Method and apparatus for supporting machine-type communications with a mobile-originated-only mode

• US 9,191,983 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2014
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pinheiro, Ana Lucia A., Gauvreau, Jean-Louis, Di Girolamo, Rocco, Murray, Joseph M., Cave, Christopher R., Pani, Diana, Aghili, Behrouz, Watfa, Mahmoud
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Suhail
• Application Number:
  US14/559,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20150087287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 349 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0209 in terminal devices terminal devices per se H04W88/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections
• 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 76/38 triggered by timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for supporting machine-type communications (MTC) are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may configure itself to operate in a mobile-originated-only mode. The WTRU may perform no, or a subset of, radio resource control (RRC) idle and/or non-access stratum (NAS) idle/standby state procedures in the mobile-originated-only mode. For example, the WTRU may perform cell reselection but not paging monitoring in the mobile-originated-only mode. Alternatively, the WTRU may perform paging monitoring but not cell reselection and location update. The operation in the mobile-originated-only mode may be triggered explicitly or implicitly. For example, the WTRU may operate in the mobile-originated-only mode if an inactivity timer expires. The WTRU may switch the mode in accordance with a pre-configured schedule. After transition of the operation mode, the WTRU may send a message to the network indicating such mode switch.

Claims

1. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) supporting machine-type communications for use in a wireless network, comprising:

a first WTRU timer that indicates to the WTRU to change from a mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to a mobile-originated-only mode, in which the WTRU is attached to a wireless communications network and performs no cell reselection, no location update procedures, no system information monitoring, or no paging monitoring while attached to the network; and

a processor configured to change the WTRU from the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to the mobile-originated-only mode in response to the first WTRU timer, and to send a message to the wireless network that comprises a requested parameter for the WTRU timer.

2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the message is one of a tracking area update message, a routing area update message, and an attach request message.

3. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the parameter is time.

4. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the message indicates to the wireless network that the WTRU can operate in the mobile-originated-only mode.

5. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the parameter comprises a cycle time and a reachable period.

6. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the parameter is a reachable period for operating in the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode.

7. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the WTRU further comprises a second WTRU timer that indicates to the WTRU to change from the mobile-originated-only mode to the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode.

8. The WTRU of claim 7, wherein the processor further comprises executable instructions for changing the WTRU from the mobile-originated-only mode to the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode in response to the second WTRU timer.

9. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the WTRU comprises a battery that provides power for the WTRU and the WTRU uses less battery power on a per unit time basis in the mobile-originated-only mode than when the WTRU is in the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode.

10. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the message is an RCC message.

11. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) supporting machine-type communications for use in a wireless network, comprising:

a first WTRU timer that indicates to the WTRU to change from a mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to a mobile-originated-only mode, in which the WTRU is attached to a wireless communications network and performs no cell reselection, no location update procedures, no system information monitoring, or no paging monitoring while attached to the network; and

a processor configured to operate the WTRU from the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to the mobile-originated-only mode in response to the first WTRU timer, and to send a message to the wireless network that indicates to the wireless network that the WTRU has a mobile-originated-only mode and requests one or more timer parameters for operating in the mobile-originated-only mode.

12. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the one or more timer parameters comprise a timer value for the first WTRU timer and wherein the WTRU processor further comprises executable instructions for changing the WTRU from a mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to the mobile-originated-only mode when the first WTRU timer reaches the timer value.

13. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the message is one of an attach message, a location update message, a tracking area update message, or a routing area update message.

14. The WTRU of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to set the timer value in the first WRTU timer.

15. The WTRU of claim 12, wherein the WTRU is configured to receive the timer value from the network.

16. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to receive from the network a message indicating to change the WTRU from the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to a mobile-originated-only mode and wherein the WTRU processor is configured to change the WTRU from the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode to a mobile-originated-only mode in response to the message and the first WTRU timer.

17. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the WTRU comprises a battery that provides power for the WTRU and the WTRU uses less battery power on a per unit time basis in the mobile-originated-only mode than when the WTRU is in the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode.

18. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the WTRU further comprises a second WTRU timer that indicates to the WTRU to change from the mobile-originated-only mode to the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode.

19. The WTRU of claim 18, wherein the processor further comprises executable instructions for changing the WTRU from the he mobile-originated-only mode to the mobile originated-and-terminated-mode in response to the second WTRU timer.

20. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the message is an RCC message.