Data communications method and mobile communications system

• US 8,660,046 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2006
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Maeda, Miho, Mochizuki, Mitsuru, Iwane, Yasushi, Fukui, Noriyuki, Mishuku, Tetsuya, Takano, Michiaki, Fujie, Ryoichi, Tani, Shigenori, Okubo, Akira, Ozaki, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): JONES, PRENELL P
• Application Number:
  US12/281,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20100061285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,757 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

In a communications system including a base station capable of altering a frequency bandwidth which is used for transmitting broadcast data for providing point-to-multipoint broadcasting communications service and which is used for transmitting individual communications data for providing point-to-point individual communications service, and a mobile terminal capable of altering a receivable bandwidth which is used for receiving at least the broadcast data and the individual communications data transmitted from the base station, decision processing of making a decision as to whether the mobile terminal can receive reception-desired content it desires to receive among contents provided by the broadcasting communications service is executed in accordance with a frequency occupying bandwidth used for transmitting the reception-desired content. Thus, the mobile terminal becomes able to make a decision as to whether it can receive particular E-MBMS content considering its own UE position.

Claims

1. A data communications method executed in a communications system, comprising:

transmitting broadcast data and individual communications data, by a base station that alters a frequency bandwidth over which the broadcast data for providing a point-to-multipoint broadcasting communications service is transmitted and over which the individual communications data for providing a point-to-point individual communications service is transmitted;

receiving at least the broadcast data by a mobile terminal that alters a frequency band over which the broadcast data and the individual communications data transmitted from said base station is received; and

performing decision processing of making a decision as to whether said mobile terminal can receive reception-desired content it desires to receive among contents provided by the point-to-multipoint broadcasting communications service, the decision processing being performed in accordance with a frequency bandwidth and a center frequency of said frequency bandwidth, which are both used for transmitting the reception-desired content.

2. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein the decision processing makes a decision as to whether the reception-desired content can be received in accordance with individual communications presence or absence information indicating whether the content is accompanied by transmission and reception of the individual communications data.

3. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, the decision processing makes a decision as to whether the reception-desired content can be received in accordance with content transmission frequency band information indicating a frequency band assigned for the broadcast data transmission of the content from among the plurality of frequency bands.

4. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal executes UE capability information transmission processing that transmits UE capability information including a receivable bandwidth as a parameter to the base station.

5. The data communications method according to claim 4, wherein the UE capability information further includes, as a parameter, individual communications presence or absence information indicating whether the content is accompanied by transmission and reception of the individual communications data.

6. The data communications method according to claim 4, wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, the UE capability information includes, as a parameter, selected frequency band information indicating a selected frequency band chosen from the plurality of frequency bands by the mobile terminal.

7. The data communications method according to claim 1,

wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, incoming call information is transmitted through every one of the plurality of frequency bands to enable the mobile terminal to receive the incoming call information regardless of a selected frequency band indicating a frequency band chosen from the plurality of frequency bands by the mobile terminal, said incoming call information being used for processing of causing individual communications data addressed to a prescribed mobile terminal to reach the mobile terminal.

8. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, incoming call information is transmitted through a same frequency band as a frequency band assigned for the broadcast data transmission of the content from among the plurality of frequency bands, said incoming call information being used for processing of causing individual communications data addressed to a prescribed mobile terminal to reach the mobile terminal.

9. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, incoming call information is transmitted through a shared channel for transmitting content, which is a shared channel used in common by a plurality of mobile terminals and is used for transmitting the broadcast data, said incoming call information being used for processing of causing individual communications data addressed to a prescribed mobile terminal to reach the mobile terminal.

10. The data communications method according to claim 1, wherein when the frequency bandwidth of the base station includes a plurality of frequency bands divided into narrow bands and when the mobile terminal can select a receiving frequency band by switching among the plurality of frequency bands, incoming call information is transmitted through a frequency band different from a frequency band assigned for the broadcast data transmission of the content from among the plurality of frequency bands, and at timing different from transmission timing of the content, said incoming call information being used for processing of causing individual communications data addressed to a prescribed mobile terminal to reach the mobile terminal.

11. The data communications method according to claim 10, wherein said incoming call information undergoes transmission control in a manner that transmission timing of the broadcast data and transmission timing of the incoming call information are shifted by a period of time necessary for switching a selected frequency band chosen from the plurality of frequency bands by the mobile terminal.

12. The data communications method according to claim 7 further comprising:

making a decision as to whether the broadcast data the mobile terminal is receiving is transmitted discontinuously in an intermittent manner at prescribed time intervals to the mobile terminal; and

by making a decision, if the broadcast data is continuously transmitted, as to whether the individual communications data can be transmitted through a same frequency band as a frequency band assigned for the broadcast data transmission.

13. The data communications method according to claim 7 further comprising:

making a decision as to whether the broadcast data the mobile terminal is receiving is transmitted discontinuously in an intermittent manner at prescribed time intervals to the mobile terminal; and

by making a decision, if the broadcast data is discontinuously transmitted, as to whether the individual communications data can be transmitted through a frequency band different from a frequency band assigned for the broadcast data transmission.

14. The data communications method according to claim 7 further comprising:

communicating, between base stations, information on the mobile terminal that is receiving both the individual communications data and broadcast data.

15. A mobile communications system, comprising:

a base station that alters a frequency bandwidth over which broadcast data for providing a point-to-multipoint broadcasting communications service is transmitted and over which individual communications data for providing a point-to-point individual communications service is transmitted; and

a mobile terminal that alters a frequency band over which the broadcast data transmitted from said base station is received, said mobile terminal making a decision as to whether said mobile terminal can receive reception-desired content it desires to receive among contents provided by the point-to-multipoint broadcasting communications service, the decision being performed in accordance with a frequency bandwidth and a center frequency of said frequency bandwidth, which are both used for transmitting the reception-desired content.