Communications method and apparatus

• US 9,572,129 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2015
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ma, Hui, Chen, Zhuo, Gao, Yongqiang
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US14/870,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20160021639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communications, and provide a communications method and apparatus, which can solve a problem in the prior art that, in order to save power, when a mobility management entity (MME) delays delivering a paging message or a UE uses a long discontinuous reception (DRX) period, an exception may occur in a serving gateway (SGW). The method includes: acquiring, by an MME, information of a UE (S101); determining, by the MME according to the information, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition (S102); if the UE satisfies the first preset condition, generating, by the MME, a first indication, where the first indication is used for instructing an SGW to retain first data or discard first data, and the first data is downlink data of the UE (S103); and sending, by the MME, the first indication to the SGW.

Claims

1. A communications method, comprising:

acquiring, by a mobility management entity (MME), information of a user equipment (UE);

determining, by the MME according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition;

when the UE satisfies the first preset condition, generating, by the MME, a first indication, wherein the first indication is used for instructing a serving gateway (SGW) to retain first data or discard first data, and the first data is downlink data of the UE; and

sending, by the MME, the first indication to the SGW;

wherein;

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain the first data within the first time, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard the first data according to the first paging delaying instruction;

or

the first indication comprises a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction and a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction and an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain, within the first time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard, according to the first paging delaying instruction, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication comprises a first suggested waiting time and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction, a first suggested waiting time, and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE.

2. The communications method according to claim 1, wherein:

the information of the UE comprises a type of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the UE is a power-saving UE; and

determining, by the MME according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition comprises;

determining, by the MME according to the type of the UE, whether the UE is the power-saving UE.

3. The communications method according to claim 1, wherein:

the information of the UE comprises a discontinuous reception (DRX) period of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the DRX period of the UE is greater than a first preset threshold; and

determining, by the MME according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition comprises;

determining, by the MME according to the DRX period of the UE, whether the DRX period of the UE is greater than the first preset threshold.

4. The communications method according to claim 1, wherein acquiring, by the MME, information of the UE comprises:

receiving, by the MME, subscription data of the UE from a home subscriber server HSS, and acquiring the information of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE;

or

receiving, by the MME, a non access stratum (NAS) message/an access stratum (AS) message from the UE, and acquiring the information of the UE according to the NAS message/AS message of the UE;

or

acquiring, by the MME, the information of the UE according to a pre-configured quality of service QoS parameter of a bearer used by the UE.

5. The communications method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

when the subscription data of the UE, the QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE changes, generating, by the MME, a second indication according to subscription data of the UE, a QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE that is obtained after the change, wherein the second indication is used for instructing the SGW to normally transmit and receive the first data; and

sending, by the MME, the second indication to the SGW, so that the SGW processes the first data according to the second indication.

6. The communications method according to claim 4, wherein:

the information of the UE comprises a type of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the UE is a power-saving UE; and

determining, by the MME according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition comprises;

determining, by the MME according to the type of the UE, whether the UE is the power-saving UE.

7. The communications method according to claim 4, wherein:

the information of the UE comprises a discontinuous reception (DRX) period of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the DRX period of the UE is greater than a first preset threshold; and

determining, by the MME according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition comprises;

determining, by the MME according to the DRX period of the UE, whether the DRX period of the UE is greater than the first preset threshold.

8. A communications method, comprising:

receiving, by a serving gateway (SGW), a first indication from a mobility management entity (MME), wherein the first indication is generated by the MME when the MME acquires information of a user equipment (UE) and determines, according to the information of the UE, that the UE satisfies a first preset condition, the first indication is used for instructing the SGW to retain first data or discard first data, and the first data is downlink data of the UE; and

processing, by the SGW, the first data according to the first indication;

wherein;

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain the first data within the first time, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard the first data according to the first paging delaying instruction;

or

the first indication comprises a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction and a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction and an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain, within the first time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard, according to the first paging delaying instruction, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication comprises a first suggested waiting time and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication comprises a first paging delaying instruction, a first suggested waiting time, and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE.

9. The communications method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the SGW, a second indication from the MME, wherein the second indication is generated, when subscription data of the UE, a quality of service (QoS) parameter of a bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE changes, by the MME according to subscription data of the UE, a QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE that is obtained after the change, and the second indication is used for instructing the SGW to normally transmit and receive the first data; and

processing, by the SGW, the first data according to the second indication.

10. A mobility management entity (MME), comprising:

a first processor, configured to;

acquire information of a user equipment (UE),

determine, according to the information of the UE, whether the UE satisfies a first preset condition; and

when the UE satisfies the first preset condition, generate a first indication, wherein the first indication is used for instructing a serving gateway (SGW) to retain first data or discard first data, and the first data is downlink data of the UE;

a first memory, configured to store the information of the UE acquired by the first processor and the first indication generated by the first processor; and

a first transmitter, configured to send the first indication stored in the first memory and generated by the first processor to the SGW;

wherein;

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first paging delaying instruction, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain the first data within the first time, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard the first data according to the first paging delaying instruction;

or

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time;

or

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first paging delaying instruction and a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE;

or

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first paging delaying instruction and an evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain, within the first time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier, or is used for instructing the SGW to discard, according to the first paging delaying instruction, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first suggested waiting time and an EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication generated by the first processor comprises a first paging delaying instruction, a first suggested waiting time, and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the SGW to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier after the SGW determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE.

11. The MME according to claim 10, wherein:

the information of the UE acquired by the first processor comprises a type of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the UE is a power-saving UE; and

the first processor is configured to determine, according to the type of the UE, whether the UE is the power-saving UE.

12. The MME according to claim 10, wherein:

the information of the UE acquired by the first processor comprises a discontinuous reception (DRX) period of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the DRX period of the UE is greater than a first preset threshold; and

the first processor is configured to determine, according to the DRX period of the UE, whether the DRX period of the UE is greater than the first preset threshold.

13. The MME according to claim 10, further comprising a first receiver, configured to:

receive subscription data of the UE from an HSS, and acquire the information of the UE according to the subscription data of the UE received by the first receiver;

or

receive a non access stratum (NAS) message/an access stratum (AS) message from the UE, and acquire the information of the UE according to the NAS message/AS message of the UE received by the first receiver;

or

acquire the information of the UE according to a pre-configured quality of service (QoS) parameter of a bearer used by the UE.

14. The MME according to claim 13, wherein:

the first processor is further configured to, when the subscription data of the UE, the QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE changes, generate a second indication according to subscription data of the UE, a QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE that is obtained after the change, and store the second indication into the first memory, wherein the second indication is used for instructing the SGW to normally transmit and receive the first data;

the first memory is configured to store the second indication generated by the first processor; and

the first transmitter is further configured to send the second indication stored in the first memory and generated by the first processor to the SGW.

15. The MME according to claim 13, wherein:

the information of the UE acquired by the first processor comprises a type of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the UE is a power-saving UE; and

the first processor is configured to determine, according to the type of the UE, whether the UE is the power-saving UE.

16. The MME according to claim 13, wherein:

the information of the UE acquired by the first processor comprises a discontinuous reception (DRX) period of the UE;

the first preset condition is that the DRX period of the UE is greater than a first preset threshold; and

the first processor is configured to determine, according to the DRX period of the UE, whether the DRX period of the UE is greater than the first preset threshold.

17. A serving gateway (SGW), comprising:

a second receiver, configured to receive a first indication from a mobility management entity (MME), wherein the first indication is generated by the MME when the MME acquires information of a user equipment (UE) and determines, according to the information of the UE, that the UE satisfies a first preset condition, the first indication is used for instructing the SGW to retain first data or discard first data, and the first data is downlink data of the UE;

a second processor, configured to store the first indication received by the second receiver into a second memory, and process the first data according to the first indication; and

the second memory, configured to store the first indication;

wherein;

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first paging delaying instruction, and is used for instructing the second processor to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain the first data within the first time, or is used for instructing the second processor to discard the first data according to the first paging delaying instruction;

or

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the second processor to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time;

or

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first paging delaying instruction and a first suggested waiting time, and is used for instructing the second processor to retain the first data within the first suggested waiting time after the second processor determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE;

or

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first paging delaying instruction and an evolved packet service (EPS) bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the second processor to determine a first time according to the first paging delaying instruction and retain, within the first time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier, or is used for instructing the second processor to discard, according to the first paging delaying instruction, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first suggested waiting time and an EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the second processor to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier;

or

the first indication received by the second receiver comprises a first paging delaying instruction, a first suggested waiting time, and a EPS bearer identifier, and is used for instructing the second processor to retain, within the first suggested waiting time, the first data corresponding to the EPS bearer identifier after the second processor determines, according to the first paging delaying instruction, that the MME needs to delay paging the UE.

18. The SGW according to claim 17, wherein:

the second receiver is further configured to receive a second indication from the MME, wherein the second indication is generated, when subscription data of the UE, a quality of service (QoS) parameter of a bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE changes, by the MME according to subscription data of the UE, a QoS parameter of the bearer used by the UE, or a state of the UE that is obtained after the change, and the second indication is used for instructing the SGW to normally transmit and receive the first data;

the second processor is further configured to store the second indication received by the second receiver into the second memory, and process the first data according to the second indication; and

the second memory is further configured to store the second indication.