U.S. patent application number 14/511262 was filed with the patent office on 2015-02-26 for ubiquitous access to femto-connected network.
The applicant listed for this patent is Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Barnaba Barnowski, Eric W. Parsons, Philippe Reininger, Saso Stojanovski.
Application Number | 20150055559 14/511262 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41254732 |
Filed Date | 2015-02-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150055559 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Parsons; Eric W. ; et
al. |
February 26, 2015 |
Ubiquitous Access to FEMTO-Connected Network
Abstract
A system and method of enabling a mobile device to communicate
with a local IP network host and an external IP network host using
a femto cellular access point on a femto cellular access network. A
local gateway is coupled to the femto cellular access network for
receiving data packets transmitted on the femto cellular access
network and for routing the data packets to one of a local IP
network and an external IP network, based on a destination address
associated with the data packets. The femto cellular access network
includes an LTE network, an EVDO network connected to an EPC, or a
WiMax 802.16e/m network connected to the EPC.
Inventors: |
Parsons; Eric W.;
(Stittsville, CA) ; Reininger; Philippe; (Paris,
FR) ; Stojanovski; Saso; (Paris, FR) ;
Barnowski; Barnaba; (Calgary, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Apple Inc. |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
41254732 |
Appl. No.: |
14/511262 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13868536 |
Apr 23, 2013 |
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14511262 |
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12935827 |
Sep 30, 2010 |
8446863 |
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PCT/CA2009/000559 |
Apr 29, 2009 |
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13868536 |
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61048721 |
Apr 29, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/328 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 40/20 20130101;
H04W 92/02 20130101; H04W 40/02 20130101; H04L 45/745 20130101;
H04W 88/16 20130101; H04W 80/04 20130101; H04W 88/08 20130101; H04L
45/72 20130101; H04W 88/02 20130101; H04W 84/045 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/328 |
International
Class: |
H04W 40/20 20060101
H04W040/20 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A user equipment device (UE), comprising: communication
circuitry configured to perform wireless communication with a femto
cellular access point; processing hardware coupled to the
communication circuitry, wherein the processing hardware is
configured to operate with the communication circuitry to: generate
first data packets for transmission to a terminal device having a
destination address within a local IP network coupled to the femto
cellular access point; transmit the first data packets to the
terminal device via the femto cellular access point using the
communication circuitry, the first data packets being maintained in
the local IP network without transmitting the data packets to a
core gateway of a macro cellular network in response to the
destination address being within the local IP network; generate
second data packets for transmission outside of the local IP
network; and transmit the second data packets to the femto cellular
access point using the communication circuitry, wherein the second
data packets comprise a destination address external to the local
IP network, the second data packets being routed to the core
gateway of the macro cellular network in response to the
destination address being external to the local IP network.
22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the terminal device includes at
least one of a media player, a printer, a computer or a data
storage device.
23. The UE of claim 21, wherein the first data packets are routed
through a router of the local IP network to the terminal
device.
24. The UE of claim 21, wherein the femto cellular access point is
configured to communicate control plane information associated with
the UE to a mobility management entity (MME) of the macro cellular
network.
25. The UE of claim 21, wherein the local IP network comprises a
plurality of terminal devices.
26. The UE of claim 21, wherein the femto cellular access point
provides a femto cellular access network, wherein the femto
cellular access network comprises an LTE network.
27. The UE of claim 21, wherein the femto cellular access point is
assigned an address local to the local IP network.
28. A method for communicating with a femto cellular access
network, comprising: at a user equipment device (UE): generating
first data packets for transmission to a terminal device having a
destination address within a local IP network coupled to the femto
cellular access point; transmitting the first data packets to the
terminal device via the femto cellular access point using the
communication circuitry, the first data packets being maintained in
the local IP network without transmitting the data packets to a
core gateway of a macro cellular network in response to the
destination address being within the local IP network; generating
second data packets for transmission outside of the local IP
network; and transmitting the second data packets to the femto
cellular access point using the communication circuitry, wherein
the second data packets comprise a destination address external to
the local IP network, the second data packets being routed to the
core gateway of the macro cellular network in response to the
destination address being external to the local IP network.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the terminal device includes at
least one of a media player, a printer, a computer or a data
storage device.
30. The method of claim 28, wherein the first data packets are
routed through a router of the local IP network to the terminal
device.
31. The method of claim 28, wherein the femto cellular access point
is configured to communicate control plane information associated
with the UE to a mobility management entity (MME) of the macro
cellular network.
32. The method of claim 28, wherein the local IP network comprises
a plurality of terminal devices.
33. The method of claim 28, wherein the femto cellular access point
provides a femto cellular access network, wherein the femto
cellular access network comprises an LTE network.
34. The method of claim 28, wherein the femto cellular access point
is assigned an address local to the local IP network.
35. A non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing
program instructions for enabling a user equipment (UE) to
communicate with a local IP network and a macro cellular network
via a femto cellular access point, wherein the program
instructions, when executed by a processor of the UE, cause the UE
to perform a method comprising: generating first data packets for
transmission to a terminal device having a destination address
within a local IP network coupled to the femto cellular access
point; transmitting the first data packets to the terminal device
via the femto cellular access point using the communication
circuitry, the first data packets being maintained in the local IP
network without transmitting the data packets to a core gateway of
a macro cellular network in response to the destination address
being within the local IP network; generating second data packets
for transmission outside of the local IP network; and transmitting
the second data packets to the femto cellular access point using
the communication circuitry, wherein the second data packets
comprise a destination address external to the local IP network,
the second data packets being routed to the core gateway of the
macro cellular network in response to the destination address being
external to the local IP network.
36. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim
35, wherein the terminal device includes at least one of a media
player, a printer, a computer or a data storage device.
37. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim
35, wherein the first data packets are routed through a router of
the local IP network to the terminal device.
38. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim
35, wherein the femto cellular access point is further configured
to communicate control plane information associated with the UE to
a mobility management entity (MME) of the macro cellular
network.
39. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim
35, wherein the local IP network comprises a plurality of terminal
devices.
40. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim
35, wherein the femto cellular access point provides a femto
cellular access network, wherein the femto cellular access network
comprises an LTE network.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to femto cell networks, and more
particularly to a system and method of granting user equipment
access to in-home electronic devices that are coupled to the femto
cell, both while the user equipment is operating within the femto
cell and while the user equipment is operating outside the femto
cell.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Wireless carriers employ cellular towers to generate large
cells for wireless communications over vast physical areas, such as
metropolitan or rural areas. The large cells or macro cells may
cover areas of 1 km to 5 km in diameter. A cellular tower
broadcasts wireless signals to and receives wireless signals from
user equipment or mobile handsets that are located throughout the
macro cells. Various structures are located within the macro cell
that obstruct, reflect or otherwise interfere with the wireless
signals. For example, users typically attempt to use mobile devices
inside structures such as homes and commercial establishments,
among other structures. These structures may be constructed of high
loss material, such as concrete or metal that block wireless
signals from penetrating the structures. Reception within these
structures is often poor and unreliable due to weak wireless signal
strength. Poor reception is associated with inferior quality of
service by the mobile user. Femto cells or micro cells are located
within these high loss structures to route signal transmissions
through existing broadband backhaul infrastructure to the macro
network. What is desired are systems and methods of allowing
multiple devices, such as cellular and network devices, that are
located within the femto cell to communicate with each other while
the user equipment is located within the femto cell or while the
user equipment is located outside the femto cell. Additionally,
what is desired are systems and methods of allowing the user
equipment to communicate with home-based devices, such as data
storage devices, printing devices or other devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention advantageously provides a method and system
for allowing multiple devices that are coupled through a femto
cell, such as user equipment and network terminal devices, to
communicate with each other while the user equipment is located
within the femto cell or while the user equipment is located
outside the femto cell. The invention also allows the user
equipment to communicate with home-based devices, such as data
storage devices, printing devices or other devices.
[0004] A system is provided for enabling a mobile device to
communicate with a local IP network host and an external IP network
host using a femto cellular access point on a femto cellular access
network. The system includes a local gateway that is coupled to the
femto cellular access network and receives data packets transmitted
on the femto cellular access network. The data packets are routed a
local IP network or an external IP network based on a destination
address associated with the data packets.
[0005] A system is also provided for enabling a mobile device that
is coupled to a macro cellular network to communicate with a local
IP network using a femto cellular access network through a macro
cellular access network. A local gateway is provided to receive
data packets that are transmitted on the macro cellular access
network and to routes the data packets to terminal devices that are
coupled to a local IP network.
[0006] A method is provided for using a femto cell to facilitate
communications between a mobile device and at least one terminal
device. The method includes assigning a local internet protocol
address to a local gateway and receiving data packets transmitted
by a mobile device at the local gateway. The data packets are
analyzed to identify a local destination address and are routed to
the at least one terminal device. The data packets are maintained
in a local network without transmitting data packets to a core
gateway.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] A more complete understanding of the invention, and the
attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily
understood by reference to the following detailed description when
considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the an in-home local
breakout network architecture constructed in accordance with the
principles of the invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the an away-from-home
remote access to a home-based network architecture constructed in
accordance with the principles of the invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart for performing a femto cell
local breakout in accordance with the principles of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The invention provides femto base stations or home evolved
Node-B devices that are positioned inside structures to improve
cellular quality of service and facilitate communications with
devices coupled to a home network. For example, the femto base
stations may be positioned inside residential or commercial
structures, among other structures. The femto base stations may
operate in the femto power range of about +15 dBm and may provide
an operation range of approximately 50 meters.
[0012] The femto base stations communicate with user equipment
("UE"), such as cellular telephone, personal digital assistants, or
other UE over wireless cellular technologies. The femto base
stations may use existing broadband backhaul infrastructure to
access networks, such as the Internet and/or macro networks,
through the publicly-switched telephone network. The femto base
stations may be coupled to digital subscriber line ("DSL") devices
or cable modems and to local area networks ("LANs").
[0013] The invention may operate using existing cellular
technologies, such as CDMA2000 1xRTT, evolution-data optimized
("EV-DO") and long-term evolution ("LTE") networks, among other
cellular networks.
[0014] The UE 102 may include a wide range of electronic devices,
including but not limited to mobile phones, personal data
assistants ("PDA") and similar devices, which use the various
communication technologies such as advanced mobile phone system
("AMPS"), time division multiple access ("TDMA"), code division
multiple access ("CDMA"), global system for mobile communications
("GSM"), general packet radio service ("GPRS"), 1.times.
evolution-data optimized (abbreviated as "EV-DO" or "1xEV-DO") and
universal mobile telecommunications system ("UMTS"). The UE 102
also include hardware and software suitable to support the control
plane functions needed to engage in wireless communication with the
femto base stations and enhanced nodes ("eNB"). Such hardware can
include a receiver, transmitter, central processing unit, storage
in the form of volatile and nonvolatile memory, and input/output
devices, among other hardware.
[0015] The invention is directed to deploying a plurality of femto
cells within a macro cell environment. While the various femto base
stations are components of the overall communications network, each
femto cell is separate and distinct from the existing macro cell
and any adjacent femto cells. During mobility, the system hands UE
communication sessions from a femto cell to the macro cell, or vice
versa. Alternatively, the system may hand UE communication sessions
from a femto cell to another femto cell.
[0016] According to one embodiment, the macro cells and the femto
cells employ handoff procedures that are initiated when signal
strength measurements originating in the active network, such as
the cellular network or the femto network, fall below pre-selected
threshold parameters. The UE 102 may detect the weak signal
strength emanating from the "active" access network and may
initiate a handoff to the "idle" access network, such as the femto
base station network or the cellular network, having a stronger
signal strength, by reporting the weak signal to the active access
network.
[0017] Alternatively, the handoff procedures may be initiated to
off-load terminal device traffic from the cellular network to the
femto base station network. The femto base station is a personal
and dedicated base station for each corresponding structure, such
as a home or commercial building. The femto base stations
independently support network traffic, along with the cellular
network that supports the macro cell.
[0018] The femto base station 110 may be directly or indirectly
coupled to a hub/switch 106, DSL/cable modem 107 and/or router 108.
These devices may include separate hardware devices or a
combination of hardware devices. The hub/switch 106 and router 108
may be provided to share system resources, such as terminal devices
104, with the UE 102. The terminal devices 104 may include personal
computers, laptops, printers, and media players, among other
terminal devices.
[0019] The invention provides femto base stations 110 having a
local PDN Gateway ("PGW") 112 with a home access point name ("APN")
and a serving gateway ("SGW") 114 that directs in-home data
requests to terminal devices 104 that are coupled to a local area
network 113. A single access point name may be assigned to a
plurality of subscribers and may be resolved to a target local PGW
112. Alternatively, a plurality of access point names may be
assigned to a plurality of subscribers.
[0020] Long-term evolution ("LTE") and evolved high rate packet
data ("eHRPD") are exemplary 4G technologies that improve the
universal mobile telecommunications system ("UMTS") mobile
telephone standard by providing a simplified, all-packet
architecture. The UMTS technology supports mobile Internet protocol
("IP") services, such as music downloads, video sharing, voice over
IP broadband access, and other IP services to laptops, personal
digital assistants ("PDAs") and other terminal devices 104. The LTE
enhances current UMTS capabilities by providing improved
efficiency, lower costs, increased peak data rates, lower latency,
improved services and improved integration with other open
standards. The invention further supports femto cellular access
networks, including an LTE network, an EVDO or evolved high rate
packet data (eHRPD) network connected to an evolved packet core
("EPC"), WiMax 802.16e/m connected to EPC.
[0021] It should be appreciated that, although the invention is
described with reference to the LTE network, the principles of the
invention may be adapted by one of skill in the art to include
other networks, such as WiMAX (802.16) networks, other CDMA2000
networks and any other networks known in the art or later
developed.
[0022] Referring now to the drawing figures in which like reference
designators refer to like elements, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary
block diagram of a system designated generally as "100" that
includes user equipment 102 that operates on cellular technology
and terminal devices 104 that operate on a local area network
within a femto cell range. The invention enables the UE 102 to
access the terminal devices 104 that are located within the femto
cell range. The UE 102 may be assigned a local area IP address. The
femto base station 110 includes a local packet data network ("PDN")
Gateway ("PGW") 112 having a home access point name ("APN") and a
local serving gateway ("SGW") 114 that routes in-cell data requests
to an in-home
[0023] LAN 113. The `home-based` PDN or local PGW 112 permits the
UE 102 to attach to terminal devices 104 on the local area network
113.
[0024] Local PGW 112 provides direct connectivity between the UE
102 and terminal devices 104 that are connected to the home LAN 113
through the femto base station 110. For example, the UE 102 may be
directly connected to terminal devices 104, including a printer,
media player, a display device or other terminal devices. The local
PGW 112 and the local SGW 114 may eliminate the need to send data
from the UE 102 across to operator's macro network 132. As a
result, Internet traffic may be off-loaded from a service
provider's wireless network to the backhaul IP infrastructure. The
femto base station 110, the local PGW 112 and the local SGW 114 may
be configured to enable the UE 102 to access one or more packet
data networks ("PDN") concurrently through one or more local PGWs
112.
[0025] To support this capability, in addition to supporting a home
or local SGW 114 and local PGW 112, the femto base station 110
supports the S5 and S11 interface, among other interfaces. The
femto gateway ("GW") 120, in addition to aggregating the S1-MME
interface, also may be enhanced to support S11 and S5
aggregation.
[0026] The femto base stations 110 may include a central processing
unit ("CPU"), transmitter, receiver, I/O devices and storage, such
as volatile and nonvolatile memory, to implement the functions
described herein. The femto base stations 110 may communicate with
the UE 102 over a radio interface.
[0027] The femto base station 110 is coupled to the femto GW 120
through IPsec tunnel 116. IPsec tunnel 116 provides a secure public
network connection and preventing wiretapping, traffic manipulation
or other security threats. The femto GW 120 is an interface to
external networks and may be coupled to a plurality of femto base
stations 110. For example, the femto GW 120 may be coupled to and
may manage hundreds or thousands of femto base stations 110.
Additionally, the femto GW 120 may be configured as an
authenticator that grants local breakout authorization.
[0028] According to one embodiment, a mobility management entity
("MME") 134 may be provided as a control plane entity to manage the
UE 102 within the LTE network to authenticate the UE 102. The MME
134 may be connected to the femto base station 110. The MME 134 is
a signaling only entity, such that IP data packets that originate
from the UE 102 are not processed at the MME 134. The MME 134 may
perform various functions, including non-access stratum ("NAS")
signaling; NAS signaling security; tracking area list management
for mobile terminals in idle and active mode; packet data network
gateway ("PDN-GW") selection and serving gateway ("S-GW")
selection; roaming; authentication; and bearer management
functions; among other functions.
[0029] The femto GW 120 communicates with packet data network
gateway ("PDN GW") or ("PGW") 130. The communication may be
performed using an S5 reference point, among other interfaces. PGW
130 provides the UE 102 with access to one or more PDN concurrently
through one or more PGWs 130. The PGW 130 provides an anchor point
for the UE 102 and remains in communication with the UE 102
throughout a communication session, regardless of whether the UE
102 moves to different network nodes. The PGW 130 is configured not
to receive data that is transmitted using the femto base station
110 between the UE 102 and in-home terminal devices 104. External
Internet traffic may be routed to the terminal devices 104 through
the in-home or local PGW 112 or the PGW 130, based on operator
decision. The PGW 130 may perform various functions, including
packet filtering on a per-user basis; interception; mobile terminal
IP address allocation; uplink ("UL") and downlink ("DL") service
level charging, gating and rate enforcement; and transport level
packet marking in the downlink; among performing other functions.
Additionally, the PGW 130 may manage mobility between 4G networks
and non-4G networks.
[0030] A serving gateway ("SGW") 136 may be coupled to an evolved
UMTS terrestrial LAN (e-UTRAN) and the MME 134 to manage packet
forwarding uplink and downlink between the PGW 130 and the e-UTRAN
environment. The SGW 136 may perform various functions, including
being a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNB handoffs;
mobility anchoring for inter-4G mobility; interception; packet
routing and forwarding; transport level packet marking in the
uplink and downlink; uplink and downlink per mobile terminal, PDN
and quality of service class identifier ("QCI"); and accounting on
user and QCI granularity for inter-operator charging; among
performing other functions. An IP multimedia subsystem ("IMS") core
140 may be coupled to the PGW 130 to handle calls or sessions,
real-time session negotiation and management. A home subscriber
server ("HSS") may be coupled to the MME 134 to maintain a physical
location of the user. The HSS may be implemented with a master
database having subscription and location information.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a system for
enabling the UE 102, which is located at a remote location, to
communicate with in-home terminal 104 devices. The invention
enables users to access the home network 113 while connected to the
macro network. Additional PDN connectivity enables the user to
specify a home PDN as a target PDN. The SGW 136 on the macro
network creates an S5 tunnel to the user's home PDN and provides
the UE 102 with access to the terminal devices 104 on the local
network. The components of FIG. 2 are the same as the components of
FIG. 1, with FIG. 2 including a communications path from the SGW
136 to the femto GW 120 in order to facilitate routing of a request
to the local PGW 112. The UE 102 communicates with the e-UTRAN 135
in the macro network, where the UE 102 is authenticated and a data
packet is forwarded to the SGW 136. The SGW 136 analyzes the data
packet from the UE 102 and determines whether to direct the
received data to the local or home-based PGW 112 through the femto
GW 120. The UE 102 may acquire an IP address for itself on both the
remote network and the local or home-based network 113 through, for
example, a dynamic host configuration protocol ("DHCP") or another
address management protocol. The femto GW 120 may direct the data
packets to the local or home-based PGW 112. The local PGW 112 may
send the data packets to the in-home LAN 113 for distribution to
target in-home terminal devices 104.
[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for performing
local breakout at the femto base station 110. A femto base station
is configured to include a home access point name in step S302.
Receive a data packet at the macro network in step S304. Evaluate
the data packet at the mobility management entity and forward the
data packet to the femto GW at step S306. Forward the data packet
to a corresponding local PGW at step S308. Route the data packet to
an in-home breakout device at step S310. Communicate with an
in-home device in step S312.
[0033] It should be appreciated that, although the invention is
described with reference to the LTE network, the principles of the
invention may be adapted by one of skill in the art to migrate
between any networks, including other networks, such as 1xRTT
networks, EV-DO networks, UMTS networks, WiMAX (802.16) networks,
other CDMA2000 networks and any other networks known in the art or
later developed.
[0034] The present invention can be realized in hardware, software,
or a combination of hardware and software. Any kind of computing
system, or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods
described herein, is suited to perform the functions described
herein.
[0035] A typical combination of hardware and software could be a
specialized computer system having one or more processing elements
and a computer program stored on a storage medium that, when loaded
and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out
the methods described herein. The present invention can also be
embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the
features enabling the implementation of the methods described
herein, and which, when loaded in a computing system is able to
carry out these methods. Storage medium refers to any volatile or
non-volatile storage device.
[0036] Computer program or application in the present context means
any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of
instructions intended to cause a system having an information
processing capability to perform a particular function either
directly or after either or both of the following a) conversion to
another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different
material form.
[0037] In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary,
it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to
scale. Significantly, this invention can be embodied in other
specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential
attributes thereof, and accordingly, reference should be had to the
following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as
indicating the scope of the invention.
[0038] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that
the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly
shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was
made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the
accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications
and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without
departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which is
limited only by the following claims.
* * * * *