OPTIMIZED ALWAYS-ON WIRELESS SERVICE USING NETWORK ASSISTANCE AND KEEP-ALIVES

• US 20140064209A1
• Filed: 08/28/2013
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: ANCHAN, Kirankumar, PALADUGU, Karthika, SANTHANAM, Arvind V.
• Granted Patent: US 9,554,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The disclosure generally relates to optimized always-on wireless service using network assistance and keep-alives. More particularly, in response to a user equipment (UE) requesting a bearer for an always-on service, a network may establish the bearer for the always-on service and transmit an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer will be held in an active state to the UE. Any applications running on the UE may then use the bearer for the always-on service, and the UE may transmit a single keep-alive message to the network before the availability time expires to reset the period during which the bearer will be held in the active state. Furthermore, the keep-alive message may be structured to not generate a reply and thereby reduce battery consumption, reduce communication overhead, and improve network capacity

Claims

1. A method for optimized always-on wireless service, comprising:

monitoring requests for always-on service from one or more applications or services on a user equipment (UE) that does not currently have always-on service from a network;

transmitting, to the network, a message that requests a bearer dedicated to always-on service in response to receiving a request for the always-on service from at least one of the applications or services on the UE;

receiving, at the UE, an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

transmitting a keep-alive message from the UE to the network before the availability time expires to reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state, wherein the UE maintains the state associated with the dedicated bearer and notifies the one or more applications or services on the UE to suppress keep-alive messages.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the UE transmits one keep-alive message to enable all the applications or services on the UE to utilize the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state.

3. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the UE, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) that terminates an interface associated with the dedicated bearer.

4. The method recited in claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an activation message associated with the dedicated bearer from the network, wherein the activation message includes the IP address associated with the P-GW within a Protocol Configuration Option (PCO) information element.

5. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

disabling keep-alive messages on the UE to deactivate the always-on service and the bearer dedicated thereto in response to all applications or services that requested the always-on service indicating that the always-on service is no longer required.

6. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting, to the network, a request to reactivate the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to the UE transitioning to a high-priority state or another notification from at least one of the applications or services that requests the always-on service; and

receiving, at the UE, an availability time that indicates the period during which the reactivated bearer will be held in the active state.

7. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a high-priority call that terminates at the UE over the bearer dedicated to the always-on service, wherein the network reactivates the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to receiving the high-priority call.

8. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a non-priority call that terminates at the UE over a default bearer.

9. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the keep-alive message comprises an Internet Control Messaging Protocol (ICMP) message that does not generate a reply.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

means for monitoring requests for always-on service from one or more applications or services on the apparatus, wherein the apparatus does not currently have always-on service from a network;

means for transmitting, to the network, a message that requests a bearer dedicated to always-on service in response to receiving a request for the always-on service from at least one of the applications or services on the apparatus;

means for receiving an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

means for transmitting a keep-alive message to the network before the availability time expires to reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state, wherein the apparatus maintains the state associated with the dedicated bearer and notifies the one or more applications or services on the apparatus to suppress keep-alive messages.

11. The apparatus recited in claim 10, wherein means for transmitting transmits one keep-alive message to enable all the applications or services on the apparatus to utilize the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state.

12. The apparatus recited in claim 10, further comprising:

means for receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) that terminates an interface associated with the dedicated bearer.

13. The apparatus recited in claim 12, further comprising:

means for receiving an activation message associated with the dedicated bearer from the network, wherein the activation message includes the IP address associated with the P-GW within a Protocol Configuration Option (PCO) information element.

14. The apparatus recited in claim 10, further comprising:

means for disabling keep-alive messages to deactivate the always-on service and the bearer dedicated thereto in response to all applications or services that requested the always-on service indicating that the always-on service is no longer required.

15. The apparatus recited in claim 14, further comprising:

means for transmitting, to the network, a request to reactivate the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to a transition to a high-priority state or another notification from at least one of the applications or services that requests the always-on service; and

means for receiving an availability time that indicates the period during which the reactivated bearer will be held in the active state.

16. The apparatus recited in claim 14, further comprising:

means for receiving a high-priority call over the bearer dedicated to the always-on service, wherein the network reactivates the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to receiving the high-priority call.

17. The apparatus recited in claim 14, further comprising:

means for receiving a non-priority call over a default bearer.

18. The apparatus recited in claim 10, wherein the keep-alive message comprises an Internet Control Messaging Protocol (ICMP) message that does not generate a reply.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors configured to monitor requests for always-on service from one or more applications or services on a user equipment (UE) that does not currently have always-on service from a network, to transmit a message that requests a bearer dedicated to always-on service to the network in response to a request for the always-on service from at least one of the applications or services on the UE, to receive an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state, and to transmit a keep-alive message from the UE to the network before the availability time expires to reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state, wherein the UE maintains the state associated with the dedicated bearer and notifies the one or more applications or services on the UE to suppress keep-alive messages; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions on one or more processors causes the one or more processors to:

monitor requests for always-on service from one or more applications or services on a user equipment (UE) that does not currently have always-on service from a network;

transmit, to the network, a message that requests a bearer dedicated to always-on service in response to receiving a request for the always-on service from at least one of the applications or services on the UE;

receive, at the UE, an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

transmit a keep-alive message from the UE to the network before the availability time expires to reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state, wherein the UE maintains the state associated with the dedicated bearer and notifies the one or more applications or services on the UE to suppress keep-alive messages.

21. A method for optimized always-on wireless service, comprising:

establishing, at a network, a bearer dedicated to an always-on service on a user equipment (UE) in response to receiving a request for always-on service from the UE;

transmitting, to the UE, an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

resetting the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state in response to receiving a keep-alive message from the UE before the availability time expires.

22. The method recited in claim 21, further comprising:

routing traffic associated with one or more applications on the UE over the dedicated bearer in the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state.

23. The method recited in claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting, to the UE, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) that terminates an interface associated with the dedicated bearer.

24. The method recited in claim 23, wherein an activation message associated with the dedicated bearer includes the IP address associated with the P-GW within a Protocol Configuration Option (PCO) information element.

25. The method recited in claim 21, further comprising:

deactivating the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to determining that a keep-alive message was not received at the network before the availability time expired.

26. The method recited in claim 25, further comprising:

reactivating the bearer for the always-on service in response to the UE transitioning to a high-priority state or requesting activity on the bearer for the always-on service; and

transmitting, to the UE, an availability time that indicates the period during which the reactivated bearer will be held in the active state.

27. The method recited in claim 25, further comprising:

reactivating the bearer for the always-on service in response to receiving a high-priority call that terminates at the UE; and

terminating the high-priority call at the UE over the reactivated bearer.

28. The method recited in claim 25, further comprising:

receiving a non-priority call that terminates at the UE; and

terminating the non-priority call at the UE over a default bearer.

29. The method recited in claim 21, wherein the keep-alive message comprises an Internet Control Messaging Protocol (ICMP) message that does not generate a reply.

30. An apparatus, comprising:

means for establishing a bearer dedicated to an always-on service on a user equipment (UE) in response to receiving a request for always-on service from the UE;

means for transmitting, to the UE, an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

means for resetting the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state in response to receiving a keep-alive message from the UE before the availability time expires.

31. The apparatus recited in claim 30, further comprising:

means for routing traffic associated with one or more applications on the UE over the dedicated bearer in the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state.

32. The apparatus recited in claim 30, further comprising:

means for transmitting, to the UE, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW) that terminates an interface associated with the dedicated bearer.

33. The apparatus recited in claim 32, wherein an activation message associated with the dedicated bearer includes the IP address associated with the P-GW within a Protocol Configuration Option (PCO) information element.

34. The apparatus recited in claim 30, further comprising:

means for deactivating the bearer dedicated to the always-on service in response to determining that a keep-alive message was not received before the availability time expired.

35. The apparatus recited in claim 34, further comprising:

means for reactivating the bearer for the always-on service in response to the UE transitioning to a high-priority state or requesting activity on the bearer for the always-on service; and

means for transmitting, to the UE, an availability time that indicates the period during which the reactivated bearer will be held in the active state.

36. The apparatus recited in claim 34, further comprising:

means for reactivating the bearer for the always-on service in response to receiving a high-priority call that terminates at the UE; and

means for terminating the high-priority call at the UE over the reactivated bearer.

37. The apparatus recited in claim 34, further comprising:

means for receiving a non-priority call that terminates at the UE; and

means for terminating the non-priority call at the UE over a default bearer.

38. The apparatus recited in claim 30, wherein the keep-alive message comprises an Internet Control Messaging Protocol (ICMP) message that does not generate a reply.

39. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors configured to establish a bearer dedicated to an always-on service on a user equipment (UE) in response to receiving a request for always-on service from the UE, to transmit an availability time to the UE, wherein the availability time indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state, and to reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state in response to receiving a keep-alive message from the UE before the availability time expires; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors.

40. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions on one or more processors causes the one or more processors to:

establish a bearer dedicated to an always-on service on a user equipment (UE) in response to receiving a request for always-on service from the UE;

transmit, to the UE, an availability time that indicates a period during which the bearer dedicated to the always-on service will be held in an active state; and

reset the period during which the dedicated bearer will be held in the active state in response to receiving a keep-alive message from the UE before the availability time expires.