Paging in a Cellular Communication System

• US 20100279676A1
• Filed: 04/27/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wu, Jian J., Benn, Howard P.
• Application Number:
  US12/768,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20100279676A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• 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 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A cellular communication system comprises a user equipment (101) which is arranged to transmit control channel messages to a network (103) of the communication system. When a message is transmitted, the user equipment (101) enters an active monitoring mode for a time interval after which it returns to the power-down mode. The user equipment (101) monitors a paging channel when in the active monitoring mode but not in all paging cycles when in the power-down mode. The network (103) is arranged to transmit paging messages in response to a detection of the control channel message from the user equipment (101). The invention may allow a much longer power-down interval thereby reducing power consumption and increasing battery life. The approach may be particularly suitable for machine-to-machine communications.

Claims

1. A user equipment for a cellular communication system, the user equipment comprising:

means for generating a control channel message;

a transmitter for transmitting the control channel message to a network of the cellular communication system;

means for entering the user equipment into an active monitoring mode for a time interval in response to the transmission of the control channel message,

power-down means for entering the user equipment into a power-down mode at the end of the time interval for a period longer than a paging cycle; and

monitoring means arranged to monitor a paging channel for paging messages when in the active monitoring mode, and to not monitor the paging channel in all paging cycles when in the power-down mode.

2. The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the control channel message is a location update message.

3. The user equipment of claim 1 further comprising means for initiating a communication session in response to receiving a paging message in the time interval.

4. The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the control channel message is a periodic update message.

5. The user equipment of claim 1 arranged to only monitor the paging channel in time intervals following transmission of the control channel messages.

6. The user equipment of claim 1 wherein a duration of the time interval is less than 30 seconds.

7. The user equipment of claim 1 wherein a repetition duration between subsequent transmissions of the control channel message is not less than 2 hours.

8. The user equipment of claim 1 further comprising means for receiving a measurement value;

and the user equipment is arranged to transmit the control channel message in response to the measurement value meeting a criterion.

9. A network for a cellular communication system comprising:

means for detecting that a control channel message is received by the network from a user equipment; and

paging means arranged to transmit a paging message to the user equipment in a predetermined time interval following detection of the control channel message.

10. The network of claim 9 further comprising:

a data buffer for storing data for the user equipment;

and wherein the paging means is arranged to transmit the paging message in response to data of the data buffer meeting a first criterion.

11. The network of claim 9 wherein the paging means is arranged to transmit paging messages to the user equipment only in predetermined time intervals following detections of the control channel message.

12. The network of claim 9 wherein the paging means is arranged to include at least some user data in the paging message.

13. A cellular communication system comprising a network and at least one user equipment, wherein

the at least one user equipment comprises:

means for generating a control channel message,

a transmitter for transmitting the control channel message to a network of the cellular communication system,

means for entering the user equipment into an active monitoring mode for a time interval in response to the transmission of the control channel message,

power-down means for entering the user equipment into a power-down mode at the end of the time interval for a period longer than a paging cycle, and

monitoring means arranged to monitor a paging channel for paging messages when in the active monitoring mode, and to not monitor the paging channel in all paging cycles when in the power-down mode; and

the network comprises;

means for detecting that the control channel message is received by the network, and

means arranged to transmit a paging message to the user equipment in response to a detection of the control channel message.

14. A method of operation for a user equipment for a cellular communication system, the method comprising:

generating a control channel message;

transmitting the control channel message to a network of the cellular communication system;

entering the user equipment into an active monitoring mode for a time interval in response to the transmission of the control channel message,

entering the user equipment into a power-down mode at the end of the time interval for a period longer than a paging cycle; and

monitoring a paging channel for paging messages when in the active monitoring mode, and not monitoring the paging channel in all paging cycles when in the power-down mode.

15. A method of operation for a network of a cellular communication system comprising:

detecting that a control channel message is received by the network from a user equipment; and

transmitting a paging message to the user equipment in a predetermined time interval following detection of the control channel message.