METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING CONNECTIVITY TO A NETWORK

• US 20120281566A1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Published: 11/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pelletier, Ghyslain, Olvera-Hernandez, Ulises, Watfa, Mahmoud, Ahmad, Saad
• Granted Patent: US 9,648,657 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1221 based on age of data to be sent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/569 of the traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Method and apparatus for controlling connectivity to a network for intermittent data services are disclosed. A new dormant mode is defined such that a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may transition from a connected state or an idle state to the dormant mode based on triggering conditions. The WTRU may transition from a connected state or an idle state to a dormant mode if the characteristic or the priority of the data matches a characteristics or a priority for the dormant mode and operate using configuration which is different from configuration used for the connected state or the idle state. The WTRU in the dormant mode may perform a WTRU-controlled mobility procedure. The WTRU in the dormant mode may maintain a dedicated resource, such as a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI), for receiving a unicast traffic from the network.

Claims

1. A method for controlling connectivity of a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) to a network, the method comprising:

a WTRU determining a characteristic and/or a priority of data to be transmitted;

the WTRU transitioning from a connected state or an idle state to a dormant mode on a condition that the characteristic or the priority of the data matches a characteristics or a priority for the dormant mode; and

the WTRU operating using configuration for transmission of the data, which is different from configuration used for the connected state or the idle state.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU in the dormant mode periodically monitors signals from a plurality of cells and performs a WTRU-controlled mobility procedure such that the WTRU selects one of the cells based on a pre-configured criteria and camps on the selected cell.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU in the dormant mode maintains a dedicated resource for receiving a unicast traffic from a network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU sends a scheduling request via either a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) depending on the characteristics or the priority of the data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU sends a scheduling request via a random access channel (RACH) by using either a first set of RACH configuration or a second set of RACH configuration depending on the characteristics or the priority of the data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU monitors a downlink transmission from the selected cell using a dedicated WTRU-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) at the WTRU-specific scheduling occasions and using a paging RNTI at the WTRU-specific paging occasions while in the dormant mode.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the WTRU in the dormant mode transmitting a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission on a WTRU-specific subframe.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the PRACH transmission is to indicate hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or a priority of data pending for uplink transmission.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU performs contention based physical uplink shared channel (CB-PUSCH) transmission on a condition that the WTRU has valid uplink timing alignment for transmission.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU sends RRC signaling indicating a request for dormant mode, wherein the RRC signaling includes information about traffic characteristics including at least one of inter-packet or inter-burst arrival time and mean deviation, mobility information, an index to a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a list of DRX configurations, a mean packet size, and an aggregated bit rate.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the WTRU in the dormant mode sending an uplink transmission via a radio bearer configured for the dormant mode.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU in the dormant mode sends an uplink user plane data via control plane signaling.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the WTRU exits the dormant mode and moves to the idle state on a condition that the WTRU autonomously selects a new serving cell.

14. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for controlling connectivity to a network, the WTRU comprising:

a processor configured to determine a characteristic and/or a priority of data to be transmitted, transition from a connected state or an idle state to a dormant mode on a condition that the characteristic or the priority of the data matches a characteristics or a priority for the dormant mode, and operate using a set of configuration for transmission of the data, which is different from a set of configuration used for the connected state or the idle state.

15. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to, in the dormant mode, periodically monitor signals from a plurality of cells and perform a WTRU-controlled mobility procedure to select and camp on a cell.

16. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to, in the dormant mode, maintain a dedicated resource for receiving a unicast traffic from a network.

17. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to send a scheduling request via either a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical random access channel (PRACH) depending on the characteristics or the priority of the data.

18. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to send a scheduling request via a random access channel (RACH) by using either a first set of RACH configuration or a second set of RACH configuration depending on the characteristics or the priority of the data.

19. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to monitor a downlink transmission from the selected cell using a dedicated WTRU-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) at the WTRU-specific scheduling occasions and using a paging RNTI at the WTRU-specific paging occasions while in the dormant mode.

20. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor in the dormant mode is configured to transmit a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission on a WTRU-specific subframe.

21. The WTRU of claim 20 wherein the PRACH transmission is to indicate hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or a priority of data pending for uplink transmission.

22. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to perform contention based physical uplink shared channel (CB-PUSCH) transmission on a condition that the WTRU has valid uplink timing alignment for transmission.

23. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to send RRC signaling indicating a request for dormant mode, wherein the RRC signaling includes information about traffic characteristics including at least one of inter-packet or inter-burst arrival time and mean deviation, mobility information, an index to a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a list of DRX configurations, a mean packet size, and an aggregated bit rate.

24. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor in the dormant mode is configured to send an uplink transmission via a radio bearer configured for the dormant mode.

25. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor in the dormant mode is configured to send an uplink user plane data via control plane signaling.

26. The WTRU of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to exit the dormant mode and move to the idle state on a condition that the WTRU autonomously selects a new serving cell.