Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Zoned or cellular telephone system
Utility Patent
1998-07-16
2001-01-02
Trost, William G. (Department: 2744)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Zoned or cellular telephone system
C455S433000, C455S450000, C455S436000, C455S452200
Utility Patent
active
06169898
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to QoS (Quality of Service) levels of communications in a radio communications system, such as a cellular communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus, and an associated method, for maintaining a selected QoS level of communications by a mobile station as the mobile station travels throughout an area encompassed by the radio communication system.
Subscriber QoS classes are defined. Different classes of QoS levels assure different levels of QoS as the mobile station moves. When a subscription for service by a user of the mobile station is purchased, the subscription rate is, e.g., dependent in part upon the QoS class to which the subscription is made. The amount of resources reserved by the system for communications with the mobile station is dependent upon the QoS class of the service subscription. The amount of resources reserved can also be selected at the start of a communication session.
In an exemplary implementation in a cellular communication system, resources, e.g., channels, are selectively reserved for the mobile station, not only in a cell in which communications are ongoing, but also in selected cells proximate thereto. The number of additional cells in which resources are reserved and the duration that the resources are reserved is dependent upon the QoS class. A greater level of mobility independence is thereby available for communications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of wireless communication systems by which to communicate voice and data information has achieved wide popularity in recent years. As a wire line connecting a sending station and a receiving station is not required to effectuate communication, communication by way of a wireless communication system is possible at a location to which formation of a wire line connection would be impractical or impossible.
A cellular communication system is exemplary of a radio communication system which has achieved wide popularity in recent years. Cellular communication networks of various types of cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant portions of the world. Subscribers to cellular communications systems are able to communicate telephonically when positioned in areas encompassed by the networks of such systems. Telephonic communication of both voice information and data information are permitted with such networks.
A subscriber to a cellular communication network is permitted access to the network to communicate therewith pursuant to a service subscription. The service subscription provides, e.g., an identification number which is used to identify uniquely the subscriber, both to permit utilization of the network and also to bill a subscriber for such utilization. Communications originated at, and sometimes terminated at, a mobile station operable pursuant to the service subscription are billed to the subscription account associated with the service subscription.
Conventional cellular communication systems are typically mobility dependent. That is to say, during communication set-up, communications with the mobile station are permitted if communication quality levels, i.e., the QoS, of communications between the base station in which the mobile station is positioned and the mobile station is of an acceptable level. However, if the mobile station travels out of the initial cell, and into another cell, the QoS of continued communications is not assured. For instance, if channels are not available for communications with the mobile station in the subsequent cell, a hand-off of communications is not permitted. Deterioration of communication quality is possible, passively resulting in unintended termination of communications. Communication conditions might also change while the mobile station is positioned in the initial cell. Therefore, in a conventional, cellular communication system in which QoS is mobility dependent, there are no assurances that a required QoS level can be maintained in an ongoing communication when the mobile station passes from one cell to another or when communication conditions otherwise change.
A communication system which, conversely, is mobility independent, would be better to assure maintenance of the required QoS level as a mobile station moves from one cell to another or when communication conditions otherwise change.
A manner by which to provide a radio communication system, such as a cellular communication system, with mobility-independent QoS would therefore be advantageous.
It is in light of this background information related to radio communication systems, and QoS levels therein, that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, accordingly, advantageously provides apparatus, and a corresponding method, for maintaining a selected QoS level of communications with the mobile station in a radio communication system. By maintaining the selected QoS level, a selected level of mobility-independent QoS is better assured.
In one aspect of the present invention, subscriber QoS classes are defined. Different classes of QoS levels correspond to different levels of mobility-independent QoS of ongoing communications with a mobile station as the mobile station travels throughout a geographical area encompassed by the radio communication system. A user of the mobile station purchases a subscription for service to permit communications through a mobile station with network infrastructure of the radio communication system. The subscription rate of the service subscription is dependent, in part, upon the class of QoS to which the subscription is made. The amount of resources reserved by the system for use to communicate with the mobile station is dependent upon the QoS class of the service subscription. The amount of resources reserved can also be selected at the start of a communication session. Such selection overrides the stored values of the QoS class.
In another aspect of the present invention, mobility-independent QoS is provided to cellular communications in a cellular communication system. When a service subscription is purchased, the subscriber of the subscription is permitted to communicate with the cellular network through a mobile station. When the service subscription is purchased, a selection is made of a subscriber QoS class (SQC). The SQC corresponds to a QoS level that is to be maintained during communications with a mobile station through which communications are to be effectuated pursuant to the service subscription. Resources are reserved for communication with the mobile station, not only in the cell in which the mobile station is presently located, but also at one or more additional cell to which the mobile station might travel during a communication session. The amount of resources reserved by the system is dependent upon the SQC class to which the subscriber subscribes. At higher SQC classes, greater levels of resources are reserved.
In one implementation, SQCs are defined in a cellular communication system constructed to correspond to the standards of the IS-95 3G system. In such system, the cells defined by the base stations of the network infrastructure of the system are defined, relative to a mobile station, to be of one of four different sets of cells. Namely, the cells are defined to be members of an active set, a candidate set, a neighbor set, or a remaining set. The cells sets are dynamically redefined, with respect to the mobile station, as the mobile station moves through the geographical area encompassed by the communication system. The SQCs are defined relative to the sets defined in the IS-95 3G system. In one implementation, a first class SQC allocates resources only in the active set of cells. Higher-levels of SQCs further reserve resources in at least selected ones of the candidate set of cells. And, in still higher levels of SQCs, additional resources are reserved in at least selected ones of the neighbor set of cells. Further differentiation between the various classes o
Hsu Liangchi
Purnadi Rene W.
Davis Temica M.
Kelly Robert H.
Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd
Rivers Brian T.
Trost William G.
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