COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20140010173A1
• Filed: 10/03/2011
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2010
• 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 9,313,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3816 Mechanical arrangements for accommodating identification devices, e.g. cards or chips; with connectors for programming identification devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/121 for groups of terminals or users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A communications device, communicating data via a mobile radio network, includes a transmitter/receiver communicating data to/from a mobile radio network via a wireless access interface, and a module storing information identifying the communications device to the mobile radio network, the stored information including a same common identifier in each of an associated group of communications devices, the common identifier to establish communications sessions to communicate data to/from any of the associated communications devices. The group of communications devices may communicate machine type communications for a particular application, for example disposed in a vehicle, to report certain parameters. With spatial proximity of the communications devices, each can receive control plane signaling data and accordingly communication of signaling data is as if broadcast to a local environment in which the group of communications devices are disposed, to save communications bandwidth proportional to the number of devices in the group.

Claims

1. A communications device for communicating data via a mobile radio network, the communications device comprising

a transmitter and receiver unit for communicating data to and/or from a mobile radio network via a wireless access interface, and

a module for storing information which identifies the communications device to the mobile radio network, wherein the information stored in the module includes the same common identifier as that provided to each of an associated group of communications devices, the common identifier being used to establish a communications sessions which communications sessions can be used to communicate data to or from any of the associated communications devices.

2. A communications system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the module is a subscriber identifier module or universal subscriber identity module, which includes the same common identifier for each module.

3. A communications device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the identifier is a network temporary identifier or is used to generate a unique resource location or unique resource identifier.

4. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the module includes an equipment identification number, the equipment identification number being used by a radio link layer of the mobile radio network to identify each of the communications devices within the group of communications devices.

5. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communications device is arranged to be a master communications device and the transmitter and receiver unit is arranged in operation to establish a communication session for the group of communications devices by transmitting signaling information including the common identifier to the mobile network, the other associated communications devices in the group being arranged to enter a listening mode in which signaling information communicated from the mobile radio network can be received in response to the signaling information transmitted by the communications device, with the effect that each of the associated communications devices can transmit data to the mobile radio network and receive data from the mobile radio network using the communications session established by the communications device using the common identifier.

6. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communications device is arranged to be a slave communications device and the transmitter and receiver unit is arranged in operation to detect a transmission of signaling information including the common identifier to the mobile network from a master communications device of the group for establishing a communication session for the group of communications devices, and to enter a listening mode in which signaling information communicated from the mobile radio network can be received in response to the signaling information transmitted by the master communications device, with the effect that the communications device can transmit data to the mobile radio network and receive data from the mobile radio network using the communications bearer established by the group of communications device using the common identifier.

7. A communications device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the signaling information received from the mobile radio network in response to the first communications device includes information required for mobility management and connection.

8. A communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile radio network provides a wireless access interface which includes a random access communications channel for uplink transmission of a burst of signals, the transmitter and receiver unit is arranged to transmit a random access burst in the random access communications channel in accordance with a predetermined arrangement.

9. A communications device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the predetermined arrangement includes allocating a time to the communications device with respect to the other communications devices of the group, when the transmitter and receiver unit can transmit the random access burst in the random access communications channel.

10. A communications device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the communications device is provided with a unique one of a set of predefined sequences of data for use in forming the random access burst for transmission in the random access channel of the wireless access interface, wherein the transmit and receive unit is arranged to receive a signaling message in response to the random access burst, using the unique data sequence which was used to form the random access burst.

11. A communications device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the random access burst of signals includes data representing a request for uplink resources and the transmit and receive device is arranged to receive, following the transmission of the random access burst, a signaling message granting uplink resources to the communications device, which is identified using the same unique predefined sequence used to form the random access burst transmitted by the communications device.

12. A communications device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the transmit and receive unit is arrange

to detect a transmission of a random access burst in the uplink random access channel by another of the communications devices of the group,

in response to the detected transmission to enter a listening state for detecting data transmitted to the other of the devices via a packet data communications channel of the radio access interface, and

to wait a predetermined time after not detecting data transmitted via the packet data communications channel before attempting to transmit a random access burst on the uplink random access channel.

13. A method of communicating data using a communications device via a mobile radio network, the method comprising

providing a module for storing information which identifies the communications device to the mobile radio network, wherein the information stored in the module includes the same common identifier as that provided to each of an associated group of communications devices,

using the common identifier to establish a communications sessions to communicate data via the mobile radio network, which communications session can be used to communicate data to or from any of the associated communications devices, and

communicating data to and/or from a mobile radio network via the mobile radio network using the established communications session.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the module is a subscriber identifier module or universal subscriber identity module, which includes the same common identifier for each module.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the identifier is a network temporary identifier or is used to generate a unique resource location or unique resource identifier.

16. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the module includes an equipment identification number, and the method includes

using the equipment identification number to identify the communications device within the group of communications devices.

17. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communications device is arranged to be a master communications device and the method includes

establishing the communications session for the group of communications devices by transmitting signaling information including the common identifier to the mobile network, the other associated communications devices in the group being arranged to enter a listening mode in which signaling information communicated from the mobile radio network can be received in response to the signaling information transmitted by the communications device, and

transmitting data to the mobile radio network and receiving data from the mobile radio network using the communications session established by the communications device using the common identifier.

18. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the communications device is arranged to be a slave communications device and the method comprises

detecting a transmission of signaling information including the common identifier to the mobile radio network from a master communications device of the group for establishing a communication session for the group of communications devices,

entering a listening mode in which signaling information communicated from the mobile radio network can be received in response to the signaling information transmitted by the master communications device, and

transmitting data to the mobile radio network and receiving data from the mobile radio network using the communications session established by the group of communications device using the common identifier.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the signaling information received from the mobile radio network in response to the master communications device includes information required for mobility management and connection.

20. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mobile radio network provides a wireless access interface which includes a random access communications channel for uplink transmission of a burst of signals, and the method comprises

transmitting a random access burst in the random access communications channel in accordance with a predetermined arrangement.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the predetermined arrangement includes allocating a time to the communications device with respect to the other communications devices of the group, and the transmitting includes transmitting the random access burst in the random access communications channel.

22. A method as claimed in claim 20, the method comprising

providing the communications device with a unique one of a set of predefined sequences of data,

using the unique data sequence to form the random access burst for transmission in the random access channel of the wireless access interface, and

receiving a signaling message in response to the random access burst, using the unique data sequence which was used to form the random access burst.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the using the unique data sequence to form the random access burst for transmission includes forming the random access burst of signals with data representing a request for uplink resources and the method includes

receiving, following the transmission of the random access burst, a signaling message granting uplink resources to the communications device, which is identified using the same unique predefined sequence used to form the random access burst transmitted by the communications device.

24. A method as claimed in claim 22, the method comprising

detecting a transmission of a random access burst in the uplink random access channel by another of the communications devices of the group,

in response to the detected transmission, entering a listening state for detecting data transmitted to the other of the devices via a packet data communications channel of the radio access interface, and

waiting a predetermined time after not detecting data transmitted via the packet data communications channel before attempting to transmit a random access burst on the uplink random access channel.

25-26. -26. (canceled)