Method and system for communication between devices in proximity, network side device and user equipment

• US 9,549,428 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2012
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Inventors: Xu, Hui
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Minh-Trang
• Application Number:
  US14/366,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20140328310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

A method and a system for communication between devices in proximity, a network side device and a User Equipment (UE) are disclosed. The method includes that: a network side device determines whether UEs meet a direct Device to Device (D2D) communication condition; when the network side device determines that the UEs meet the direct D2D communication condition, the network side device informs the UEs of the result of the determination, and configures resources for direct D2D communication for the UEs according to requirements of the UEs; and when the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, the network side device configures resources for architecture communication for the UEs according to the requirements of the UEs. The disclosure can implement D2D communication between devices in proximity, reduce network load and relieve the dependence of the D2D communication on a network.

Claims

1. A method for communication between devices in proximity, comprising:

determining, by a network side device, whether User Equipments (UEs) meet a direct Device to Device (D2D) communication condition;

when the network side device determines that the UEs meet the direct D2D communication condition, informing, by the network side device, the UEs of the result of the determination, and configuring resources for direct D2D communication for the UEs according to requirements of the UEs; and

when the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, configuring, by the network side device, resources for architecture communication for the UEs according to the requirements of the UEs.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

after the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition,

determining, by the network side device, whether the UEs meet a condition for D2D communication through a relay;

when the UEs meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay, configuring, by the network side device, for the UEs a D2D communication path including a relay; and

when the UEs do not meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay, configuring, by the network side device, the resources for the architecture communication for the UEs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the condition for D2D communication through a relay comprises:

the UEs are out of the coverage of a proximity area where direct D2D communication is available, each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability, and there is a relay having a communication relay capability for providing communication relay for the UEs.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

during a process of the communication between the UEs, performing, by the network side device, switching among a direct D2D communication mode, a mode where D2D communication is implemented through a relay and an architecture communication mode according to spacing distance between the UEs.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the D2D communication condition comprises:

the UEs are in the coverage of a proximity area where the direct D2D communication is available, and each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

during a process of the communication between the UEs, performing, by the network side device, switching between a direct D2D communication mode and an architecture communication mode according to spacing distance between the UEs.

7. A system for communication between devices in proximity, comprising:

a network side device and User Equipments (UEs), wherein

the network side device is configured to;

determine whether the user equipments meet a direct Device to Device (D2D) communication condition;

when the network side device determines that the UEs meet the direct D2D communication condition, inform the UEs of the result of the determination, and configure resources for direct D2D communication for the UEs according to requirements of the UEs; and

when the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, configure resources for architecture communication for the UEs according to the requirements of the UEs; and

the UEs are configured to communicate with each other by using the resources configured by the network side device.

8. The system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a relay;

wherein the network side device is further configured to;

after the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, determine whether the UEs meet a condition for D2D communication through a relay;

when the UEs meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay, configure for the UEs a D2D communication path including the relay; and

when the UEs do not meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay, configure the resources for architecture communication for the UEs; and

wherein the relay is configured to provide a data relay service for the UEs between which D2D communication is implemented through the relay.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the condition for D2D communication through a relay comprises:

the UEs are out of the coverage of a proximity area where the direct D2D communication is available, each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability, and there is a relay having a communication relay capability for providing communication relay for the UEs.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the network side device is further configured to:

during a process of the communication between the UEs, perform switching among a direct D2D communication mode, a mode where D2D communication is implemented through a relay and an architecture communication mode according to spacing distance between the UEs.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the D2D communication condition comprises:

the UEs are in the coverage of a proximity area where direct D2D communication is available, and each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability.

12. The system according to claim 7, wherein the network side device is further configured to:

during a process of the communication between the UEs, perform switching between a direct D2D communication mode and an architecture communication mode according to spacing distance between the UEs.

13. A network side device, comprising:

a determination module and a resource configuration module, wherein

the determination module is configured to determine whether User Equipments (UEs) meet a direct Device to Device (D2D) communication condition and inform the resource configuration module of the result of the determination; and

the resource configuration module is configured to;

when the result of the determination of the determination module is that the UEs meet the direct D2D communication condition, inform the UEs of the result of the determination, and configure resources for direct D2D communication for the UEs according to requirements of the UEs; and

when the result of the determination of the determination module is that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, configure resources for architecture communication for the UEs according to the requirements of the UEs.

14. The network side device according to claim 13, wherein the determination module is further configured to, after the network side device determines that the UEs do not meet the direct D2D communication condition, determine whether the UEs meet a condition for D2D communication through a relay, and inform the resource configuration module of the result of the determination;

and

the resource configuration module is further configured to configure for the UEs a D2D communication path including a relay when the determination module determines that the UEs meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay, or configure the resources for the architecture communication to e UEs when the determination module determines that the UEs do not meet the condition for D2D communication through a relay.

15. The network side device according to claim 14, wherein the condition for D2D communication through a relay comprises:

the UEs are out of the coverage of a proximity area where the direct D2D communication is available, each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability, and there is a relay having a communication relay capability for providing communication relay for the UEs.

16. The network side device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a communication switching module configured to perform switching among a direct D2D communication mode, a mode where D2D communication is implemented through a relay and an architecture communication mode according to spacing distance between the UEs during a process of the communication between the UEs.

17. The network side device according to claim 13, wherein the D2D communication condition comprises:

the UEs are in the coverage of a proximity area where direct D2D communication is available, and each of the UEs has a D2D communication capability.

18. The network side device according to claim 13, further comprising:

a communication switching module configured to perform switching between a direct D2D communication mode and an architecture communication mode according to the spacing distance between the UEs during a process of the communication between the UEs.

19. A User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a sending module and a receiving module,

wherein the sending module is configured to send subscription data indicating the UE is supportive of Device to Device (D2D) communication to a network side device and to send communication data by using resources configured by the network side device,

wherein the receiving module is configured to receive communication data by using the resources configured by the network side device,

wherein the resources configured by the network side device comprises;

resources for direct D2D communication, a D2D communication path including a relay, or resources for architecture communication.

20. The UE according to claim 19, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive a proximity area notification message from the network side device;

and

the sending module is further configured to send a D2D confirmation indication message to the network side device after the receiving module receives the proximity notification message.