Forward traffic announcements for enhanced resource reservation in high speed mobile relays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9585038-B2
Application number	US-201414209750-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2014
Priority date	Mar 13, 2013
Publication date	Feb 28, 2017
Grant date	Feb 28, 2017

Abstract

The claimed subject matter pertains to the use of mobile relay nodes to serve users on high speed trains. In particular, this invention defines a framework that enables a base station of a cellular network to make accurate predictions of future traffic load, and take appropriate steps to serve this traffic, such as reserving sufficient air interface, backhaul, and processing resources.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a current base station of a plurality of base stations along a pre-determined route, the method comprising:
receiving, by the current base station of the plurality of base stations, a plurality of traffic loads from a mobile data transmitter traveling along the pre-determined route, wherein the mobile data transmitter comprises a mobile relay node provided on a mass transit vehicle, the mass transit vehicle being operable to transport a plurality of passengers, wherein the plurality of traffic loads comprise data packets transmitted from a plurality of mobile computing devices operated by the plurality of passengers being transported by the mass transit vehicle;
measuring the plurality of traffic loads to derive traffic load data corresponding to the plurality of traffic loads;
estimating a time of hand-in of the mobile data transmitter to a future serving base station of the plurality of base stations along the pre-determined route based on an estimated location of the mobile data transmitter;
before the mobile data transmitter enters a coverage area of the future serving base station, predicting an incoming traffic load corresponding to the hand-in of the mobile data transmitter to the future serving base station from the traffic load data; and
before the mobile data transmitter enters the coverage area of the future serving base station, forwarding predicted traffic load data and the estimated time of hand-in to the future serving base station along the pre-determined route.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising performing load reducing measures at the future serving base station prior to the time of hand-in to accommodate the plurality of traffic loads at the time of hand-in.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein wireless communication service is provided to the mobile data transmitter by the current base station until the time of hand-in, and by the future serving base station from the time of hand-in.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein measuring the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter is performed in response to a trigger event.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein measuring the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter is performed periodically.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein forwarding the predicted traffic load data and the estimated time of hand-in to the future serving base station along the pre-determined route is performed in response to a trigger event.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein forwarding the predicted traffic load data and the estimated time of hand-in to the future serving base station along the pre-determined route is performed periodically.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein measuring the plurality of traffic loads comprises conducting statistical measurements of the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter over a corresponding plurality of periods of time.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the statistical measurements comprise at least one of:
an average number of mobile computing devices connected to and exchanging data packets with the mobile data transmitter per period of the plurality of periods of time;
an identification of a plurality of Quality of Service (QoS) classes corresponding to the mobile computing devices connected to and exchanging data packets with the mobile data transmitter;
a wireless carrier data corresponding to the mobile computing devices connected to and exchanging data packets with the mobile data transmitter; and
a size of the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter over the plurality of periods of time.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the size of the plurality of traffic loads comprises at least one of:
a cumulative size of the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter over the plurality of periods of time;
an average size of the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter per period of time; and
a variance in sizes of the plurality of traffic loads received from the mobile data transmitter between periods of the plurality of periods of time.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein estimating a time of hand-in to the future serving base station of the plurality of base stations along the pre-determined route comprises:
deriving a present location of the mobile data transmitter along the pre-determined route;
determining a speed of the mobile data transmitter;
referencing the pre-determined route to determine a distance between the present location of the mobile data transmitter and a hand-in location corresponding to the future serving base station; and
calculating the time of hand-in based on the speed of the mobile data transmitter, and the distance between the present location and the hand-in location corresponding to the future serving base station.

12. The method according to claim 11 , the speed of the mobile data transmitter comprises at least one of:
a current speed being traveled by the mobile data transmitter; and
an estimated likely future speed of the mobile data transmitter along a segment of the pre-determined route.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein predicting the incoming traffic load corresponding to the hand-in of the mobile data transmitter to the future serving base station from the traffic load data is performed by at least one of:
the current base station; and
the future serving base station.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein predicting the incoming traffic load corresponding to the hand-in of the mobile data transmitter to the future serving base station from the traffic load data is performed at a base station controller communicatively coupled to the current base station and the future serving base station.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein estimating a time of hand-in to the base station is performed by at least one of:
the current base station; and
the future serving base station.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein future serving base station comprises at least one of:
a next base station of the plurality of base stations along the pre-determined route; and
a subsequent base station that past the next base station of the plurality of base stations along the pre-determined route.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein estimating a time of hand-in to the base station is performed at a base station controller communicatively coupled to the current base station and the future serving base station.

18. A method for transmitting wireless traffic from a mobile relay node to a base station, the method comprising:
receiving, in a mobile relay node coupled to a mass transit vehicle operable to transport a plurality of passengers in a rail transport system, a first plurality of data flows from a plurality of mobile computing devices operated by the plurality of passengers being transported by the mass transit vehicle, wherein the plurality of data flows comprise data packets transmitted from the plurality of mobile computing devices;
aggregating the first plurality of data flows in the mobile relay node into an aggregated traffic load; and
transmitting the aggregated traffic load from the mobile relay node to the base station,
wherein, before the mobile relay node enters a coverage area for one or more base stations of a plurality of communicatively coupled base stations along a pr

Assignees

• Futurewei Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Al-Shalash Mazin
• Wang Shushaw

Classifications

• H04W84/005

  Moving wireless networks · CPC title

• H04W24/08 Primary

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic · CPC title

• H04W36/32

  by location or mobility data, e.g. speed data · CPC title

• H04W36/324

  by mobility data, e.g. speed data · CPC title

• H04W36/322

  by location data · CPC title