System and method of user equipment state transition

• US 9,049,657 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2012
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Boley, Ajit Singh, Farnsworth, Andrew John, Magadi Rangaiah, Raghavendra, Singh, Vaibhav, Ekici, Ozgur
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, PHUOC HUU
• Application Number:
  US13/673,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20130122918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 370/329, 370/252
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A user equipment and a method performed by the user equipment is provided. The method comprises receiving a network message from a network, inhibiting a sending of a user equipment message to the network and transitioning to a target state. The user equipment is adaptable/adapted and/or configurable/configured to receive a network message from a network, inhibit a sending of a user equipment message to the network and transition to a target state. The network message indicates the target state to which the user equipment is to transition.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

receiving, from a network, a network message, the network message indicating a target state to which the UE is to transition;

inhibiting a sending of a UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state, wherein inhibiting the sending of the UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state comprises preventing generation of radio resource control (RRC) measurement reports in response to receipt of the network message; and

transitioning to the target state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network message includes an explicit target state value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network message provides an implicit target state.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the network message is a reconfiguration message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network message is a cell update confirm message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network message is a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the target state to which the UE is to transition is a RRC state indicator.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE message is a measurement report.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE message is a RRC signaling message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE message is user plane data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user plane data is a stop downlink (DL) traffic message.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the transition is from a first state to the target state.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first state is a cell dedicated channel (CELL_DCH) state.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first state is a cell forward access channel (CELL_FACH) state.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the target state is a battery-efficient RRC state or mode.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the target state is one of a cell_paging channel (CELL_PCH) state or a UTRAN registration area_paging channel (URA_PCH) state.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the target state is an idle mode.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the inhibiting comprises aborting a sending of the UE message scheduled to be sent to the network.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the inhibiting comprises intercepting and discarding the UE message.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the UE message is to be transmitted from the UE to the network.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending of the UE message is associated with a state of the UE in at least one of a CELL_FACH state or a CELL_DCH state.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE message is one of an Intra-freq measurement report, an Inter-freq measurement report, an Inter radio access technology (RAT) measurement report, a UE-Internal measurement report, a quality measurement report, a measurement control failure message, or a signalling connection release indication message.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending to the network a signalling connection release indication message for a state transition to a battery-efficient RRC state or mode.

24. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive, from a network, a network message, the network message indicating a target state to which the UE is to transition;

inhibit a sending of a UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state, wherein inhibiting a sending of a UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state comprises preventing generation of radio resource control (RRC) measurement reports in response to receipt of the network message; and

transition to the target state.

25. The UE of claim 24, wherein the network message includes any one or more of the following:

an explicit target state value;

an implicit target state;

a reconfiguration message;

a cell update confirm message;

or a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message.

26. The UE of claim 24, wherein the target state to which the UE is to transition is a RRC state indicator.

27. The UE of claim 24, wherein the UE message comprises any one or more of the following:

a measurement report;

a RRC signaling message;

user plane data;

a stop downlink (DL) traffic message;

an Intra-freq measurement report;

an Inter-freq measurement report;

an Inter radio access technology (RAT) measurement report;

a UE-Internal measurement report;

a quality measurement report;

a measurement control failure message;

or a signalling connection release indication message.

28. The UE of claim 24, wherein the transition is from a first state to the target state.

29. The UE of claim 28, wherein the first state comprises any one or more of the following:

a cell dedicated channel (CELL_DCH) state or a cell forward access channel (CELL_FACH) state.

30. The UE of claim 24, wherein the target state comprises any one or more of the following:

a battery-efficient RRC state or mode;

a cell_paging channel (CELL_PCH) state;

a UTRAN registration area_paging channel (URA_PCH) state;

or an idle mode.

31. The UE of claim 24, wherein to inhibit comprises any one or more of the following:

aborting a sending of the UE message scheduled to be sent to the network;

or intercepting and discarding the UE message.

32. The UE of claim 24, the processor being further configured to determine that the UE message is to be transmitted from the UE to the network.

33. The UE of claim 24, wherein the sending of the UE message is associated with a state of the UE in at least one of a CELL_FACH state or a CELL_DCH state.

34. The UE of claim 25, the processor being further configured to send to the network a signalling connection release indication message for a state transition to a battery-efficient RRC state or mode.

35. A non-transitory machine-readable medium with a set of instructions stored thereon, which when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a network, a network message, the network message indicating a target state to which a user equipment (UE) is to transition;

inhibiting a sending of a UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state, wherein inhibiting a sending of a UE message to the network prior to transitioning to the target state comprises preventing generation of radio resource control (RRC) measurement reports in response to receipt of the network message; and

transitioning to the target state.

36. The medium of claim 35, wherein the network message includes any one or more of the following:

an explicit target state value;

an implicit target state;

a reconfiguration message;

a cell update confirm message;

or a radio resource control (RRC) connection release message.

37. The medium of claim 35, wherein the target state to which the UE is to transition is a RRC state indicator.

38. The medium of claim 35, wherein the UE message comprises any one or more of the following:

a measurement report;

a RRC signaling message;

user plane data;

a stop downlink (DL) traffic message;

an Intra-freq measurement report;

an Inter-freq measurement report;

an Inter radio access technology (RAT) measurement report;

a UE-Internal measurement report;

a quality measurement report;

a measurement control failure message;

or a signalling connection release indication message.

39. The medium of claim 35, wherein the transition is from a first state to the target state.

40. The medium of claim 39, wherein the first state comprises any one or more of the following:

a cell dedicated channel (CELL_DCH) state;

or a cell forward access channel (CELL_FACH) state.

41. The medium of claim 35, wherein the target state comprises any one or more of the following:

a battery-efficient RRC state or mode;

a cell_paging channel (CELL_PCH) state;

a UTRAN registration area_paging channel (URA PCH) state;

or an idle mode.

42. The medium of claim 35, wherein the inhibiting comprises any one or more of the following:

aborting a sending of the UE message scheduled to be sent to the network;

or intercepting and discarding the UE message.

43. The medium of claim 35, the operations further comprising determining that the UE message is to be transmitted from the UE to the network.

44. The medium of claim 35, wherein the sending of the UE message is associated with a state of the UE in at least one of a CELL_FACH state or a CELL_DCH state.

45. The medium of claim 35, the operations further comprising sending to the network a signalling connection release indication message for a state transition to a battery-efficient RRC state or mode.