Network Access Entity Mobility Anchor for Seamless Handovers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication networks face challenges in dynamically reconfiguring and assigning mobile or static user equipment to network access entities without interrupting existing connections, particularly during inter-EPC-handovers, where user equipment is transferred between different EPCs connected to the same data network.
Innovation Solution
A network access entity is configured with a packet data network gateway (PGW) and a UE mobility table that manages the assignment of user equipment identifiers to multiple PGWs, enabling seamless handovers by updating the mobility table when a user equipment leaves one PGW and joins another, ensuring continuous connectivity and service availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If user equipment is transferred between different EPCs during handover, then mobility and flexibility are improved, but connection continuity and service availability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes bearer copies and mobility anchor configurations in advance before handover occurs. The mobility anchor pre-configures the target EPC with bearer state information, ensuring that when handover happens, the connection is already prepared and can be seamlessly transferred without interruption, thus maintaining connection continuity while enabling mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mobility anchor as an intermediary entity that mediates between the source and target EPCs during handover. The mobility anchor maintains bearer states and coordinates the transfer process, acting as a buffer that ensures continuous connectivity while the UE moves between different EPCs, thereby resolving the contradiction between mobility and connection continuity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple network access entities are deployed, then service redundancy and flexibility are improved, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the mobility anchor and network access entities with multi-functional capabilities. The mobility anchor can serve multiple UEs and coordinate handovers between multiple EPCs, while each network access entity can function as both a serving gateway and a mobility management point. This universal design enables service redundancy without proportionally increasing network complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the core network into multiple independent network access entities and EPCs, each capable of autonomous operation. This segmentation allows services to be distributed across multiple entities, providing redundancy and flexibility. The modular architecture manages complexity by allowing each segment to be independently configured and maintained.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
Systems and methods for data transmission are disclosed. A network access entity (3) is configured to provide access to communication services of a data network (10) to at least one user equipment, UE, (50). The network access entity (3) includes a packet data network gateway, PGW, (32) with a PGW identifier, PGWID, which uniquely identifies the PGW, and a UE mobility table (36) containing an assignment of a UE identifier, UEID, of each one of the at least one UE to a PGW, wherein the assignment indicates a PGWID of a PGW via which a specific UE is accessible from the data network. The network access entity is configured to transmit and/or receive data to and from a remote station (60), respectively, via the data network (10), to assign a data flow (54, 56) from the remote station (60) to one of the at least one UE (50), and to update the UE mobility table (36) in case a UE leaves the range of the network access entity (3) and reassign a PGWID of a neighboring PGW to the leaving UE, via which neighboring PGW the UE can be reached.