Method and Apparatus for User Equipment Directed Radio Resource Control in a UMTS Network

• US 20170290085A1
• Filed: 05/19/2017
• Published: 10/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: ISLAM, Muhammad Khaledul, WIRTANEN, Jeffrey William
• Granted Patent: US 11,064,462 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for improved battery performance of user equipment in a wireless network having multiple radio resource control (RRC) states, the method comprising the steps of: monitoring, at the user equipment, application data exchange; determining when no application on the user equipment is expected to exchange data; and initiating, from the user equipment, a transition to a less battery demanding radio resource control state or mode.

Claims

1. A method performed by a node of a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving a release indication message from a user equipment (UE), the connection release indication message indicating that the UE expects no further data; and

initiating based on the release indication message a transition of the UE from a first connected state to a second connected state, wherein the second connected state is more battery efficient than the first connected state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the release indication message is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling connection release indication (SCRI) message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network or a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the node is a NodeB or a radio network controller (RNC).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first connected state is CELL_DCH and the second connected state is CELL_FACH.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first connected state is one of CELL_FACH or CELL_DCH, and the second connected state is one of CELL_PCH or URA_PCH.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first connected state is associated with a first discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and the second connected state is associated with a second DRX cycle that is longer than the first DRX cycle.

14. The node of claim 1, wherein the first connected state is associated with a first discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and the second connected state is associated with a second DRX cycle that is longer than the first DRX cycle.

8. A node of a wireless network, the node comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the node to perform operations of;

receiving a release indication message from a user equipment (UE), the connection release indication message indicating that the UE expects no further data; and

initiating based on the release indication message a transition of the UE from a first connected state to a second connected state, wherein the second connected state is more battery efficient than the first connected state.

9. The node of claim 8, wherein the release indication message is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling connection release indication (SCRI) message.

10. The node of claim 8, wherein the wireless network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network or a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

11. The node of claim 10, wherein the node is a NodeB or a radio network controller (RNC).

12. The node of claim 8, wherein the first connected state is CELL_DCH and the second connected state is CELL_FACH.

13. The node of claim 8, wherein the first connected state is one of CELL_FACH or CELL_DCH, and the second connected state is one of CELL_PCH or URA_PCH.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions to cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a release indication message from a user equipment (UE), the connection release indication message indicating that the UE expects no further data; and

initiating based on the release indication message a transition of the UE from a first connected state to a second connected state, wherein the second connected state is more battery efficient than the first connected state.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the release indication message is a radio resource control (RRC) signaling connection release indication (SCRI) message.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the wireless network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network or a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the node is a NodeB or a radio network controller (RNC).

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first connected state is CELL_DCH and the second connected state is CELL_FACH.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first connected state is one of CELL_FACH or CELL_DCH, and the second connected state is one of CELL_PCH or URA_PCH.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first connected state is associated with a first discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and the second connected state is associated with a second DRX cycle that is longer than the first DRX cycle.