Wireless Handover Session Context Pre-arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communications networks face challenges in ensuring service continuity during handovers from untrusted access points to trusted access points, particularly due to the lack of awareness by the trusted access point about ongoing communications sessions, leading to prolonged handover times and potential resource misallocation.
Innovation Solution
The method involves the communications device, core network, and access points coordinating to pre-arrange information about the current communications session, including an indication of service receipt via the untrusted access point, allowing seamless handover and maintaining service continuity by ensuring the trusted access point is prepared to receive the service post-handover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the communications device hands over from an untrusted access point to a trusted access point without pre-arranging session information, then the handover procedure is simpler, but the handover latency increases and service continuity is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the target trusted access point pre-arrange and store session information from the source untrusted access point before the handover occurs. This includes pre-establishing session context, security credentials, and service information so that when handover is triggered, the target access point can immediately resume service without requiring extensive real-time negotiation, thereby reducing handover latency while managing complexity through advance preparation
2Reliability
If the trusted access point is not informed about the current communications session in advance, then the handover procedure is faster to initiate, but resource misallocation occurs and service continuity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the source untrusted access point as an intermediary to transfer session information to the target trusted access point before handover. The source access point collects and packages relevant session context, including service type, quality of service parameters, and communication state, then forwards this information to the target access point, ensuring the target is fully informed about the ongoing session without requiring the communications device to manually transfer all details
Solution Approach 2:
The target trusted access point performs preliminary actions by pre-receiving and storing session information from the source access point before the handover is initiated. This advance preparation ensures that when the communications device switches access points, the target is already configured with the necessary session context to maintain service continuity and properly allocate resources without interruption
3Use of energy by moving object
If the communications device maintains an inactive state with retained context during handover, then power consumption is reduced, but the complexity of managing context retention and transfer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by having the network infrastructure (source and target access points, and core network) handle the complex task of context retention and transfer without requiring the communications device to actively manage it. The device simply maintains its inactive state with retained context while the network entities autonomously exchange and synchronize session information, reducing the device's processing burden and power consumption while managing context complexity at the network level rather than the device level
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing service continuity in a handover of a communications device from an untrusted access point to a trusted access point in a wireless communications network includes transmitting a request to receive a service from a core network of the wireless communications network via the untrusted access point, the communications device being in an inactive state; receiving from the untrusted access point the requested service using a current communications session; determining that a handover procedure should be performed from the untrusted access point to the trusted access point; arranging for the trusted access point to receive information regarding the current communications session in advance of the handover, the information including at least an indication that the communications device is currently receiving the requested service via the untrusted access point; receiving the requested service from the core network via the trusted access point after the handover.