A method and system for restricting mobility in a wireless local loop

Method and system for restricting mobility in wireless local loop

Background of the invention

Field of invention

The specific embodiments disclosed in the present invention are generally related to communication, and more specifically, to a wireless local loop.

Background of the invention

Wireless service providers can operate in a geographical area in accordance with an exclusive contract with local authorities, so that other local service providers should not provide similar mobile services to their customers. According to this type of agreement, local service providers must restrict the mobility of their wireless clients within a limited area. One such environment may be wireless local loop (WLL).

In order to limit the mobility of a mobile unit, the service provider can limit the mobility of the billing unit of the mobile unit, for example, by expanding and aggravating the billing unit. However, this solution will increase costs and cause inconvenience to subscribers. In addition, if the subscriber finds another similar billing unit when leaving its billing unit, this solution cannot effectively limit the mobility of the mobile unit. Local telecommunication operators may require subscribers to use fixed wireless terminals (FWT) instead of general mobile units, but FWT is bulky and expensive.

Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for restricting the mobility of mobile units in WLL.

Summary of the invention

The specific embodiments disclosed herein solve the aforementioned needs. In one aspect of the present invention, a call processing method and system in a communication system includes a mobile device and a charging device, if the mobile device If a call processing request is received within a predetermined time period, the call processing is allowed.

In another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method and system for connecting a billing device to a mobile device, so that the billing device receives input information from the mobile device to receive input from the mobile device. The input information determines the first information, and the first information is changed to the second information. The method and system are further provided to enable the charging device to use the second information to generate output information, and to transmit the output information to the mobile device.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method and system for activating a mobile device to perform call processing, so as to prompt the mobile device to send second input information to a billing device and receive data from the meter. The output information of the charging device is in response to the input information, and the mobile device is activated based on the output information received from the charging device.

From the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, it will be possible to better understand the functions, properties and advantages of the present invention. The same reference text in the entire drawing is regarded as corresponding to the same thing. Among them: Figure 1 shows support for several users Schematic diagram of the wireless communication system; Figure 2 shows a simplified block diagram of specific embodiments of the base station and mobile station; Figure 3 shows a representation of the wireless local loop; Figure 4 shows the flow chart of mobile station call processing in the wireless local loop; and Figures 5(A) and 5(B) show a flowchart according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The special phrase "demonstration" in this article means "serving as an example, example, or explanation." Any specific embodiments described herein as "exemplary" are not necessarily regarded as preferred specific embodiments or superior to other specific embodiments.

The subscriber terminal (referred to as a mobile station in this article) can communicate with one or more modem pool transceivers (MPT) (referred to in this article as a base station). A mobile station transmits and receives data packets to the base station controller through one or more modem pool transceivers. The modem pool transceiver and the modem pool controller may be components of a base station. The base station transmits data packets between multiple mobile stations. The mobile station can be further connected to additional networks, such as a company corporate network or the Internet, and data packets can be transmitted between each mobile station and such external networks. A mobile station that has established an active communication traffic channel connected to one or more modem pool transceivers is called an active mobile station and is considered to be in a communication state. A mobile station that is in the process of establishing a connection to one or more modem pool transceivers in the active communication flow channel processing procedure is considered to be in a connection establishment state. A mobile station may be any data device that communicates through a wireless channel. The mobile station may further be any of several devices, including but not limited to a PC card, a compact flash, an external or built-in modem, or a wireless phone. The communication link used by the mobile station to transmit the signal to the modem pool transceiver is called the reverse link. The communication link through which the modem pool transceiver transmits the signal to the access terminal is called the forward link.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a wireless communication system 100 that supports several users and can implement various aspects of the present invention. System 100 provides communication for several cells, Each cell is served by the corresponding base station 104. The base station is also often referred to as the base transceiver system (BTS). Various remote terminals 106 are placed at different locations in the entire system. Each remote terminal 106 may communicate with one or more base stations 104 on the forward link and the reverse link at any given moment, depending on whether the remote terminal is enabled and whether it is in soft handover state. The forward link represents the transmission from the base station 104 to the remote terminal 106, and the reverse link represents the transmission from the remote terminal 106 to the base station 104. As shown in FIG. 1, the base station 104a communicates with the remote terminals 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d, and the base station 104b communicates with the remote terminals 106d, 106e, and 106f. The remote terminal 106d is in the soft handover state, and communicates with the base stations 104a and 104b at the same time.

In the system 100, a base station controller (BSC) 102 is coupled to the base station 104, and may be further coupled to a public switched telephone network (PSTN). However, for simplification reasons, Figure 1 does not show coupling to the PSTN via a mobile station switching center (MSC). The BSC can also be coupled to a packet network, which is usually achieved through a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) (also not shown in Figure 1). The BSC 102 is responsible for coordinating and controlling the base station coupled to the system controller 102. The BSC 102 further controls, via the base station 104, to route telephone calls between the remote terminal 106 and between the remote terminal 106 and users coupled to the PSTN (eg, traditional telephone) and to the packet network.

The system 100 can be designed to support one or more wireless standards. Such standards may include CDMA standards, such as (1) "TIA/EIA-95-B mobile station-base station compatibility standard for dual-mode broadband spread spectrum cellular system" (TIA/EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System; IS-95 standard); (2) "TIA/EIA-98-D Recommended Minimum Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular Mobile Station" (TIA/EIA-98-D Recommended Minimum Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular Mobile Station; IS-98 standard); (3) Documents provided by a joint organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3rd Generation Partnership Project; 3GPP), and standards embodied in a set of documents, Including document number 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS 25.213 and 3G TS 25.214 (W-CDMA standard); (4) by the name "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3rd Generation Partnership Project 2; 3GPP2) Documents provided by the joint organization and the standards specified in a set of documents, including document case numbers C. S0002-A, C. S0005-A, C. S0010-A, C. S0011-A, C. S0024 and C. S0026 (cdma2000 standard). As far as 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are concerned, these are converted into regional standards in accordance with global standard texts (for example, TIA, ETSI, ARIB, TTA, and CWTS), and have been converted into international standards in accordance with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) . These standards are incorporated by reference in this article.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a specific embodiment of a base station 204 and a remote terminal 206 that can implement various aspects of the present invention. For specific communications, the air interface 208 can be used to exchange voice data, packet data and/or messages between the base station 204 and the remote terminal 206. Various messages can be transmitted, such as those used to establish a communication operation phase between the base station and the remote terminal , And messages used to control a data transmission (for example, power control, data transmission rate information, confirmation messages, etc.). Some of the message types will be explained in further detail below.

For the reverse link, on the remote terminal 206, voice and/or packet data (for example, from the data source 210) and messages (for example, from the controller 230) are provided to the transmission (TX) data processor 212. It is used to format and encode data and messages using one or more encoding schemes to generate encoded data. Each encoding scheme can include any combination of Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC), convolution, Turbo, and other encodings, or no encoding at all. Different encoding schemes can be used to encode voice data, packet data and messages, and different encoding methods can be used to encode different types of messages.

Then, the encoded data is provided to the modulator (MOD) 214 and further processed (for example, covered, extended using short PN sequence, encrypted using long PN sequence assigned to the user terminal). Then, the modulated data is provided to the transmitter unit (TMTR) 216 and adjusted (for example, converted into one or more analog signals, amplified, filtered, and four-phase modulation) to generate a reverse link signal. The reverse link signal is projected through the duplexer (D) 218 and transmitted to the base station 204 via the antenna 220.

At the base station 204, the reverse link signal is received by the antenna 250, transmitted through the duplexer 252, and provided to the receiver unit (RCVR) 254. The receiver unit 254 adjusts (eg, filters, amplifies, down-converts, and digitizes) the received signal and provides samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) 256 receives and processes (for example, despreading, de-concealing, and preamble demodulation) samples to provide restored symbols No. The demodulator 256 may implement a rake receiver, which is used to process multiple instances of the received signal and generate combined symbols. Then, the receive (RX) data processor 258 decodes the symbols to recover the data and messages transmitted on the reverse link. The recovered voice/packet data is provided to a data sink 260, and the recovered information may be provided to the controller 270. The processing performed by the demodulator 256 and the RX data processor 258 is complementary to the processing performed on the remote terminal 206. The demodulator 256 and the RX data processor 258 can be further operated to process multiple channels (for example, reverse fundamental channel (Reverse Fundamental Channel; R-FCH) and reverse complementary channel (Reverse Supplemental Channel; R-SCH) ) Multiple transmissions received. Furthermore, multiple remote terminals may transmit at the same time, and each remote terminal may transmit on the reverse basic channel, reverse complementary channel, or both channels.

On the forward link, on the base station 204, voice and/or packet data (for example, from the data source 262) and messages (for example, from the controller 270) are processed by the transmission (TX) data processor 264 (for example, : Formatting and decoding), further processed by the modulator (MOD) 266 (for example, concealment and expansion), and adjusted by the transmitter unit (TMTR) 268 (for example, converted into an analog signal, amplifying, filtering, and four-phase modulation) Change) to generate a reverse link signal. The forward link signal is projected through the duplexer 252 and transmitted to the remote terminal 206 via the antenna 250.

At the remote terminal 206, the forward link signal is received by the antenna 220, projected through the duplexer 218, and provided to the receiver unit 222. The receiver unit 222 adjusts (for example, down converter, filtering, amplification, four-phase modulation and Digitize) the received signal and provide samples. The demodulator 224 receives and processes (for example, despreading, demasking, and preamble demodulation) samples to provide symbols, and the symbols are further processed (for example, decoded and checked) by the receiving data processor 226 to restore the forward chain Data and messages transmitted on the road. The recovered data is provided to a data sink 228, and the recovered information may be provided to the controller 230.

The wireless communication system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 can be used in the wireless local loop (WLL) shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a representation of the communication system infrastructure, in which the traditional wired local loop (LL) 306 may be replaced by the wireless local loop (WLL) 310. The traditional LL 306 connects the subscribers 308A and 308B to the distribution point 304B through cables, while the WLL 310 connects the subscribers 312A and 312B to the distribution point 304B through wireless communication. In a specific embodiment, the base station 204 (FIG. 2) can be placed on the emission point 304B so that the mobile station 206 (FIG. 2) can be in a limited range (for example, a sector) for the subscriber 312A And 312B provide wireless communication services.

The distribution point 304B can communicate with other distribution points 304A and 304C through the switch 302.

In order to limit the mobility of mobile stations operating in WLL 310, according to a specific embodiment of the present invention, each mobile station can be provided with a WLL timer, so that if the mobile station receives the call processing after a predetermined time period Request, the mobile station cannot respond to the call processing request. The WLL timer may be a software timer built into the mobile station. The call processing request may include a request to initiate a call or a request to receive an incoming call.

Figure 4 shows a flow chart 400 of restricting mobile station call processing according to a specific embodiment. In step 404, when the mobile station can receive the call processing request, the mobile station may be in the standby state 402. In step 406, the mobile station can Check the WLL timer to determine whether the predetermined time period has expired. If the predetermined time period has expired, the mobile unit can be disabled to process the call processing request, and the mobile station can be returned to the standby state 402. However, if the predetermined time period has not expired, the action unit is activated in step 408 to process the call processing request.

A specific embodiment for activating the mobile station to perform call processing will be described with reference to FIG. 5(A) and FIG. 5(B). When the mobile station is in the standby state, the mobile station can start the processing procedure. In a specific embodiment, the activation process may be periodic. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, in the standby state, the mobile station can periodically monitor the paging or control channel of internal operation (overhead) messages and parameters (which may include control signals and data used to activate the mobile station for call processing) . In a specific embodiment, when the mobile station is positioned at the dedicated billing unit dedicated to the mobile station, the mobile station may perform the activation process. The billing unit may include a microcontroller for implementing the mobile station activation process, a device for performing mobile billing, and an input/output device for communicating with the mobile station. The mobile station may also include the necessary devices for information processing and input/output operations.

The mobile station activation process can be executed through the encryption process between the mobile station and the billing unit, as described below. The encryption process can be implemented by exchanging a secure random code between the mobile station and the charging unit. After deciding that the mobile station is communicating legally with its dedicated billing unit, the call processing of the mobile station can be activated only during the predetermined time period, or the call of the mobile station can only be activated within a predetermined distance from the billing unit Processing to restrict when the mobile station is far away from its dedicated billing unit The mobility of the mobile station.

In step 502, the mobile station can generate a first random number or a first random code N according to certain predetermined criteria. In step 504, the mobile station can encrypt the first code N using the universal code P commonly known by the mobile station and its paired charging unit. A universal code P can be programmed in the mobile station and its exclusive billing unit, which may be a universal code P exclusive to each other during the service provider's activation period. The program planning process can be executed through the data port allocated to the mobile station and its dedicated billing unit. The universal code P can be programmed in the memory device built in the mobile station and its dedicated billing unit. For security purposes, the program planning universal code P may be restricted to be executed only when the target memory device is blank, so that such memory devices in the mobile station and the billing unit can be single-programmed. Such memory devices may be flash memory devices. In another specific embodiment, the mobile station can use the private key and the shared code to encrypt the first code N, which is an encryption technique well known to those skilled in the art.

In step 506, the mobile station can also use the same universal code P to encrypt the predetermined change code of the first code N to generate a second code, such as N+1. In step 508, the mobile station attempts to transmit the encrypted first code N to its dedicated charging unit. In step 510, the mobile station determines whether it is positioned in its dedicated charging unit. In step 512, if the mobile station is positioned in its paired charging unit, the mobile station transmits and the charging unit receives the encrypted first code N. However, if the mobile station is not positioned in its paired charging unit, the call processing of the mobile station cannot be activated, and the mobile station can be transformed into the standby state 502, at which time the mobile station can wait for the next activation cycle.

In step 514, the charging unit has received the data from its paired mobile station. The first code N is encrypted, and the universal code P is known, so the first code N can be decrypted. Similar to step 506, in step 516, the charging unit uses the same universal code P to generate the same predetermined change code of the first code N to generate the second code, such as N+1. In step 518, the charging unit transmits the encrypted second code N+1 to its paired mobile station. In step 520, the mobile station receives and uses the universal code P to decrypt the received output information from its paired charging unit. In step 522, the mobile station compares the received decrypted output signal from its dedicated billing unit with the stored second code N+1 generated by the mobile station in step 506, as described above. If the two codes match, it is confirmed that the mobile station is actually located in its dedicated billing unit, and therefore the call processing of the mobile station is initiated. In a specific embodiment, in step 526, the mobile station may be activated during a predetermined time period, for example, the WLL timer in the mobile station is reset to a predetermined value. Alternatively, a down counter can be used. However, if the comparison result of step 522 is negative (indicating that the mobile station is not positioned in its paired charging unit), the mobile station cannot be activated and can be changed to the standby state 502, at which time the mobile station can wait for the next activation cycle.

According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, if the mobile station is located within a predetermined distance between its dedicated charging unit, the call processing of the mobile station can be initiated. In this embodiment, the mobile station communicates with its dedicated billing unit through a limited-range wireless communication device, where the limited-range wireless communication device allows an encryption method (such as the encryption method described above) to be executed, and the mobile station does not Must be positioned in its dedicated billing unit. For example, one of such limited-range wireless communication devices may be Bluetooth^TMwireless technology.

By staying away from the mobile unit's billing unit for a predetermined period of time After the expiration date, the mobile unit's processing-call processing function is disabled, and the service provider can restrict the mobile unit's mobility relative to its paired billing unit. The service provider can also restrict the mobility of the billing unit by, for example, expanding and weighting the billing unit. As a result, the service provider can restrict the mobility of mobile stations in a limited area (such as a wireless local loop).

Therefore, it can operate in WLL without modifying the hardware of the mobile station, as described above. In addition, after granting the "mobile authorization" to the subscriber, the mobile station can be reprogrammed easily to remove the mobility restriction of its programming.

Those skilled in the art should understand that any of a variety of different terms or technologies can be used to represent information and signals. For example, the commands, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned in the entire specification can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those skilled in the art should further understand that the various graphical logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in the specific embodiments published herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. In order to explain the interchangeability of hardware and software more clearly, various diagrammatic components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described in general regarding their functions. Depending on the specific application and the design constraints affecting the entire system, the function is implemented as hardware or software. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of the present invention.

Can use general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), special integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable Programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof to perform the functions described in this article, to implement or execute various graphical logic described in the specific embodiments published in this article Blocks, modules and circuits. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may be implemented as a combination of computer devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors connected to the DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The method or algorithm steps described in the specific embodiments disclosed herein can be directly embodied by hardware, a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of software and hardware. The software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, scratchpad, hard disk drive, removable disk, CD-ROM or known in the art Any form of storage media. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, such as a processor that can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in the mobile station. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside in the mobile unit as discrete components.

The foregoing provides an explanation of the specific embodiments disclosed so that those skilled in the art can use or utilize the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand various modifications to these specific embodiments, and the general principles defined in this document can be applied to other specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments presented herein, but conforms to the broadest category consistent with the principles and novel functions described herein.

Schematic component symbol description

100. . . system

102. . . Base Station Controller (BSC)

104A. . . Base station

104B. . . Base station

106A. . . Remote terminal

106B. . . Remote terminal

106C. . . Remote terminal

106D. . . Remote terminal

106E. . . Remote terminal

106F. . . Remote terminal

204. . . Base station

206. . . Remote terminal

208. . . interface

210. . . source

212. . . Transmission (TX) data processor

214. . . Modulator (MOD)

216. . . Transmitter unit (TMTR)

218. . . Duplexer (D)

220. . . antenna

222. . . Receiver unit

224. . . Demodulator

226. . . Receive data processor

228. . . Data sink

230. . . Controller

250. . . antenna

252. . . Diplexer

254. . . Receiver unit (RCVR)

256. . . Demodulator (DEMOD)

258. . . Receive (RX) data processor

260. . . Data sink

262. . . source

264. . . Transmission (TX) data processor

266. . . Modulator (MOD)

268. . . Transmitter unit (TMTR)

270. . . Controller

302. . . switch

304A. . . Point of emission

304B. . . Point of emission

304C. . . Point of emission

306. . . Traditional Wired Local Loop (LL)

308A. . . subscriber

308B. . . subscriber

310. . . Wireless Local Loop (WLL)

312A. . . subscriber

312B. . . subscriber