Patent US7313628B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7313628B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Protocol to determine optimal target access routers for seamless IP-level handover
Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
•
Filing: 2001-06-28
•
Granted: 2007-12-25
•
Expires: 2021-06-28
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method is provided for facilitating the seamless handoff of IP connections between access routers in an IP network. The mobile IP network includes two or more access routers each serving a different geographic service area. When a mobile terminal moves from the first service area to the second service area, the mobile terminal transmits to the second access router the IP address of the previous access router. The second access router uses this information to learn capabilities of the first access router (e.g., bandwidths supported, security schemes, and the like) for use in future handoff decisions, and exchanges capability information with the first access router. The assumption is made based on the exchanged information that the access routers are geographically proximate. When another mobile terminal transitions from one service area to another, the system selects an optimal target access router based on the previously learned information, including the inferred geographic proximity between access routers.
Inventors
- 👤 Hemant M. Chaskar
- 👤 Dirk Trossen
- 👤 Govind Krishnamurthi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 09:58
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04W; H04W12/00; H04W12/12; H04W12/121; H04W12/122; H04W12/126; H04W36/00; H04W36/0005; H04W36/0011; H04W36/0019; H04L; H04L63/00; H04L63/14; H04L63/1441; H04L63/1458; H04W36/24; H04W36/26; H04W40/00; H04W40/34; H04W40/36; H04W48/00; H04W48/16; H04W48/17; H04W80/00; H04W80/04; H04W88/00; H04W88/005
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
94 words
A method comprising: a mobile terminal detecting entry into an area served by two or more of the a plurality of potential target access routers; the mobile terminal transmitting an address of the a source access router from the mobile terminal to one or more of the potential target access routers; and performing a mobile Internet Protocol (IP) handoff operation from the source access router to one of the plurality of potential target access routers on the basis of capability information received from one or more of the plurality of potential target access routers.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
94 words
A method comprising: a mobile terminal detecting entry into an area served by two or more of the a plurality of potential target access routers; the mobile terminal transmitting an address of the a source access router from the mobile terminal to one or more of the potential target access routers; and performing a mobile Internet Protocol (IP) handoff operation from the source access router to one of the plurality of potential target access routers on the basis of capability information received from one or more of the plurality of potential target access routers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the mobile IP handoff operation comprises the mobile terminal selecting a target access router on the basis of bandwidth capabilities required by the mobile terminal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the mobile IP handoff operation comprises the source access router performing the handoff on the basis of capability information received by the source access router from the one or more plurality of potential target access routers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the mobile IP handoff operation comprises performing the IP handoff to one of the plurality of potential target access routers that best matches capabilities required by the mobile terminal.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the mobile IP handoff operation is performed independently of any voice-channel handoff operation that is also supported by the mobile terminal.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
76 words
A method comprising: detecting in a mobile communication network a condition that a mobile terminal presently served by a first access router is entering an area served by a second access router; transmitting a network address of the first access router from the mobile terminal to the second access router; and exchanging capability information between the first access router and the second access router, such that each access router learns capabilities of the other access router.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
76 words
A method comprising: detecting in a mobile communication network a condition that a mobile terminal presently served by a first access router is entering an area served by a second access router; transmitting a network address of the first access router from the mobile terminal to the second access router; and exchanging capability information between the first access router and the second access router, such that each access router learns capabilities of the other access router.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 6 , further comprising: using the exchanged capability information to make a handoff decision for a mobile IP terminal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 7 , wherein purging comprises selecting an optimum target router on the basis of a predetermined policy.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 8 , wherein the policy specifies that a lowest cost access router should be selected.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein exchanging comprises transmitting an IP packet from the second access router to the first access router requesting capability information and receiving an IP packet from the first access router containing capability information describing capabilities of the first access router.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises a bandwidth supported by one of the routers.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises dynamic loading conditions associated with one of the routers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises security schemes supported by one of the routers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises the geographic location of one of the access routers.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises signal transmission technologies supported by a base station associated with one of the access routers.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein the capability information comprises a cost of access using one of the access routers.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein detecting comprises detecting a condition that the mobile terminal is entering an area served by at least two potential target access routers; wherein exchanging comprises exchanging information concerning both of the at least two potential target access routers; and further including selecting one of at least two potential target access routers on the basis of the capability information exchanged.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 6 , further comprising: purging capability information of the first access router if no handoffs from the first access router have been detected within a predetermined time period.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 6 , further comprising: redirecting one or more mobile terminals away from a loaded access router to a less loaded access router on the basis of exchanged capability information.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein detecting comprises detecting that the mobile terminal is entering an area served by at least two potential target access routers, and further comprising: selecting one of the two potential target access routers on the basis of a best match between a capability dictated by an application program executing on the mobile terminal and the capabilities of the two potential target access routers.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
113 words
A method comprising: receiving a request to initiate a handoff operation for a mobile terminal in a mobile IP network, said mobile IP network comprising a plurality of access routers each associated with a service area; finding an optimal access router to receive the handoff operation for the mobile terminal by evaluating capability information for a plurality of access routers, wherein the capability information was previously obtained by exchanging information among access routers on the basis of source access router IP address information transmitted by one or more mobile terminals in the mobile IP network, and wherein said exchanged information comprises capability information; and effecting the handoff operation to the optimal access router.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
113 words
A method comprising: receiving a request to initiate a handoff operation for a mobile terminal in a mobile IP network, said mobile IP network comprising a plurality of access routers each associated with a service area; finding an optimal access router to receive the handoff operation for the mobile terminal by evaluating capability information for a plurality of access routers, wherein the capability information was previously obtained by exchanging information among access routers on the basis of source access router IP address information transmitted by one or more mobile terminals in the mobile IP network, and wherein said exchanged information comprises capability information; and effecting the handoff operation to the optimal access router.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein finding an optimal access router comprises comparing capability requirements associated with the mobile terminal with dynamic capability information associated with each of the plurality of access routers.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein finding an optimal access router comprises comparing bandwidth requirements of the mobile terminal with bandwidth capabilities of each access router.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein finding an optimal access router comprises selecting an access router on the basis of the cost of access.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein finding an optimal access router comprises selecting an access router on the basis of a security scheme.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
116 words
An apparatus comprising: a transmit/receive circuit capable of transmitting and receiving digital data within a mobile IP network, said mobile IP network comprising a plurality of access routers; a mobile IP handoff processing circuit coupled to the transmit/receive circuit, wherein the mobile IP handoff processing circuit transmits a network address of a first access router in the mobile IP network to a second access router in the mobile IP network, and a capabilities storage area reflecting capabilities needed by the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile IP handoff processing circuit transmits one or more capabilities stored in the capabilities storage area to an access router in the mobile IP network as part of a handoff decision process.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
116 words
An apparatus comprising: a transmit/receive circuit capable of transmitting and receiving digital data within a mobile IP network, said mobile IP network comprising a plurality of access routers; a mobile IP handoff processing circuit coupled to the transmit/receive circuit, wherein the mobile IP handoff processing circuit transmits a network address of a first access router in the mobile IP network to a second access router in the mobile IP network, and a capabilities storage area reflecting capabilities needed by the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile IP handoff processing circuit transmits one or more capabilities stored in the capabilities storage area to an access router in the mobile IP network as part of a handoff decision process.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the mobile IP processing circuit transmits a bandwidth requirement that is dependent on an application that is presently executing on the mobile terminal.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
53 words
The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising a signal strength detector coupled to the transmit/receive circuit and to the mobile IP handoff processing circuit, wherein the mobile IP handoff processing circuit in response to detecting that signal strength has dropped below a threshold, initiates a handoff process within the mobile IP network.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
99 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor that executes computer-readable instructions, and memory storing the computer-readable instructions for performing a method comprising: in a mobile IP network having a plurality of access routers each of which routes IP packets among mobile terminals in a service area, receiving from a mobile terminal a network address of another access router in communication with the mobile terminal; storing the network address into a capabilities map that defines capabilities of geographically proximate access routers; and using the stored network address to make a handoff decision concerning a second mobile terminal in the mobile IP network.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
99 words
An apparatus comprising: a processor that executes computer-readable instructions, and memory storing the computer-readable instructions for performing a method comprising: in a mobile IP network having a plurality of access routers each of which routes IP packets among mobile terminals in a service area, receiving from a mobile terminal a network address of another access router in communication with the mobile terminal; storing the network address into a capabilities map that defines capabilities of geographically proximate access routers; and using the stored network address to make a handoff decision concerning a second mobile terminal in the mobile IP network.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus of claim 29 , wherein the method further comprises: exchanging capabilities information with the another access router, such that the apparatus and the another access router become aware of the others' capabilities on the basis of the network address received from the mobile terminal.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the processor executes computer-readable instructions that exchange bandwidth capacity information between the apparatus and the another access router, wherein the instructions are used to select an access router on the basis of the bandwidth capacity information.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the processor executes computer-readable instructions that exchange dynamic loading information between the apparatus and the another access router, wherein the instructions are used to select an access router on the basis of the dynamic loading information.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the processor executes computer-readable instructions that make a handoff decision concerning a second mobile terminal in the mobile IP network on the basis of a policy stored in the apparatus.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
22 words
The apparatus of claim 33 , wherein the policy results in selection of an access router on the basis of access cost.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the processor executes computer-readable instructions that make a handoff decision by comparing capability requirements received from a second mobile terminal with capability information previously obtained.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US6360264B1
Cited
EP0589552A2
Cited
US5822313A
Cited
US6088587A
Cited
US6421714B1
Cited
US6160804A
Cited
CA2287786A1
Cited
US6654359B1
Cited
US6763007B1
Cited
US6928282B2
Cited
US20030142651A1
Cited
JP2004229276A
Cited
US20040165551A1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2010-12-24 | 2011-06-25 | 2011-12-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2014-12-24 | 2015-06-25 | 2015-12-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2018-12-24 | 2019-06-25 | 2019-12-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |