Method and apparatus for user equipment directed radio resource control in a UMTS network

• US 8,682,372 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2010
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Islam, Muhammad Khaledul, Wirtanen, Jeffery
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tu X
• Application Number:
  US12/844,302
• Publication Number:
  US 20110007682A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 455/574, 455/127.5, 455/343, 455/68
• US Class Current: 455/509
• 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 user equipment (UE) operable in a plurality of radio resource control (RRC) connected states including a CELL_DCH state, a CELL_FACH state, a CELL_PCH state and a URA_PCH state, the method comprising:

determining, at a layer above a RRC layer of the UE, that no more data is expected;

determining that the UE is not in one of the PCH states; and

if no more data is expected, and if the UE is not in one of the PCH states, sending to a wireless network a message which requests the wireless network to initiate a network-controlled state transition of the UE to a battery-efficient RRC connected state or to an idle mode.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message comprises a signaling connection release indication (SCRI) message.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless network comprises a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless network comprises a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the battery-efficient RRC connected state is one of the CELL_FACH state, the CELL_PCH state or the URA_PCH state.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message is a request for release of a signaling connection for a core network domain.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the core network domain is a packet switched domain.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the message causes the wireless network to release a signaling connection between the UE and the wireless network.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining that no more data is expected comprises a determination that no application at the UE is expected to exchange data.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determination that no more data is expected is based on a composite status of data exchange completion indications received from a set of applications that exchanged data in a first RRC connected state.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determining that the UE is not in one of the PCH states comprises determining that the UE is in the CELL_DCH state.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determining that the UE is not in one of the PCH states comprises determining that the UE is in the CELL_FACH state.

13. A method of transitioning a user equipment (UE) between radio resource control (RRC) states or modes in a wireless network, the method comprising:

determining, at a layer above a RRC layer of the UE, that no more data is expected; and

when no more data is expected, sending to a wireless network a message which requests the wireless network to initiate a network-controlled state transition of the UE from a first RRC connected state to a battery-efficient RRC connected state or to an idle mode;

wherein sending to the wireless network the message which requests the wireless network to initiate the network-controlled state transition is performed if the first RRC connected state is not a URA_PCH state.

24. A method according to claim 13, wherein the first RRC connected state is one of a CELL_DCH state, a CELL_FACH state or a CELL—

PCH state.

25. A method according to claim 13, wherein the battery-efficient RRC connected state is one of a CELL_FACH state, a CELL_PCH state or the URA_PCH state.

14. A user equipment (UE) for use in a wireless network and operable in a plurality of radio resource control (RRC) connected states including a CELL_DCH state, a CELL_FACH state, a CELL_PCH state and a URA_PCH state, the UE configured:

to determine, at a layer above a RRC layer, that no further more data is expected;

to determine that the UE is not in one of the PCH states; and

if no more data is expected, and if the UE is not in one of the PCH states, to send to the wireless network a message which requests the wireless network to initiate a network-controlled state transition of the UE to a battery-efficient RRC connected state or to an idle mode.

15. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the message comprises a signaling connection release indication (SCRI) message.

16. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the wireless network comprises a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).

17. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the wireless network comprises a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network.

18. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the battery-efficient RRC connected state is one of the CELL_FACH state, the CELL_PCH state or the URA_PCH state.

19. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the message is a request for release of a signaling connection for a core network domain.

20. The user equipment according to claim 19, wherein the core network domain is a packet switched domain.

21. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the message causes the wireless network to release a signaling connection between the UE and the wireless network.

22. The user equipment according to claim 14, further configured to determine that no application at the UE is expected to exchange data.

23. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the determination that no more data is expected is based on a composite status of data exchange completion indications received from a set of applications of the user equipment that exchanged data in a first RRC connected state.

26. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the UE configured to determine that the UE is not in one of the PCH states comprises the UE configured to determine that the UE is in the CELL_DCH state.

27. The user equipment according to claim 14, wherein the UE configured to determine that the UE is not in one of the PCH states comprises the UE configured to determine that the UE is in the CELL_FACH state.

28. A user equipment (UE) for use in a wireless network, the user equipment comprising a radio resource control (RRC) connection manager adapted to:

determine, at a layer above a RRC layer of the UE, that no more data is expected; and

when no more data is expected, send to the wireless network a message which requests the wireless network to initiate a network-controlled state transition of the UE from a first RRC connected state to a battery-efficient RRC connected state or to an idle mode;

wherein the RRC connection manager is further adapted to send the message to the wireless network for a network-controlled state transition if the first RRC connected state is not a URA_PCH state.

29. The user equipment according to claim 28, wherein the first RRC connected state is one of a CELL_DCH state, a CELL_FACH state or a CELL_PCH state.

30. The user equipment according to claim 28, wherein the battery-efficient RRC connected state is one of a CELL_FACH state, a CELL_PCH state or the URA_PCH state.