INACTIVE COMMUNICATION MODE

• US 20170265133A1
• Filed: 12/01/2014
• Published: 09/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: CHANDRAMOULI, Devaki, VIERING, Ingo, FREDERIKSEN, Frank
• Application Number:
  US15/531,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20170265133A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0221 power availability or consumption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0016 Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0072 of resource information of target access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0241 where no transmission is received, e.g. out of range of the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

There are provided measures for enabling/realizing an inactive communication mode, namely an inactive mode for the operation of terminal equipment and network equipment in a communication system. Such measures exemplarily comprise operation in a connected mode, in which a data plane connection and a control plane connection are established between a terminal equipment and a network equipment, transition from the connected mode to an inactive mode upon data plane inactivity, and operation in the inactive mode, in which the data plane connection is released and the control plane connection is maintained between the terminal equipment and the network equipment.

Claims

1. - 43. (canceled)

44. A method comprising:

operating in a connected mode, in which a data plane connection and a control plane connection are established between a terminal equipment and a network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment,

transitioning from the connected mode to an inactive mode upon data plane inactivity, and

operating in the inactive mode, in which the data plane connection is released and the control plane connection is maintained between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment.

45. The method according to claim 44, further comprising:

detecting the data plane inactivity when no communication of data plane traffic on the data plane connection is present for a data plane inactivity period.

46. The method according to claim 44, further comprising:

transitioning from the inactive mode to an idle mode upon control plane inactivity, and

operating in the idle mode, in which the data plane connection and the control plane connection are released between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment.

47. The method according to claim 46, further comprising:

detecting the control plane inactivity when no communication of control plane traffic on the control plane connection is present for a control plane inactivity period.

48. The method according to claim 44, further comprising:

transitioning from the inactive mode to the connected mode upon actual or prospective data plane activity, and

operating in the connected mode, in which the data plane connection and the control plane connection are established between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment.

49. The method according to claim 48, further comprising:

detecting the actual or prospective data plane activity when re-establishment of the data plane connection is initiated or requested by the terminal equipment or the network equipment, or when data plane traffic requiring re-establishment of the data plane connection is pending at the terminal equipment.

50. The method according to claim 44, wherein operating in the inactive mode comprises:

performing handover or reselection from a former network equipment to a recent network equipment within a network equipment cluster comprising the network equipment, whose control plane connection with the terminal equipment is maintained in transitioning from the connected mode to the inactive mode, and/or

notifying information indicative of at least one of location and serving network equipment of the terminal equipment to a network equipment within a network equipment cluster comprising the network equipment, whose control plane connection with the terminal equipment is maintained in transitioning from the connected mode to the inactive mode.

51. The method according to claim 44, wherein, in the inactive mode,

a data plane connection and/or a control plane connection between the network equipment and a core network element, which are established in the connected mode, are maintained, or

a data plane connection and/or a control plane connection between the network equipment and a core network element, which are established in the connected mode, are released.

52. The method according to claim 44, wherein

the method is operable at or by the terminal equipment or a core network element, or

the terminal equipment comprises a user equipment, or

the network equipment comprises a radio access element or a radio access controller, or

the data plane connection comprises a user plane bearer, or

the control plane connection comprises a signaling connection.

60. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, said product comprising computer-executable computer program code which, when the computer program code is executed on a computer, is configured to cause the computer to carry out the method according to claim 44.

53. A method comprising:

operating in a connected mode, in which a data plane connection and a control plane connection are established between a terminal equipment and a network equipment and context information for the terminal equipment is established, for processing communication with the terminal equipment,

transitioning from the connected mode to an inactive mode upon data plane inactivity, and

operating in the inactive mode, in which the data plane connection is released and the control plane connection is maintained between the terminal equipment and the network equipment and the context information for the terminal equipment is maintained, for processing communication with the terminal equipment.

54. The method according to claim 53, wherein operating in the inactive mode comprises:

tracking information indicative of at least one of location and serving network equipment of the terminal equipment within a network equipment cluster comprising the network equipment, whose control plane connection with the terminal equipment is maintained and which maintains the context information for the terminal equipment in transitioning from the connected mode to the inactive mode, or

shifting the maintained context information for the terminal equipment to a recent network equipment serving the terminal equipment when the recent network equipment is not within a network equipment cluster comprising the network equipment, whose control plane connection with the terminal equipment is maintained and which maintains the context information for the terminal equipment in transitioning from the connected mode to the inactive mode, or when establishment of a new data plane connection between the terminal equipment and the recent network equipment is required.

55. The method according to claim 53, wherein operating in the inactive mode comprises:

maintaining a data plane connection and/or a control plane connection between the network equipment and a core network element, which are established in the connected mode, and

switching the maintained data plane connection and/or control plane connection to a recent network equipment serving the terminal equipment upon handover or reselection of the terminal equipment from a former network equipment to the recent network equipment.

56. The method according to claim 53, wherein operating in the inactive mode comprises:

releasing a data plane connection and/or a control plane connection between the network equipment and a core network element, which are established in the connected mode.

57. The method according to claim 53, wherein

the method is operable at or by the network equipment, or

the terminal equipment comprises a user equipment, or

the network equipment comprises a radio access element or a radio access controller, or

the data plane connection comprises a user plane bearer, or

the control plane connection comprises a signaling connection.

58. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, and

a memory configured to store computer program code,

wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to perform;

operating in a connected mode, in which a data plane connection and a control plane connection are established between a terminal equipment and a network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment,

transitioning from the connected mode to an inactive mode upon data plane inactivity, and

operating in the inactive mode, in which the data plane connection is released and the control plane connection is maintained between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, for processing communication with the network equipment.

59. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, and

a memory configured to store computer program code,

wherein the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to perform;

operating in a connected mode, in which a data plane connection and a control plane connection are established between a terminal equipment and a network equipment and context information for the terminal equipment is established, for processing communication with the terminal equipment,

transitioning from the connected mode to an inactive mode upon data plane inactivity, and

operating in the inactive mode, in which the data plane connection is released and the control plane connection is maintained between the terminal equipment and the network equipment and the context information for the terminal equipment is maintained, for processing communication with the terminal equipment.