COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE

• US 20170164272A1
• Filed: 12/23/2014
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: MORIOKA, Yuichi
• Granted Patent: US 10,397,967 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A first communications device is operable to transmit device-to-device communications to a second communications device using a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system, access to the wireless access interface being coordinated by a coordinating entity. The first communications device comprises a controller and a transceiver, the controller being configured in combination with the transceiver to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices, to transmit to the coordinating entity a message requesting resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data across the device-to-device communications link, to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of a resource allocation of the wireless access interface associated with the identifier, and to transmit the data to the second communications device using the allocated resources.

Claims

1. A first communications device operable to transmit device-to-device communications to a second communications device using a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system, access to the wireless access interface being coordinated by a coordinating entity, wherein the first communications device comprises a controller and a transceiver, the controller being configured in combination with the transceiver

to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices,

to transmit to the coordinating entity a message requesting resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data across the device-to-device communications link,

to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of a resource allocation of the wireless access interface in association with an indication of the identifier, and

to transmit the data to the second communications device using the allocated resources.

2. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to transmit to the coordinating entity a message requesting an identifier to be associated with a device-to-device communications link with the second communications device.

3. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the message requesting resources of the wireless access interface includes an indication of the identifier.

4. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier is associated with a one-way device-to-device communications link from the first communications device to the second communications device.

5. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identifier associated with the device-to-device communications link has a format corresponding to a format for identifying communications devices in the wireless telecommunications system.

6. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first communications device is operable to transmit device-to-device communications to a plurality of second communications devices and the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a plurality of device-to-device communications links between the first communications device and respective ones of the plurality of second communications devices.

7. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to receive an indication of a preamble associated with the identifier from the coordinating entity, and to transmit the message requesting resources in association with the preamble.

8. A first communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an uplink control channel resource of the wireless access interface associated with the identifier, and to transmit the message requesting resources in the uplink control channel resource.

9. A coordinating entity operable to coordinate access to a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system and to coordinate device-to-device communications between a first communications device and a second communications devices using the wireless access interface, wherein the coordinating entity comprises a controller and a transceiver, the controller being configured in combination with the transceiver

to associate an identifier with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices,

to transmit an indication of the identifier to the first and second communications devices,

to receive a message requesting resources of the wireless access interface from the first communications device for transmitting data across the device-to-device communications link,

to allocate resources of the wireless access interface to the identifier associated with the device-to-device communications link in response to receiving the message requesting resources, and

to transmit an indication of the resource allocation of the wireless access interface in association with an indication of the identifier to the first and second communications devices.

10. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to associate the identifier with the device-to-device communications link in response to receiving from the first communications device a message requesting an identifier be associated with a device-to-device communications link with the second communications device.

11. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the message requesting resources of the wireless access interface includes an indication of the identifier.

12. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the identifier is associated with a one-way device-to-device communications link from the first communications device to the second communications device.

13. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the identifier associated with the device-to-device communications link has a format corresponding to a format for identifying communications devices in the wireless telecommunications system.

14. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the coordinating entity is a communications device operable to perform device-to-device communications.

15. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to select the identifier to be associated with the device-to-device communications link from a predetermined group of identifiers reserved for association with device-to-device communications links.

16. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to associate a preamble with the identifier and transmit an indication of the preamble to the first communications device.

17. A coordinating entity as claimed in claim 9, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transceiver to associate an uplink control channel resource of the wireless access interface with the identifier and transmit an indication of the uplink channel resource to the first communications device.

18. A second communications device operable to receive device-to-device communications from a first communications device using a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system, access to the wireless access interface being coordinated by a coordinating entity, wherein the second communications device comprises a controller and a transceiver, the controller being configured in combination with the transceiver

to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices,

to receive an indication from the coordinating entity of a resource allocation of the wireless access interface in association with an indication of the identifier, and

to receive data from the first communications device using the allocated resources.

19-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A method for transmitting device-to-device communications from a first communications device to a second communications device, the first communications device being operable to transmit device-to-device communications to a second communications device using a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system, access to the wireless access interface being coordinated by a coordinating entity, wherein the method comprises

receiving at the first communications device from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices,

transmitting from the first communications device to the coordinating entity device a message requesting resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data across the device-to-device communications link,

receiving at the first communications device from the coordinating entity an indication of a resource allocation of the wireless access interface in association with an indication of the identifier, and

transmitting the data from the first communications device to the second communications device using the allocated resources.

30-32. -32. (canceled)

33. Circuitry for a first communications device operable to transmit device-to-device communications to a second communications device using a wireless access interface of a wireless telecommunications system, access to the wireless access interface being coordinated by a coordinating entity, wherein the circuitry comprises a controller circuitry element and a transceiver circuitry element configured to operate together to cause the first communications device

to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of an identifier associated with a device-to-device communications link between the first and second communications devices,

to transmit to the coordinating entity a message requesting resources of the wireless access interface for transmitting data across the device-to-device communications link,

to receive from the coordinating entity an indication of a resource allocation of the wireless access interface in association with an indication of the identifier, and

to transmit the data to the second communications device using the allocated resources.

34-38. -38. (canceled)