專利 US7328046 - Communication system

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COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a national stage of PCT application No. PCT/IB02/ 00952, filed on Feb. 13, 2002. Priority is claimed on that application and on Application Ser. No. 0104446.0, filed in Finland on Feb. 22, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a communication system, and particular, but not exclusively, to provision of information that associates with an equipment in communication via the system and/or with communication between a least two entities of the system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems are known. A communication system enables communication between two or more entities such as user equipment and/or nodes implemented in the system. Communication systems typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various elements of the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. For example, the standard or specification may define if the user, or more precisely, user equipment or terminal is provided with a circuit switched service and/or a packet switched service. Communication protocols and/or parameters which shall be used for the connection may also be defined. In other words, a specific set of "rules" on which the communication can be based on needs to be defined to enable communication in the system.

Communication systems proving wireless communication for the user terminals or other nodes are also known. An example of the wireless systems is a cellular network. In cellular systems, a base transceiver station (BTS) or similar serves mobile stations (NS) or similar wireless user equipment (UE) via an air or radio interface between these entities. A base station provides a radio access entity that is typically but not exclusively referred to as a cell. The operation of the base station apparatus and other apparatus required for the communication can be controlled by one or several control entities. The various control entities may be interconnected. One or more gateway nodes may also be provided for connecting the cellular network to another networks, e.g. to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and other communication networks such as an IP (Internet Protocol) and/or other packet switched networks.

A cellular communication system may be adapted to provide packet switched (PS) services for a mobile station. Examples of systems enabling packet switched services include the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) mobile data network, the third generation (3G) telecommunication systems such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), i-phone or IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications) and the TErrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) system.

For example, in the current third generation (3G) architectures it is assumed that several different servers are used for handling functions required by various stages of processing of communication between two entities. These functions include different call state control functions (CSCFs) such as a proxy call stare control function (P-CSCF), interrogating call state control function (I-CSCF), and serving

call state control function (S-CSCF). Control functions may also be provided by entities such as a home subscriber server (HSS) and various application servers. From the above mentioned servers the home subscriber server HSS is for

5 storing subscriber relates information such as the registration identities (ID) of the subscriber or the terminals and so on. The home subscriber server HSS can be queried by other function entities during call or other session set-up procedures, e.g. for locating a subscriber. The term "session"

10 refers to any communication such as to a call communication, data communication (e.g. web browsing) an so on.

However, the home subscriber server does not store dynamically any call related information or other information that relates to the status of a subscriber. In particular, the

15 current network system are not provided with means for storing dynamically call related information or other information that relates to the status of a subscriber. For example, the home subscriber server HSS does not provide indication whether a subscriber is busy. Furthermore, e.g. in the packet

20 switched environment a subscriber may have simultaneously one or more multimedia connections that are handled by different and from each other independent servers. The home subscriber server does not know if the subscriber is already having one or more of multimedia

25 connections.

However, various network entities and/or services or other users may require information regarding the status of a certain subscriber or a call for their operation. An example of such a service/entity is the so called presence service/

30 presence server.

In addition to "internal" clients, i.e. entities that are located within the network, the status information could be found useful by external clients. A client could be, for example, an user of a terminal or an entity that belongs to another network. For example, a user may want to know the status (e.g. availability) of another user (B-party). The user may find this information useful e.g. before trying to make a call to the B-party.

40 At present, for example in the GSM, the status of the B-party is checked over air interface. That is, a message is transmitted over the air interface to the B-subscriber mobile station. If the B-party mobile station receives the message it subsequently signals a response regarding the status thereof

.„ back to the network over the air interface.

A single network entity (e.g. the serving call state control function) may provide overall control for a connection. That is, the connection control can be "anchored" to and be provided by a serving network entity. This serving entity

50 could be used to provide information that associates with a connection controlled by said entity. However, the inventors have found that this is not possible in the present network designs where the control functions of the multimedia or any other services may be distributed to be handled by different

55 entities.

The inventors believe that services such as the presence service will become more popular among the users. Thus it must be assumed that the new services are generating a lot of new traffic into core network. The amount of traffic over

60 the air interface generated by the new services may become substantially high and the possibility of overloading the air interface capacity may become a problem especially in the currently proposed 3G systems. Thus the inventors have found that an advantage could be provided if the status

65 inquiry could be arranged to occur such that the inquiry is not transmitted over the air interface to the B-party mobile device as this wastes the limited air interface resources.

3 4

Another way of responding these queries could ease the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS capacity problem. However, the inventors have found that

the present network arrangements are not capable of pro- For better understanding of the present invention, refer

viding the information that is required e.g. by the presence ence will now be made by way of example to the accom

service in such a way that it could readily accessed by an 5 panying drawings in which:

entity requiring the information. The prior art proposes no piG. 1 shows a communication network architecture

feasible solution for the storage and dynamic update of the including a server entity in accordance with an embodiment

status information and for the provision of this information 0f me present invention;

for clients. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate signalling between various enti

10 ties of a communication system in accordance with a first

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ancl a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of one

Embodiments of the present invention aim to address one embodiment of the present invention, or several of the above problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is 15 DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED provided a communication system comprising: communica- EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION tion means for providing communication media for a plurality of user equipment; a storage entity adapted to store Reference is made to FIG. 1 which shows a possible information that associates with at least one of said user network system architecture including a server entity 21 in equipment, wherein the storage entity is arranged to receive 20 accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, information from other entities and to associate said The exemplifying network system 10 is arranged in accorreceived information with a respective user equipment; and dance with UMTS 3G specifications. The cellular commuat least one service provision entity adapted to serve a client nication system 10 is arranged such that the apparatus based on information stored in said storage entity. ^ thereof is divided between a radio access network (RAN) 2

According to another aspect of the present invention there and a core network (CN). is provided a server means for a communication system, said In general terms, a communication system can be server means comprising: interface means for receiving described by a model in which the functions of the system information associated with user equipment adapted for are divided in several hierarchically arranged function laycommunication via the communication system from at least 3Q ers. FIG. 1 shows three different function layers, i.e. a one element of the communication system; means for service layer, an application layer and a transport layer. The dynamically associating the received information with cor- solid lines indicate actual data communication between responding user equipment; means for storing the informa- various entities and networks. The dashed lines indicate tion such that the information can be retrieved based on signalling traffic between the network entities. The signalindication of a particular user equipment; and interface 35 ling is required for management and/or control functions of means for connection between the server means and at least the network, such as for call session set-up, charging and so one service entity, whereby the service entity serves clients on.

based on information from the server means. It shall be appreciated that the layered model is shown According to another aspect of the present invention there only in order to illustrate the relationships between the is provided a method in a communication system, said 40 various functions of a data communication system. In a communication system providing communication media for physical i.e. real implementation the entities (e.g. servers or a plurality of user equipment, the method comprising the other nodes) are typically not arranged in a layered manner, steps of: generating information associated with a user A plurality of user equipment 1 is served by a 3G radio equipment in an entity of the communication system; com- access network (RAN) 2 over a wireless interface. Hence the municating said information to a storage entity; at the 45 user equipment will be referred to in the following by the storage entity, receiving and associating said information term mobile station. The radio access network function is with the user equipment; and providing information that hierarchically located on the transport layer. It shall be associates with the user equipment to a service provision appreciated that although FIG. 1 shows only one radio entity, whereby the service provision entity is enabled to access network for clarity reasons, a typical communication serve clients based on said information from said storage 50 network system comprises a number or radio access netentity, works.

The embodiments of the invention may provide an The 3G radio access network (RAN) 2 is shown to be

arrangement wherein the clients may readily be provided physically connected to a serving general packet radio

with information that associates e.g. with the status of a service support node (SGSN) entity 3. The SGSN 3 is a part

subscriber, communication session and/or an entity of the 55 of the core network. In the functional model the entity 3

system. The provision of the information may be centralised belongs to the transport layer. The operation of a typical

in one entity that is functionally separated from those cellular network and the various transport level entities

network entities that are required for the provision of thereof is known by the skilled person and will thus not be

communications in the system. The embodiments may also explained in more detail herein.

enable secure connections between the information provi- 60 An application layer 20 is shown to be located on top of

sion service and the clients. The embodiments may also the transport layer. The application layer 20 may include

enable arrangement where there is no need to give an access several application level functions. FIG. 1 shows two call

for yd parties to specific services and/or registries such as state control entities (CSCFs) 22 and 23. From these the call

the home subscriber server or a location service. Thus the state server 22 is a so called serving call state control

overall security may be improved. The embodiments may 65 function (S-CSCF). That is, the server 22 is currently serving

enable e.g. network operators to provide a set of better and at least one of the mobile stations 1 and is in control of the

richer services. status or said at least one mobile station.

The application layer is also shown to comprise a home subscriber server (HSS) entity 24 and media gateway control function server entity 25. The home subscriber server HSS 24 is for storing the registration identities (ID) and similar information that relates to the users 1. The home subscriber 5 server can be queried during a session set-up procedures.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the queries are served by a core network entity 21 that is adapted to centrally store the information in the core network. The following description will call this entity as a 10 subscriber status server (SSS).

In FIG. 1 the subscriber status server (SSS) 21 is hierarchically located on the application layer 20. The subscriber status server 21 is adapted to store predefined call and/or subscriber related information. The information preferably 15 includes status information. For example, the subscriber status server 21 may be adapted to dynamically store and provide an indication whether a user is busy or not. The information may be provided for any authorised client requesting for such information. More detailed examples of 20 the operation of the subscriber status server 21 will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the preferred embodiment the subscriber status server entity 21 is adapted to dynamically store information associated with the status of the subscriber. That is, the status 25 server 21 is connected to relevant network entities that provide the server 21 with information based on which the server 21 can provide status information for the clients. The information may be provided for the server 21 either via a direct connection between a network entity and the server or 30 via one or more intermediate nodes. The information provision signalling may be based on any appropriate protocol. Preferably a protocol used by the network entity for communication with at least one other entity is used for the communication with the server 21. 35

The subscriber status server may receive information from various sources. For example, in FIG. 2 the status server is shown to receive information from two call state control function entities 22 and 23. The serving call state control function S-CSCF may provide information regard- 40 ing the call state, e.g. whether the caller is busy or available.

The subscriber status server could also receive information related to other activities the user may have. That is, the information does not need to relate to communication sessions the subscriber is involved with. As an example, a 45 subscriber status server may be provided with information that a user is having streaming video connection. This kind of information may be provided e.g. by one of the operator's servers.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment where a home subscriber 50 server 24 HSS provided the subscriber status server 21 with information. The HSS information may e.g. indicate whether a certain subscriber is on-line or off-line. The home subscriber server HSS 24 may also provide information regarding the aliases used by the subscriber and so on. 55

FIG. 3 shows also a gateway mobile location centre GMLC 26 of a location service ALES). The location service may provide information regarding the geographical location of the mobile station. The skilled person is familiar with the location service and it will thus not be explained in any 60 great detail herein. It is sufficient to note that the location service is a service that is arranged to provide geographical location information regarding a mobile station. The modern communication systems are capable of providing a location service. The data based on which the location information is 65 generated may be measured by one of more of elements (not shown) that can be considered to be a part of the commu

nication system or by external sources such as the known GPS (Global Positioning System).

The information is preferably signalled from the various entities towards the status server 21 without any specific information requests by the status server. For example, the serving call state control function 22 may be adapted to signal a message to the status server 21 whenever the status of a mobile station under its control changes.

It is also possible that the status server 21 periodically generates and transmits an inquiry for information. This may be signalled to all predefined entities or only to selected entities. The inquiry may regard a specific mobile station. The inquiry may also be a more general request for information regarding all mobile stations that are currently controlled by

Instead of or in addition to the periodic check the status server 21 may also transmit an inquiry to one or more entities in response to an information request from a client.

The subscriber status server 21 may thus receive information from various sources. The server is provided with appropriate processor meals 32 so that it may process the information in order to associate the received information with respective mobile stations.

The information may be stored in appropriate memory means 33. The memory means may operate based on any appropriate arrangement, such as a database, a table, a record, a directory, and so on. The skilled person is familiar with possible means for the provision of the storage function, and these will thus not be described in more detail.

The identification of the mobile stations for the association may be based on, for example, the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) code, mobile subscriber integrated digital services number (MSISDN) code or temporary IMSI (TIMSI) code. New type of identifiers consisting of a data network address such as a public address in a SIP URL (Session Initiation Protocol Uniform Resource Locator) or a NAI ULR (network access identifier ULR) may also be used. An example of the first mentioned is 'sip: user@multimedia_operator.com'. The latter could be, for example 'user@domain'.

The subscriber status server 21 may offer the information to one ore more clients. For example, the information may be provided to any operator hosted session initiation protocol (SIP) application network element. The client may be a server such as a presence server (PS) 28 or a rich call server 29 or any other element of the communication system that may find the status information useful.

The information may also be provided to a client such a subscriber. The subscriber may, for example, wish to receive a status of another subscriber. The information may be useful e.g. when making a decision whether to try to make a call to the other subscriber. The subscriber may also wish to receive information regarding the status and location of another subscriber from one source.

It is also possible to arrange the location services to operate such that instead of querying the location service node 26, the subscriber may request location information from the subscriber status server 21 or from the presence server 28. Some operators or subscribers may find this type of operation useful e.g. due to security and/or usability reasons.

The information may be provided on request by the client. Alternatively, the status server 21 may provided the information periodically e.g. based on a timer function 31 implemented in the server. The information may also be provided in response to an event. For example, the information

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