Paging method, core network apparatus, radio access network apparatus and gateway apparatus

• US 9,544,874 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishida, Katsutoshi, Suzuki, Keisuke, Kawakatsu, Shimpei
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad, Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Latorre, Ivan O
• Application Number:
  US13/812,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20130170438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,205 Days
• Field of Search: 370/311, 370/312, 370/328, 370/329, 370/389, 370/411, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 455/456.1, 455/458, 455/515
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0252 per individual bearer or channel dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0263 involving mapping traffic to individual bearers or channels, e.g. traffic flow template [TFT]
• 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 8/30 Network data restoration; Network data reliability; Network data fault tolerance

Abstract

A paging method of the present invention is a paging method for paging a UE (10) in an idle state when a P-GW (20) receives a packet for the UE (10) and includes the steps of: in a S-GW (30), setting reception type information of the packet received by the P-GW (20) in “Downlink Data Notification” and sending the “Downlink Data Notification” to an MME (40) and an SGSN (60), and in the MME (40) and SGSN (60), determining whether or not to page the UE (10) based on the reception type information included in the “Downlink Data Notification” from the S-GW (30).

Claims

1. A paging method for paging a user terminal in an idle state when a first gateway apparatus receives a packet for the user terminal, the paging method comprising the steps of:

in a second gateway apparatus, setting reception type information of the packet received by the first gateway apparatus in a paging request signal, the reception type information including bearer information of a bearer to which the packet received by the first gateway apparatus is mapped, and sending the paging request signal to a core network apparatus; and

in the core network apparatus, determining whether or not to page the user terminal based on the bearer information included in the paging request signal from the second gateway apparatus, even when the core network apparatus is in a congestion state,

wherein the paging request signal is a Downlink Data Notification signal, and when Service Request Procedure is completed in response to paging of the user terminal, the second gateway apparatus transmits the packet for the user terminal to a radio access network apparatus in a radio zone where the user terminal is located, and

wherein the packet received by the first gateway apparatus is mapped to the bearer according to a Traffic Flow Template (TFT) for each flow of the packet in the first gateway apparatus, the bearer information is identification information of the bearer, and the core network apparatus determines whether or not to page the user terminal based on the identification information of the bearer included in the paging request signal.

2. The paging method according to claim 1, wherein the bearer is an Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer.

3. The paging method according to claim 1, wherein the core network apparatus determines to page the user terminal if the bearer information indicates a specific bearer, even when the core network apparatus is in the congestion state.

4. A core network apparatus configured to page a user terminal in an idle state when a first gateway apparatus receives a packet for the user terminal, the core network apparatus comprising:

a reception circuit that receives a paging request signal including reception type information which indicates a reception type of the packet, from a second gateway apparatus connected to the first gateway apparatus, the reception type information including bearer information of a bearer to which the packet received by the first gateway apparatus is mapped, and

a processor that determines whether or not to page the user terminal based on the bearer information included in the received paging request signal, even when the core network apparatus is in a congestion state,

wherein the paging request signal is a Downlink Data Notification signal, and when Service Request Procedure is completed in response to paging of the user terminal, the second gateway apparatus transmits the packet for the user terminal to a radio access network apparatus in a radio zone where the user terminal is located, and

wherein the packet received by the first gateway apparatus is mapped to the bearer according to a Traffic Flow Template (TFT) for each flow of the packet in the first gateway apparatus, the bearer information is identification information of the bearer, and the processor determines whether or not to page the user terminal based on the identification information of the bearer included in the paging request signal.

5. A gateway apparatus configured to send a paging request signal to a core network apparatus so as to page a user terminal in an idle state from the core network apparatus via a radio access network apparatus, when a packet for the user terminal is received, the gateway apparatus comprising:

a processor that sets reception type information of the packet in the paging request signal, the reception type information including bearer information of a bearer to which the packet received by a first gateway apparatus is mapped, and

a transmission circuit that sends the paging request signal to the core network apparatus, so that the core network apparatus can determine whether or not to page the user terminal based on the bearer information, even when the core network apparatus is in a congestion state, and

wherein the paging request signal is a Downlink Data Notification signal, and when Service Request Procedure is completed in response to paging of the user terminal, the transmission circuit transmits the packet for the user terminal to the radio access network apparatus in a radio zone where the user terminal is located, and

wherein the packet received by the first gateway apparatus is mapped to the bearer according to a Traffic Flow Template (TFT) for each flow of the packet in the first gateway apparatus, the bearer information is identification information of the bearer, and the core network apparatus determines whether or not to page the user terminal based on the identification information of the bearer included in the paging request signal.