Setup of device-to-device connection

• US 20100009675A1
• Filed: 07/14/2008
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Doppler, Klaus F., Wijting, Carl, Rinne, Mika P., Ribeiro, Cassio Barboza
• Granted Patent: US 8,577,363 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/426.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

Disclosed are apparatus, methods and computer programs to establish device-to-device communications in a wireless network. A method includes sending an initiation message from a first device to initiate device-to-device communication with a second device; receiving a message indicating a request for setting up radio resources for device-to-device communication; sending a message to the second device, the message including a request to set up resources for device-to-device communication and, in response to establishing device-to-device communication with the second device using the resources, sending an acknowledgment that device-to-device communication is established.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending an initiation message from a first device to a network node to initiate device-to-device communication with a second device;

receiving a message from the network node indicating a request for setting up radio resources for device-to-device communication;

sending a message to the second device, the message comprising a request to set up resources for device-to-device communication; and

in response to establishing device-to-device communication with the second device using the resources, sending an acknowledgment that device-to-device communication is established to the network node.

2. The method of claim 1, where prior to sending the message to the second device, there is a step of sending an acknowledgment of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up.

3. The method of claim 1, where sending the message to the second device is followed by a step of receiving an acknowledgment from the second device of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up.

4. The method of claim 1, where the first device resides in a radio resource control connected state via the network node after establishing the device-to-device communication with the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, where the resources are specified by the network node.

6. The method of claim 1, where the resources are specified at least in part by the first device from a set of resources allocated by the network node.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from a first device, the request being one to establish device-to-device communication with a second device and comprising an identification of the second device;

forwarding the request to a network node for converting the identification of the device into a network associated identification to determine if a device-to-device communication of the first device with the second device is possible; and

if it is, receiving information that is descriptive of parameters needed to establish the device-to-device communication from the first device to the second device.

8. The method as in claim 7, further comprising sending at least one message to at least one of the devices to initiate radio bearer setup between the first device and the second device.

9. The method as in claim 7, where the identification of the second device comprises a session initiation protocol identifier, and where the network associated identification is comprised of a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

10. The method as in claim 9, where the network node is comprised of a mobility management entity having knowledge of the location of the devices, and where the temporary mobile subscriber identity is used to determine if the first and second devices are located such that a device-to-device communication between them is possible.

11. The method as in claim 7, further comprising receiving from the network node at least one temporary IP address to be assigned to a device.

12. The method as in claim 7, where a decision whether to establish the device-to-device communication between the first device and the second device is made at least partially in conjunction with a set of policies.

13. The method of claim 12, where the set of policies comprise one or more of locations of the first and second devices, an amount of interference that would result if device-to-device communication is established between the first and second devices, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and device-to-device communication.

14. The method of claim 7, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the first and second devices.

15. The method of claim 7, where a network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the devices, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by at least one of the devices among the first and second devices for use in establishing the device-to-device communication.

16. A method, comprising:

examining wireless network packet traffic that is originated by network nodes and that passes through at least one network access node to determine if a possibility exists to establish a direct communication between at least two of the network nodes; and

if the possibility is found to exist, initiating setup of the direct communication between at least two of the network nodes.

17. The method of claim 16, where examining is performed in a wireless network gateway.

18. The method of claim 16, where examining is performed in an access node.

19. The method of claim 16, where examining comprises examining internet protocol address information contained within individual packets, and where initiating comprises translating the internet protocol address information into an identification of the network nodes in the wireless network.

20. The method of claim 16, where examining comprises examining a session initiation protocol identifier, and where initiating comprises translating the session initiation protocol identifier into a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

21. The method of claim 16, where examining comprises distinguishing wireless network temporary internet protocol addresses from public internet protocol addresses.

22. The method as in claim 16, where initiating comprises considering a set of policies, comprising one or more of locations of the network nodes, an amount of interference that would result if the direct communication is established between the network nodes, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and direct communication.

23. The method of claim 16, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the network nodes.

24. The method of claim 16, where a network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the network nodes, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by the at least one of the network nodes for use in establishing the direct communication.

25. The method of claim 16, where the possibility is found to exist when the network nodes are serviced by a same access node, or if the network nodes are serviced by different access nodes, when the service areas of the different access nodes are sufficiently close to potentially allow direct communication between the network nodes.

26. A memory medium that stores computer program instructions, the execution of which result in operations that comprise:

sending an initiation message from a first device to a network node to initiate device-to-device communication with a second device;

receiving a message from the network node indicating a request for setting up radio resources for device-to-device communication;

sending a message to the second device, the message comprising a request to set up resources for device-to-device communication; and

in response to establishing device-to-device communication with the second device using the resources, sending an acknowledgment that device-to-device communication is established to the network node.

27. The memory medium of claim 26, where prior to sending the message to the second device, there is an operation of sending an acknowledgment of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up, and where sending the message to the second device is followed by an operation of receiving an acknowledgment from the second device of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up.

28. The memory medium of claim 26, where the first device resides in a radio resource control connected state via the network node after establishing the device-to-device communication with the second device.

29. The memory medium of claim 26, where the resources are specified by the network node or are specified at least in part by the first device from a set of resources allocated by the network node.

31. The memory medium of claim 29, further comprising sending at least one message to at least one of the devices to initiate radio bearer setup between the first device and the second device.

32. The memory medium of claim 29, where the identification of the second device comprises a session initiation protocol identifier, and where the network associated identification is comprised of a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

33. The memory medium of claim 32, where the network node is comprised of a mobility management entity having knowledge of the location of the devices, and where the temporary mobile subscriber identity is used to determine if the first and second devices are located such that a device-to-device communication between them is possible.

34. The memory medium of claim 29, further comprising receiving from the network node at least one temporary IP address to be assigned to a device.

35. The memory medium of claim 29, where a decision whether to establish the device-to-device communication between the first device and the second device is made at least partially in conjunction with a set of policies.

36. The memory medium of claim 35, where the set of policies comprise one or more of locations of the first and second devices, an amount of interference that would result if device-to-device communication is established between the first and second devices, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and device-to-device communication.

37. The memory medium of claim 29, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the first and second devices, or where the network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the devices, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by at least one of the devices among the first and second devices for use in establishing the device-to-device communication.

30. A memory medium that stores computer program instructions, the execution of which result in operations that comprise:

receiving a request from a first device, the request being one to establish device-to-device communication with a second device and comprising an identification of the second device;

forwarding the request to a network node for converting the identification of the device into a network associated identification to determine if a device-to-device communication of the first device with the second device is possible; and

if it is, receiving information that is descriptive of parameters needed to establish the device-to-device communication from the first device to the second device.

38. A memory medium that stores computer program instructions, the execution of which result in operations that comprise:

examining wireless network packet traffic that is originated by network nodes and that passes through at least one network access node to determine if a possibility exists to establish a direct communication between at least two of the network nodes; and

if the possibility is found to exist, initiating setup of the direct communication between at least two of the network nodes.

39. The memory medium of claim 38, where examining is performed in at least one of a wireless network gateway and in an access node.

40. The memory medium of claim 38, where examining comprises examining internet protocol address information contained within individual packets, and where initiating comprises translating the internet protocol address information into an identification of the network nodes in the wireless network.

41. The memory medium of claim 38, where examining comprises examining a session initiation protocol identifier, and where initiating comprises translating the session initiation protocol identifier into a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

42. The memory medium of claim 38, where examining comprises distinguishing wireless network temporary internet protocol addresses from public internet protocol addresses.

43. The memory medium of claim 38, where initiating comprises considering a set of policies, comprising one or more of locations of the network nodes, an amount of interference that would result if the direct communication is established between the network nodes, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and direct communication.

44. The memory medium of claim 38, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the network nodes, or where the network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the network nodes, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by the at least one of the network nodes for use in establishing the direct communication.

45. The memory medium of claim 38, where the possibility is found to exist when the network nodes are serviced by a same access node, or if the network nodes are serviced by different access nodes, when the service areas of the different access nodes are sufficiently close to potentially allow direct communication between the network nodes.

46. An apparatus, comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver; and

a controller configurable with said transmitter and said receiver to send an initiation message from the apparatus, when functioning as a first device, to a network node to initiate device-to-device communication with a second device, to receive a message from the network node indicating a request to set up radio resources for device-to-device communication and to send a message to the second device, the message comprising a request to set up resources for device-to-device communication and, responsive to establishing device-to-device communication with the second device using the resources, to send an acknowledgment that device-to-device communication is established to the network node.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, said controller further configured, prior to sending the message to the second device, to send an acknowledgment of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up, and further configured, after sending the message to the second device, to receive an acknowledgment from the second device of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, where said controller is further configured to cause the first device to reside in a radio resource control connected state via the network node after establishing the device-to-device communication with the second device.

49. The apparatus of claim 46, where the resources are specified by the network node or are specified at least in part by the first device from a set of resources allocated by the network node.

50. The apparatus of claim 46, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.

51. An apparatus, comprising:

a controller;

a receiver configurable with said controller to receive a request from a first device, the request being one to establish device-to-device communication with a second device and comprising an identification of the second device; and

an interface configurable with said controller to communicate with a network node to convert the identification of the second device into a network associated identification to determine if a device-to-device communication of the first device with the second device is possible and, if it is, to receive information that is descriptive of parameters needed to establish the device-to-device communication from the first device to the second device.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising a transmitter configurable with said controller to send at least one message to at least one of the devices to initiate radio bearer setup between the first device and the second device.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, where the identification of the second device comprises a session initiation protocol identifier, and where the network associated identification is comprised of a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, where the network node is comprised of a mobility management entity having knowledge of the location of the devices, and where the temporary mobile subscriber identity is used to determine if the first and second devices are located such that a device-to-device communication between them is possible.

55. The apparatus of claim 51, said interface being further configurable to receive from the network node at least one temporary IP address to be assigned to a device.

56. The apparatus of claim 51, where a decision whether to establish the device-to-device communication between the first device and the second device is made at least partially in conjunction with a set of policies.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, where the set of policies are maintained by a policy server that is coupled with said apparatus, said set of policies comprising one or more of locations of the first and second devices, an amount of interference that would result if device-to-device communication is established between the first and second devices, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and device-to-device communication.

58. The apparatus of claim 51, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the first and second devices, or where the network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the devices, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by at least one of the devices among the first and second devices for use in establishing the device-to-device communication.

59. The apparatus of claim 51, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.

68. The apparatus of claim 51, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.

60. An apparatus, comprising a controller configurable to examine wireless network packet traffic that is originated by network nodes and that passes through at least one network access node to determine if a possibility exists to establish a direct communication between at least two of the network nodes and, if the possibility is found to exist, said controller being further configurable to initiate setup of the direct communication between at least two of the network nodes.

61. The apparatus of claim 60, embodied in one of a wireless network gateway or in an access node.

62. The apparatus of claim 60, where said controller examines internet protocol address information contained within individual packets, and is coupled via an interface to further apparatus configured to translate the internet protocol address information into an identification of the network nodes in the wireless network.

63. The apparatus of claim 60, where said controller examines a session initiation protocol identifier, and is coupled via an interface to further apparatus configured to translate the session initiation protocol identifier into a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

64. The apparatus of claim 60, where said controller is configured to distinguish wireless network temporary internet protocol addresses from public internet protocol addresses.

65. The apparatus of claim 60, where said controller is further configured to consider a set of policies, comprising one or more of locations of the network nodes, an amount of interference that would result if the direct communication is established between the network nodes, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and direct communication.

66. The apparatus of claim 60, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the network nodes, or where the network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the network nodes, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by the at least one of the network nodes for use in establishing the direct communication.

67. The apparatus of claim 60, where the possibility is found to exist when the network nodes are serviced by a same access node, or if the network nodes are serviced by different access nodes, when the service areas of the different access nodes are sufficiently close to potentially allow direct communication between the network nodes.

69. An apparatus, comprising:

means for sending an initiation message from a first device to a network node to initiate device-to-device communication with a second device;

means for receiving a message from the network node indicating a request for setting up radio resources for device-to-device communication;

means for sending a message to the second device, the message comprising a request to set up resources for device-to-device communication; and

means, responsive to establishing device-to-device communication with the second device using the resources, for sending to the network node an acknowledgment that device-to-device communication is established.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, further comprising means for sending, operating prior to sending the message to the second device, an acknowledgment of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up, and means for receiving, operating after sending the message to the second device, an acknowledgment from the second device of the receipt of the message indicating that the resources for device-to-device communication are to be set up.

71. The apparatus of claim 69, where the first device resides in a radio resource control connected state via the network node after establishing the device-to-device communication with the second device.

72. The apparatus of claim 69, where the resources are specified by the network node.

73. The apparatus of claim 69, where the resources are specified at least in part by the first device from a set of resources allocated by the network node.

74. The apparatus of claim 69, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.

75. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a first device, the request being one to establish device-to-device communication with a second device and comprising an identification of the second device;

means for forwarding the request to a network node for converting the identification of the device into a network associated identification to determine if a device-to-device communication of the first device with the second device is possible;

means for receiving information that is descriptive of parameters needed to establish the device-to-device communication from the first device to the second device; and

means for sending at least one message to at least one of the devices to initiate radio bearer setup between the first device and the second device.

76. The apparatus as in claim 75, where the identification of the second device comprises a session initiation protocol identifier, and where the network associated identification is comprised of a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

77. The apparatus as in claim 76, where the network node is comprised of a mobility management entity having knowledge of the location of the devices, and where the temporary mobile subscriber identity is used to determine if the first and second devices are located such that a device-to-device communication between them is possible.

78. The apparatus as in claim 75, further comprising means for receiving at least one temporary IP address to be assigned to a device.

79. The apparatus as in claim 75, further comprising means for making a decision whether to establish the device-to-device communication between the first device and the second device at least partially in conjunction with a set of policies, where the set of policies comprise one or more of locations of the first and second devices, an amount of interference that would result if device-to-device communication is established between the first and second devices, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and device-to-device communication.

80. The apparatus of claim 75, where a network access node is in control of all network resource allocations made to the first and second devices.

81. The apparatus of claim 75, where a network access node allocates certain resources to at least one of the devices, and where the certain resources are then scheduled by at least one of the devices among the first and second devices for use in establishing the device-to-device communication.

82. The apparatus of claim 75, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.

83. An apparatus, comprising:

means for examining wireless network packet traffic that is originated by network nodes and that passes through at least one network access node to determine if a possibility exists to establish a direct communication between at least two of the network nodes; and

means for initiating setup of the direct communication between at least two of the network nodes.

84. The apparatus of claim 83, where said examining means comprises part of a wireless network gateway.

85. The apparatus of claim 83, where said examining means comprises part of an access node.

86. The apparatus of claim 83, where said examining means comprises means for examining internet protocol address information contained within individual packets, and where said initiating means is coupled with means for translating the internet protocol address information into an identification of the network nodes in the wireless network.

87. The apparatus of claim 83, where said examining means comprises means for examining a session initiation protocol identifier, and where said initiating means is coupled with means for translating the session initiation protocol identifier into a temporary mobile subscriber identity.

88. The apparatus of claim 83, where said examining means comprises means for distinguishing wireless network temporary internet protocol addresses from public internet protocol addresses.

89. The apparatus of claim 83, where said initiating means is coupled with policy server means and considers a set of policies, comprising one or more of locations of the network nodes, an amount of interference that would result if the direct communication is established between the network nodes, an effect on one or more neighboring cells, and handover between cellular communication and direct communication.

90. The apparatus of claim 83, embodied in at least one integrated circuit.