Telecommunications apparatuses and methods

• US 10,548,174 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2016
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Wei, Yuxin, Wakabayashi, Hideji, Tsuda, Shinichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi, Eunsook
• Application Number:
  US15/753,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20180242381A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• 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 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A method of relaying a terminal-to-terminal communication in a mobile telecommunication system, the mobile communication system including a first mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal, and a mobile node configured to operate as a terminal-to-terminal relay node, the method including: measuring a first link quality between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal wherein the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are establishing, or are in an established, device-to-device communication; identifying, based on at least the measured first link quality, that the mobile node is a suitable candidate for operating as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for the device-to-device communication; and the mobile node operating as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for assisting the device-to-device communication.

Claims

1. A method of relaying a terminal-to-terminal communication in a mobile telecommunication system, the mobile communication system comprising a first mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal and a mobile node, the method comprising:

measuring a first link quality of a direct link between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal for device-to-device communication directly between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal;

identifying, based on at least the measured first link quality, that the mobile node is a suitable candidate for operating as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for assisting the device-to-device communication; and

controlling the mobile node to operate as the terminal-to-terminal relay node to assist the device-to-device communication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is further based on the device-to-device communication being one of a unicast communication, a multicast communication or a broadcast communication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein

the identifying comprising sending a relay request for selecting the terminal-to-terminal relay node for the device-to-device communication, and

the relay request comprising an indication of the device-to-device communication being one of the unicast communication, the multicast communication or the broadcast communication.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises sending a relay request for selecting a terminal-to-terminal relay node for the device-to-device communication.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein

the identifying comprises measuring at least one of a second link quality between the first mobile terminal and the mobile node and measuring a third link quality between the second terminal and the mobile node, and

the identifying is based on the at least one of the measured second link quality and the measured third link quality.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting a radio resource control connection setup message to one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node for transitioning the one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node to a radio resource control connected state; and

once in the radio resource control connected state;

the one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node transmitting a measurement report based on the at least one of the measured second link quality and the measured third link quality.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein

the identifying comprises:

deciding to initiate a relay node selection for the device-to-device communication; and

selecting the mobile node as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for the device-to-device communication, and

at least one of the deciding and the selecting is based on the measured first link quality.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein

the identifying comprises:

measuring at least one of a second link quality between the first mobile terminal and the mobile node; and

measuring a third link quality between the second terminal and the mobile node, and

the least one of the deciding and the selecting is further based on the at least one of the measured second link quality and the measured third link quality.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the deciding to initiate a relay node selection is by one of:

the first mobile terminal,

the second mobile terminal, and

the mobile node.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein

the mobile telecommunication system comprises a base station operable to communicate with the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node, and

said base station carries out one or more of the deciding to initiate a relay node selection and the selecting of the mobile node as a terminal-to-terminal relay node.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is further based on the device-to-device communication being one of a unicast or a broadcast communication.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying at least one of the first mobile terminal, the second terminal and the mobile node of the identification of the node as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for the device-to-device communication.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the notifying is via one of:

broadcasted signaling, RRC signalling or MAC signalling.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises detecting that an event has occurred, the event being triggered by a pre-configured condition defined based on a specific link quality measurement.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting, upon detection that the event has occurred, a measurement report based on the specific link quality measurement.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the measurement report comprises an indication that the device-to-device communication is one of a unicast and a broadcast communication.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitting comprises:

one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node selecting the best N link qualities from a set of all the link qualities measured by the one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node, with N≥

1; and

the one of the first mobile terminal, the second mobile terminal and the mobile node transmitting the measurement report indicating the selected best N link quality.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile node is a mobile terminal.

19. A mobile terminal for use in a mobile telecommunication system, the mobile communication system comprising the mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal and a mobile node, the mobile terminal being configured to:

measure a first link quality of a direct link between the mobile terminal and the second terminal for device-to-device communication directly between the mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal;

identify, based on at least the measured first link quality, that the mobile node is a suitable candidate for operating as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for assisting the device-to-device communication; and

communicate with the second mobile terminal using the mobile node as a terminal-to-terminal relay.

20. Circuitry for a mobile terminal for use in a mobile telecommunications system comprising the mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal and a mobile node, wherein the circuitry comprises a controller element and a transceiver element configured to operate together to:

measure a first link quality of a direct link between the mobile terminal and the second terminal for device-to-device communication directly between the mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal;

identify, based on at least the measured first link quality, that the mobile node is a suitable candidate for operating as a terminal-to-terminal relay node for assisting the device-to-device communication; and

communicate with the second mobile terminal using the mobile node as a terminal-to-terminal relay.