Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving control message related to packet call service in an IP multimedia subsystem

• US 8,199,698 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2005
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Soeng-Hun, Choi, Sung-Ho, Song, Osok
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper, Kevin C
• Application Number:
  US11/628,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20090303971A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,540 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels

Abstract

Apparatus and Method for transmitting control message related to a packet call service in an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) that transmits/receives an IMS control message using a control plane to reduce a delay caused by setting of a user plane in a packet call setup process. A user equipment (UE) determines whether an IMS service is registered in response to a radio resource control (RRC) connection request. The UE sets an SRB_IMS request parameter requiring that the IMS control message be processed through a signaling radio bearer (SRB) depending on whether the IMS service is registered. The UE transmits an RRC connection request message including the SRB_IMS request parameter to a radio network controller (RNC). The UE configures an SRB_IMS entity.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

determining whether a UE (User Equipment) has registered to the IMS service by the UE, upon receipt of an RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection request;

setting an SRB_IMS (Signaling Radio Bearer_IMS) requested parameter requesting processing of an IMS control message through an SRB by the UE, depending on whether the UE has registered to the IMS service;

transmitting an RRC connection request message including the SRB_IMS requested parameter to an RNC (Radio Network Controller) by the UE; and

configuring an SRB_IMS entity by the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises the step of receiving the RRC connection request from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) by an RRC layer of the UE.

3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the setting step comprises the step of setting the RB_IMS requested parameter depending on whether the UE has registered to the IMS service.

4. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising, before the determining step, the step of setting up a signaling PDP context with the SGSN by the UE.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising, after the signaling PDP context setup step, the step of transitioning to an idle state by the UE.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the signaling PDP context setup step comprises the steps of:

turning on power by the UE;

transmitting an active PDP context request message to the SGSN via the RRC connection and an Iu signaling connection by the UE;

establishing a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel with an SGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) by the SGSN;

associating the FTP tunnel with the Iu signaling connection;

transmitting an active PDP context response message to the UE by the SGSN; and

registering to an IMS control node by the UE.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the active PDP context request message includes information indicating a PDP context.

8. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising, after the configuring step, the steps of:

receiving a NAS (Non Access Stratum) message from the UE by the RNC;

determining whether the NAS message has been received through the SRB_IMS entity;

attaching an IMS indicator indicating reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity to the NAS message by the RNC, if the NAS message has been received through the SRB_IMS entity; and

transmitting the NAS message including the IMS indicator to the SGSN via the Iu signaling connection by the RNC.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, after the NAS message transmitting step, the steps of:

checking the IMS indicator by the SNSG; and

considering that the NAS message is an IMS control message and transmitting the NAS message to the GGSN via the GTP tunnel indicated by the signaling PDP context by the SGSN, if the IMS indicator indicates reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity, and considering the NAS message is not an IMS control message and transmitting the NAS message to the GGSN via an MM (Mobility Management)/SM (Session Management) block by the SGSN, if the IMS indicator does not indicate reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity.

10. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the transmitting step comprises the step of including information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through in the NAS message including the IMS control message.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through is included in an NSAPI (Network Service Access Point Identification).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the NSAPI identifies a PDP context between the UE and the SGSN and is valid only for the UE.

13. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a UE (User Equipment) an RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection request message including an SRB_IMS (Signaling Radio Bearer_IMS) requested parameter requesting processing an IMS control message through an SRB;

configuring an SRB_IMS entity according to the SRB_IMS requested parameter;

receiving an IMS control message including an IMS indicator from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) by an RNC (Radio Network Controller);

checking the IMS indicator by the RNC; and

transmitting a NAS message to the UE via the SRB_IMS entity by the RNC, if the IMS indicator indicates that the NAS message is an IMS control message.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of transmitting the NAS message to the UE via an SRB 3 entity or an SRB 4 entity by the RNC if the IMS indicator indicates that the NAS message is not an IMS control message.

15. The method of claim 13 or claim 14, further comprising, after the SRB_IMS entity configuring step, the steps of:

receiving packet data from a GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) via a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel by the SGSN;

determining whether the GTP tunnel is indicated by a signaling PDP context by the SGSN; and

transmitting the NAS message to the RNC according to the determination by the SGSN.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of attaching an IMS indicator to the packet data to indicate that the packet data is an IMS control message by the SGSN, if the GTP tunnel is indicated by the signaling PDP context, and transmitting the packet data with the IMS indicator to the RNC via an Iu signaling connection by the SGSN.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of attaching an IMS indicator to the packet data to indicate that the packet data is not an IMS control message by the SGSN, if the GTP tunnel is not indicated by the signaling PDP context, and transmitting the packet data with the IMS indicator to the RNC via the GTP tunnel by the SGSN.

18. A UE (User Equipment) device for transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service using a control plane in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising:

an RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer having an AS (Access Stratum) handler and a NAS (Non Access Stratum) handler, for receiving an RRC connection request message from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node);

an IMS controller for processing an IMS control message used for signaling of a call setup in the control plane; and

a plurality of SRBs (Signaling Radio Bearers) for transmitting/receiving messages between the RRC layer and radio channels,

wherein the SRBs include an SRB_IMS entity for providing the IMS control message to the IMS controller via the NAS handler; and

wherein the UE sends an SRB_IMS requested parameter to an RNC (Radio Network Controller) and receives the IMS control message through an SRB_IMS entity of the RNC configured according to the SRB_IMS requested parameter.

19. The UE device of claim 18, wherein the SRBs include SRB 0, SRB 1 and SRB 2 for transmitting an RRC message generated from the AS handler on a radio channel.

20. The UE device of claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the SRBs include SRB 3 and SRB 4 for processing an MM (Mobility Management)/CC (Call Control)/SM (Session Management) control message generated from the NAS handler.

21. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a UE (User Equipment) an RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection request message including an SRB_IMS (Signaling Radio Bearer_IMS) requested parameter requesting processing an IMS control message through an SRB by an RNC (Radio Network Controller);

configuring an SRB_IMS entity according to the SRB_IMS requested parameter by the RNC;

receiving from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) an IMS control message including information indicating a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through by the RNC; and

transmitting a NAS message including the IMS control message to the UE via the SRB_IMS entity by the RNC.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through is included in an NSAPI (Network Service Access Pint Identification).

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the NSAPI identifies a PDP context between the UE and the SGSN and is valid only for the UE.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the IMS control message transmitting step comprises the step of transmitting the IMS control message to the UE via the GTP tunnel identified by the NSAP included in the IMS control message by the RNC.

25. A UE (User Equipment) device for transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service using a control plane in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising:

an RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer having an AS (Access Stratum) handler and a NAS (Non Access Stratum) handler, for receiving an RRC connection request message from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node);

an IMS controller for processing an IMS control message and including information indicating a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel to transmit the IMS control message used for signaling of a call setup in the control plane through in the IMS control message; and

a plurality of SRBs (Signaling Radio Bearers) for transmitting/receiving messages between the RRC layer and radio channels,

wherein the SRBs include an SRB_IMS entity for providing the IMS control message to the IMS controller via the NAS handler; and

wherein the UE sends an SRB_IMS requested parameter to an RNC (Radio Network Controller) and receives the IMS control message through an SRB_IMS entity of the RNC configured according to the SRB_IMS requested parameter.

26. The UE device of claim 25, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through is included in an NSAPI (Network Service Access Pint Identification).

27. The UE device of claim 26, wherein the NSAPI identifies a PDP context between the UE and the SGSN and is valid only for the UE.

28. The UE device of any one of claims 25, 26 and 27, wherein the SRBs include SRB 0, SRB 1 and SRB 2 for transmitting an RRC message generated from the AS handler on a radio channel.

29. The UE device of claim 28, wherein the SRBs include SRB 3 and SRB 4 for processing an MM (Mobility Management)/CC (Call Control)/SM (Session Management) control message generated from the NAS handler.

30. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service using a control plane in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

generating an IMS control message used for signaling of a call setup in the control plane, after setting up an RRC (Radio Resource Control) connection by a UE (User Equipment);

including the IMS control message in an L3 (Layer

     3) message by an L3 control entity processing an NAS message in the UE; and

transmitting the L3 message to an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support) node via an SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) entity for processing an RRC message related to GMM (GPRS Mobility Management)/SM (Session Management) by the UE.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the L3 message further includes information indicating a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through is included in an NSAPI (Network Service Access Point Identification).

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising, after the L3 message transmitting step, the step of transmitting the IMS control message to a destination via the GTP tunnel indicated by the NSAPI included in the L3 message by the SGSN.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the IMS control message is one of an SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) message or an RTCP (Real-time Transport Control Protocol) packet for PoC (Push to talk over Cellular) service.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the NSAPI is the identifier of a signaling PDP context configured for SIP or the identifier of a PDP context configured for an RTCP flow.

36. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

receiving data from a GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) through a first GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel by an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node);

determining whether a second GTP tunnel to an RNC (Radio Network Controller) corresponding to the first GTP tunnel has been established by the SGSN, if the data is an IMS control message;

generating an L3 (Layer

     3) message including information identifying the first GTP tunnel and the IMS control message by the SGSN, if the second GTP tunnel has not been established; and

transmitting the L3 message to an SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) entity for processing an RRC (Radio Resource Control) message related to GMM (GPRS Mobility Management)/SM (Session Management) of a UE (User Equipment), by the SGSN.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of transmitting the IMS control message to the RNC through the second GTP tunnel by the SGSN, if the second GTP tunnel has been established.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of transmitting, if the received data is not the IMS control message but user data, the user data to the RNC through the second GTP tunnel by the SGSN.

39. The method of any of claims 36, 37 and 38, wherein the L3 message further includes an NSAPI (Network Service Access Point Identification).

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising, after the L3 message transmitting step, the steps of:

receiving the L3 message through the SRB entity for processing a GMM/SM-related RRC message, by the UE; and

transmitting the IMS control message included in the L3 message to an entity indicated by the NSAPI by the UE.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the entity indicated by the NSAPI is one of an SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) client or an RTCP (Real-time Transport Control Protocol) entity for PoC (Push to talk over Cellular) service.

42. A UE (User Equipment) device for transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service using a control plane in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising:

an IMS controller for generating and processing an IMS control message;

an L3 (Layer

     3) controller for generating and processing an L3 message;

a switch for switching the IMS controller to the L3 controller or a radio bearer; and

an SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) entity switched to the switch through the L3 controller, for processing the IMS control message.

43. The UE device of claim 42, wherein the SRB entity processes a GMM (GPRS Mobility Management)/SM (Session Management)-related RRC (Radio Resource Control) message.

44. The UE device of claim 43, wherein the SRB entity is SRB 3 or SRB 4.

45. The UE device of claim 44, wherein the L3 message includes information indicating a GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through.

46. The UE device of claim 45, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through includes an NSAPI (Network Service Access Point Identification).

47. The UE device of claim 46, wherein the switch transmits the IMS control message to an entity indicated by the NSAPI.

48. The UE device of claim 47, wherein the entity indicated by the NSAPI is one of an SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) client or an RTCP (Real-time Transport Control Protocol) entity for PoC (Push to talk over Cellular) service.

49. A method of transmitting/receiving a control message related to a packet call service in an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) service, comprising the steps of:

receiving from an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) a paging message including an IMS signaling indicator indicating incoming of an IMS control message in the SGSN by a UE (User Equipment);

transmitting to an RNC (Radio Network Controller) an RRC connection request message including an SRB_IMS (Signaling Radio Bearer_IMS) requested parameter requesting processing the IMS control message through an SRB in response to the IMS signaling indicator, by the UE; and

configuring an SRB_IMS entity for processing the IMS control message by the UE.

50. The method of claim 49, further comprising, after the SRB_IMS entity configuring step, the steps of:

receiving a NAS (Non Access Stratum) message from the UE by the RNC;

determining whether the NAS message has been received through the SRB_IMS entity by the RNC;

attaching an IMS indicator indicating reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity to the NAS message by the RNC, if the NAS message has been received through the SRB_IMS entity; and

transmitting the NAS message with the IMS indicator to the SGSN via an Iu signaling connection by the RNC.

51. The method of claim 50, further comprising, after the step of transmitting the NAS message with the IMS indicator, the steps of:

checking the IMS indicator by the SGSN; and

considering that the NAS message is an IMS control message and transmitting the NAS message to the GGSN through a GTP tunnel indicated by the signaling PDP context by the SGSN, if the IMS indicator indicates reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity, and considering that the NAS message is not an IMS control message and transmitting the NAS message to the GGSN through an MM/SM (Mobility Management/Session Management) block by the SGSN, if the IMS indicator does not indicate reception of the NAS message through the SRB_IMS entity.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising, after the SRB_IMS entity configuring step, the steps of:

receiving from the UE the RRC connection request message including the SRB_IMS requested parameter by the RNC;

configuring an SRB_IMS entity according to the parameter by the RNC;

receiving an IMS control message including an IMS indicator from the SGSN by the RNC;

checking the IMS indicator by the RNC; and

transmitting the NAS message to the UE through the SRB_IMS entity by the RNC, if the IMS indicator indicates that the NAS message is an IMS control message.

53. The method of claim 49, further comprising, after the SRB_IMS entity configuring step, the steps of:

receiving from the UE the RRC connection request message including the SRB_IMS requested parameter by the RNC;

configuring an SRB_IMS entity according to the parameter by the RNC;

receiving from the SGSN an IMS control message including information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through, by the RNC; and

transmitting a NAS message including the IMS control message to the UE through the SRB_IMS entity by the RNC.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the information indicating a GTP tunnel to transmit the IMS control message through is included in an NSAPI (Network Service Access Point Identification).