Method of efficiently transmitting control information for multimedia broadcast/multicast service

• US 20050233732A1
• Filed: 02/14/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Choi, Sung-Ho, Hwang, Sung-Oh, Kim, Eun-Jung, Lee, Kook-Heui, Kwak, No-Jun, Sun, Chunying
• Granted Patent: US 7,450,933 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/91 Mobile communication networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

A paging method for an MBMS service is provided. To efficiently transmit MBMS control information in an MBMS mobile communication system, an RNC transmits to a Node B a control message including a list of NI information for MBMS paging groups by the RNC and the Node B establishes a physical channel according to the control message and transmits an MICH including NIs to UEs on the established physical channel.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) control information from a radio network controller (RNC) in an MBMS mobile communication system, comprising the steps of:

(1) transmitting by the RNC to a Node B a control message including a list of MBMS notification indicator (NI) information for MBMS paging groups; and

(2) establishing by the Node B a physical channel according to the control message and transmitting an MBMS notification indicator channel (MICH) including NIs to user equipments (UEs) on the established physical channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control message is a control-plane message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the control message is a control-plane Node B application part (NBAP) message.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein t the control message includes the NI information arranged according to the MBMS paging groups and indexes allocated to the MBMS paging groups.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the control message further includes durations for which the NI information is transmitted.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (2) further comprises the step of generating NIs for the MBMS paging groups set in indexes and periodically transmitting by the Node B the NIs on the MICH to the UEs for the durations.

7. A method for transmitting multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) control information from a radio network controller (RNC) in an MBMS mobile communication system, comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting by the RNC to a Node B a notification information update request message including a list of indexes associated with MBMS notification indicators (NIs) indicating the presence or absence of MBMS control information; and

(b) establishing by the Node B a physical channel according to the notification information update request message and transmitting an MBMS notification indicator channel (MICH) that includes the NIs corresponding to the indexes to user equipments (UEs) on the established physical channel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the notification information update request message further includes durations for which the NIs are transmitted.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (b) further comprises the step of periodically transmitting the NIs corresponding to the indexes on the MICH to the UEs for the durations by the Node B.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of transmitting to the UEs identification information identifying the established physical channel, the NIs, and the durations in a system information block.

11. A method of receiving control information of a broadcast service in a user equipment (UE) in a mobile communication system having at least one UE, a cell where the at least one UE is situated, and a radio network controller (RNC) that manages at least one cell and provides the broadcast service through the at least one cell, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a Node B identification information identifying a physical channel established by the Node B in a system information block (SIB) and a notification indicator (NI) indicating the presence or absence of paging for the broadcasting service;

monitoring the NI that is different from a paging indicator (PI) indicating the presence or absence of control information in a paging occasion; and

receiving a control channel associated with the broadcasting service, in the presence of the control information indicated by the NI.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (1) further comprises the step of transmitting to the Node B a control message including only the difference between previous MBMS paging groups and new MBMS paging groups to be paged by the RNC.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein step (1) further comprises the step of transmitting to the Node B a control message including NI information for each of the new MBMS paging groups by the RNC.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein step (1) further comprises the step of transmitting to the Node B a control message including NI information for each of new MBMS services by the RNC.