the judgment result is that handover is required, sending handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment;

After receiving the response information sent by the user equipment, release the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point, so that the user equipment interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the measurement data includes: the location information and movement speed information of the user equipment, the B S SID number and access point of at least one accessible wireless access point. The signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio indicates the SINR value.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the sending switching notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment specifically includes:

Forward the switching notification information to the offload control entity, so that the offloading control entity forwards the switching notification information to the wireless access point;

Send switching notification information to the user equipment.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the handover decision based on the measurement data specifically includes:

Determine whether the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than a preset threshold; when it is determined that the moving speed of the user equipment is greater than the preset threshold, it is determined that switching is required; Or, determine whether the user equipment is indoors according to the location information of the user equipment; when it is determined that the user equipment is outdoors, determine that handover is required;

25. A network switching method, characterized by including:

The user equipment reports measurement data to the base station, so that the base station makes a handover decision based on the measurement data, and when handover is required, sends handover notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment;

Send a response message to the base station, so that after receiving the response information, the base station releases the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point;

Interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that before the user equipment reports measurement data to the base station, it further includes:

27. A base station, characterized by including:

Communication unit, used to communicate with external devices;

A receiver, configured to receive measurement data reported by the user equipment through the communication unit; A processor, configured to make a handover decision based on the measurement data;

A transmitter, configured to send switching instruction information to the user equipment through the communication unit when the judgment result is that switching is required, so that the user equipment associates with the target wireless access point according to the switching instruction information; The transmitter is also configured to forward the cache that needs to be transmitted to the user equipment to the target wireless access point through the communication unit and the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point. data.

28. A user equipment, characterized by: including:

Communication unit, used to communicate with external devices;

A transmitter, configured to report measurement data to the base station through the communication unit, so that the base station makes a handover decision based on the measurement data, and sends handover indication information to the user equipment when handover is required;

A processor configured to associate the target wireless access point according to the handover instruction information, so that the base station transmits data to the target wireless access point through the newly established data channel between the base station and the target wireless access point. Forward cached data that needs to be delivered to the user device.

29. A base station, characterized by: including:

Communication unit, used to communicate with external devices;

A transmitter, configured to send switching notification information to the user equipment and the wireless access point associated with the user equipment through the communication unit when the judgment result is that switching is required;

The processor is also configured to, after the receiver receives the response information sent by the user equipment through the communication unit, release the data channel between the base station and the wireless access point so that the user The device interrupts the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

30. A user equipment, characterized by: including:

Communication unit, used to communicate with external devices;

A transmitter, configured to report measurement data to the base station through the communication unit, so that the base station makes a handover decision based on the measurement data, and when handover is required, report the measurement data to the user equipment and the wireless interface associated with the user equipment. The entry point sends switching notification information;

The transmitter is also configured to send a response message to the base station through the communication unit, so that after receiving the response message, the base station releases the connection between the base station and the wireless communication unit. Data channels between line access points;

The processor is also configured to interrupt the connection between the user equipment and the wireless access point.

3 1. A network switching system, characterized in that, the network switching system includes a base station and user equipment, wherein the base station is the base station according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the user equipment is the base station according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The user equipment described in claim 6 or 7; or, the base station is the base station described in any one of claims 8 to 1 1, and the user equipment is the user equipment described in claim 12 or 13.