Handover or location update for optimization for relaty stations in a wireless network

Abstract

Various embodiments are disclosed relating to the optimization of relay station handovers and location update in a wireless network. According to an example embodiment, a request to handover a plurality of mobile stations from a first base station to a second base station may be sent. An identifier associated with the second base station for each of the plurality of mobile stations may be received. In another example embodiment, each of the identifiers is forwarded to the mobile station corresponding to the connection identifier. In another example embodiment, a location update may be performed by sending a message to a network device, such as a target base station, to provide location update information for a plurality of mobile stations. In this manner, one message may be transmitted over a wireless link to facilitate a handover or location update for a plurality of mobile stations.

1 . A method comprising:
 sending, by an apparatus to a first base station, a request to handover a plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to a second base station; and   receiving, by the apparatus in a single message received from the first base station, identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sending the request to handover comprises:
 receiving information related to the first base station and the second base station; and 
 making a determination to handover the plurality of mobile stations based on the received information. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sending the request to handover comprises:
 receiving a channel quality parameter for the first base station and a channel quality parameter for the second base station; and 
 making a determination to handover the plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to the second base station based on the received channel quality parameters. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the sending the request to handover comprises sending, by a relay station to the first base station, the request to handover the plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to the second base station, and 
 the receiving the identifiers comprises receiving, by the relay station from the first base station, the identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the sending the request to handover comprises sending, by the first base station, the request to handover the plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to the second base station, and 
 the receiving the identifiers comprises receiving, by a relay station, the identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the receiving the identifiers comprises receiving connection identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising forwarding each of the identifiers to the mobile stations corresponding to the identifiers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising:
 determining identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station; 
 performing a mapping between the identifiers associating the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station and corresponding identifiers associating the plurality of mobile stations with second base station; and 
 for each mobile station, based on the mapping:
 communicating with the respective mobile station using the identifier associating the respective mobile station with the first base station; and 
 communicating with the second base station using the identifier associating the respective mobile station with the second base station. 
 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the sending, receiving, determining, performing, and communicating are all performed by the apparatus. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising:
 forwarding messages between one of the mobile stations and the second base station by substituting an identifier associating the mobile station with the first base station with the identifier associating the mobile station with the second base station. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sending comprises sending a relay station handover request including connection identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sending comprises sending a handover pre-notification message including connection identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the receiving comprises receiving either a relay station handover response including connection identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station or a handover pre-notification message including connection identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the single message is received in response to the request. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory device, the memory device comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to cause the apparatus to at least:
 send, to a first base station, a request to handover a plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to a second base station; and 
   receive, in a single message received from the first base station, identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to:
 determine identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station; 
 perform a mapping between the identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the first base station and corresponding identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station; and 
 for each mobile station, based on the mapping:
 communicate with the respective mobile station using the identifier associating the respective mobile station with the first base station; and 
 communicate with the second base station using the identifier associating the respective mobile station with the second base station. 
 
 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of clam  15  wherein the request to handover includes a plurality of indicators each associated with one of the plurality of mobile stations. 
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a first base station from a relay station, a request to handover a plurality of mobile stations from the first base station to a second base station;   sending a notification message to the second base station;   receiving a response message from the second base station; and   sending, in a single message to the relay station, identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the second base station.   
     
     
         19 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory device, the memory device comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to cause the apparatus to at least:
 receive, from a relay station, a request to handover a plurality of mobile stations from the apparatus to a target base station; 
 send a notification message to the target base station; 
 receive a response message from the target base station; and 
 send, in a single message to the relay station, identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the target base station. 
   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the response message received from the target base station includes the identifiers associating each of the plurality of mobile stations with the target base station.