CONTROLLING DATA TRANSMISSIONS FOR MACHINE TYPE COMMUNICATIONS IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20160255458A1
• Filed: 05/11/2016
• Published: 09/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: HUANG, Yangcheng
• Granted Patent: US 10,455,386 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The invention relates to methods for controlling transmission of machine type communication data to or from machine type communication devices within a mobile communication system. Furthermore, the invention relates to a mobile terminal and network node for implementing such methods, and to implementations of the methods in software. In one aspect of the invention, a mechanism to perform transmission planning (or scheduling) of data transmission from machine type communication devices is suggested. This transmission planning may be based on load estimates at different points in time (e.g. for individual timeslots), and may allow the scheduling of transmissions of machine type communication data at points in time, where the load in the mobile/wireless communication network is expected to be low.

Claims

1. A method for controlling transmission of machine type communication data to or from machine type communication devices within a mobile communication system, wherein the method comprise:

receiving, by a network node in a radio access network or core network of the mobile communication system, a first connection request message in the control plane from a mobile terminal, wherein the first connection request message requests the establishment of a connection between the network node and the mobile terminal for transmitting timeslot information and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device;

determining, by the network node, one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data, wherein the determined one or more timeslots are one or more timeslots for which a maximum load count has not been reached and the determination is based on load information that indicates estimated load of the mobile communication system at different future timeslots including the determined one or more timeslots; and

transmitting, by the network node, in the control plane and to the mobile terminal, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding the determined one or more timeslots.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more timeslots; and

increasing a load count for the accepted timeslot in response to receiving the connection setup complete message.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

increasing a load count for each of the determined one or more timeslots;

receiving, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more timeslots; and

decreasing a load count for each non-accepted timeslot of the determined one or more timeslots in response to receiving the connection setup complete message.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first connection request message comprises, and determining the one or more timeslots is further based on, at least one of:

a latency field for indicating a maximum latency for transmitting machine type communication data;

a frequency field for indicating a frequency of transmission of machine type communication data; and

a connectivity duration field for indicating an estimated connectivity duration for transmitting machine type communication data per connection request.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, in one of the determined one or more timeslots, a second connection request message in the control plane from the mobile terminal, the second connection request message requesting the network node to establish a connection for transmitting the machine type communication data.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second connection request message comprises a scheduled flag, wherein the scheduled flag indicates to the network node that the mobile terminal has previously been assigned to the one of the determined one or more timeslots.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein in case of network overload in the mobile communication system upon reception of the second connection request message, the method further comprises:

determining one or more further timeslots for transmitting the machine type communication data, wherein the determined one or more further timeslots are one or more timeslots for which a maximum load count has not been reached and the determination is based on load information that indicates estimated load of the mobile communication system at different future timeslots including the determined one or more further timeslots; and

transmitting, in the control plane and to the mobile terminal, a second connection setup message, wherein the second connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding the determined one or more further timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, in response to the second connection setup message and in the control plane, another connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more further timeslots; and

increasing the load count for the accepted timeslot of the determined one or more further timeslots in response to receiving the another connection setup complete message.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

increasing a load count for each of the determined one or more further timeslots;

receiving, in response to the second connection setup message and in the control plane, another connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more further timeslots; and

decreasing the load count for each non-accepted timeslot of the determined one or more further timeslots in response to receiving the another connection setup complete message.

10. A method for controlling transmission of machine type communication data to or from machine type communication devices within a mobile communication system, wherein the method comprises:

in the control plane, transmitting, by a mobile terminal, a connection request message to a network node in a radio access network or a core network of the mobile communication system, wherein the connection request message requests establishment of a connection for transmitting timeslot information and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device;

receiving, by the mobile terminal, in the control plane and from the network node, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data;

transmitting, by the mobile terminal, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message to the network node accepting one of the one or more timeslots; and

in the accepted timeslot, transmitting, by the mobile terminal, in the control plane a second connection request message to the network node to establish a connection for transmitting machine type communication data.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

checking whether one of the one or more timeslots indicated in the first connection setup message allows for transmission of machine type communication data within a maximum latency constraint for transmitting machine type communication data, and

accepting or declining the timeslot based on whether or not the timeslot allows for transmission of machine type communication data within the maximum latency constraint.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first connection request message includes at least one of:

a latency field for indicating a maximum latency for transmitting machine type communication data;

a frequency field for indicating a frequency of transmission of machine type communication data; and

a connectivity duration field for indicating an estimated connectivity duration for transmitting machine type communication data per connection request.

13. A network node for controlling transmission of machine type communication data to or from machine type communication devices within a mobile communication system, wherein the network node comprises:

a receiver configured to receive a first connection request message in the control plane from a mobile terminal, wherein the first connection request message requests establishment of a connection between the network node and the mobile terminal and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device;

a processor configured to determine one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data based on load information that indicates estimated load of the mobile communication system at different future timeslots including the determined one or more timeslots, wherein the determined one or more timeslots are one or more timeslots for which a maximum load count has not been reached; and

a transmitter configured to transmit, in the control plane and to the mobile terminal, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding the determined one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data.

14. A mobile terminal comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit, in the control plane, a connection request message to a network node, wherein the connection request message requests establishment of a connection for transmitting timeslot information and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device; and

a receiver configured to receive, in the control plane and from the network node, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data;

wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message to the network node accepting one of the one or more timeslots, and to transmit in the control plane, in the accepted timeslot, a second connection request message to the network node to establish a connection for transmitting machine type communication data.

15. A non transitory computer-readable medium having processor-executable instructions stored thereon, the processor-executable instructions, when executed, facilitating performance of the following steps:

receiving a first connection request message in the control plane from a mobile terminal, wherein the first connection request message requests establishment of a connection between a network node and the mobile terminal and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device;

determining one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data, wherein the determined one or more timeslots are one or more timeslots for which a maximum load count has not been reached and the determination is based on load information that indicates estimated load of the mobile communication system at different future timeslots including the determined one or more timeslots; and

transmitting, in the control plane and to the mobile terminal, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding the determined one or more timeslots for transmitting machine type communication data.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, further facilitate:

receiving, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more timeslots; and

increasing a load count for the accepted timeslot in response to receiving the connection setup complete message.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, further facilitate:

increasing a load count for each of the determined one or more timeslots;

receiving, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message from the mobile terminal accepting one of the determined one or more timeslots; and

decreasing a load count for each non-accepted timeslot of the determined one or more timeslots in response to receiving the connection setup complete message.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-executable instructions stored thereon, the processor-executable instructions, when executed, facilitating performance of the following steps:

in a control plane, transmitting a connection request message to a network node, wherein the connection request message requests establishment of a connection for transmitting timeslot information and indicates that the mobile terminal is a machine type communication device;

receiving, in the control plane and from the network node, a first connection setup message, wherein the first connection setup message informs the mobile terminal regarding one or more timeslots for transmitting the machine type communication data;

transmitting, in response to the first connection setup message and in the control plane, a connection setup complete message to the network node accepting one of the one or more timeslots; and

in the accepted timeslot, transmitting in the control plane a second connection request message to the base station to establish a connection for transmitting the machine type communication data.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed, further facilitate:

checking whether one of the one or more timeslots indicated in the first connection setup message allows for transmission of machine type communication data within a maximum latency constraint for transmitting machine type communication data, and

accepting or declining the timeslot based on whether or not the timeslot allows for transmission of machine type communication data within the maximum latency constraint.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the first connection request message comprises at least one of:

a latency field for indicating a maximum latency for transmitting machine type communication data;

a frequency field for indicating a frequency of transmission of machine type communication data; and

a connectivity duration field for indicating an estimated connectivity duration for transmitting machine type communication data per connection request.