Methods, systems, and devices for handover in multi-cell integrated networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016174111-A1
Application number	US-201414566582-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 10, 2014
Priority date	Dec 10, 2014
Publication date	Jun 16, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods, systems, and devices for handover in multi-cell integrated networks. Various embodiments may include transmission of WLAN context information and/or target WLAN information in evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) handover messages. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system comprising:
a wireless local area network (WLAN) node to facilitate provision of a WLAN cell; and an evolved node B (eNB), co-located with the WLAN node, to provide an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) cell, wherein the eNB is to receive WLAN context information for the user equipment (UE) from a source eNB, wherein the WLAN context information is to be received in a handover request that requests handover of a connection between the UE and the source eNB or a system number (SN) status transfer message.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the WLAN context information includes a WLAN identifier of the UE; WLAN quality of service (QoS) information that corresponds to a level of QoW requested by the UE with respect to a WLAN connection; or a WLAN security context of the UE.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the WLAN context information includes the WLAN identifier, which comprises a media access control (MAC) address.

4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the WLAN context information includes the WLAN QoS information as a resource information container (RIC) request.

5 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the WLAN context information includes the WLAN security context, which includes a WLAN pairwise master key (PMK).

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the eNB is further to transmit a handover request acknowledgment message to the source eNB based on the handover request, wherein the handover request acknowledgment message includes target WLAN information corresponding to the WLAN cell.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the target WLAN information includes an identifier of the WLAN cell, a virtual media access control (MAC) address of the eNB, a security context for the WLAN cell, or granted QoS information for the UE.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the target WLAN information includes the MAC address of the eNB, wherein the MAC address is to be used for point-to-point link between the eNB and the UE through the WLAN access point.

9 . Evolved node B (eNB) circuitry comprising:
control circuitry to:
receive one or more measurement reports from a user equipment (UE);
identify a target eNB to which a wireless connection is to be transferred in a handover process;
generate a message to the target eNB as part of the handover process, the message to include wireless local area network (WLAN) context information corresponding to the UE; and
interface circuitry to transmit the message to the target eNB.

10 . The eNB circuitry of claim 9 , wherein the message is a handover request or a system number (SN) status transfer message.

11 . The eNB circuitry of claim 9 , wherein the WLAN context information includes a WLAN identifier of the UE; WLAN quality of service (QoS) information; or a WLAN security context of the UE.

12 . The eNB circuitry of claim 11 , wherein the WLAN context information includes the WLAN identifier, which comprises a media access control (MAC) address.

13 . The eNB circuitry of claim 11 , wherein the WLAN context information includes the WLAN security context, which includes a WLAN pairwise master key (PMK).

14 . The eNB circuitry of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is to:
generate a radio resource control (RRC) message to include a capability indicator to the UE to indicate that the UE is to trigger a WLAN inter-access point (AP) handover based on a 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) handover message; and control the interface circuitry to transmit the RRC message.

15 . The eNB circuitry of claim 14 , wherein the RRC message is an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

16 . One or more non-transitory computer readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to:
process, as part of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) handover, a radio resource control (RRC) connection reconfiguration message that includes target wireless local area network (WLAN) information; and perform a WLAN handover procedure based on the target WLAN information.

17 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein to perform the handover procedure, the UE is to:
transmit, to a target access point (AP) or access controller (AC), an authorization request; process an authorization response received from the target AP or AC based on the authorization request; transmit, to the target AP or AC, a re-association request based on the authorization response; and process a re-association response received from the target AP or AC.

18 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the UE is to perform the WLAN handover procedure according to a fast transition key distribution process.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the UE is to perform a fast reauthentication with the target AP or AC.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the target WLAN information includes an identifier of the WLAN cell, a media access control (MAC) address of the eNB, a security context for the WLAN cell, or granted QoS information for the UE.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Zhu Jing
• Himayat Nageen
• Sirotkin Alexander
• Stojanovski Alexandre S
• Gupta Vivek

Classifications

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• H04W12/04

  Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA] · CPC title

• H04W52/26

  using transmission rate or quality of service QoS [Quality of Service] · CPC title

• H04W36/0038

  of security context information · CPC title

• H04W36/0033 Primary

  with transfer of context information · CPC title