RADIO TERMINAL, RADIO STATION, CONTROL APPARATUS, AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD IN RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20120252471A1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: FUTAKI, Hisashi
• Application Number:
  US13/436,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20120252471A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0018 Transmission from mobile station to base station
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/18 Monitoring during normal operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/23 Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/24 with feedback of measurements to the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/27 for locating or positioning the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A radio terminal and a communication control method are provided by which measurement information accompanied by detailed location information is efficiently measured and reported to a network, with a load on the terminal suppressed. The radio terminal, which can communicate with a radio station, requests a measurement instruction of the radio station, performs measurement according to the measurement instruction received from the radio station, and reports a result of the measurement and information regarding the location of the radio terminal to the radio station.

Claims

1. A radio terminal configured to communicate with a radio station, comprising:

a control unit that transmits a signal requesting a measurement instruction to the radio station;

a measurement unit that performs measurement in response to receiving the measurement instruction received from the radio station; and

a transmission unit that transmits to the radio station a signal reporting a measurement result and information regarding location of the radio terminal.

2. The radio terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the signal requesting a measurement instruction in response to occurrence of a trigger at the radio terminal.

3. The radio terminal according to claim 2, wherein the trigger at the terminal occurs due to a measurement instruction request operation by a user of the radio terminal or occurs from RRC (Radio Resource Control) Layer or a higher-level layer than RRC Layer within the radio terminal.

4. The radio terminal according to claim 3, wherein control unit detects the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal, based on at least one of a received quality of a downlink signal received from the radio station, the information regarding location, information regarding neighbor cell, information regarding cell selection, and information regarding communication status.

5. The radio terminal according to claim 4, wherein the control unit detects the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal when the received quality is degraded to fall below a predetermined value, when the degradation of the received quality continues for a predetermined period of time or more, or when the received quality recovers to exceed the predetermined value.

6. The radio terminal according to claim 4, wherein the control unit detects the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal at least any one of when the information regarding location indicates a predetermined area, when the information regarding location can be obtained, and when accuracy of the information regarding location is a predetermined value or higher.

7. The radio terminal according to claim 6, wherein the information regarding location includes location information obtained by using a Global Navigation Satellite System or a location information service Location Service supported by a radio communication network including the radio station.

8. The radio terminal according to claim 2, wherein a condition of the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal is notified by the radio station.

9. The radio terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information regarding location is obtained before transmitting a signal requesting a measurement instruction.

10. The radio terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit requests the measurement instruction, the radio terminal transits from an idle state (RRC_Idle) to an active state (RRC_Connected) and transmits the measurement instruction request by using a connection establishment request message to the radio station or a connection establishment complete message to the radio station.

11. A communication control method in a radio terminal configured to communicate with a radio station, comprising:

transmitting a signal requesting a measurement instruction to the radio station;

performing measurement in response to receiving the measurement instruction from the radio station; and

transmitting to the radio station a signal reporting a measurement result and information regarding location of the radio terminal.

12. The communication control method according to claim 11, wherein the signal requesting a measurement instruction is transmitted in response to occurrence of a trigger at the radio terminal.

13. The communication control method according to claim 12, wherein the trigger at the terminal occurs due to a measurement instruction request operation by a user of the radio terminal or occurs from RRC (Radio Resource Control) Layer or a higher-level layer than RRC Layer within the radio terminal.

14. The communication control method according to claim 13, wherein the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal is detected based on at least one of a received quality of a downlink signal received from the radio station, the information regarding location, information regarding neighbor cell, information regarding cell selection, and information regarding communication status.

15. The communication control method according to claim 14, wherein the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal is detected when the received quality is degraded to fall below a predetermined value, when the degradation of the received quality continues for a predetermined period of time or more, or when the received quality recovers to exceed the predetermined value.

16. The communication control method according to claim 14, wherein the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal is detected at least any one of when the information regarding location indicates a predetermined area, when the information regarding location can be obtained, and when accuracy of the information regarding location is a predetermined value or higher.

17. The communication control method according to claim 16, wherein the information regarding location includes location information obtained by using a Global Navigation Satellite System or a location information service Location Service supported by a radio communication network including the radio station.

18. The communication control method according to claim 11, wherein the information regarding location is obtained before transmitting a signal requesting a measurement instruction.

19. The communication control method according to claim 12, wherein a condition of the occurrence of the trigger at the terminal is indicated from the radio station.

20. The communication control method according to claim 11, wherein when the measurement instruction is requested, the radio terminal transits from an idle state (RRC_Idle) to an active state (RRC_Connected) and transmits the measurement instruction request by using a connection establishment request message to the radio station or a connection establishment complete message thereto.

21. A radio communication system including a radio station and a radio terminal that can communicate with the radio station, wherein

the radio terminal transmits a signal requesting a measurement instruction to the radio station;

the radio terminal performs measurement according to the measurement instruction received from the radio station; and

the radio terminal transmits to the radio station a signal reporting a measurement result and information regarding location of the radio terminal.

22. The radio communication system according to claim 21, wherein the radio terminal is a mobile terminal, and the radio station is a radio base station or a radio station controller.

23. A radio station configured to communicate with a radio terminal, comprising:

a reception unit that receive a signal requesting a measurement instruction from the radio terminal;

a transmission unit that transmits a signal including a measurement instruction to the radio terminal in response to receiving the signal requesting a measurement instruction; and

a storage unit that stores a measurement result and information regarding location of the radio terminal received from the radio terminal.

24. A control apparatus configured to communicate with a radio station, comprising:

a reception unit that receives from the radio station a measurement instruction request signal transmitted from a radio terminal;

a control unit that determines, in response to the measurement instruction request signal, whether or not a measurement result by the radio terminal is necessary; and

a transmission unit that, when it is determined that the measurement result is necessary, transmits a measurement instruction signal to the radio terminal.

25. A non-transitory computer readable information storage medium storing a program executed by a program-controlled processor in a radio terminal configured to communicate with a radio station, the program performs a method comprising:

transmitting a signal requesting a measurement instruction to the radio station;

performing measurement in response to receiving the measurement instruction from the radio station; and

transmitting to the radio station a signal reporting a measurement result and information regarding location of the radio terminal.