MACHINE TYPE COMMUNICATION VIRTUAL SHARED MOBILE APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20140376454A1
• Filed: 06/20/2013
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Limited
• Original Assignee: Gary David Boudreau
• Inventors: BOUDREAU, Gary David, CIMPU, Virgil
• Granted Patent: US 10,034,321 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The present disclosure proposes a Virtual Shared Mobile (VSM) feature at eNodeB level, relay node, ore UE or device level that will allow multiple MTC devices to be grouped together and be presented to the rest of Mobile Network as one Virtual Shared Mobile (VSM). The MTC Application Servers will authenticate and manage individual MTC devices. This will decrease the number of devices that are managed by the mobile network and hence decreasing the control signalling volume. Devices belonging to the same Virtual Shared Mobile Group (VSMG) will use time division to share the same Radio Bearer (same IMSI) and hence decreasing the interference to the other UEs in the mobile network. Overall the disclosure will allow data gathering from a large number of MTC devices with limited impact on the Mobile Network. Disclosed herein are aspects of the VSM concept, including inter alia: (1) the VSM implemented in the eNB; (2) the VSM implemented in a relay node; and (3) the VSM implemented in a UE or device acting as a relay node in a device-to-device configuration.

Claims

1. A machine-type-communication (MTC) virtual shared mobile (VSM) apparatus suitable for use in a communications network including a mobile network, the mobile network having wireless nodes including a wireless basestation node and wireless device nodes, the wireless base station node serving the wireless device nodes, a portion of the wireless devices being a plurality of MTC devices, the communications network connected to at least one MTC application server, the MTC VSM apparatus comprising:

a node in the communications network, comprising;

a communications interface for participating in at least one MTC communication involving one of the at least one MTC application server and the at least one of the MTC devices; and

a processor configured to operate with the communications interface, the processor adapted such that a portion of the at least one MTC related communication presents the plurality of MTC devices as one Virtual Shared Mobile wireless device having a single wireless device identifier to the mobile network.

2. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 1, wherein the node in the communications network is one of an:

MTC Device, UE, eNodeB, MME, S-GW, P-GW, MTC App Server, Relay Node, and Mobile Relay Node, Mobile Network MTC Authorization Server.

3. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 1, wherein the portion of the at least one MTC related communication includes at least one of:

RRC Conn, MTC Data Report, RRC Disconn, Joint VSMG REQ, Authorize Server REQ, Authorize Server RSP, Authorize Device REQ, Authorize Device REQ, Authorize Device RSP, Joint VSMG RSP and a communication carried over a VSM Radio Bearer.

4. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 1, wherein the portion of the at least one MTC related communication includes at least one of:

MTC server IP, data, MTC App Data Device, VSMG Control, MTC Server IP, eNodeB IP, VSM IP, MTC ID, S-GW IP, P-GW IP, UDP port, device ID, credentials, OK, Not OK, Device parameters, VSM, IMSI, local device ID, VSMG Control, and App data.

5. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of MTC devices belong to a Virtual Shared Mobile Group (VSMG) having a VSMG identifier.

6. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 5, wherein an MTC device that does not belong to the Virtual Shared Mobile Group (VSMG) utilises its own device identifier in an initial connection request to join the VSMG.

7. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 5, wherein the communication node is an MTC device and wherein the communication node listens to a shared VSM Radio Bearer for at least one of VSM Control and VSM Device Data.

8. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 7, wherein the communications node receives via the VSMG Control regarding allocated TTIs to send at least one of VSM Control and VSM Device Data to the at least one MTC server.

9. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 5, wherein an MTC device uses its own mobile network identifier to send a VSM TTI grant request message to the communication node of the VSM apparatus.

10. The MTC VSM apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one portion of the at least one MTC related communication is encrypted at the application layer.

11. A machine-type-communication (MTC) virtual shared mobile (VSM) method suitable for use in a communications network including a mobile network, the mobile network having wireless nodes including a wireless basestation node and wireless device nodes, the wireless base station node serving the wireless device nodes, a portion of the wireless devices being a plurality of MTC devices, the communications network connected to at least one MTC application server, the MTC VSM method comprising:

providing a node in the communications network, comprising;

a communications interface for participating in at least one MTC communication involving one of the at least one MTC application server and the at least one of the MTC devices;

a processor configured to operate with the communications interface, the processor adapted to operate on a portion of the at least one MTC related communication; and

presenting the plurality of MTC devices as one Virtual Shared Mobile wireless device such that the portion of the at least one MTC related communication uses a single identifier for the plurality of MTC devices.