Mobile communication system

Claim 1

A method of switching a radio speech channel during communication in a mobile communication system comprising a plurality of mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18) for accommodating through respective networks a plurality of base stations (2, 3, 20) each having an independent radio zone area, said mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18) being connected to each other through a wire speech path and to a telephone (6) through a wire speech path (23, 24, 25); a mobile station (1) connectable to each of said base stations (2, 3, 20) through a radio speech channel (7, 9, 21); and multi-connecting means (16) included in said mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) for multi-connect­ing, during communication of the mobile station (1), a wire speech path between the mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) and an old or first base station left by the mobile station (1) during communication, a wire speech path over which the said mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) is to be coupled to a new or destination base station through a destination mobile switching center, and a wire speech path between the mobile switching center (4, 5, 6) and the telephone (6); said method being characterized by comprising the steps of: detecting by said mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18), when said mobile station (1) moves across adjacent radio zone areas (12, 13, 22) of two base stations (2, 3, 20) during communication, a radio speech channel in the desti­nation radio zone area through the destination base station as a channel change; multi-connecting by said multi-connecting means (16) in the first mobile switching center (4) a wire speech path between said first mobile switching center (4) and the old base station (2) and a wire speech path over which the said first mobile switching center (4) is to be coupled to the new base station (3, 20) through a second mobile switching center (5,18) and the new base station (3, 20) and a wire speech path between the mobile switching center and the telephone (6) after the detection of the radio speech channel as handover; and switching the radio speech channel to be used by said mobile station (1) from the radio speech channel (7) in the old zone area (12) to the radio speech channel (9, 21) in the new zone area (13, 22) while keeping the communication condition of said mobile station (1).

Claim 2

A method of switching a radio speech channel during communication in a mobile communication system comprising a plurality of mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18) for accommodating through respective networks a plurality of base stations (2, 3, 20) each having an independent radio zone area, said mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18) being connected to each other through a wire speech path and to a telephone (6) through a wire speech path (23, 24, 25); a mobile station (1) connectable to each of said base stations (2, 3, 20) through a radio speech channel (7, 9, 21); and multi-connecting means (16) included in said mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) for multi-connect­ing, during communication of the mobile station (1), a wire speech path between the mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) and an old or first base station left by the mobile station (1) during communication, a wire speech path over which the said mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) is to be coupled to a new or destination base station through a destination mobile switching center, and a wire speech path between the mobile switching center (4, 5, 6) and the telephone (6); said method being characterized by comprising the steps of: detecting by said mobile switching centers (4, 5, 18), when said mobile station (1) moves across adjacent radio zone areas (12, 13, 22) of two base stations (2, 3, 20) during communication, a radio speech channel in the desti­nation radio zone area through the destination base station as a channel change; multi-connecting by said multi-connecting means (16) in the first mobile switching center (4) a wire speech path between said first mobile switching center (4) and the old base station (2) and a wire speech path over which the said first mobile switching center (4) is to be coupled to the new base station (3, 20) through a second mobile switching center (5,18) and the new base station (3, 20) and a wire speech path between the mobile switching center and the telephone (6) after the detection of the radio speech channel as handover; and switching the radio speech channel to be used by said mobile station (1) from the radio speech channel (7) in the old zone area (12) to the radio speech channel (9, 21) in the new zone area (13, 22) while keeping the communication condition of said mobile station (1).

Claim 5

The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said mobile switching center is replaced by two or more mobile switching centers and further the steps of: detecting by said first mobile switching center (4), when said mobile station (1) moves from the new zone area (13, 22) back to the radio zone area (12) of the old base station (2), the radio speech channel (7) in the old zone area (12) as channel change-back; multi-connecting by said multi-connecting means (16), after the detection of the radio speech channel (7) as the channel change-back, a line over which said first mobile switching center (4) is to be coupled to the new base station through a second mobile switching center, a wire speech path connected to said old base station (2) and a wire speech path connected to said telephone (6) as a communication partner of said mobile station (1), and switching from the radio channel (9, 21) in the radio zone area (13, 22) of the new base station (3, 20) back to the radio speech channel (7) in the radio zone area (12) of the previous base station while keeping the com­munication condition of said mobile station (1).

Claim 6

The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said mobile switching center is replaced by three or more mobile switching centers and further comprising the steps of: detecting by said mobile switching center (4, 5, 18) when said mobile station (1) moves during communication from the new zone area (13) to the radio zone area (22) of a further destination base station (20), the radio speech channel (21) in the further destination zone area (22) as a new handover through said further destination base station (20); and multi-connecting by said multi-connecting means (16), after the detection of the new channel change, a wire speech path over which said first mobile switching center (4) is to be coupled to said old base station (2) through a second mobile switching center (18), a wire speech path to be coupled to said further destination base station (20) through a third mobile switching center (18) and a wire speech path connected to said telephone (6) as a communication partner of said mobile station (1); and switching from the radio speech channel (9) in the radio zone area (13) of said new base station (3) to a radio speech channel (21) in the radio zone area (22) of said further destination base station (20).