Location registration method for mobile communication terminals, en bloc paging method for mobile communication terminals, and mobile communication system

• US 7,072,654 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2005
• Issued: 07/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Sawada, Masahiro, Sasada, Kouji, Fujiwara, Masumi, Yabusaki, Masami, Watanabe, Yugo
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US11/114,632
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: 455/433, 455/435.1, 455/435.3, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/445, 455/422.1
• US Class Current: 455/435.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/04 multi-step notification using statistical or historical mobility data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks

Abstract

A relay device installed in a moving unit can, by notifying an own identification number to a mobile communication network along with identification numbers of all mobile communication terminals subordinate to itself, perform en bloc updating of location registration area information of these mobile communication terminals. This relay device can receive an en bloc paging request wherein paging requests to plural subordinate mobile communication terminals are aggregated, reconstruct the received en bloc paging request, and transmit the paging requests to each of the mobile communication terminals subordinate to itself.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal registrable with a wireless communication network that comprises at least one communication area, comprising:

a signal receiver configured to receive a first advertisement signal from the wireless communication network and a second advertisement signal from a mobile node;

a first registration control responsive to the first advertisement signal to determine a communication area in which the mobile terminal is situated and register the mobile terminal as being independent in the wireless communication network, whereby the mobile terminal becomes locatable in connection with the determined communication area;

a second registration control responsive to the second advertisement signal to reconfigure the mobile terminal as a subordinate to the mobile node, wherein the second registration control disables the first registration control and requests the mobile node to register the mobile node as being subordinate to the mobile node in the wireless communication network, whereby the mobile terminal becomes locatable in connection with a communication area in which the mobile node is situated; and

a release control responsive to fading reception of the second advertisement signal to enable the first registration control and send a release request to cause the mobile terminal to be released from registration as being subordinate to the wireless node in the wireless communication network.

2. A mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the mobile node is another mobile terminal.

3. A mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of mobile terminals form superior/subordinate relations in multiple tiers.

4. A mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein a superior/subordinate relation between two mobile terminals is determined automatically between the two mobile terminals.

5. A mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein a superior/subordinate relation between two mobile terminals is determined based on identifications of the mobile terminals.

6. A mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the release control sends the release request directly to the wireless communication network.

7. A mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the release control first sends the release request to the mobile node, which relays the request to the wireless communication network and, if the mobile node does not respond to the release request, sends the release request directly to the wireless communication network.

8. A mobile proxy device registrable in a wireless communication network that comprises at least one communication area, comprising:

a signal receiver configured to receive a first advertisement signal from the wireless communication network and determine, based on the received first advertisement signal, a communication area in which the proxy device is situated;

a terminal probe configured to transmit a second advertisement signal to find if there is a mobile terminal responding to the second advertisement signal;

a registration control configured to register, in the wireless communication network, the proxy device, along with the found mobile terminal as being subordinate to the proxy device, whereby the proxy device and the mobile terminal become locatable in connection with the determined communication area; and

a downstream message control configured to receive a message from the wireless communication network which is directed to a plurality of mobile terminals subordinate to the proxy device and deliver sub-messages created based on the message to the plurality of subordinate mobile terminals, respectively.

9. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8, wherein the registration control registers the proxy device and the found mobile terminal in response to determination by the signal receiver of an entry of the proxy device into a new communication area.

10. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8, wherein the sub-messages are paging messages to the subordinate mobile terminals.

11. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8, further comprising an upstream message control configured to combine messages from the subordinate mobile terminals into a collective message and send the collective message to the wireless communication network.

12. A mobile proxy device according to claim 8, wherein the messages from the subordinate mobile terminals are responses to paging messages to the mobile terminals.

13. A wireless communication network comprised of at least one communication area, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a registration request that identifies a communication area and a group of mobile nodes bound by a set of superior/subordinate relations;

a registration request control configured to store in a memory identifications of the group of mobile nodes in connection with the communication area and their superior/subordinate relations;

a paging request control configured to receive paging requests identifying mobile nodes in the group and search the memory to determine a communication area stored in the memory in connection with the mobile nodes identified by the paging requests; and

a paging message control configured to compose one collective paging message addressed to the mobile nodes identified by the paging requests and cause the collective paging message to be sent out to the determined communication area.

14. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein the mobile nodes comprise a mobile telephone.

15. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein one of the mobile nodes is a mobile proxy device.

16. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein the memory comprises two sets of tables, one set of tables comprises at least one table that identifies the group of mobile nodes and the set of superior/subordinate relations, and the other set of tables comprises at least one table that identifies the mobile nodes in connection with the communication area.

17. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein the set of superior/subordinate relations comprises at least one tier of superior/subordinate relation, and the memory comprises sets of tables, each set corresponds to one tier of superior/subordinate relation and comprises at least one table that shows mobile nodes which belong to the one tier.

18. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein the memory comprises one table that identifies the mobile nodes in connection with the communication area and the set of superior/subordinate relations.

19. A wireless communication network according to claim 15, wherein the memory comprises two tables in which a first table identifies the proxy device in connection with the communication area and a second table identifies mobile nodes subordinate to the proxy device in connection with the proxy device.

20. A wireless communication network according to claim 13, wherein the paging request control stores a plurality of paging requests received for a period of time, and the paging message control composes at least one collective paging message from the received paging requests.