MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT, MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20130301559A1
• Filed: 10/28/2011
• Published: 11/14/2013
• 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 9,462,591 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0252 per individual bearer or channel dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A mobile communications network for communicating data to/from mobile communications devices, including a core network part including plural infrastructure equipment, and a radio network part including plural base stations communicating data to/from the mobile communications devices. The mobile communications device communicates 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 provides the communications bearer from the mobile communications device to one or more of the infrastructure equipment via the base stations in accordance with the indication and to control the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the indication communicated via the communications bearer, to 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 network for communicating data to and/or from mobile communications devices, the mobile communications network comprising

a core network part including a plurality of infrastructure equipment, and

a radio network part including a plurality of base stations which are provided with a wireless access interface for communicating data to or from the mobile communications devices, wherein the mobile communications device is 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 the mobile communications network is arranged to provide the communications bearer from the mobile communications device 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 and to control the communication of the data packets via the communications bearer in accordance with the type of data packets being communicated via the communications bearer.

2. A mobile communications network 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. A mobile communications network 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 and the mobile communications network is 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 network 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 network 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 network 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 network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets communicated via the communications bearer, which is associated with 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 network 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 network 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 network 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 network 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 network 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 mobile communications network for communicating data to mobile communications devices, the mobile communications network including a plurality of base stations which are provided with a wireless access interface for communicating data to or from the mobile communications devices, wherein the mobile communications device is arranged in operation to communicate an indication of a relative type of data packets for communicating the data packets 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 the mobile communications network is arranged to provide the communications bearer from the mobile communications device to one or more infrastructure equipment via one or more of the base stations in accordance with the indication of the type of the data packets and to control 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 of communicating data to mobile communications devices using a mobile communications network, the mobile communications network comprising a core network part including a plurality of infrastructure equipment, and a radio network part including a plurality of base stations which are provided with a wireless access interface for communicating data to or from the mobile communications devices, the method comprising

receiving 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, and

providing the communications bearer from the mobile communications device 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, 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.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, the receiving the indication of the relative type of the data packets, includes receiving 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.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the receiving the indication of the relative type of the data packets, includes receiving 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.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

18. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

19. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

20. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the indication of the type of the data packets communicated via the communications bearer, which is associated with 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.

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

22. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22, 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.

24. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

25. A method as claimed in claim 14, 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.

26-27. -27. (canceled)