System and method for WiFi offload

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9232434-B2
Application number	US-201314070982-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2013
Priority date	Nov 7, 2012
Publication date	Jan 5, 2016
Grant date	Jan 5, 2016

Abstract

Embodiments are provided for enabling WiFi offload by integrating the WiFi and cellular networks operations at a radio access network level. The embodiments include a WiFi network component configured to determine whether to send over a cellular air interface a packet designated for WiFi according to a predefined rule. If the rule is met, the WiFi network component sends the packet to a cellular network component over the cellular air interface. The cellular network component is configured to process the received packet for cellular transmission, and transmit the packet using the cellular air interface to a receiver device. The predefined rule comprises at least one of sending the packet using the cellular air interface if the packet belongs to a predefined packet type, if the packet has a size below a predefined threshold size, and if the nature of the destination address for the packet is a broadcast address.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the method comprising:
determining, by a WiFi network component, whether to send over a cellular air interface a packet designated for a WiFi network according to a predefined rule, wherein the predefined rule comprise at least one of: sending the packet over the cellular air interface only when the packet is a control or management packet, and sending the packet over the cellular air interface only when a destination address of the packet is a broadcast address; and
upon determining to send the packet using the cellular air interface, sending, by the WiFi network component, the packet to a cellular network component.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the packet over a WiFi link to a second WiFi network component upon determining that the predefined rule is not met.

3. A WiFi network component configured for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the WiFi network component comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to:
determine whether to send over a cellular air interface a packet designated for a WiFi network according to a predefined rule, wherein the predefined rule comprise at least one of: sending the packet over the cellular air interface only when the packet is a control or management packet, and sending the packet over the cellular air interface only when a destination address of the packet is a broadcast address; and
upon determining to send the packet using the cellular air interface, send the packet to a cellular network component over the cellular air interface.

4. The WiFi network component of claim 3 , wherein the programming includes further instructions to send the packet over a WiFi link to a second WiFi network component upon determining that the predefined rule is not met.

5. The WiFi network component of claim 3 , wherein the WiFi network component is an access point for the WiFi network, and wherein the cellular network component is a base station for the cellular network.

6. The WiFi network component of claim 5 , wherein the access point and the base station are collocated in a same area.

7. The WiFi network component of claim 5 , wherein the access point and the base station are coupled to each other via a high speed connection which ensures forwarding the packet at a speed that meets a quality of service (QoS) requirement.

8. The WiFi network component of claim 3 , wherein the WiFi network component is a station entity in a user communication device, the station entity configured for transmitting and receiving data over a WiFi link, and wherein the cellular network component is a user equipment (UE) entity in the user communication device, the UE entity configured for transmitting and receiving data over the cellular air interface.

9. A method for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the method comprising:
receiving, by a cellular network component, a packet offloaded from a WiFi network component, wherein the packet is a control or management packet;
adding a radio link control (RLC) header to the packet, wherein the header contains information indicating that the packet is designated for a WiFi network;
and
transmitting the packet with the header using a cellular air interface to a second cellular network component.

10. A cellular network component configured for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the cellular network component comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to:
receive a packet offloaded from a WiFi network component, wherein the packet is a control or management packet;
adding a radio link control (RLC) header to the packet, wherein the header contains information indicating that the packet is designated for a WiFi network;
and
transmit the packet with the header using a cellular air interface to a second cellular network component.

11. The cellular network component of claim 10 , wherein the cellular network component is a base station for the cellular network, and wherein the WiFi network component is an access point for the WiFi network.

12. The cellular network component of claim 11 , wherein the base station and the access point are collocated in a same area.

13. The cellular network component of claim 11 , wherein the base station and the access point are coupled to each other via a high speed connection which ensures forwarding the packet at a speed that meets a quality of service (QoS) requirement.

14. The cellular network component of claim 10 , wherein the cellular network component is a user equipment (UE) entity in a user communication device, the UE entity configured for transmitting and receiving data over the cellular air interface, and wherein the WiFi network component is a station entity in the user communication device, the station entity configured for transmitting and receiving data over a WiFi link.

15. A method for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the method comprising:
receiving, by a cellular network component, a packet with a radio link control (RLC) header from a second cellular network component over a cellular air interface, the packet offloaded from a WiFi network component to the second cellular network component, wherein the packet is a control or management packet, and the header contains information indicating that the packet is for a WiFi network;
determining that the packet is designated for the WiFi network;
removing the RLC header from the packet; and
forwarding the packet to a second WiFi network component.

16. A cellular network component configured for handling WiFi offload in WiFi and cellular networks, the cellular network component comprising:
at least one processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the at least one processor, the programming including instructions to:
receive a packet with a radio link control (RLC) header from a second cellular network component over a cellular air interface, the packet offloaded from a WiFi network component to the second cellular network component, wherein the packet is a control or management packet, and the header contains information indicating that the packet is for a WiFi network;
determine that the packet is designated for the WiFi network;
removing the RLC header from the packet; and
forward the packet to a second WiFi network component.

17. The cellular network component of claim 16 , wherein the cellular network component is a base station for the cellular network, and wherein the WiFi network component is an access point for the WiFi network.

18. The cellular network component of claim 17 , wherein the base station and the access point are collocated in a same area.

19. The cellular network component of claim 17 , wherein the base station and the access point are coupled to each other via a high speed connection which ensures forwarding the packet at a speed that meets a quality of service (QoS) requirement.

20. The cellular network component of claim 16 , wherein the cellular network component is a user equipment (UE) entity in a user communication device, the UE entity configured for transmitting and receiving data over a cellul

Assignees

• Futurewei Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Rong Zhigang
• Kwon Younghoon
• Yang Yunsong

Classifications

• H04W88/06

  adapted for operation in multiple networks {or having at least two operational modes}, e.g. multi-mode terminals · CPC title

• H04W48/18 Primary

  Selecting a network or a communication service · CPC title

• H04W28/0289 Primary

  Congestion control (load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12) · CPC title

• H04W28/0865

  of different Radio Access Technologies [RATs], e.g. LTE® or Wi-Fi® · CPC title

• H04W8/082

  for traffic bypassing of mobility servers, e.g. location registers, home PLMNs or home agents · CPC title