SMALL DATA COMMUNICATIONS IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK

• US 20130308564A1
• Filed: 03/27/2012
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Jain, Puneet K., Wang, Shao-Cheng, Muthaiah, Venkatachalam
• Granted Patent: US 8,867,476 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/00 Suppression or limitation of noise or interference by means associated with receiver H04B1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0697 using spatial multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0038 Blind format detection for detection of modulation format H04L27/0012
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0041 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0045 Arrangements at the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/06 using space diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/34 Amplitude- and phase-modulated carrier systems, e.g. quadrature-amplitude modulated carrier systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/362 Modulation using more than one carrier, e.g. with quadrature carriers, separately amplitude modulated H04L27/366 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0209 in terminal devices terminal devices per se H04W88/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0258 controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage information, e.g. activity schedule or time of day
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/143 Downlink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/242 taking into account path loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/244 : Interferences in heterogeneous networks, e.g. among macro and femto or pico cells or other sector / system interference [OSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/325 : Power control of control or pilot channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 : Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 : Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 : Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 : for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 : Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 : using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 : Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 : Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 : Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 : Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe techniques and configurations for transmitting small data payloads such as, for example, Machine Type Communication (MTC) data in a wireless communication network. A system may include features to implement an interworking function (IWF) to receive, from a machine type communication (MTC) server, a trigger to send a data payload, which is smaller than a preconfigured threshold, to a user equipment (UE) over a wireless communication network, and send, over a first reference point to a first module including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN) or a second reference point to a second module including a Home Location Register (HLR) or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), the data payload and a request to forward the data payload to the UE.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more computer-readable media having instructions; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more computer-readable media and configured to execute the instructions to implement an interworking function (IWF) to receive, from a machine type communication (MTC) server, a trigger to send a data payload to a user equipment (UE) over a wireless communication network, the data payload being smaller than a preconfigured threshold; and

send, over a first reference point to a first module including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN) or a second reference point to a second module including a Home Location Register (HLR) or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), the data payload and a request to forward the data payload to the UE.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the IWF is configured to:

send the data payload and the request to forward the data payload over the first reference point to the first module; and

in response to receiving the trigger from the MTC server, communicate with the first module to obtain routing information for sending the data payload to the UE over the first reference point.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the IWF is configured to send the data payload and the request to forward the data payload over the second reference point to the second module.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the IWF comprises a machine type communication interworking function (MTC-IWF) that is configured to terminate a reference point to the MTC-IWF from the MTC server.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the MTC-IWF is configured to authenticate the MTC server and authorize control plane requests from the MTC server and to relay or translate signaling protocols received over the reference point to the MTC-IWF from the MTC server.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first module and the second module are each configured to send the data payload to the UE over a control plane of the wireless communication network.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the IWF is configured to send, over a third reference point to a third module including a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), the data payload; and

the third module is configured to send the data payload to the UE over a user plane of the wireless communication network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the IWF is configured to send the data payload using the third reference point if the UE is in connected mode and send the data payload using the first reference point or the second reference point if the UE is in idle or connected mode.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the wireless communication network includes a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network; and

the wireless communication network is accessible by a GSM Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) or Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN).

10. An apparatus to implement a machine type communications interworkinq function (MTC-IWF), comprising:

a communications interface adapted to receive, from a services capability server (SCS), a device trigger request message comprising a trigger payload to send the trigger payload to a user equipment (UE) over a wireless communication network and

send, to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN), the trigger payload and a request to forward the trigger payload to the UE; and

a processor adapted to authorize the SCS before communication is established with the wireless communication network and to authorize control plane requests from the SCS.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the MME or the SGSN is configured to send, to a base station of the wireless communication network, a paging message that includes a small data indicator that indicates a location of the trigger payload to be forwarded to the UE.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the authorizing the SCS before communication is established, indicates that the MTC-IWF is to authenticate the SCS before control plane requests from the SCS are authorized.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein

the MME is configured to page the UE if the UE is in idle mode.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein

the MME is configured to send a paging message that includes the small data indicator to the base station, the small data indicator indicating that the trigger payload is at the MME.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, by a machine type communication interworking function (MTC-IWF) from a machine type communication (MTC) server, a trigger to send a data payload, which is smaller than a preconfigured threshold, to a user equipment (UE) over a wireless communication network; and

sending, by the MTC-IWF over a reference point to a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), the data payload.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the PGW is configured to send the data payload to the UE over a user plane of the wireless communication network.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

sending, by the PGW, the data payload to a serving gateway (SGW) of the wireless communication network.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

sending, by the SGW, the data payload to the UE over a user plane.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the reference point is a third reference point, the method further comprising:

if sending by the MTC-IWF over a reference point to a Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), the data payload fails, then sending, by the MTC-IWF over a first reference point to a first module including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN) or a second reference point to a second module including a Home Location Register (HLR) or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), the data payload and a request to forward the data payload to the UE, wherein the first module or the second module is configured to send the data payload to the UE over a control plane of the wireless communication network.

20. An apparatus comprising:

an antenna;

a processor configured to communicate with a base station of a wireless communication network via the antenna; and

a control module configured to

establish a wireless connection with the base station of the wireless communication network; and

send, over the wireless connection, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) data payload to the base station for forwarding of the MTC data payload to a module including a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Support Node (SGSN) that is configured to forward the MTC data payload over an interface to a machine type communication interworking function (MTC-IWF), the MTC-IWF being configured to forward the MTC data payload to an MTC server.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the control module further includes:

a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) module; and

an Access Stratum (AS) module, wherein the control module is further configured to establish a connection with the base station by requesting, by the NAS module, the AS module to send a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection request message with a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to the base station.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the RRC connection request message includes a value that indicates to the base station that a short-lived signaling procedure is in progress.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the control module is further configured to send the MTC data payload to the base station as part of an RRC setup complete message that is sent in response to an RRC connection setup message received from the base station.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the RRC connection setup complete message includes:

an information element including a Key Set Identifier (KSI) and sequence number; and

the MTC data payload in encrypted form, the MTC data payload being sent as a NAS Packet Data Unit (PDU) in a NAS container.

25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the base station is configured to forward the MTC data payload to the module in an S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) initial context message.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the module is configured to decrypt the MTC data payload and add identity information of the apparatus to a message that includes the MTC data payload to the MTC-IWF.

27. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the control module is further configured to receive an acknowledgement that the MTC data payload has been received by the module.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein:

the wireless connection with the base station is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection;

the module is configured to send the acknowledgement to the base station in an encrypted Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Packet Data Unit (PDU) in an S1 downlink NAS transport message; and

the base station is configured to forward the acknowledgement to the apparatus in a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) Packet Data Unit (PDU) within a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection release message that releases the RRC connection between the apparatus and the base station.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the 51 downlink NAS Transport message further includes a request by the module to the base station to release the RRC connection.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein:

the wireless communication network is an Internet Protocol (IP) based network; and

the apparatus is a user equipment (UE) comprising one of a laptop computing device, a handheld computing device, a tablet, or a netbook; and

the apparatus further includes one or more of a camera, a keyboard, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics chip,

an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a speaker.