Communication control method, user terminal, and processor

• US 10,251,126 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Morita, Kugo, Fukuta, Noriyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Chi Tang P
• Application Number:
  US15/038,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20160302152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,589 Days
• Field of Search: 370311
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/00 Orthogonal multiplex systems, e.g. using WALSH codesH04J13/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5625 Operations, administration and maintenance [OAM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/02 by periodical registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A communication control method according to the present embodiment is used in a mobile communication system that supports a D2D proximity service. The communication control method comprises: an operation step of performing an operation for energy saving by a base station managing a cell in which a fixed-type user terminal, whose movement is restricted, exists; and a switching step of switching an operation mode from a normal mode to a power saving mode, by the user terminal, so that power consumption of an operation in the D2D proximity service is reduced, when the base station performs the operation for energy saving.

Claims

1. A communication control method used in a mobile communication system that supports a D2D proximity service, comprising:

performing, by a base station, energy saving that reduces transmission power of a radio signal, the base station managing a cell in which a user terminal, whose movement is restricted, exists;

receiving, by the user terminal, the radio signal from the base station performing the energy saving;

determining, by the user terminal, whether the base station is performing the energy saving, based on reduced transmission power of the received radio signal, the determining comprising determining that the base station is performing the energy saving in response to detection of the reduced transmission power of the received radio signal;

switching, by the user terminal, an operation mode from a normal mode, in which the user terminal performs its normal operation, to a power saving mode, in which the user terminal reduces power consumption of an operation in the D2D proximity service to be less than power consumption of the operation in the D2D proximity service in the normal mode, when the user terminal determines that the base station is performing the energy saving;

prior to the performing the energy saving, setting, by the user terminal, the base station transmitting the radio signal whose received power becomes maximum in a predetermined time period as a designated base station, wherein

in the switching, when the base station set as the designated base station performs the energy saving, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, and

the communication control method further comprises;

maintaining, by the user terminal, the base station as the designated base station even when the received power of the radio signal from the base station is no longer the maximum received power, wherein

the operation in the D2D proximity service is at least one of a discovery operation for discovering a partner terminal in D2D communication or for being discovered by the partner terminal, and a transmission operation of a synchronization signal for establishing terminal-to-terminal synchronization.

2. The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein

in the switching, when received power of the radio signal becomes equal to or less than a threshold value, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

3. The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein

in the switching, when received power of the radio signal from a neighboring base station becomes equal to or more than a threshold value as a result of the energy saving, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

4. The communication control method according to claim 3, comprising:

prior to the performing the energy saving, setting, by the user terminal, the neighboring base station transmitting the radio signal whose received power becomes maximum in the predetermined time period as the designated base station, wherein

in the switching, when the received power of the radio signal from the neighboring base station set as the designated base station becomes equal to or more than the threshold value, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, and

the communication control method further comprises

maintaining, by the user terminal, the neighboring base station as the designated base station even when the received power of the radio signal from the neighboring base station is no longer the maximum received power.

5. The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the base station, to the user terminal, terminal count information on the number of user terminals located in the cell, wherein

in the switching, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode on a basis of the terminal count information received from the base station.

6. The communication control method according to claim 5, wherein

the terminal count information is information about at least any one of the total number of user terminals located in the cell, the number of user terminals per unit area, the number of user terminals per unit transmission power, the number of user terminals in a connected state, the number of user terminals in an idle state, the number of user terminals whose movements are restricted, and the number of user terminals that desire to perform D2D communication.

7. The communication control method according to claim 5, further comprising:

broadcasting, by the base station, request information requesting information for obtaining the terminal count information; and

obtaining, by the base station, the terminal count information on a basis of a response to the request information.

8. The communication control method according to claim 7, wherein

the information for obtaining the terminal count information is at least any one of information indicating a connected state of a user terminal, information indicating whether or not a user terminal is a user terminal whose movement is restricted, and information on desire to perform the D2D communication.

9. The communication control method according to claim 5, further comprising:

registering, by the user terminal, location information of the user terminal in an upper network device than the base station, when the user terminal moves inside the cell;

acquiring, by the base station, from the network device, the location information registered in the network device; and

obtaining, by the base station, the terminal count information on a basis of the acquired location information.

10. The communication control method according to claim 1, further comprising

transmitting, by the base station, to the user terminal, a request for switching the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, and

in the switching, the user terminal switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode on a basis of the request received from the base station.

11. The communication control method according to claim 10, wherein

in the transmitting, the base station transmits the request including restriction information of at least one of the discovery operation and the transmission operation of the synchronization signal, the restriction information being applied when the operation mode is the power saving mode.

12. A user terminal configured to be a user terminal whose movement is restricted and to be used in a mobile communication system that supports a D2D proximity service, comprising:

a controller comprising a processor configured to

receive a radio signal from a base station managing a cell in which the user terminal exists and performing energy saving that reduces transmission power of a radio signal,

determine whether the base station is performing the energy saving based on reduced transmission power of the received radio signal, wherein the processor determines that the base station is performing the energy saving in response to detection of the reduced transmission power of the received radio signal,

switch an operation mode from a normal mode, in which the user terminal performs its normal operation, to a power saving mode, in which the user terminal reduces power consumption of an operation in the D2D proximity service to be less than power consumption of the operation in the D2D proximity service in the normal mode when the user terminal determines that the base station is performing the energy saving,

set the base station transmitting the radio signal whose received power becomes maximum in a predetermined time period as a designated base station,

switch the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, when the base station set as the designated base station performs the energy saving, and

maintain the base station as the designated base station even when the received power of the radio signal from the base station is no longer the maximum received power, wherein

the operation in the D2D proximity service is at least one of a discovery operation for discovering a partner terminal in D2D communication or for being discovered by the partner terminal, and a transmission operation of a synchronization signal for establishing terminal-to-terminal synchronization.

13. The user terminal according to claim 12, wherein when received power of a radio signal from the base station becomes equal to or less than a threshold value, the controller switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

14. The user terminal according to claim 12, wherein when received power of a radio signal from a neighboring base station becomes equal to or more than a threshold value as a result of the energy saving, the controller switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

15. The user terminal according to claim 14, wherein

the controller sets the neighboring base station transmitting the radio signal whose received power becomes maximum in the predetermined time period as the designated base station,

the controller switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, when the received power of the radio signal from the neighboring base station set as the designated base station becomes equal to or more than the threshold value, and

the controller maintains the neighboring base station as the designated base station even when the received power of the radio signal from the neighboring base station is no longer the maximum received power.

16. The user terminal according to claim 12, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive, from the base station, terminal count information on the number of user terminals located in the cell, wherein

the controller switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode on a basis of the terminal count information received from the base station.

17. The user terminal according to claim 12, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive, from the base station, a request for switching, by the user terminal, the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode, wherein

the controller switches the operation mode from the normal mode to the power saving mode on a basis of the request received from the base station.