Radio Communication Device Rapid Cellular to WLAN Offloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing cellular communication systems face difficulties in rapidly offloading traffic loads to wireless LAN communication due to the need for various settings between user terminals and access points, hindering seamless switching.
Innovation Solution
A radio communication apparatus and processor that utilize a wireless LAN protocol stack instead of the cellular lower layer, allowing for a specific mode selection to facilitate rapid offloading by using the cellular upper layer for traffic switching between cellular and wireless LAN communication systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traffic switching from cellular to wireless LAN is performed using conventional methods, then traffic offloading is achieved, but various settings between user terminal and access point are required which slows down the switching process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lower layer protocols (physical layer and MAC layer) from the cellular communication stack and replaces them with wireless LAN protocols, while retaining the cellular upper layers (RLC, PDCP, RRC). This selective extraction allows traffic offloading to wireless LAN without requiring complete reconfiguration of all protocol layers, thereby reducing settings complexity while maintaining offloading capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication protocol stack is segmented into lower layers (physical and MAC) and upper layers (RLC, PDCP, RRC). The invention applies different protocol stacks to different segments: wireless LAN protocols for the lower layer segment and cellular protocols for the upper layer segment. This segmentation enables rapid switching by only modifying the lower layer segment while preserving the configured upper layer settings.
2Reliability
If complete protocol reconfiguration is performed for wireless LAN switching, then reliable communication is established, but the switching time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The upper layer protocols (RLC, PDCP, RRC) are pre-configured and maintained in the cellular communication stack. When switching to wireless LAN is required, these pre-configured upper layers can be immediately utilized without requiring new configuration, thereby reducing switching time while maintaining communication reliability through the use of established protocol settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges wireless LAN protocol capabilities with cellular protocol configurations by integrating the wireless LAN physical and MAC layers with the cellular RLC, PDCP, and RRC layers. This hybrid approach combines the rapid connectivity establishment of wireless LAN with the reliable configured protocols of cellular communication, achieving both fast switching and maintained reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A radio communication apparatus according to a first aspect is an apparatus for supporting cellular communication and wireless LAN communication. A protocol stack for the cellular communication includes: a cellular lower layer including a physical layer and a MAC layer; and a cellular upper layer higher than the MAC layer. The radio communication apparatus comprises a controller configured to set a specific mode using a protocol stack of the wireless LAN communication instead of the cellular lower layer.