WAN ASSISTED MONITORING AND COMMUNICATIONS METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES

• US 20140022986A1
• Filed: 07/20/2012
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wu, Zhibin, Tsirtsis, Georgios, Vanderveen, Michaela, Hovey, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 9,049,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for improved monitoring and tracking of communications devices, e.g., peer to peer devices, using assistance from WAN elements such as base stations, are described. In some embodiments, a wireless terminal requests peer to peer communications discovery assistance from one or more base stations. In some embodiments, the request includes information identifying peer communications discovery information the wireless terminal is seeking to detect. In some embodiments, upon receiving the request, nearby base stations listen to the common discovery channel and upon detecting the specified discovery information, send a response indicating the detection of the discovery information and a proximate location of the announcing peer device, to the wireless terminal. The wireless terminal can use the received information to locate and page the announcing peer via the base station serving the announcing peer. Location tracking of peer devices is facilitated and peer-to-peer communication setup time may be reduced.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first wireless terminal, comprising:

sending a request via a wide area network uplink communications channel to a first base station requesting peer to peer communications discovery assistance, said request including information identifying peer to peer communications discovery information the first wireless terminal is seeking to detect; and

receiving, via a wide area network downlink communications channel, from a responding base station, a response to said request indicating the detection of said peer to peer communications discovery information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said request further includes information indicating a portion of a discovery channel which is to be monitored for the peer to peer communications discovery information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said request further includes information identifying said first wireless terminal, said information including a device identifier which can be used in sending a response to said first wireless terminal.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said peer to peer communications discovery information is one of peer device discovery information and service discovery information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said responding base station is a base station to which said request was directly transmitted or a base station which received said request from a base station to which the request was directly transmitted.

6. The method of claim 2,

wherein the response further includes signal strength information indicating the strength of a detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information and identifying a base station which detected the peer to peer communications discovery information.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining, from the received response, a proximate location of a second wireless terminal which transmitted the detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second wireless terminals support direct device to device communication, the method further comprising:

sending a signal to the first base station to initiate a base station assisted paging operation, said signal triggering paging of said second wireless terminal via the base station which detected said discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

9. A first wireless terminal, comprising:

means for sending a request via a wide area network uplink communications channel to a first base station requesting peer to peer communications discovery assistance, said request including information identifying peer to peer communications discovery information the first wireless terminal is seeking to detect; and

means for receiving, via a wide area network downlink communications channel, from a responding base station, a response to said request indicating the detection of said peer to peer communications discovery information.

10. The first wireless terminal of claim 9, further comprising:

means for generating said request, said means for generating said request including means for including, in said request, information indicating a portion of a discovery channel which is to be monitored for the peer to peer communications discovery information.

11. The first wireless terminal of claim 10, wherein said means for generating said request further include means for including, in said request, information identifying said first wireless terminal, said information including a device identifier which can be used in sending a response to said first wireless terminal.

12. The first wireless terminal of claim 9, wherein said responding base station is a base station to which said request was directly transmitted or a base station which received said request from a base station to which the request was directly transmitted.

13. The first wireless terminal of claim 10,

wherein the response further includes signal strength information indicating the strength of a detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information and identifying a base station which detected the peer to peer communications discovery information.

14. The first wireless terminal of claim 13, further comprising:

means for determining, from the received response, a proximate location of a second wireless terminal which transmitted the detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

15. The first wireless terminal of claim 14, wherein the first and second wireless terminals support direct device to device communication, the first wireless terminal further comprising:

means for sending a signal to the first base station to initiate a base station assisted paging operation, said signal triggering paging of said second wireless terminal via the base station which detected said discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

16. A first wireless terminal, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

send a request via a wide area network uplink communications channel to a first base station requesting peer to peer communications discovery assistance, said request including information identifying peer to peer communications discovery information the first wireless terminal is seeking to detect; and

receive, via a wide area network downlink communications channel, from a responding base station, a response to said request indicating the detection of said peer to peer communications discovery information; and

a memory coupled to said at least one processor.

17. The first wireless terminal of claim 16,

wherein the response further includes signal strength information indicating the strength of a detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information and identifying a base station which detected the peer to peer communications discovery information.

18. The first wireless terminal of claim 17, wherein said at least one processor is further configured to:

determine, from the received response, a proximate location of a second wireless terminal which transmitted the detected discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

19. The first wireless terminal of claim 18, wherein the first and second wireless terminals support direct device to device communication, and wherein said at least one processor is further configured to:

send a signal to the first base station to initiate a base station assisted paging operation, said signal triggering paging of said second wireless terminal via the base station which detected said discovery signal communicating the peer to peer communications discovery information.

20. A computer program product for use in a first wireless terminal, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to send a request via a wide area network uplink communications channel to a first base station requesting peer to peer communications discovery assistance, said request including information identifying peer to peer communications discovery information the first wireless terminal is seeking to detect; and

code for causing the at least one computer to receive, via a wide area network downlink communications channel, from a responding base station, a response to said request indicating the detection of said peer to peer communications discovery information.