CN102932858A

CN102932858A - Method, device and system for acquiring location area information from heterogeneous network switching

Info

Publication number: CN102932858A
Application number: CN2012104476022A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 帅扬来
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-08-15
Filing date: 2008-08-15
Publication date: 2013-02-13

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for acquiring location area information from heterogeneous network switching. The method comprises that: a mobility management entity of a target network receives user equipment location area relative information sent by a mobility management entity of a source network; when the mobility management entity of the target network confirms receiving of the user equipment location area relative information, the mobility management entity of the target network acquires location area information and timer information which are required by the user equipment according to the location area relative information; and the mobility management entity of the target network sends the location area information and timer information which are required by the user equipment to the user equipment. The invention further discloses a device and system for acquiring location area information from heterogeneous network switching. The method and the device and system for acquiring the location area information from heterogeneous network switching can enable the target network to acquire the location area information of the user equipment, simultaneously the user equipment can acquire required location area information and timer information, switching among heterogeneous networks can be smoothly completed, and the target network can also normally maintain the user equipment.

Description

Method, device and system for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network switching

Technical Field

The present invention relates to mobile communication technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover.

Background

In a conventional wireless communication network, due to the limited frequency resources of the wireless communication system, the harsh transmission environment and other factors, an access network cannot provide a high access rate. With the development of broadband wireless technology, the broadband wireless access network overcomes the defects in the traditional wireless communication network, can support high-speed access service, and greatly improves the access capability of wireless communication. The broadband radio access network belongs to a non-3 GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network.

The application of the broadband wireless access network brings high-speed access and also brings the problem that a user needs to perform mobile handover between different access networks.

When User Equipment (UE) is handed over between 3GPP and non-3 GPP access networks, smooth handover requires the target network to grasp various parameters of the UE, including the state of the UE and the location area of the UE in the target network. And only after the target network grasps the parameters of the UE, the state of the UE can be maintained after the UE completes the whole switching process and accesses the target network, so that the UE can normally use the communication network.

In the process of implementing the invention, the inventor finds that: in the existing heterogeneous network, for example, in the process of handover of the UE between the 3GPP and the non-3 GPP network, the target network cannot know the location area information of the UE. Therefore, the UE cannot acquire the location area information of the target network where the UE is located, which is required for completing the handover. Therefore, the UE may not be switched to enter the target network, or after the UE enters the target network, the target network may not perform management operations such as state maintenance on the UE.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present invention mainly aim to provide a method for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover, so that a target network can acquire location area information of a user equipment in the target network.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a device and a system for acquiring the position area information in the heterogeneous network switching.

In order to achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

the method for acquiring the location area information in the heterogeneous network switching comprises the following steps:

a mobile management entity of a target network receives the position area related information of user equipment sent by the mobile management entity of a source network;

when confirming that the relevant information of the location area of the user equipment is received, a mobility management entity of a target network acquires the location area information required by the user equipment according to the relevant information of the location area; and

and the mobile management entity of the target network sends the location area information required by the user equipment to the user equipment.

The mobility management entity of the embodiment of the invention comprises a processing module and a transceiver module, wherein,

the receiving and sending module is used for sending the relevant information of the location area of the user equipment to a mobile management entity of a target network and sending the location area information required by the user equipment to the user equipment;

the processing module is used for acquiring the location area related information of the user equipment and sending the location area related information to the mobility management entity of the target network through the transceiving module.

Another mobility management entity of the embodiment of the present invention includes a processing module and a transceiver module, wherein,

the processing module is used for confirming that the receiving and sending module receives the relevant information of the location area of the user equipment; acquiring the position area information in the target network required by the user equipment according to the position area related information; and sending the location area information in the target network required by the user equipment to the user equipment through the transceiver module.

The system for acquiring the location area information in the heterogeneous network switching comprises user equipment, a mobility management entity of a source network and a mobility management entity of a target network, wherein,

the mobility management entity of the target network is configured to,

receiving the location area related information of the user equipment sent by a mobile management entity of a source network;

when the receiving of the location area related information of the user equipment is confirmed, the location area information required by the user equipment is obtained according to the location area related information; and

and sending the location area information required by the user equipment to the user equipment.

Another system for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a user equipment, a mobility management entity of a source network, and a mobility management entity of a target network, wherein,

and the mobility management entity of the source network is used for acquiring the position area related information of the user equipment and sending the position area related information of the user equipment to the mobility management entity of the target network.

Another method for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a mobile management entity of a target network receives an attachment request message sent by user equipment through a mobile management entity of a source network;

when confirming that the position area information is not received, the mobility management entity of the target network constructs an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sends the attachment acceptance message to the user equipment through the mobility management entity of the source network, wherein the attachment acceptance message does not contain the position area information required by the user equipment;

a mobility management entity of a target network receives an attachment completion message sent by the user equipment through a mobility management entity of the source network, and completes the switching of a wireless link of the user equipment to the target network according to the attachment completion message; and

and after the mobile management entity of the target network completes the switching of the wireless link of the user equipment to the target network, the location area information of the user equipment is obtained through a location area updating process initiated by the user equipment.

the receiving and sending module is used for receiving an attachment request message and an attachment completion message sent by user equipment and sending an attachment acceptance message to the user equipment;

the processing module is used for processing the data,

when determining that the location area information of the user equipment is not received, constructing an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sending the attachment acceptance message through the transceiver module, wherein the attachment acceptance message does not contain the location area information required by the user equipment;

completing the switching of the wireless link of the user equipment to a target network according to the attachment completion message;

and acquiring the location area information of the user equipment through a location area updating process initiated by the user equipment.

The user equipment of the embodiment of the invention comprises a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein,

the receiving and sending module is used for receiving an attachment receiving message sent by a mobile management entity of a target network; sending an attachment request message and an attachment completion message to a mobile management entity of the target network;

the processing module is used for constructing an attachment request message according to the decision of initiating switching; when confirming that the position area information required by the user equipment is not received, constructing an attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message, and sending the attachment completion message through the transceiver module; and initiating a location area updating process after the wireless link of the user equipment is switched to a target network.

Another system for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mobility management entity of a target network, a mobility management entity of a source network, and a user equipment, wherein,

the mobility management entity of the target network is configured to,

receiving an attachment request message sent by user equipment through a mobile management entity of a source network;

when confirming that the location area information of the user equipment is not received, constructing an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sending the attachment acceptance message to the user equipment through a mobility management entity of the source network, wherein the attachment acceptance message does not contain the location area information required by the user equipment;

receiving an attachment completion message sent by the user equipment through a mobility management entity of the source network;

completing the switching of the wireless link of the user equipment to a target network according to the attachment completion message; and

and acquiring the location area information of the user equipment through the location area updating process initiated by the user equipment.

the user equipment is configured to, in response to the user equipment,

constructing an attach request message according to the decision of initiating the handover;

sending the attachment request message to a mobility management entity of a target network through the mobility management entity of the source network;

receiving an attachment acceptance message sent by a mobile management entity of a target network through a mobile management entity of a source network;

when confirming that the position area information of the user equipment in the target network is not received, constructing an attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message;

sending the attachment completion message to a mobility management entity of a target network through the mobility management entity of the source network;

and initiating a location update procedure.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method, a device and a system for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network switching. Therefore, the user equipment can complete the handover smoothly, and the target network can maintain the state of the user equipment normally. Meanwhile, the user equipment can normally and periodically update the position through the position area information sent by the mobile management entity of the target network, so that the target network can conveniently maintain the state of the user equipment. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention further provide another method, an apparatus, and a system for handover in a wireless network, where the embodiments can smoothly complete a handover process through a mobility management device of a target network and a user equipment in the case of lack of location area information, and initiate a location area update procedure after a wireless link of the user equipment is handed over to the target network, so that the target network can clearly know a location area where the user equipment is located, and the user equipment can also obtain location area information where the user equipment is located, thereby implementing smooth handover, and the target network normally maintains a state of the user equipment.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a first method for acquiring location area information in a heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for acquiring location area information in implementing a handover between heterogeneous networks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system for acquiring location area information in a heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a second method for acquiring location area information in a heterogeneous network handover according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention proposes a plurality of embodiments, which will be described in detail below. It should be noted that the MME (mobility Management Entity) mentioned in the embodiments of the present invention is only an example of a mobility Management Entity in a 3GPP network, and may also be a mobility Management Entity in another 3GPP network, for example, an SGSN (Serving GPRS support node).

AN HRPD AN (High Rate Packet Data Access Node) is just AN example of a mobility management entity in a non-3 GPP Network, and may also be a mobility management entity in other non-3 GPP networks, such as AN Access Service Gateway (ASN GW) in WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for microwave Access) and AN Evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG) in AN Industrial Wireless Local Area Network (IWLAN), for example.

TAI (tracking Area Identity) is only an example of the UE location Area information, and may also be other information indicating the UE location Area, for example, TAC (tracking Area Code), RAI (Routing Area Identity), and the like, and similarly, TAU procedure (tracking Area Update procedure) is also an example of the UE location Area Update procedure, and may also be other procedures capable of implementing UE location Area Update.

The location area-related information includes information related to a location area, such as a cell ID of a source network, and various information from which location area information can be determined.

A Period TA Update Timer (periodic tracking area Update Timer) is just one example of a UE periodic location Update Timer, and may be other timers for implementing UE location Update.

In order to solve the problem that a target network cannot acquire the location area information of the UE when the UE is switched between the wireless access networks, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for acquiring the location area information of the UE, which is specifically shown in fig. 1.

The UE accesses and operates in a non-3 GPP network, e.g., performs related service access. When a terminal needs to be handed over from a non-3 GPP network to a 3GPP network, the method of acquiring location area information as shown in fig. 1 may be adopted. In the method shown in fig. 1, the HRPD AN is a mobility management entity in a non-3 GPP network, the MME is a mobility management entity in a 3GPP network, the non-3 GPP network is a source network, and the 3GPP network is a target network. The method comprises the following steps:

step 101, UE sends network attach request message to HRPD AN to request to access target network.

After receiving the notice of initiating the switch of the HRPD AN, the UE constructs AN attachment request message according to the decision of initiating the switch and sends AN air interface message to the HRPD AN. The air interface message comprises an attachment request message to request to access a target network.

The decision to initiate handover may be initiated by HRPD AN or UE. For example, when the HRPD AN determines that the UE needs to perform network handover according to the data reported by the UE and the local policy, it decides to initiate handover from the source network to the target network, and notifies the UE of a request to initiate network handover. For example, the UE decides to initiate handover from the source network to the target network based on the collected information. The collected information includes, for example, signal strength, interference information, and the like of the own cell and the neighboring cell.

In step 102, the HRPD AN forwards the attach request message of the UE to the MME.

The HRPD AN may complete forwarding of the UE attach request message by encapsulating the received UE attach request message in a "DirectTransfer" message and sending the encapsulated UE attach request message to the MME. The forwarding operation is, for example, transparent transmission, and the following description takes transparent transmission as an example. Meanwhile, the HRPDAN may further encapsulate other messages in the Direct Transfer message, such as information of the current UE communication interface ID and UE capability. The current UE communication interface ID and UE capability information are used to indicate the MME, the communication interface between the MME and the HRPD AN for the current UE and the capabilities of the UE requesting access.

Step 103, the MME sends AN attach accept message to the HRPD AN.

And after receiving the Direct Transfer sent by the HRPD AN, the MME analyzes the Direct Transfer message. And when determining that the Direct Transfer message does not contain the TAI parameter of the UE, constructing AN attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message carried in the Direct Transfer message, and sending the attachment acceptance message to the HRPD AN to prepare for accepting the UE to access the target network. Wherein the attach accept message does not contain a TAI list parameter. In general, under the condition that the TAI parameter is not received, the attach accept message generally does not contain a Period TA Update Timer parameter, and details are not described in the following embodiments. Meanwhile, the MME may further encapsulate other messages in the Direct Transfer message, for example, information such as a communication interface ID and a bearer establishment request. The communication interface ID and the bearing establishment request information are used for indicating a communication interface used by the HRPD AN and the MME and preparing to establish a bearing.

And step 104, the HRPD AN transparently transmits the attachment acceptance message to the UE.

And the HRPD AN encapsulates the attachment acceptance message in AN air interface message and sends the air interface message to the UE to complete the transparent transmission of the MME attachment acceptance message. Besides transparently transmitting the attachment acceptance message, the HRPD AN may further encapsulate a bearer establishment request in the air interface message to complete the transparently transmitting of the bearer request message.

Step 105, the UE sends AN attach complete message to the HRPD AN.

And the UE constructs an attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message in the air interface message when confirming that the air interface message does not contain the TAI list parameter according to the received air interface message. And encapsulating the attachment completion message in AN air interface message, and sending the air interface message to the HRPD AN. Meanwhile, the air interface message may further include bearer establishment response information to finally establish a bearer.

And step 106, the HRPD AN transparently transmits the attachment completion message.

And after receiving the attachment completion message sent by the UE, the HRPD AN encapsulates the message in a DirectTransfer message and sends the DirectTransfer message to the MME to complete the transparent transmission of the attachment completion message. Meanwhile, the HRPD AN may further include a current UE communication interface ID and a bearer establishment response in the Direct Transfer message, where the current UE communication interface ID and the bearer establishment response are used to indicate the S101 interface used by the UE for the current UE and complete bearer establishment. And after receiving the attachment completion message, the MME completes the switching of the current UE wireless link to the target network through general operations such as information interaction and the like according to the attachment completion message and the core network.

Step 107, the UE initiates a location area update procedure.

After the radio link of the UE is switched to the target network, the network connection from the UE to the target network is already established, and the UE may initiate a location area update procedure. And reporting the information TAI of the location area where the UE is located through the location area updating process UE, and accordingly, the MME acquires the TAI parameter of the current UE. And the MME sends corresponding TAI list parameters to the UE according to the TAI parameters, and can also send parameters such as Period TA Update Timer and the like to the UE. In the following embodiments, the Period TA update Timer parameter may also be sent while the TAI list parameter is sent, or the Period TA update Timer parameter may be obtained while the TAI list parameter is obtained, which is not described in detail in the following embodiments.

By acquiring the TAI parameter of the UE, the MME can smoothly maintain the state of the UE after the UE switches to the target network, and the UE can also periodically update the location area information and perform state maintenance according to the obtained location area information and the timer information.

After the UE successfully accesses the target network, the HRPD AN may release resources in the source network for use by UEs accessing other source networks.

In addition, in step 104, the MME may start a timer at the same time as sending the attach accept message. And if the timer is over, namely the UE does not switch the wireless link into the target network within the specified time, the MME initiates a network quitting process aiming at the UE. Through the network exit process, the MME can clear the information of the UE in the target network and release the resources allocated to the UE, thereby optimizing the network performance and reducing the redundancy.

In the above embodiment, when it is determined that the attach request message does not include the TAI parameter of the UE, the MME may normally complete the subsequent handover procedure, and send an attach accept message, but the attach accept message does not include the TAI list and the Period TA Update Timer parameter; meanwhile, when the UE confirms that the received attachment acceptance message does not contain the TAI list parameter, the subsequent switching process can be normally completed, and the attachment completion message is sent, so that the switching process can be smoothly completed. And after the wireless link of the UE is switched to the target network, the UE initiates a location area updating process. Through the location area updating process, the MME acquires the TAI parameters of the UE, and the UE acquires the TAI list and the Period TAUpdate Timer in the target network, so that the target network can clearly know the location and the state of the UE, the UE can update the location and the state of the UE regularly, and the normal maintenance of the network on the state and the position of the UE is realized. Therefore, the UE can be successfully handed over to the target network.

The MME in the above embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig. 2, and includes a processing module and a transceiver module. The receiving and sending module is used for receiving information sent by other devices and sending information to other devices, and comprises receiving AN attachment request and AN attachment completion message sent by the UE through the HRPD AN, and sending AN attachment acceptance message to the UE through the HRPD AN.

The processing module is configured to confirm that the TAI parameter of the UE is not received after the receiving module receives the attach request message; constructing an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sending the attachment acceptance message through the transceiver module; completing a switching process according to the attachment completion message; acquiring a TAI parameter of the UE through a location area updating process initiated by the UE, and constructing a TAIlist and a Period TA Update Timer parameter according to the TAI parameter; and sending the parameters to the UE through the transceiving module.

In addition, the processing module is further configured to start a timer when the attach accept message is sent to the UE through the transceiver module, and if the UE does not access the target network within a specified time, the processing module is configured to initiate a network logout procedure for the UE.

The UE in the above embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig. 3, and includes a processing module and a transceiver module. The receiving and sending module is used for receiving information sent by other devices and sending information to other devices, and comprises receiving AN attachment acceptance message sent by the MME through the HRPD AN, and sending AN attachment request and AN attachment completion message to the MME through the HRPD AN.

The processing module is used for constructing AN attachment request message according to the decision of HRPD AN initiated switching or the decision of UE initiated switching and sending the attachment request message through the receiving and sending module; after the receiving module receives the attachment acceptance message and confirms that the TAI list parameter is not received, constructing an attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message and sending the attachment completion message through the receiving and sending module; and after the MME finishes the operation of switching the UE wireless link to the target network, initiating a location area updating process

The processing module is configured to construct the attach request message according to a decision that the HRPD AN initiates a handover, specifically, when determining that the UE needs to perform network handover according to data reported by the UE and a local policy, the HRPD AN determines to initiate a handover from a source network to a target network, and notifies the UE of a request for initiating a network handover, so that the UE constructs the attach request message according to the request. In addition, the processing module is further configured to send AN attach request to the HRPD lan through the transceiver module according to the notification of initiating the handoff sent by the HRPD AN. The attach request is forwarded by the HRPD AN to the MME. The HRPD AN, for example, decides to initiate a handover from the source network to the target network based on the collected information, for example, by the UE. The collected information includes, for example, signal strength, interference information, and the like of the own cell and the neighboring cell.

The processing module is configured to construct the attach request message according to the decision of the UE to initiate handover, specifically, the processing module decides to initiate handover according to information collected by signal strength, interference, and the like, and constructs the attach request message according to the decision.

The system in the above embodiment is shown in fig. 3, and includes at least UE, MME and HRPD AN. Wherein,

the UE is used for constructing an attachment request message according to the decision of initiating switching and sending the attachment request message to the MME; receiving an attachment acceptance message sent by an MME; when determining that the TAI list and/or Period TA Update Timer parameter is not received, constructing the attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message, and sending the attachment completion message to the MME; and initiating a location area updating process after the wireless link is switched to the target network.

The UE is also configured to decide to initiate a handover based on the collected information.

The MME is used for receiving an attachment request message sent by the UE; when determining that the TAI parameter of the UE is not received, constructing the attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sending the attachment acceptance message to the UE; the attach accept message does not contain a TAI list parameter; and receiving an attachment completion message sent by the UE, and performing general operations such as information interaction and the like with a core network according to the attachment completion message to complete the switching of the UE wireless link to a target network.

The HRPD AN is used for carrying out message transparent transmission between the MME and the UE, and comprises the steps of transmitting AN attachment request message and AN attachment completion message of the UE to the MME and transmitting AN attachment acceptance message of the MME to the UE.

The HRPD AN is also used for deciding to initiate switching according to the information reported by the UE and the local strategy and informing the UE.

As mentioned above, the UE in the system may further include a processing module and a transceiver module, where specific implementation of the processing module and the transceiver module refers to the UE, and is not described herein again.

As described above, the MME in the above system may further include a processing module and a transceiver module, where specific implementation of the processing module and the transceiver module refers to the foregoing MME, and is not described herein again.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a method for acquiring the position area information as shown in figure 4. The method comprises the following steps:

step 401, the UE constructs AN attach request message according to the decision of initiating handover, and sends the attach request message to the HRPD AN to request to access the target network.

After receiving the notification of initiating the switching, the UE constructs an attachment request message according to the decision of initiating the switching, and sends an air interface message to the HRPD, wherein the air interface message comprises the attachment request message to request to access a target network.

The decision to initiate handover may be made by the HRPD AN according to data reported by the UE and a local policy, or may be made by the UE according to collected information.

In step 402, the HRPD AN transparently passes the received attach request message to the MME.

And the HRPD AN transparently transmits the attachment request message to the MME by encapsulating the attachment request message in a Direct Transfer message. After receiving AN attach request message sent by the UE, the HRPD AN encapsulates the location area related information acquired by the HRPD AN and the attach request message into a Direct Transfer message and sends the Direct Transfer message to the MME, so that the MME learns the location area of the target network where the UE is located.

In step 402, the HRPD AN acquiring location area related information may be: the HRPD AN can dynamically acquire the cell ID of the UE accessing the target network through network selection, and determine the corresponding location area information TAI of the target network where the UE is located according to the mapping of the cell ID of the target network and the location area information of the target network. According to the method, the related information of the position area acquired by the HRPD AN is the TAI parameter of the UE. The MME can directly learn the location area of the UE according to the TAI parameter encapsulated in the Direct Transfer message. Wherein the dynamic acquisition by network selection may be, for example, measurement report acquisition according to the UE.

According to the method for acquiring the location area related information by the HRPD AN, the HRPD AN can also acquire the cell ID of the UE accessing the target network through the target network cell ID statically configured in the HRPD AN.

In step 402, the HRPD AN obtaining the location area related information may further be: the HRPD AN dynamically acquires the cell ID of the UE accessing the target network through network selection or acquires the cell ID of the UE accessing the target network through the target network cell ID statically configured in the HRPDAN. And the HRPD AN encapsulates the cell ID of the target network as the relevant information of the location area in a Direct Transfer message and sends the message to the MME.

In step 402, the HRPD AN obtaining the location area related information may further be: the HRPD AN takes the cell ID of the UE in the source network as the relevant information of the location area, encapsulates the cell ID in the Direct Transfer message and sends the message to the MME

In step 403, the MME sends AN attach accept message to the HRPD AN.

After receiving the attach request message, the MME confirms that the Direct Transfer message includes the location area related information of the UE. And then, the MME constructs an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and acquires TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters which need to be sent to the UE according to the position area related information contained in the Direct Transfer message. And the MME encapsulates the attachment acceptance message and the parameters into a Direct Transfer message and sends the Direct Transfer message to the HRPD AN.

In step 403, the MME confirms that the location area related information of the UE included in the Direct Transfer message may be that the Direct Transfer message includes the TAI parameter of the UE, the cell ID in the target network, or the cell ID in the source network.

In step 403, the MME acquires the TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters that need to be sent to the UE according to the location area related information, or the MME directly acquires the TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters according to the TAI parameters in the Direct Transfer message.

In step 403, the MME acquires the TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters that need to be sent to the UE according to the location area related information, or the MME determines the TAI parameters of the UE according to the cell ID of the target network in the DirectTransfer message, and the mapping between the cell ID of the target network and the location area information of the target network. After obtaining the TAI parameter, the MME obtains a TAI list and a Period TA Update Timer parameter according to the TAI parameter.

In step 403, the MME acquires the TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters that need to be sent to the UE according to the location area related information, or the MME determines the TAI parameters of the UE according to the cell ID of the source network in the DirectTransfer message, and the mapping between the cell ID of the source network and the location area information of the target network. Similarly, after obtaining the TAI parameter, the MME obtains a TAI list and a Period TA Update Timer parameter according to the TAI parameter.

At step 404, the HRPD AN transparently passes AN attach accept message to the UE.

The HRPD AN transmits the attachment acceptance message sent by the MME to the UE through AN air interface message, and simultaneously sends the TAI list and the Period TA Update Timer parameter to the UE through the air interface message.

In step 405, the UE sends AN attach complete message to the HRPD AN.

And the UE constructs AN attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message, encapsulates the attachment completion message in AN air interface message and sends the air interface message to the HRPD AN. And the UE acquires the location area of the target network where the UE is located and initiates the Period of location update according to the received TAI list and the Period of the periodic TAUpdate Time.

In step 406, the HRPD AN transparently transmits AN attach complete message to the MME.

And after receiving the attachment completion message sent by the UE, the HRPD AN encapsulates the message in a DirectTransfer message and sends the DirectTransfer message to the MME to complete the transparent transmission of the attachment completion message. Meanwhile, the HRPD AN may further encapsulate a current UE communication interface ID, a bearer establishment response, and other messages in the Direct Transfer message, so as to indicate the MME to the S101 interface used by the current UE and complete the bearer establishment. And after receiving the attachment completion message, the MME completes the switching of the current UE wireless link to the target network through general operations such as information interaction and the like according to the attachment completion message and the core network.

In the above embodiment, the HRPD AN can determine the location area information TAI of the target network where the UE is located, so that the HRPD AN transparently transmits the attach request sent by the UE and simultaneously sends the attach request carrying the TAI parameters of the UE to the MME. Therefore, the MME explicitly knows the location area information of the UE in the target network, may construct the TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters, and send the parameters and the attach accept message to the UE together using a Direct Transfer message. Through the indication of the TAI parameter, the target network clearly learns the location area where the UE is located, the UE can be normally maintained, and meanwhile through the TAI list and the Period of initiating the location area updating process, the UE clearly learns the location area where the UE is located and the Period of initiating the location area updating process, and can normally perform location updating. Thus, the UE can successfully handover to the target network.

The HRPD AN in the above embodiment is shown in fig. 2, and includes a processing module and a transceiver module. The receiving and sending module is used for receiving information sent by other devices and sending information to other devices, and comprises an attachment request message sent by the UE, an attachment receiving message sent by the MME, an attachment completion message sent by the UE, an attachment request message sent to the MME, an attachment receiving message sent to the UE, and an attachment completion message sent to the MME.

The processing module is used for determining the cell ID of the UE according to the measurement report of the UE and determining the location area information TAI of the UE according to the mapping of the cell ID, the target network cell ID and the location area; sending, by a transceiver module, a TAI parameter to an MME together with the attach request.

In addition, the processing module is also used for deciding to initiate a switching process according to the information reported by the UE and the local strategy and informing the UE to initiate switching through the transceiving module.

The MME in the foregoing embodiment is shown in fig. 2, and includes a processing module and a transceiver module. The receiving and sending module is used for receiving information sent by other devices and sending information to other devices, and comprises an attachment request message and an attachment completion message sent by the UE, and an attachment acceptance message sent to the UE.

The processing module is used for constructing an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message; according to the TAI parameters received together with the attachment request message, constructing target network location area information TAI list and Period TA Update Timer parameters required by the UE, and sending the parameters and the attachment acceptance message to the UE through the receiving and sending module; and performing general operations such as information interaction and the like with a core network according to the attachment completion message to complete the switching of the UE wireless link to the target network.

The system in the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, includes at least UE, MME and HRPD AN. The UE is used for deciding to initiate a switching process according to the collected information; constructing AN attachment request message according to the decision of initiating the switching, and sending the attachment request message to AN MME through AN HRPD AN; and receiving an attachment acceptance message sent by the MME, constructing an attachment completion message according to the attachment acceptance message, and sending the attachment completion message to the MME.

The MME is used for receiving an attachment request message sent by the UE; constructing an attachment acceptance message according to the attachment request message, and sending the attachment acceptance message to the UE; constructing a TAI list and a Period TA Update Timer parameter according to the TAI parameter received together with the attach request, and sending the parameters and the attach accept message to the UE; and receiving an attachment completion message sent by the UE, and performing general operations such as information interaction and the like with a core network according to the attachment completion message to complete the switching of the wireless link of the current UE to a target network.

The HRPD AN is used for deciding to initiate a switching process according to the information reported by the UE and a local strategy and informing the UE to start the switching process; carrying out message transparent transmission between the MME and the UE, wherein the message comprises an attachment request message of the transparent transmission UE, an attachment completion message to the MME and an attachment acceptance message of the transparent transmission MME to the UE; and determining the location area information TAI of the target network where the UE is located, and sending the TAI parameter and the attachment request to the MME.

The HRPD AN is also used for determining the cell ID of the target network where the UE is located according to the measurement report of the UE and determining the TAI information of the UE according to the cell ID and the mapping relation between the cell ID and the target network location area.

In the above embodiments, the non-3 GPP network is taken as the source network and the 3GPP network is taken as the target network for illustration, and the method, the apparatus, and the system in the embodiments of the present invention may also be used for handover with the 3GPP network as the source network and the non-3 GPP network as the target network. For specific implementation of the method, the apparatus, and the system for acquiring the location area information in the handover from the 3GPP network to the non-3 GPP network, reference may be made to the above embodiments, which are not described herein again.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for acquiring location area information in heterogeneous network handover is characterized by comprising the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a mobile management entity of a source network sends location area information of user equipment in a target network to a mobile management entity of the target network, and the mobile management entity of the target network acquires the location area information required by the user equipment according to the location area information of the user equipment in the target network and sends the location area information required by the user equipment to the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and the mobile management entity of the source network determines the location area information of the target network where the user equipment is located according to the cell identification of the source network where the user equipment is located.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and the mobility management entity of the source network determines the location area information of the target network where the user equipment is located according to the cell identifier of the source network where the user equipment is located and the location area information mapping of the target network.

4. A mobility management entity, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module, wherein,

the processing module is used for acquiring a cell identifier of the user equipment in a source network, and determining the position area information of the user in a target network according to the cell identifier in the source network and the position area information mapping of the target network;

the transceiver module is used for sending the location area related information of the user equipment in the target network to a mobility management entity of the target network.

5. The mobility management entity according to claim 4, characterized by:

and the location area information of the target network where the user equipment is located is a Tracking Area Identifier (TAI).

6. A user equipment, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module, wherein,

the processing module is used for constructing an attachment request according to the decision of initiating switching;

the receiving and sending module is used for sending the attachment request to a mobile management entity of a target network;

the receiving and sending module is further configured to receive an attach receive message sent by a mobility management entity of the target network, where the attach receive message has location area information required by the user equipment;

and the position area information required by the user equipment is constructed by the mobile management entity of the target network according to the position area information of the target network where the user equipment is located, which is sent by the mobile management entity of the source network.

7. The user device of claim 6, wherein:

and the position area information of the target network where the user equipment is positioned is determined by the mobility management entity of the source network according to the cell identification of the source network where the user equipment is positioned.

8. The user device of claim 6, wherein:

and the location area information of the target network where the user equipment is located is determined by the mobility management entity of the source network according to the cell identifier of the source network where the user equipment is located and the location area information mapping of the target network.

9. The user equipment of any of claims 6-8, wherein:

the location area information of the target network where the user equipment is located is a Tracking Area Identifier (TAI);

the location area information required by the user equipment is a tracking area identification list TAI list.