Method and system for managing handover in radio access networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9730131-B2
Application number	US-99955909-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2009
Priority date	Jun 16, 2008
Publication date	Aug 8, 2017
Grant date	Aug 8, 2017

Abstract

A method and system for managing handover from a first radio access network to second radio access network is provided. The method includes receiving information associated with one or more neighboring cells from a User Equipment (UE). The information associated with the one or more neighboring cell is measurement reports. Thereafter, the method deciding to perform Handover (HO) based on the measurement reports for the UE from the first radio access network to the second radio access network. Further, the method identifies a target cell from the one or more neighboring cells. The method then determines target cell capabilities. Thereby, the method sends at least one of a handover required message and a relocation required message along with the target cell capabilities to a core network element. The core network element then manages voice bearers and non-voice bearers based on the target cell capabilities.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for managing handover (HO) from a first radio access network to a second radio access network, the method performed at a first network entity of the first radio access network, the method comprising:
receiving a measurement report from a user equipment (UE);
determining to trigger the HO for the UE from the first radio access network to the second radio access network, based on the measurement report;
transmitting a handover required message including first information indicating whether the HO is for only a circuit switched (CS) network or both a CS network and a packet switched (PS) network, based on the determining; and
initiating a PS to CS HO for a voice bearer,
wherein the first information is used, by a first core network entity, to separate the voice bearer from a non-voice bearer,
wherein a HO for the non-voice bearer is suspended, if the second radio access network does not support a dual transfer mode (DTM),
wherein the suspended non-voice bearer is resumed, if a call corresponding to the voice bearer is terminated and if the UE is in the second radio access network, and wherein second information associated with the resuming of the suspended non-voice bearer is transmitted to a second core network entity, and
wherein the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the first radio access network and the voice bearer is associated with the CS network in the second radio access network and the non-voice bearer is associated with the PS network in the second radio access network.

2. The method claim 1 , wherein the first radio access network comprises at least a PS network, and
wherein the second radio access network comprises at least a CS network.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first network entity of the first radio access network comprises at least one of an eNodeB, a NodeB and a radio network controller (RNC).

4. A method for managing handover (HO) from a first radio access network to a second radio access network of a user equipment (UE), performed at a first core network entity, the method comprising:
receiving at least one of a handover required message and a relocation required message comprising first information indicating whether the HO is for only a circuit switched (CS) network or both a CS network and a packet switched (PS) network;
splitting a voice bearer from a non-voice bearer based on the first information;
initiating a PS to CS HO for a voice bearer, and
managing HO for the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer,
wherein a HO for the non-voice bearer is suspended, if the second radio access network does not support a dual transfer mode (DTM),
wherein the suspended non-voice bearer is resumed, if a call corresponding to the voice bearer is terminated and if the UE is in the second radio access network,
wherein second information associated with the resuming of the suspended non-voice bearer is transmitted to a second core network entity, and
wherein the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the first radio access network and the voice bearer is associated with the CS network in the second radio access network and the non-voice bearer is associated with the PS network in the second radio access network.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising continuing the HO of the voice bearer from the first radio access network to the second radio access network and at least one of suspending and deactivating the non-voice bearer based on the information.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first core network entity comprises at least one of a mobile management entity (MME) and a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN).

7. A first network entity of a first radio access network comprising:
a processor for determining to trigger a handover (HO) based on a measurement report for a user equipment (UE) from the first radio access network to a second radio access network
and initiating a packet switched (PS) to circuit switched (CS) HO for a voice bearer; and
a transceiver for receiving the measurement report from the UE and transmitting at least one of a handover required message and a relocation required message, comprising first information indicating whether the HO is for only a CS network or both the CS network and a (PS) network, based on the determining,
wherein the first information is used, by a first core network entity, to separate the voice bearer from a non-voice bearer,
wherein a HO for the non-voice bearer is suspended, if the second radio access network does not support a dual transfer mode (DTM),
wherein the suspended non-voice bearer is resumed, if a call corresponding to the voice bearer is terminated and if the UE is in the second radio access network, and
wherein second information associated with the resuming of the suspended non-voice bearer is transmitted to a second core network entity, and
wherein the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the first radio access network and the voice bearer are associated with CS network in the second radio access network and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the second radio access network.

8. The first network entity of claim 7 , wherein the first radio access network comprises at least a PS network, and
wherein the second radio access network comprises at least a CS network.

9. The first network entity of claim 7 , wherein the first network entity of the first radio access network comprises at least one of an eNodeB, a NodeB and a radio network controller (RNC).

10. A first core network entity comprising:
a transceiver for receiving at least one of a handover required message and a relocation required message, comprising first information indicating whether a handover (HO) of a user equipment (UE) is for only a circuit switched (CS) network or both a CS network and a Packet Switched (PS) network; and
a processor for splitting a voice bearer from a non-voice bearer based on the first information, initiating a PS to CS HO for the voice bearer and managing the HO for the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer,
wherein a HO for the non-voice bearer is suspended, if the second radio access network does not support a dual transfer mode (DTM),
wherein the suspended non-voice bearer is resumed, if a call corresponding to the voice bearer is terminated and if the UE is in the second radio access network,
wherein second information associated with the resuming of the suspended non-voice bearer is transmitted to a second core network entity, and
wherein the voice bearer and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the first radio access network and the voice bearer are associated with CS network in the second radio access network and the non-voice bearer are associated with the PS network in the second radio access network.

11. The first core network entity of claim 10 , wherein the processor continues HO of the voice bearer from the first radio access network to the second radio access network and at least one of suspending and deactivating the non-voice bearer based on the information.

12. The first core network entity of claim 10 , wherein the first core network entity comprises at least one of a mobile management entity (MME) and a serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN).

13. A method for managing handover (HO) from a first radio access network to a second radio access network, the method comprising:
receiving, by a first network entity of the first radio access network, a measurement report from a user equipment

Assignees

• Lee Dong Hee
• Yeoum Tae Sun
• Vaishali Paisal
• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Dong Hee
• Yeoum Tae Sun
• Vaishali Paisal

Classifications

• H04W80/04

  Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol] · CPC title

• H04W36/0066

  of control information between different types of networks in order to establish a new radio link in the target network · CPC title

• H04W36/00 Primary

  Hand-off or reselection arrangements · CPC title

• H04W36/005

  involving radio access media independent information, e.g. MIH [Media independent Hand-off] · CPC title

• H04W36/14

  Reselecting a network or an air interface · CPC title