MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20130294365A1
• Filed: 10/27/2011
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SCA IPLA Holdings Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: SCA IPLA Holdings Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zakrzewski, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,439,175 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0252 per individual bearer or channel dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A mobile communications device to communicate data to/from a mobile communications network, and to communicate an indication of a relative type of data packets for communication via a communications bearer for supporting a communications session of the mobile communications device, the indication used to configure the communications bearer, and to communicate the data packets via the communications bearer to the infrastructure equipment via the base stations in accordance with the indication, the communication of the data packets being controlled by the mobile communications network in accordance with the communicated indication. By providing the indication, such as an indication that the data packets are of low priority or are generated or being received by a machine type communication application, the mobile communications network can control the communication of the data packets from the communications bearer differently to data packets communicated via other communications bearer having a higher priority.

Claims

1. A mobile communications device for communicating data to and/or from a mobile communications network, the mobile communications device being arranged in operation

to communicate an indication of a relative type of data packets for communication via a communications bearer for supporting a communications session of the mobile communications device, the indication of the type of the data packets being used to configure the communications bearer, and

to communicate the data packets via the communications bearer to one or more of the infrastructure equipment via one or more of the base stations in accordance with the indication of the type of the data packets, the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer being controlled by the mobile communications network in accordance with the type of data packets being communicated via the communications bearer.

2. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets for communication via the communications bearer is generated by an applications program, the communications session being provided by the applications program using the communications bearer.

3. Currently Amended):

A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile communications device includes an execution processor which is arrange to operate a plurality of applications programs each of which is arranged to generate the indication of the relative type of the data packets for communication to and/or from the communications bearer or the communications bearer and one or more other communications bearers, the mobile communications network being arranged in operation to communicate the data packets differently via the communications bearers or the and one or more other communications bearers depending on the type of the data packets communicated via the or each communications bearer.

4. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of data bearer is communicated with a request to establish or to configure or to modify a communications bearer.

5. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets is communicated as an access stratum message, a non-access stratum message or a bearer configuration message.

6. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets communicated via the communications bearer, which includes an indication that the data packets are for a machine type communication.

7. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets to be communicated via the communications bearer, includes an indication of a relative priority of the data packets with respect to the communication of data packets via other communications bearers of the mobile communications network.

8. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the relative priority includes one of more of an Allocated Retention Priority value and/or a Low Priority indicator.

9. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control of the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with a relative priority indicated by the type of the data packets includes

storing the data packets in a buffer for communication of the data packets via the communications bearer at a later time in preference to communicating data packets from other communications bearers at an earlier time with a higher priority.

10. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control of the communication of the data packets includes discarding the data packets from the buffer in preference to communicating data packets from other communications bearers.

11. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control of the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with a relative priority indicated by the type of the data packets is in response to an indication of congestion of data packets being communicated by the mobile communications network.

12. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the type of the data packets communicated is one of more the machine type communications indicator, a low priority indicator, a regular user indicator or a high priority indicator.

13. A method of communicating data to and/or from a mobile communications devices using a mobile communications network, the method comprising

communicating an indication of a relative type of data packets for communicating via a communications bearer for supporting a communications session from the mobile communications device, the indication of the type of the data packets being for use in configuring the communications bearer,

providing the communications bearer to or from the mobile communications device in accordance with the indication of the type of the data packets, and

controlling the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the type of data packets being communicated via the communications bearer.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, the communicating the indication of the relative type of the data packets, including communicating from an applications program of the mobile communications device the indication of the type of the data packets for communication via the communications bearer, the communications session being provided by the applications program using the communications bearer.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communicating the indication of the relative type of the data packets, includes

communicating from each of a plurality of applications programs operating on the mobile communications device the indication of the relative type of the data packets for communication to and/or from the communications bearer or the communications bearer and one or more other communications bearers, and the communicating the data packets includes

communicating the data packets differently via the communications bearers or the and one or more other communications bearers depending on the type of the data packets communicated via the or each communications bearer.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communicating indication of the type of data packets, includes communicating the indication of the type of data packets with a request to establish or to configure or to modify a communications bearer.

17. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communicating indication of the type of data packets, includes communicating the indication of the type of data packets as an access stratum message, a non-access stratum message or a bearer configuration message.

18. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets communicated via the communications bearer, includes an indication that the data packets are for a machine type communication.

19. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets communicated via the communications bearer, includes an indication of a relative priority of the data packets with respect to the communication of data packets via other communications bearers of the mobile communications network.

20. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the relative priority includes one of more of an Allocated Retention Priority value and/or a Low Priority indicator.

21. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controlling the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the type of data packets, includes

storing the data packets in a buffer for communication of the data packets via the communications bearer at a later time in preference to communicating data packets from other communications bearers at an earlier time with a higher priority.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the controlling the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the type of data packets, includes

discarding the data packets from the buffer in preference to communicating data packets from other communications bearers.

23. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the controlling the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the type of data packets, includes receiving an indication of congestion of data packets being communicated by the mobile communications network.

24. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the type of the data packets communicated is one of more the machine type communications indicator, a low priority indicator, a regular user indicator or a high priority indicator.

25-26. -26. (canceled)