Bearer allocation method, user equipment, base station, and serving gateway

• US 9,794,969 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2013
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Limited
• Original Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Zhijun, Xie, Baoguo
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Warner
• Application Number:
  US14/655,855
• Publication Number:
  US 20150359018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/38 triggered by timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A bearer allocation method, a User Equipment (UE), a base station, and a serving gateway are disclosed. The bearer allocation method includes: when a network entity creates a bearer for a UE, determining that the bearer has a bearer retain characteristic, and marking a bearer retain flag in bearer context information; and when the UE enters an IDLE state, an evolved base station and an SGW to which the UE belongs reserving the bearer context information marked with the bearer retain flag.

Claims

1. A bearer allocation method, comprising:

when a network entity creates a bearer for a User Equipment (UE), if it is determined that the bearer has a bearer retain characteristic, marking a bearer retain flag in bearer context information; and

when the UE enters an IDLE state, an evolved base station and a Serving Gateway (SGW) to which the UE belongs reserving the bearer context information marked with the bearer retain flag;

wherein

when the UE is in the IDLE state, transmitting and/or receiving Internet Protocol (IP) data using the bearer having the bearer retain flag.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when any one or more of the following conditions are met, the network entity determines that the bearer has a bearer retain characteristic:

an Access Point Name (APN) corresponding to the bearer is an APN which is set to support a small amount data transfer or support bearer retain;

subscription data of the UE corresponding to the bearer marks that the UE has a small amount data transfer characteristic or has bearer retain requirements; and

a bearer create request initiated by the UE carries a small amount data transfer identity or a bearer retain flag.

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

when the UE is in an IDLE state, if the SGW receives the IP data transmitted to the UE, the SGW transmitting the IP data using the bearer having the bearer retain flag.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

the network entity marking a bearer retain flag in bearer context information comprises:

when a Mobility Management Entity (MME) of the network entity transmits a session create request or a session change request to the SGW, the network entity carrying the bearer retain flag in the request message to indicate that a created/modified Packet Data Network (PDN) connection and Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer have bearer retain characteristics.

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

the SGW returning a session create response or session change response to the MME, wherein the session create response or the session change response comprises an EPS bearer list, the EPS bearer list has bearers which are marked with bearer retain identities;

the MME transmitting an initial context request or a bearer setup request to the evolved base station, wherein, the initial context request or the bearer setup request comprises a radio access bearer list, which has bearers marked with bearer retain identities;

or

the MME transmitting a session create request or session change request to the UE, wherein, the session create request or the session change request comprises an EPS bearer list, which has bearers marked with bearer retain identities.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

when the UE enters an IDLE state, an evolved base station to which the UE belongs reserving the bearer context information marked with the bearer retain flag comprises:

the evolved base station reserving the context information of radio access bearers with bearer retain identities, wherein, the context information comprises a bearer identity (ID), an SGW address, and an SGW Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TED).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein,

when the UE enters an IDLE state, an SGW to which the UE belongs reserving the bearer context information marked with the bearer retain flag comprises:

the SGW reserving the context information of EPS bearers with bearer retain identities, wherein, the context information comprises a bearer identity (ID), an evolved base station address, and an evolved base station TED.

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

when the UE enters an IDLE state, the UE reserving the bearer context information with the bearer retain flag, wherein the context information comprises a bearer ID.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein,

the reserved bearer context information further comprises a bearer Quality of Service (QoS).

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein,

the bearer context information reserved by the UE further comprises:

SGW information and/or an evolved base station address, wherein the SGW information comprises the SGW address and the SGW TED.

11. A base station comprising hardware for executing instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium to execute steps in:

a first module, configured to when a User Equipment (UE) enters an IDLE state, reserve context information of a radio access bearer marked with a bearer retain flag; and

a second module, configured to when a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection request which is initiated by the UE in an IDLE state is received, return radio access bearer information to the UE according to the reserved context information of the radio access bearer;

wherein when the UE is in the IDLE state, the second module is configured to transmit and/or receive Internet Protocol (IP) data using the bearer having the bearer retain flag.

12. The base station according to claim 11, wherein,

the second module is configured to return the radio access bearer information to the UE according to the reserved context information of the radio access bearer by means of:

after adding necessary information elements according to the reserved context information of the radio access bearer, returning the radio access bearer information to the UE.

13. A Serving Gateway (SGW) comprising hardware for executing instructions stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium to execute steps in:

a first module, configured to when a User Equipment (UE) enters an IDLE state, reserve context information of an Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer marked with a bearer retain flag; and

a second module, configured to when Internet Protocol (IP) data transmitted to the UE is received, if it is determined that the reserved bearer can be used to transmit the data, transmit the IP data to the UE through a base station using the bearer;

wherein when the UE is in the IDLE state, the second module is configured to transmit and/or receive the IP data using the bearer having the bearer retain flag.