United States Patent Application 20040077374
Kind Code A1
Terry, Stephen E. April 22, 2004
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System and method for integrating WLAN and 3G
Abstract
A method and system for providing ubiquitous coverage and seamless connectivity for devices which support Internet access via third generation (3G) cellular and IEEE 802.11 wideband local area network (WLAN) technologies, irrespective of which radio access technology is available.
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Inventors: Terry, Stephen E.; (Northport, NY)
Correspondence Name and Address: VOLPE AND KOENIG, P.C.
DEPT. ICC
UNITED PLAZA, SUITE 1600
30 SOUTH 17TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103
US
Assignee Name and Adress: InterDigital Technology Corporation
Wilmington
DE
Serial No.: 681025
Series Code: 10
Filed: October 8, 2003
U.S. Current Class: 455/552.1; 455/3.05; 455/426.2
U.S. Class at Publication: 455/552.1; 455/003.05; 455/426.2
Intern'l Class: H04H 001/00
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Claims
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What is claimed is:
1. A wireless system for facilitating seamless network connectivity, the system comprising: (a) an integrated terminal including: (i) a first access point (AP); and (ii) a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) coupled to the AP via a first interface; (b) a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) coupled to the integrated terminal via a second interface; and (c) at least one wireless local area network (WLAN) access device coupled to the integrated terminal via a third interface.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the UTRAN provides the integrated terminal with access to an external network via the third interface.
3. The system of claim 2 further comprising: (d) a second AP coupled to the WLAN access device via a fourth interface, wherein the WLAN access device provides the integrated terminal with access to the external network via the third and fourth interfaces.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein each of the second, third and fourth interfaces are wireless interfaces.
5. The system of claim 2 wherein the external network is the Internet.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the WTRU and UTRAN manually or automatically establish a Third Generation (3G) connection to the external network.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the WLAN access device realizes the integrated terminal by standard IEEE 802.11 active or passive scanning methods.
8. The system of claim 6 wherein the 3G connection is released upon timeout of a preconfigured inactivity timer.
9. The system of claim 6 wherein the 3G connection is permanently established to consistently provide services or facilitate a fast handover between service providers that use different radio access technology.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the second and third interfaces is associated with a different radio access technology and are logically independent of each other.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein the integrated terminal operates in accordance with IEEE 802.11 specifications.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein the WLAN access device operates in accordance with IEEE 802.11 specifications.
13. The system of claim 1 wherein the second access point operates in accordance with IEEE 802.11 specifications.
14. The system of claim 1 wherein the UTRAN operates in accordance with Third Generation (3G) specifications.
15. The system of claim 1 wherein the WTRU operates in accordance with Third Generation (3G) specifications.
16. The system of claim 1 wherein the WLAN access device is a laptop computer.
17. The system of claim 1 wherein the WLAN access device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).
18. The system of claim 1 wherein the integrated terminal further comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) application processor coupled to the first AP for enabling several independent access devices and/or IP applications within the integrated terminal to be supported simultaneously.
19. A wireless system for facilitating seamless Internet connectivity, the system comprising: (a) an integrated terminal including: (i) an access point (AP) that uses a first type of radio access technology; and (ii) a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that uses a second type of radio access technology; (b) a first wireless routing device coupled to the integrated terminal via a first wireless interface, the first wireless routing device using the first type of radio access technology to provide the integrated terminal with access to the Internet via the first wireless interface; and (c) at least one second wireless routing device coupled to the integrated terminal via a second wireless interface, the second wireless routing device using the second type of radio access technology to provide the integrated terminal with access to the Internet via the second wireless interface, wherein the first and second wireless interfaces are logically independent of each other.
20. The system of claim 19 wherein the first type of radio access technology operates in accordance with Third Generation (3G) specifications.
21. The system of claim 19 wherein the second type of radio access technology operates in accordance with IEEE 802.11 specifications.
22. The system of claim 19 wherein the first wireless routing device is a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN).
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the WTRU and UTRAN manually or automatically establish a Third Generation (3G) connection to the Internet.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein the 3G connection is released upon timeout of a preconfigured inactivity timer.
25. The system of claim 23 wherein the 3G connection is permanently established to consistently provide services or facilitate a fast handover between service providers that use different radio access technology.
26. The system of claim 19 wherein the second wireless routing device is a wireless local area network (WLAN) access device.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein the WLAN access device realizes the integrated terminal by standard IEEE 802.11 active or passive scanning methods.
28. The system of claim 26 wherein the WLAN access device is a laptop computer.
29. The system of claim 26 wherein the WLAN access device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).
30. The system of claim 19 wherein the integrated terminal further comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) application processor coupled to the AP for enabling several independent access devices and/or IP applications within the integrated terminal to be supported simultaneously.
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Description
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 60/417,530, filed Oct. 10, 2002, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications and, more particularly, the present invention relates to the integration of wireless local area networks (WLAN) and cellular networks.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Currently, dual mode devices are envisioned to support Internet access via a wide array of different radio access technologies. The goal is to provide ubiquitous coverage and seamless connectivity irrespective of which radio access technology is available.
[0004] FIG. 1 shows a conventional dual mode mobile terminal system 100 including a dual mode mobile terminal 105. The two modes to which "dual mode" refers are a network which complies with IEEE 802.11 and a network which complies with one or more of the Third Generation (3G) standards. The dual mode mobile terminal 105 communicates with the Internet 110 via (1) an IEEE 802.11 access point/router equipment 115 over an IEEE 802.11 air interface, or (2) a 3G universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) base station 120 via a 3G air interface.
[0005] A difficulty associated with such a conventional system 100 is that, due to architectural differences, there is no common control entity to manage the physical handover process between the IEEE 802.11 and 3G radio networks. This results in a complex association between the handover control functions of each network. For example, the coordination and logic required to transfer the radio connection from the IEEE 802.11 network to the 3G network is significantly different from what is required to transfer the radio connection from the 3G network to the IEEE 802.11 network. Note that the handover in this sense can also be viewed as cell reselection or re-association. What is needed is a system and method for seamlessly and simply facilitating wireless connectivity between two different radio access technologies.
[0006] Another problem is that 802.11 access devices require service from 802.11 access points that have dedicated terrestrial trunks to the Internet. When an 802.11 access point is unavailable, Internet services are not provided to the 802.11 access device. Since 802.11 access points are generally not provisioned to provide ubiquitous coverage the mobile user will often have access to Internet services. Further, dedicated terrestrial links providing Internet connectivity to the 802.11 access points in certain deployment scenarios are expensive to install and maintain. In these cases, an alternative to the terrestrial link is needed.
SUMMARY
[0007] A cellular terminal that incorporates 802.11 access technology (e.g., association/re-association processes) provides 3G connectivity for 802.11 access devices. The present invention allows a wireless device to have wireless service/connectivity over different types of wireless radio access technology, which allows for mobility and ubiquitous coverage for Internet services.
AI
