JP4777300B2 - Method and system for signaling release reason indication in a UMTS network - Google Patents

Description

(Field of application)
The present application relates to radio resource control between user equipment (UE) and universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), and more particularly to releasing existing signaling connections in a UMTS network.

(background)
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a broadband packet-based system that transmits text, digitized voice, video, and multimedia. This is recognized as a standard for the third generation and is generally based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA).

  In a UMTS network, the radio resource control (RRC) part of the protocol stack is responsible for radio resource allocation, configuration and release between the UE and UTRAN. The RRC protocol is described in detail in 3GGP specification TS 25.331. Two basic modes that the UE can enter are defined as “idle mode” and “UTRA connected mode”. UTRA is short for UMTS land radio access. In idle mode, whenever a UE wants to send any user data, or the UTRAN or serving GPRS support node (SGSN) responds to paging and pages it and receives it from an external data network such as a push server Whenever it does, the UE is required to request an RRC connection. The idle mode and connected mode behaviors are described in detail in the 3GPP specifications TS 25.304 and TS 25.331.

In UTRA RRC connected mode, the device can be in one of four states. They are,
CELL_DCH: A dedicated channel is assigned to UEs in the uplink and downlink in this state to exchange data. The UE must perform the actions outlined in 3GPP 25.331.
CELL_FACH: In this state, no dedicated channel is assigned to the user equipment. Instead, a common channel is used to exchange a small amount of bursty data. The UE must perform actions as outlined in 3GPP 25.331 (including the cell selection process defined in 3GPP TS 25.304).
CELL_PCH: The UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) to monitor broadcast messages and paging over the paging indicator channel (PICH). Uplink activity is not possible. The UE must perform actions as outlined in 3GPP 25.331 (including the cell selection process as defined in 3GPP TS 25.304). The UE must perform the CELL UPDATE procedure after cell reselection.
URA_PCH: The UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) to monitor broadcast messages and paging over the paging indicator channel (PICH). Uplink activity is not possible. The UE must perform actions as outlined in 3GPP 25.331 (including the cell selection process as defined in 3GPP TS 25.304). This state is similar to CELL_PCH, except that the URA UPDATE procedure is triggered only via UTRAN registration area (URA) reselection.

  The transition from idle mode to connected mode and vice versa is controlled by UTRAN. When an idle mode UE requests an RRC connection, the network determines whether to move the UE to the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state. When the UE is in RRC connection mode, it is again the network that decides when to release the RRC connection. The network may move the UE from one RRC state to another before releasing the connection or in some cases instead of releasing the connection. The state transition is typically triggered by data activity or inactivity between the UE and the network. Since the network cannot know when the data exchange for a given application has been completed, the network typically keeps the RRC connection for a while in anticipation of further data to / from the UE. This is typically done to reduce the latency of call setup and subsequent radio bearer setup. The RRC connection release message can only be sent by UTRAN. This message releases the signaling link connection between the UE and UTRAN and all radio bearers.

  The problem in the above is that even if the application on the UE has completed its data migration and no further data exchange can be expected, the application is waiting for the network to move the UE to the correct state. It is. The network may even be unaware of the fact that the application on the UE has completed its data exchange. For example, an application on the UE may exchange data with its application server connected to the UMTS core network using its own authorization-based protocol. For example, an application that runs over UDP / IP that implements delivery guaranteed by itself. In such a case, the UE knows whether the application server has sent or received all data packets, is in a better location to determine if any further data exchange occurs, and Therefore, it is determined when to terminate the RRC connection associated with the packet service (PS) domain. The UTRAN controls when the RRC connection state changes to a different state or changes to idle mode, and due to the fact that UTRAN is unaware of the state of data transmission between the UE and the external server, Will remain at a higher data rate and stronger battery condition than the required condition or mode, thereby exhausting battery life. This also results in wasted network resources due to the fact that radio bearer resources are kept unnecessarily in use.

  One solution to the above is to cause the UE to send a signaling release indication to the UTRAN when the UE recognizes that the UE has finished the data transaction. In accordance with section 8.1.14.3 of the 3GPP TS 25.331 specification, UTRAN may release a signaling connection upon receiving a signaling connection release indication from the UE, so that the UE transitions to idle mode. To do. The problem in the above is that the signaling release indication can be considered a warning. The network typically only expects a signaling release indication when a GMM service request failure, RAU failure, or attach failure occurs. Raising a warning when a UE requests a signaling release results in performance and warning monitoring in the network becoming inefficient.

  The present invention provides the following means.

(Item 1)
A method of handling a signaling release instruction reason between user equipment and a wireless network, comprising:
a. Monitoring at the user equipment whether a signaling connection release indication is to be sent to the wireless network;
b. At the user equipment, attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction;
c. Transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction to the wireless network;
d. Receiving the signaling connection release indication at the wireless network;
e. Filtering the reason and determining whether to issue a warning.

(Item 2)
The method according to item 1, wherein the reason is an abnormal state.

(Item 3)
Item 3. The method according to Item 2, wherein the abnormal state is a timer expiration.

(Item 4)
Item 4. The method according to Item 3, wherein the timer is selected from the group consisting of an attach failure timer, a routing area update timer, and a GMM service request timer.

(Item 5)
The method according to item 1, wherein the reason is a request by the user equipment to terminate the PS data session and thereby shift to idle mode.

(Item 6)
The method according to item 1, wherein the filtering step issues a warning when the reason is abnormal.

(Item 7)
The method of item 1, wherein the filtering step ignores the signaling connection release instruction when the reason is an idle transition request by the user equipment.

(Item 8)
A system adapted to handle a signaling release indication reason, the system comprising:
a. A user equipment comprising a radio subsystem including a radio adapted to communicate with a network; a radio processor having a digital signal processor and adapted to interact with the radio subsystem; User equipment comprising: a memory; a user interface; a processor adapted to run a user application to interact with the memory, the radio, and the user interface; and a processor adapted to run the application. And
i. Means for monitoring whether a signaling connection release indication is to be sent to the wireless network;
ii. Means for attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction;
iii. User equipment characterized by having means for transmitting the attached signaling connection release indication to the wireless network;
b. A wireless network adapted to communicate with the user equipment,
i. Means for receiving the signaling connection release instruction;
ii. A wireless network further characterized by means for filtering the reason and determining whether to issue an alert.

(Item 9)
9. The system according to item 8, wherein the reason is an abnormal state.

(Item 10)
10. The system according to item 9, wherein the abnormal condition is a timer expiration.

(Item 11)
Item 11. The system according to Item 10, wherein the timer is selected from the group consisting of an attach failure timer, a routing area update timer, and a GMM service request timer.

(Item 12)
12. The system according to item 11, wherein the reason is a request by the user equipment to end the PS data session and shift to the idle mode.

(Item 13)
Item 9. The system according to Item 8, wherein the filtering means is adapted to issue a warning when the reason is abnormal.

(Item 14)
9. The system of item 8, wherein the filtering means is adapted to ignore the signaling connection release instruction when the reason is an idle transition request by the user equipment.

(Item 15)
A method of handling signaling release indication reasons at a user equipment to track improved alerts in a wireless network, comprising:
a. Monitoring whether a signaling connection release indication is to be sent to the wireless network;
b. Attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction;
c. Sending the attached signaling connection release indication with the reason attached, thereby requesting the signaling connection release identifying the reason for the signaling connection release indication.

(Item 16)
16. The method according to item 15, wherein the reason is an abnormal state.

(Item 17)
Item 17. The method according to Item 16, wherein the abnormal condition is a timer expiration.

(Item 18)
18. The method of item 17, wherein the timer is selected from the group consisting of an attach failure timer, a routing area update timer, and a GMM service request timer.

(Item 19)
16. The method according to item 15, wherein the reason is a request by the user equipment to end the PS data session and shift to the idle mode.

(Item 20)
A user equipment adapted to provide a signaling release indication reason within the network, the user equipment comprising a radio subsystem including a radio adapted to communicate with the network; and a digital signal processor A wireless processor adapted to interact with the wireless subsystem; a memory; a user interface; a user application running; the memory; a user interface; a user application running; the memory, the wireless And a processor adapted to interact with the user interface and adapted to run an application, the user equipment comprising:
a. Means for monitoring whether a signaling connection release indication is to be sent to the wireless network;
b. Means for attaching to the signaling connection release instruction a reason for the signaling connection release instruction;
c. Means for transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction including the reason, thereby identifying the reason for the signaling connection release instruction together with the signaling connection release instruction.

(Item 21)
A user equipment device for facilitating the release of a signaling connection comprising:
a. A checker configured to check whether a signaling connection release indication should be sent;
b. A signaling connection release indication sender configured to send the signaling connection release indication in response to an indication by the checker that a signaling connection release indication should be sent, the signaling connection release indication sender comprising: An apparatus comprising: a signaling connection release instruction sender, wherein the release instruction includes a signaling release instruction including a signaling release instruction reason field.

(Item 22)
The checker is configured to check whether the signaling connection of the user equipment is required before transmitting the signaling connection release instruction and before confirming the delivery of the signaling connection release instruction. Item 22. The device according to Item 21, further configured.

(Item 23)
24. The apparatus of item 22, wherein the signaling connection release indication sender is further configured to retransmit the signaling connection release indication.

(Item 24)
A network device that operates in response to a signaling connection release instruction, the network device comprising:
a. A testing machine configured to test the signaling release indication reason field of the signaling connection release indication to check whether the signaling release indication reason field indicates an abnormal condition;
b. And a warning generator configured to selectively generate a warning if the test by the tester determines that the signaling release indication reason field indicates the abnormal condition.

(Item 25)
The network device includes a plurality of logical layers, and the testing machine is embodied by a first logical layer of the plurality of logical layers, and the testing machine is provided in a second logical layer of the plurality of logical layers. 25. The network device of item 24, further configured to request a signaling connection release.

(Summary)
A method and system for processing a signaling release indication reason between a user equipment and a wireless network, wherein the method determines whether a signaling connection release indication should be sent to the wireless network at the user equipment. Monitoring at the user equipment, attaching the reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction, transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction to the wireless network, Receiving a signaling connection release indication at the wireless network and filtering the reason and determining whether to issue a warning.

(Detailed explanation)
The system and method transitions from RRC connected mode to a more efficient battery state or mode while the network warns the signaling release indication if the reason for the signaling release indication is a UE idle transition request Provide that you do not consider and guarantee. In particular, the method and apparatus indicates to the UTRAN that the UE initiates termination of the signal connection to the identified core network domain or that a transition should occur from one connection state to another connection state. Provide a transition based on either of the things. The following description is described with reference to an exemplary implementation of UMTS. However, it should be understood that the teachings of the present invention are equally applicable to other wireless communication systems.

  In particular, if an application on the UE determines that it has been made using an exchange of data, it preferably sends an indication “made” to the “RRC Connection Manager” component of the UE software. The RRC connection manager is responsible for all current applications (services via one or more protocols) such as related packet data protocol (PDP) contexts, related packet switched (PS) radio bearers, and related circuit switched (CS) radio bearers. Keep track) (including those that provide). A PDP context is a logical relationship between a UE that runs across a UMTS core network and a PDN (Public Data Network). One or more applications on the UE (eg, email application and browser application) may be associated with one PDP context. In some cases, one application on the UE is associated with the primary PDP context, and multiple applications may be combined with the secondary PDP context. The RRC connection manager receives an indication "made" from different applications on the UE that are active at the same time. For example, a user may receive an email from a push server while browsing the web. After the email application sends an approval, it can indicate that the data transaction has been completed, however, the browser application cannot send such an indication. Based on the combined state of such indications from active applications, the UE software may determine how long to wait before it can initiate the core network packet service domain signaling connection release. . The delay in this case can be introduced to ensure that the application truly terminates the data exchange and does not require an RRC connection. The delay may be dynamic based on traffic history and / or application profile. Whenever the RRC connection manager determines that there is some chance that no application is expected to exchange any data, the RRC connection manager signals to the appropriate domain (eg, PS domain). A transmission connection release indication procedure may be sent. Alternatively, a state transition request may be sent in a mode connected to UTRAN.

  The above determination may also consider whether the network supports the URA_PCH state and the transition behavior to this state.

  The transition to idle mode initiated by the UE can result from any state of the RRC connected mode and ends by releasing the network from the RRC connection and moving the UE to the idle mode. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a UE in idle mode has a much lower battery than a UE in connected state.

  However, the transmission of the signaling connection release indication may cause the network to consider that a warning has occurred as a result. If the signaling release indication is the result of a determination by RRC that no traffic is expected, in a preferred embodiment, the network does not indicate that the signaling release indication is in an abnormal state, but the result of the requested idle transition. Can be distinguished. This distinction makes indicators such as key performance indicators (KPIs) more accurate and can improve performance monitoring and alert monitoring.

  The method allows the UE to attach a field that provides the reason for the signaling release indication to the existing signaling release indication. The network may then use the attached field to filter from situations where the UE has requested that the true alert state be placed in the idle state. This is because the requested situation cannot expect any further data. This improves the efficiency of warning and performance monitoring, while allowing the UE to move to idle mode more quickly and conserve its battery resources.

  The present application therefore provides a method for handling signaling release indication reasons between a user equipment and a wireless network, wherein the method transmits a signaling connection release indication to the wireless network at the user equipment. Monitoring whether to be done, attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction at the user equipment, and transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction to the wireless network Receiving the signaling connection release indication at the wireless network, filtering the reason and determining whether to issue a warning.

  The present application further provides a system adapted to handle signaling release indication reasons, the system being user equipment, wherein the user equipment has a radio adapted to communicate with a UMTS network. A wireless subsystem including: a wireless processor having a digital signal processor and adapted to interact with the wireless subsystem; a memory; a user interface; and running a user application to the memory, the radio, and User equipment having a processor adapted to interact with the user interface and adapted to run an application, monitoring whether a signaling connection release indication is to be sent to the wireless network And means for responding to the signal transmission connection release instruction to the signal transmission connection release instruction A user equipment and a wireless network adapted to communicate with the user equipment, characterized by having means for attaching a reason and means for sending the attached signaling connection release indication to the wireless network A wireless network further characterized by means for receiving the signaling connection release indication and means for filtering the reason and determining whether to issue a warning.

  The present application still further provides a method for processing a signaling release indication reason at a user equipment to track improved alerts in a wireless network, the signaling connection release indication being included in the wireless network. Monitoring whether to transmit to the wireless network, attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction, and transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction to the wireless network And wherein the wireless network includes an indication of the reason for the signaling connection release indication.

  The present application still further provides a user equipment device that facilitates the release of signaling connections. The checker is configured to check whether a signaling connection release indication should be sent. The signaling connection release indication sender is configured to send the signaling connection release indication in response to an indication by the checker that a signaling connection release indication should be sent. The signaling connection release indication includes a signaling release indication reason field.

  The present application still further provides a network device that operates according to a signaling connection release instruction. The tester is configured to test the signaling release indication reason field of the signaling connection release indication. The testing machine checks whether the signal transmission release instruction reason field indicates an abnormal state. The alert generator is configured to selectively generate an alert if a test by the tester determines that the signaling release indication reason field indicates the abnormal condition.

  The present application still further provides user equipment adapted to provide a signaling release indication reason within a UMTS network, wherein the user equipment includes a radio sub that includes a radio adapted to communicate with the UMTS network. A wireless processor having a digital signal processor and adapted to interact with the wireless subsystem; a memory; a user interface; running a user application; the memory, the user interface; And a processor adapted to interact with the memory, the radio, and the user interface and adapted to run an application, wherein the user equipment has a signaling connection release instruction, A hand to monitor whether it should be sent to the wireless network Means for attaching a reason for the signaling connection release instruction to the signaling connection release instruction, and means for transmitting the attached signaling connection release instruction including the reason, wherein the wireless network And means for providing an indication of the reason for the transmission connection release indication.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating various modes and states for the radio resource control portion of the protocol stack in a UMTS network. In particular, RRC may be in either RRC idle state 110 or RRC connected state 120.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a UMTS network consists of two land-based network segments. These are the core network (CN) and the universal land radio access network (UTRAN) (as shown in FIG. 8). The core network is responsible for exchanging and routing data calls and data connections to external networks, and UTRAN handles all radio related functionality.

  In idle mode 110, whenever data needs to be exchanged between the UE and the network, the UE must request an RRC connection and set up radio resources. This can be done as a result of an application where the UE requests connection and sends data, or the UE monitors the paging channel indicating whether the UTRAN or SGSN has paged the UE, and external data such as a push server. Either as a result of receiving data from the network. Furthermore, the UE also requests an RRC connection whenever it needs to send a signaling message, such as a location area update, to Mobility Management.

  Once the UE sends a request to the UTRAN, a radio connection is established and the UTRAN selects a state in order for the RRC connection to go inside. In particular, the RRC connection mode 120 includes four individual states. These are CELL_DCH state 122, CELL_FACH state 124, CELL_PCH state 126, and URA_PCH state 128.

  From idle mode 110, the RRC connected state may proceed to either cell dedicated channel (CELL_DCH) state 122 or cell transfer access channel (CELL_FACH) state 124.

  In CELL_DCH state 122, dedicated channels are assigned to the UE for both uplink and downlink to exchange data. This state typically requires the most battery power from the UE because it has a dedicated physical channel assigned to the UE.

  Alternatively, UTRAN may move from idle mode 110 to CELL_FACH state 124. In the CELL_FACH state, no dedicated channel is assigned to the UE. Instead, a common channel is used to transmit signaling with a small amount of bursty data. However, the UE must still monitor the FACH continuously. Therefore, battery power is consumed.

  Within the RRC connection mode 120, the RRC state may change the UTRAN's discrimination. In particular, if data inactivity is detected for a specific time, or if throughput below a predetermined threshold is detected, UTRAN changes the RRC state from CELL_DCH state 122 to CELL_FACH state 124, CELL_PCH state 126, or The URA_PCH state 128 can be moved. Similarly, if it is detected that the payload exceeds a predetermined threshold, the RRC state may move from CELL_FACH 124 to CELL_DCH 122.

  From CELL_FACH state 124, if data inactivity is detected for some time in some networks, UTRAN may move the RRC state from CELL_FACH state 124 to the paging channel (PCH) state. This can be either the CELL_PCH state 126 or the URA_PCH state 128.

  From the CELL_PCH state 126 or the URA_PCH state 128, the UE must be moved to the CELL_FACH state 124 to initiate an update procedure requesting a dedicated channel. This is the only state transition controlled by the UE.

  The CELL_PCH state 126 and the URA_PCH state 128 use discontinuous reception cycles (DRX) to monitor wrapping messages and paging by the paging indicator channel (PICH). No uplink activity is possible.

  The difference between the CELL_PCH state 126 and the URA_PCH state 128 is that if the URA_PCH state is not present in the list of URA identities present in the current cell, the UE's current UTRAN registration area (URA) It is only triggering. Specifically, refer to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of various UMTS cells 210, 212, and 214. All of these cells require a cell update procedure if the CELL_PCH state is reselected. However, in the UTRAN registration area, each cell is in the same UTRAN registration area 220, so the URA update procedure is not triggered when moving between 210, 212, and 214 when in URA_PCH mode.

  As shown in FIG. 2, other cells 218 may be uplink outside URA 220, part of a separate URA, or may not be URA.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, from a battery life perspective, the idle state provides the least battery usage compared to the states described above. Specifically, since the UE is required to monitor the paging channel only at intervals, the radio need not be continuously on, but instead must wake up periodically. The trade-off for this is the waiting time for transmitting data. However, if this waiting time is not so long, the merit of saving battery power in the idle mode exceeds the demerit of the connection waiting time.

  Reference is again made to FIG. Different UMTS infrastructure vendors move between states 122, 124, 126, and 128 based on different criteria. An exemplary infrastructure is outlined below.

  In the first exemplary infrastructure, the RRC moves directly between idle mode and Cell_DCH state. If it is detected that the Cell_DCH state is not active for 2 seconds, the RRC state changes to the Cell_FACH state 124. If it is detected in Cell_FACH state 124 that it is not active for 10 seconds, the RRC state changes to PCH state 126. If it is detected in the Cell_PCH state 126 that it has not been active for 45 minutes, then the RRC state returns to the idle state 110.

  In the second exemplary infrastructure, RRC transition may occur between idle mode 110 and connected mode 120 depending on the payload threshold. In the second infrastructure, the UTRAN moves from the RRC state to the CELL_FACH state 124 if the payload is below a predetermined threshold. Conversely, if the data exceeds the predetermined payload, UTRAN transitions the RR state to CELL_DCH state 122. If the second infrastructure detects that it is not active for 2 minutes in the CELL_DCH state 122, the UTRAN moves the RRC to the CELL_FACH state 124. If it is detected in the CELL_FACH state 124 that it is not active for 5 minutes, the UTRAN moves the RRC phase to the CELL_PCH state 126. In the CELL_PCH state 126, two hours of inactivity are required before returning to the idle mode 110.

  In the third exemplary infrastructure, the movement between idle mode and connected mode 120 is always in CELL_DCH state 122. After being inactive for 5 seconds in CELL_DCH state 122, UTRAN moves the RRC state to CELL_FACH state 124. In CELL_FACH state 124, if not active for 30 seconds, the result is a move back to idle state 110.

  In the fourth exemplary infrastructure, the RRC transitions directly from idle mode to connected mode and enters the CELL_DCH state 122. In the fourth exemplary infrastructure, the CELL_DCH state 122 includes two sub-states. The first is a sub-state with a high data rate, and the second sub-state contains a lower data rate but is still within the range of the CELL_DCH state. In a fourth exemplary infrastructure, the RRC transitions directly from idle mode 110 to a high data rate CELL_DCH sub-state. After 10 seconds of inactivity, the RRC state transitions to a low CELL_DCH state. If it is not active for 17 seconds from the low data CELL_DCH state 122, then the RRC state changes to idle mode 110.

  The four exemplary infrastructures described above show how various UMTS infrastructure vendors are implementing the state. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in each case, the time required for the actual data exchange (eg, email) is significantly shorter than the time required to remain in the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH state. This creates an unnecessary current drain, so that the user experiences worse in a new generation network such as UMTS than a previous generation network such as GPRS.

  Furthermore, although the CELL_PCH state is more optimal than the CELL_FACH state, the DRX cycle in the CELL_PCH state is typically set to a lower value than the idle mode 110 from the viewpoint of battery life. As a result, the UE is required to wake up more frequently in the CELL_PCH state than in the idle mode.

  The URA_PCH state with a DRX cycle similar to the idle cycle appears to be an optimal trade-up between battery life and latency in connection. However, URA_PCH is not currently supported by UTRAN. Therefore, from the viewpoint of battery life, it is desirable to transition to the idle mode as quickly as possible once the application is finished with data exchange.

  Reference is now made to FIG. When transitioning from idle mode to connected mode, various signaling and data connections need to be created. Referring to FIG. 3, the first item that needs to be performed is RRC connection setup. As mentioned above, this RRC connection setup can only be broken by UTRAN.

  Once the RRC connection setup 310 is achieved, the signal connection setup 312 is started.

  Once the signal setting 312 is finished, ciphering and integrity setup 314 is started. When this is complete, radio bearer configuration 316 is achieved. At this point, data can be exchanged between the UE and the UTRAN.

  Connection disassembly is generally accomplished in this reverse order as well. The radio bearer setup 316 is dismantled and then the RRC connection setup 310 is removed. At this point, the RRC moves to the idle mode 110 as shown in FIG.

  According to the current 3GPP specification, the UE cannot release the RRC connection or indicate its preference for the RRC state, but the UE still has a specific core network domain (eg, in a packet switched application). The termination of the signaling connection for the Packet Switched (PS) used may be indicated. According to section 8.1.14.1 of 3GPP TS 25.331, the signaling connection release indication procedure is used by the UE to indicate to UTRAN that one of its signaling connections has been released. This procedure may in turn initiate an RRC connection release procedure.

  Thus, when staying within the scope of the current 3GGP specification, the signaling connection release can be initiated by the disassembly of the signal connection setup 312. It is within the capabilities of the UE to tear down the signaling connection setup 312 and then, according to the specification, this will “get” RRC connection release.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, if signaling connection settings 312 are dismantled, UTRAN also clears the decryption and integrity settings 312 and after the signal connection settings 312 is dismantled, the radio bearer settings 316 needs to be wiped out.

  When the signaling connection setup 312 is dismantled, the RRC connection setup is typically stopped by the network for the current vendor infrastructure.

  Using the above, if the UE decides to be done with data exchange, eg, if the “RRC connection manager” component of the UE software is provided with an indication that the data exchange is complete, the RRC connection manager will signal It may be determined whether to disconnect the connection setting 312. For example, the email application on the device sends an indication that a notification from the push email server has been received, that the email was really received by the push server. The RRC manager may keep track of all current applications of associated PDP contexts, associated PS radio bearers and associated circuit switched (CS) radio bearers. The delay in this case is that the application is really finished with the data exchange and no longer requires an RRC connection after sending a “complete” indication. This delay is equivalent to the inactivity timeout associated with this application. Each application may have its own inactivity timeout. For example, an email application may have a 5 second inactivity timeout, while an active browser application may have a 60 second inactivity timeout. Based on the decoding status of all such indications from active applications, the UE software waits until the UE software can initiate signaling connection release of the appropriate core network (eg, PS domain) Determine what should be done.

  Inactive timeouts can be made on a dynamic basis based on traffic pattern history and / or application profiles.

  Whenever the RRC connection manager determines with some probability that no application is expected to exchange data, the RCC connection manager may send a signaling connection release indication procedure for the appropriate domain.

  The above-described UE-initiated transition to the idle mode can occur at any stage of the RRC connection mode 120 as shown in FIG. 1 and can also be released from the RRC connection network, as shown in FIG. Move to 110 and finish. This is also applicable when the UE is performing any packet data service during a voice call. In this case, only the PS domain is released, but the CS domain remains connected.

  The problem with the network concept described above is that the signaling connection release indication sent by the UE is interpreted as a warning. If the signaling network release is the result of a clear action by the UE due to the expiration of the application timer, and therefore no further data is expected, the warning generated by the above instructions will skew the performance and warning instructions . The key performance indicator can be changed thereby leading to a loss of efficiency.

  Preferably, the reason should be added to the signaling connection release indication that indicates the reason for the indication to UTRAN. In a preferred embodiment, the reason may be an indication that an abnormal condition has resulted in an indication, or an indication that it was initiated by the UE as a result of a requested idle transition. Another normal (ie, not abnormal) transaction can result in the transmission of a signaling connection release indication.

  In further preferred embodiments, various timeouts may be the reason for signaling connection indications for abnormal conditions. The following timer examples are not exhaustive and other timers or other conditions are possible. For example, 3GPP. TS 24.008 10.2.47 specifies the following as timer T3310.

このタイマは、アタッチ失敗を指示するために使用される。アタッチ失敗は、ネットワークの結果であり得るか、あるいは衝突または不良無線周波数（ＲＦ）のようなＲＦ問題であり得る。

This timer is used to indicate an attach failure. An attach failure can be the result of a network, or it can be an RF problem such as a collision or bad radio frequency (RF).

  The attachment attempt can occur multiple times and an attach failure is the result of either a predetermined number of failures or a definite rejection.

  The second timer of 3GPP 10.2.47 is T3330 and is specified as follows.

このタイマは、ルーティングエリア更新失敗を指示するために使用される。タイマが時間切れになると、さらなるルーティングエリア更新が、複数回リクエストされ得て、ルーティングエリア更新失敗は、所定回数の失敗または明確な拒絶のいずれかの結果である。

This timer is used to indicate a routing area update failure. When the timer expires, further routing area updates can be requested multiple times, and a routing area update failure is the result of either a predetermined number of failures or an explicit rejection.

  The third timer of 3GPP 10.2.47 is T3340 and is specified as follows.

このタイマは、ＧＭＭサービスリクエスト失敗を指示するために使用される。タイマが時間切れになると、さらなるＧＭＭサービスリクエストが、複数回開始され得、ＧＭＭサービスリクエスト失敗は、所定回数の失敗または明確な拒絶のいずれかの結果である。

This timer is used to indicate a GMM service request failure. When the timer expires, further GMM service requests can be initiated multiple times, and a GMM service request failure is the result of either a predetermined number of failures or an explicit rejection.

  Thus, instead of the signaling release instruction being limited to abnormal conditions and release by the UE, the signaling release instruction may further include information regarding which timer has failed for the abnormal condition. The signaling connection release indication can be structured as follows.

このメッセージは、ＵＥによって使用され、ＵＴＲＡＮに既存の信号伝達接続を解放するように指示する。信号伝達解放指示を追加すると、ＵＴＲＡＮまたは他のネットワークエレメントは、信号伝達解放指示の理由、つまり異常な状態によるものであったのか、あるいは異常な状態とは何であったかを受信することができる。そして、ＲＲＣ接続解放手順が、次いで、開始されることが可能になる。

This message is used by the UE to instruct UTRAN to release the existing signaling connection. Adding a signaling release indication allows the UTRAN or other network element to receive the reason for the signaling release indication, i.e., due to an abnormal condition or what was an abnormal condition. The RRC connection release procedure can then be started.

  In one implementation, when the UE receives a request to release or suspend, the signaling connection from the upper layer for a particular CN (core network) domain is the IE (Information Element) “CN Domain Identity”. If there is a signaling connection as identified by a variable (eg, variable ESTABLISHED_SIGNALING_CONNECTIONS) for a particular CN domain identified by, initiate a signaling connection release indication. If the variable does not identify any existing signaling connection, any ongoing establishment of the signaling connection for that particular CN domain is interrupted otherwise. Then, when the signaling connection release instruction procedure starts in the CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state, the UE performs the cell update procedure using the “uplink data transmission” reason. Then, when the cell update procedure is successfully completed, the UE continues the subsequent signaling connection release instruction procedure.

  That is, the UE sets the IE “CN domain identity” to the value indicated by the upper logical layer. The value of IE indicates the CN domain and its associated signaling connection is an associated signaling connection that indicates that the upper layer should be released. If the CN domain identity is set in the PS domain and the upper layer indicates the reason for initiating this request, the IE “Signaling Release Instruction Reason” is set accordingly. The UE further removes the signaling connection having the identity indicated by the upper layer from the variable “established_signaling_connections”. And UE transmits a signaling connection release instruction | indication message on DCCH, for example using AM RLC. If the RLC confirms that the delivery of the release instruction message has been successful, the procedure ends.

  The IE “Signaling Release Indication Cause” is also used in connection with embodiments of the present disclosure. The release reason is aligned with, for example, an existing message definition. The upper layer release reason message is also structured as follows, for example.

この例において、Ｔ３３１０、Ｔ３３３０、およびＴ３３４０は、上記で識別された対応するように番号付けされたタイマの時間切れに相当する。理由値は、一つの実施形態において、状態移行によって判断するＵＴＲＡＮに提供する「ＵＥ Ｒｅｑｕｅｓｔｅｄ ｉｄｌｅ ｔｒａｎｓｉｔｉｏｎ」よりも、むしろ「ＵＥ Ｒｅｑｕｅｓｔｅｄ ＰＳ Ｄａｔａ ｓｅｓｓｉｏｎ ｅｎｄ」として、設定可能である。しかしながら、期待される結果は、理由値によって識別される結果に対応する。信号伝達接続解放指示への拡張（ｅｘｔｅｎｓｉｏｎ）は、好ましいが、必ずしも必要ではなく、クリティカルでない拡張である。

In this example, T3310, T3330, and T3340 correspond to the time-outs of the correspondingly numbered timers identified above. In one embodiment, the reason value can be set as “UE Requested PS Data session end” rather than “UE Requested idle transition” provided to UTRAN determined by state transition. However, the expected result corresponds to the result identified by the reason value. Extensions to signaling connection release instructions are preferred but not necessarily required and are non-critical extensions.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flow chart exemplarily monitoring a UE whether or not to send a signaling connection release indication for various domains (eg, PS or CS). Process 910 begins at step 910.

  The UE moves to step 912 where it checks to see if an abnormal condition exists. Such an abnormal state may include, for example, the expiration of the timer T3310, the timer T3320, or the timer T3340 as described above. If these timers expire a certain number of times, or if a clear rejection is received based on the expiration of any of these timers, the UE proceeds to step 914 where: Send a signaling connection release instruction. The signaling connection release indication message is attached using the signaling release indication reason field. The signaling release indication reason field includes at least that the signaling connection release indication is based on an abnormal condition or state, and the preferred embodiment includes a specific timer that times out as a result of the abnormal condition.

  Conversely, if at step 912 the UE finds that an abnormal condition does not exist, the UE proceeds to step 920 where it checks whether further data is expected at the UE. As described above, this includes the case where an e-mail is transmitted and the e-mail transmission confirmation is returned to the UE. Other examples where the UE determines whether further data is no longer expected are well known to those skilled in the art.

  In step 920, if the UE determines that the data transmission is complete (or the domain call is terminated in the case of circuit exchange), the UE proceeds to step 922 where it transmits a signaling connection release instruction. . Within this signaling connection release indication, a signaling release indication reason field is added, which contains the fact that the UE has requested an idle transition.

  If the data does not end, from step 920, the UE returns from the loop, checks for an abnormal condition at step 912, and continues to check whether the data ends at step 920.

  Once in step 914 or step 922, the signaling connection release indication is sent, the process proceeds to step 930 and ends.

  The UE includes functional elements. These functional elements can be implemented, for example, by an application or algorithm executed through the operation of the UE microprocessor, or by a hardware implementation, forming a checker and signaling connection release indication sender. The checker is configured to check whether a signaling connection release indication should be sent. The signaling connection release instruction sender is configured to send a signaling connection release instruction in response to an instruction that the checker should send a signaling connection release instruction. The signaling connection release instruction includes a signaling release instruction reason field.

  In one implementation, the network is instead made implicitly aware of the timer timeout, and the UE does not need to send a reason value indicating the timer timeout. That is, the timer starts time measurement with the consent of the network. A reason code is defined, and the reason code is provided to the UE by the network. Such a reason code is used by the UE to start a timer. And if a reason code previously sent by the network causes the timer to measure time, the network implicitly realizes the basis for the timer's next timeout. As a result, the UE does not need to transmit a reason value indicating that the timer has expired.

  Referring to FIG. 10, when a network element receives a signaling connection release indication at step 1010, the network element tests the signaling release indication reason field at step 1014, and at step 1016, why the reason is abnormal. Or whether the reason is due to the UE requesting idle transition. In step 1016, if the signaling connection release indication is for an abnormal reason, the network node proceeds to step 1020, where the alert is noted to monitor performance and for the purpose of alert monitoring. . The key performance indicator can be updated appropriately.

  Conversely, if, in step 1016, the reason for the signaling connection release instruction is not the result of an abnormal condition, or in other words, the result of the UE requesting idle transition, the network node proceeds to step 1030, Here, no warning is issued and the indication can be filtered from the performance statistics, which prevents the performance statistics from skewing. From step 1020 or step 1030, the network node proceeds to step 1040 and the process ends.

  Upon receipt and testing of the signaling release indication reason field, the RRC connection release procedure is initiated by the network element. Then, the packet exchange data connection is completed.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, step 1020 may be used to further distinguish between various alert conditions. For example, a T3310 timeout may be used to maintain a first set of statistics, and a T3330 timeout may be used to maintain a second set of statistics. Step 1020 may be distinguished for abnormal conditions. This allows network operators to track performance more efficiently.

  The network includes functional elements. These functional elements can be implemented, for example, by an application or algorithm executed through the operation of the UE microprocessor, or by a hardware implementation, forming a tester and an alert generator. The tester is configured to test the signaling release indication reason field of the signaling connection release indication. The testing machine checks whether the signal transmission release instruction reason field is in an abnormal state. The alert generator is configured to selectively generate an alert if a test by the tester indicates that the signaling release indication reason field is abnormal.

  In one implementation, upon receiving a signaling connection release indication, the UTRAN forwards the reason received from the upper layer and requests to release the signaling connection. The upper layer can initiate the release of the signaling connection. The reason for the IE signaling release instruction is to instruct an upper layer of the UE to trigger the RRC of the UE and transmit a message. The reason is probably the result of an abnormal upper layer procedure. The message reason classification is ensured by successfully receiving the IE.

  Possible scenarios include scenarios in which re-establishment of the entire RLC on signaling radio bearer RB2 occurs before RLC confirms that the signaling connection release indication message has been successfully delivered. Including. If this happens, the UE retransmits the signaling connection release indication message on the uplink DCCH using, for example, AM RLC on the signaling radio bearer RB2. If an enter RAT takeover from the performance of the UTRAN procedure occurs before the confirmation that the signaling connection release indication message has been successfully delivered by the RLC, the UE shall During this period, the signal transmission connection is interrupted.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, in some cases it is more desirable to be in connected mode state URA_PCH than in idle mode. For example, when it is required to reduce the waiting time for connecting to the CELL_DCH or CELL_FACH connection mode state, it is desirable to be in the connection mode PCH state. There are two ways to achieve this. The first is to change the 3GPP specification and request the UE to move to a specific state (in this case URA_PCH state 128) to UTRAN.

  Alternatively, the RRC connection manager may take into account other factors such as what state the RRC connection is currently in. For example, if the RRC connection is in the URA_PCH state, the RRC connection does not need to move to the idle mode 110 and therefore the signaling connection release procedure is not initiated.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 4A shows a current UMTS implementation in accordance with the “four” example of infrastructure described above. As shown in FIG. 4, time is along the horizontal axis.

  The UE starts in the RRC idle state 110 and begins to establish an RRC connection based on the local data to be transmitted or the page received from the UTRAN.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the RRC connection setup 310 occurs first, and the RRC state is the connection state 410 during this time.

  Next, signal connection settings 312, encryption / integrity settings 314, and radio bearer settings 316 occur. The RRC state is the CELL_DCH state 122 during this time. As shown in FIG. 4A, the ratio of the time to move from the RRC idle to the time the radio bearer is set is approximately 2 seconds in this example.

  The data is then exchanged. In the example of FIG. 4A, this is accomplished in about 2-4 seconds and is indicated by step 420.

  In step 420, after the data is exchanged, no data is exchanged except for intermittent RLC signal PDUs as needed. Thus, the radio bearer is reconfigured by the network to move to the low data rate DCH state after approximately 10 seconds. This is indicated by steps 422 and 424.

  Nothing is received for 17 seconds in the low data rate DCH state. At this point, in step 428, the RRC connection is released by the network.

  Once the RRC connection is initiated at step 428, the RRC state enters the disconnected state 430 for approximately 40 milliseconds, after which the UE enters the RRC idle state 110.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4A, UE current consumption is shown over a period of time when RRC is in CELL_DCH state 122. As shown, current consumption is approximately 200-300 milliamps over the entire period of the CELL_DCH state. Assuming a DRX cycle of 1.28 seconds between disconnected and idle, approximately 3 milliamps is used. However, a current consumption of 200-300 milliamps for 35 seconds will drain the battery.

  Reference is now made to FIG. 4B. FIG. 4B utilizes the same exemplary infrastructure “four” from above, but only here implements signal connection release.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the same setup steps 310, 312, 314, and 316 occur, which takes the same amount of time as moving between the RRC idle state 110 and the RRC CELL_DCH state 122.

  In addition, the exemplary RRC data PDU exchange for email in FIG. 4A also takes place in FIG. 4B, which takes about 2-4 seconds.

  The UE in the example of FIG. 4B has an application specific inactivity timeout. This timeout in the example of FIG. 4B is 2 seconds and is depicted by step 440. After the RRC connection manager determines that there has been inactivity for a certain amount of time, in step 442, the UE releases the signaling connection setup, and in step 428, the RRC connection is released by the network.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the current consumption of CELL_DCH in step 122 is still about 200-300 milliamps. However, the connection time is only about 8 seconds. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the amount of time that the mobile remains in cell DCH state 122 is a fairly short amount of time, resulting in significant battery savings on UE devices that are always on.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 5 is a second example using the infrastructure indicated as the infrastructure “3” described above. Similar to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the connection setup takes about 2 seconds. This requires RRC connection setup 310, signal connection setup 312, encryption / integrity setup 314, and radio bearer 316.

  During this setup, the UE moves from the RRC idle mode 110 to the CELL_DCH state 122. There is an RRC state connection step 410 between the two.

  Similar to FIG. 4A, an RLC data PDU exchange occurs in FIG. 5A, which takes about 2-4 seconds in the example of FIG. 5A.

  According to infrastructure 3, the RLC signal PDU exchange does not receive any data, so it removes intermittent RLC signal PDUs as needed, and thus is idle for 5 seconds at step 422. At this point, the radio bearer reconfigures the network to move from the CELL_DCH state 122 to the CELL_FACH state 124. This is done in step 450.

  In the CELL_FACH state 124, the RLC signal PDU exchange finds that there is no data at all except for the intermittent RLC signal PDU as required for a predetermined amount of time which is 30 seconds in this case. At this point, in step 428, the RRC connection is released by the network.

  This moves the RRC state to idle mode 110 as shown in FIG. 5A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, current consumption during the DCH mode is between 200-300 milliamps. When moving to the CELL_FACH state 124, current consumption drops to approximately 120-180 milliamps. When the RRC connector is released and the RRC moves to idle mode 110, the power consumption is about 3 milliamps.

  The UTRA RRC Connected Mode state is the CELL_DCH state 122 or the CELL_FACH state 124, which lasts about 40 seconds in the example of FIG. 5A.

  Reference is now made to FIG. 5B. FIG. 5B shows the same infrastructure “3” as FIG. 5A, the same of about 2 seconds to obtain RRC connection setup 310, signal connection setup 312, encryption / integrity setup 314, and radio bearer setup 316. Have connection time. Furthermore, the RLC data PDU exchange 420 takes about 2-4 seconds.

  Similar to FIG. 4B, the UE application detects a particular inactivity timeout at step 440. At this detection, the signaling connection release indication procedure is initiated by the UE, so that the RRC connection is released by the network at step 448.

  Further, as can be seen from FIG. 5B, the RRC starts in the idle mode 110 and moves to the CELL_DCH state 122 without going through the CELL_FACH state.

  Further, as can be seen from FIG. 5B, the current consumption during the time that the RRC phase is in the CELL_DCH state 122 (which is about 8 seconds according to the example of FIG. 5) is between about 200-300 milliamps.

  Therefore, comparing FIGS. 4A and 4B with FIGS. 5A and 5B, a significant amount of current consumption is eliminated. Thus, the battery life of the UE is significantly increased. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the above can be further used in the context of current 3GPP specifications.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 6 shows the protocol stack for a UMTS network.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the UMTS includes a CS control plane 610, a PS control plane 611, and a PS user plane 630.

  Within these three planes are a non-access stratum (NAS) portion 614 and an access layer portion 616.

  The NAS portion 614 in the CS control plane 610 includes a call control (CC) 618, a supplementary services (SS) 620, and a short message service (SMS) 622.

  The NAS portion 614 of the PS control plane 611 includes mobility management (MM) and GPRS mobility management (GMM) 626. Further, the NAS portion 614 of the PS control plane 611 includes SM / RABM 624 and GSMS 628.

  CC 618 provides call management signals for circuit switched services. The session management part of SM / RABM 624 provides PDP context activation, deactivation and modification. The SM / RABM 624 also provides quality of service negotiations.

  The main function of the RBAM part of SM / RABM 624 is to connect the PDP context to the radio access bearer. Thus, SM / RABM 624 is responsible for setting up, modifying, and releasing radio bearers.

  The CS control plane 610 and the PS control plane 611 in the access layer 616 sit on the radio resource control (RRC) 617.

  The NAS portion 614 in the PS user plane 630 includes an application layer 638, a TCP / UDP layer 636, and a PDP layer 634. The PDP layer 634 includes, for example, the Internet Protocol (IP).

  The access layer 616 in the PS user plane 630 includes a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) 632. PDCP 632 is designed to create a WCDMA protocol suitable for carrying the TCP / IP protocol between the UE and the RNC (as seen in FIG. 8), optionally with IP traffic stream protocol header compression・ For thawing.

  The UMTS Radio Link Control (RLC) 640 and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer 650 form the data link sublayer of the UMTS radio interface and reside on the RNC node and User Equipment.

  The layer 1 (L1) UMTS layer (physical layer 660) is below the RLC / MAC layers 640 and 650. This layer is a physical layer for communication.

  Although the above description can be implemented on a variety of mobile devices, an example of one mobile device is described below in connection with FIG. Reference is now made to FIG.

  UE 1100 is preferably a two-way wireless communication device having at least voice and data communication capabilities. The UE 1100 preferably has the ability to communicate with other computer systems on the Internet. Depending on the exact functionality provided, the wireless device can be, for example, a data message device, a two-way pager, a wireless email device, a mobile phone with data message capabilities, a wireless internet appliance, or a data communication device. possible.

  If the UE 1100 is capable of two-way communication, the UE 1100 includes a communication subsystem 1111 that includes a receiver 1112 and a transmitter 1114, and one or more preferably internal or internal antenna elements 1116 and 1118, a local oscillator (LO) 1113. And associated components such as processing modules such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 1120. As will be apparent to those skilled in the communication arts, the particular design of the communication subsystem will depend on the communication network in which the device is intended to operate. For example, UE 1100 may include a communication subsystem designed to operate within a GPRS network or a UMTS network.

  Network access requirements also vary depending on the type of network 1119. For example, in UMTS and GPRS networks, network access is associated with a UE 1100 subscriber or user. For example, a GPRS mobile device therefore requires a subscriber identity module (SIM) card to operate in a GPRS network. In UMTS, a USIM or SIM module is required. In CDMA, a RUIM card or module is required. These are referred to herein as UIM interfaces. Without a valid UIM interface, the mobile device will not be fully functional. Local or non-network communication functions and legally required functions (for example, emergency calls) may be utilized (if any), however, mobile device 1100 may include any other functions including communication over network 1100. Can not be executed. The UIM interface 1144 is typically similar to a card slot into which a card can be inserted and removed, such as a diskette or PCMCIA card. The UIM card may have approximately 64K of memory and may hold a number of key configurations 1151 and other information 1153 such as identification and subscriber related information.

  When the requested network registration or activation procedure is completed, UE 1100 may send and receive communication signals over network 1119. The signal received by antenna 1116 through communication network 1119 is input to receiver 1112, which receives normal receiver functions such as signal amplification, frequency down-conversion, filtering, channel selection, and the like, and In the exemplary system shown in FIG. 7, analog to digital (A / D) conversion may be performed. A / D conversion of the received signal allows for more complex communication functions such as demodulation and decoding performed by the DSP 1120, for example. Similarly, the transmitted signal is processed, including modulation and coding, eg, by DSP 1120, and transmitted over communication network 1119 via digital-to-analog conversion, frequency up-conversion, filtering, amplification and antenna 1118. For input to the transmitter 1114. The DSP 1120 not only processes the communication signals, but also provides control of the receiver and transmitter. For example, the gain applied to the communication signal at receiver 1112 and transmitter 1114 may be adaptively controlled through an automatic gain control algorithm implemented in DSP 1120.

  Network 1119 may further communicate with multiple systems, including server 1160 and other elements (not shown). For example, network 1119 may communicate with both enterprise systems and web client systems to facilitate different clients at different service levels.

  UE 1100 preferably includes a microprocessor 1138 that controls the overall operation of the device. Communication functions including at least data communication are executed through the communication subsystem 1111. Microprocessor 1138 also includes, for example, display device 1122, flash memory 1124, random access memory (RAM) 1126, auxiliary input / output (I / O) subsystem 1128, serial port 1130, keyboard 1132, speaker 1134, microphone 1136, It also interacts with additional device subsystems such as range communication subsystem 1140 and any other device subsystems generally designated as 1142.

  Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 7 perform communication-related functions, while other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-device functions. In particular, some subsystems, such as the keyboard 1132 and display device 1122, have communication-related functions such as entering text messages for transmission over a communication network and device resident functions such as a calculator or task list, for example. And can be used for both.

  The operating system software used by the microprocessor 1138 is preferably stored in a persistent storage device, such as flash memory 1124, for example, but instead of flash memory 1124, read-only memory (ROM) or similar It can be a storage element (not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that an operating system, a particular device application, or portion thereof, can be temporarily written to volatile memory, such as RAM 1126, for example. Received communication signals may also be stored in RAM 1126. Furthermore, a unique identifier is preferably stored in the read-only memory.

  As shown, the flash memory 1124 may be separated into different areas for both the computer program 1158 and program data storage 1150, 1152, 1154 and 1156. These different storage types indicate that each program can allocate a portion of flash memory 1124 because of its own data storage requirements. Microprocessor 1138 preferably enables execution of software applications on the mobile device in addition to its operating system functionality. For example, a predetermined set of applications that control basic operations, including at least data and voice communication applications, are typically installed in UE 1100 during manufacturing. Preferred software applications have the ability to organize and manage data items related to the user of the mobile device, such as, but not limited to, email, calendar events, voicemail, appointments and task items. It can be a personal information manager (PIM) application. Of course, one or more memory storage devices may be utilized on a mobile device to facilitate storage of PIM data items. Such a PIM application preferably has the ability to send and receive data items via the wireless network 1119. In a preferred embodiment, PIM data items are seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated via wireless network 1119 with corresponding data items of mobile device users stored or associated with a host computer system. The Additional applications are also loaded into the mobile device 1100 through the network 1119, auxiliary input / output (I / O) subsystem 1128, serial port 1130, near field communication subsystem 1140, or any other suitable subsystem 1142. And can be installed by the user in RAM 1126 or preferably in a non-volatile storage device (not shown) for execution by microprocessor 1138. Such flexibility in application installation increases device functionality and may provide improved on-device functions, communication-related functions, or both. For example, secure communication applications allow electronic commerce functions and other such financial transactions to be performed using UE 1100. However, according to the above, these applications often need to be agreed by the carrier.

  In the data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text message or web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 1111 and input to the microprocessor 1138, which either passes to the display device 1122 or to the auxiliary I. Preferably, the received signal is further processed for input to the / O device 1128. The user of UE 1100 may also use a keyboard 1132, preferably a full alphanumeric keyboard or a telephone-type keypad, with a display device 1122 and possibly an auxiliary I / O device 1128, for example data items such as email messages. Can be configured. Items so configured can be transmitted over the communication network through the communication subsystem 1111.

  For voice communication, the overall operation of UE 1100 is similar, except that the received signal is preferably output to speaker 1134 and the signal for transmission is generated by microphone 1136. Is excluded. Alternative voice or audio I / O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented in UE 1100. Although voice or audio signal output is preferably achieved primarily through the speaker 1134, the display device 1122 can also provide indications of caller identification, duration of the voice call or other voice call related information, for example. Can be used.

  The serial port 1130 in FIG. 7 is typically implemented in a personal digital assistant (PDA) type mobile device where synchronization with a user's desktop computer (not shown) is desired. Such a port 1130 allows a user to set preferences through an external device or software application and travels by providing information or software downloads to the UE 1100 other than via the wireless communication network. Extend the capabilities of the body device 1100. An alternative download path can be used, for example, to load the encryption key into the device through a secure connection that is reliable because it is direct, to allow secure device communication.

  Alternatively, the serial port 1130 can be used for other communications and can be included as a universal serial bus (USB) port. An interface is associated with the serial port 1130.

For example, other communication subsystems 1140, such as near field communication subsystems, are additional optional components that provide communication between different systems or devices that need not be similar devices to UE 1100. For example, subsystem 1140 may include an infrared device and associated circuitry and components, or a Bluetooth ^™ communication module to provide communication with similarly enabled systems and devices.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a communication system 800 that includes a UE 802 that communicates through a wireless communication network.

  UE 802 communicates wirelessly with one of a plurality of Node B 806s. Each Node B 806 is responsible for air interface processing and some radio resource management functions. Node B 806 provides functionality similar to Base Transceiver Station in GSM / GPRS networks.

  The radio link shown in the communication system 800 of FIG. 8 represents one or more different channels, typically different radio frequency (RF) channels, and associated protocols used between the radio network and the UE 802. Uu air interface 804 is used between UE 802 and Node B 806.

  The RF channel is generally a limited resource that needs to be saved due to overall bandwidth limitations and UE 802's limited battery power. One skilled in the art will appreciate that a wireless network in actual practice may include hundreds of cells depending on the desired overall network availability spread. All relevant components can be connected by multiple switches and routers (not shown) and can be limited by multiple network controllers.

  Each Node B 806 communicates with a radio network controller (RNC) 810. RNC 810 is responsible for radio resource limitations in the area. One RNC 810 controls a plurality of Node B 806s.

  The RNC 810 in the UMTS network provides a function equivalent to the Base Station Controller (BSC) function in the GSM / GPRS network. However, the RNC 810 includes more information including, for example, autonomous handover management without MSC and SGSN.

  The interface used between Node B 806 and RNC 810 is Iub interface 808. Protocols for signaling NBAP (Node B application part) are specified in 3GPP TS25.433 V3.11.0 (2002-09) and 3GPP TS 25.433 V5.7.0 (2004-01) Mainly used.

  The Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) 820 includes an RNC 810, a Node B 806, and a Uu air interface 804.

  Circuit switched traffic is routed to the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) 830. The MSC 830 is a computer that makes calls and retrieves and receives data from a subscriber or PSTN (not shown).

  Traffic between the RNC 810 and the MSC 830 uses the Iu-CS interface 828. The Iu-CS interface 828 is a circuit switched connection for carrying (typically) and signaling voice traffic between the UTRAN 810 and the central voice network. The main signaling protocol used is RANAP (Radio Access Network Application Part). The RANAP protocol is used for UMTS signaling between Core Network 821 and UTRAN 820, which may be MSC 830 or SSGN 850 (defined in more detail below). The RANAP protocol is defined in 3GPP TS 25.413 V3.11.1 (2002-09) and TS 25.413 V5.7.0 (2004-01).

  For all UEs 802 registered with the network operator, permanent data (eg, UE 102 user profile) and temporary data (eg, UE 802 current location) are stored in a home location registry (HLR) 838. Is done. In the case of a voice call to UE 802, HLR 838 is queried to determine the current location of UE 802. The MSC 830's Visitor Location Register (VLR) 836 is responsible for the location area group and stores data for mobile stations currently in the area of responsibility. This includes the portion of permanent mobile station data transmitted from the HLR 838 to the VLR 836 for faster access. However, the VLR 836 of the MSC 830 may also allocate and store local data such as temporary identification. UE 802 is also authenticated for system access by HLR 838.

  Packet data is routed through the Service GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 850. The SGSN 850 is the gateway between the RNC and the central network in the GPRS / UMTS network and is responsible for the delivery of mutual data packets with UEs within its geographic service area. The Iu-PS interface 848 is used between the RNC 810 and the SGSN 850 and is a packet-switched connection for carrying (typically) data traffic and signaling between the UTRAN 820 and the central data network. The main signaling protocol used is RANAP (above).

  The SSGN 850 communicates with a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 860. The GGSN 860 is an interface between a UMTS / GPRS network and other networks such as the Internet or a personal network. The GGSN 860 is connected to the public data network PDN 870 over the Gi interface.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a wireless network may be connected to other systems, not clearly shown in FIG. 8, but possibly including other networks. The network is usually even when there is no actual packet data to be exchanged. At least some kind of paging and system information is being transmitted on an ongoing basis. Although the network consists of many parts, all of these parts work together to produce specific behavior in the wireless link.

  The embodiments described herein are examples of structures, systems or methods having elements corresponding to those of the techniques of this application. Based on the description provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art can make and use embodiments having corresponding alternative elements similar to the elements of the technology of the present application. Accordingly, the intended scope of the techniques of this application includes other structures, systems or methods that do not differ from the techniques of this application as described herein, and as described herein. It further includes other structures, systems or methods that are not essentially different from the technology of

The present application is better understood with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating RRC states and transitions. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a UMTS network showing various UMTS cells and URAs. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various stages of RRC connection setup. FIG. 4A is a block diagram of an exemplary transition between a CELL_DCH connected mode state and an idle mode when activated by UTRAN according to current methods. FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary transition between transition from CELL_DCH state connection mode to idle mode utilizing signaling release instructions. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary transition initiated by UTRAN from CELL_DCH inactivity to CELL_FACH inactivity and into idle mode. FIG. 5B is a block diagram of an exemplary transition between CELL_DCH inactivity and idle mode utilizing a signaling release indication. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the UMTS protocol stack. FIG. 7 is an exemplary UE used in connection with the method. FIG. 8 is an exemplary network used in connection with the method. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating steps for adding a reason for the signaling connection release instruction at the UE. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating steps taken by the UE after receiving a signaling connection release indication with a reason.

Explanation of symbols

110 RRC idle state 120 RRC connection state 122 CELL_DCH state,
124 CELL_FACH state,
126 CELL_PCH state 128 URA_PCH state

Claims (64)

A method of processing a signal connection release instruction message in user equipment,
The method
Determining whether no further data is expected at the user equipment;
In the user equipment, if no further data is expected, setting a reason in the signal connection release instruction message;
Transmitting the signal connection release instruction message from the user equipment to a wireless network;
Including a method. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason is set to “UE requested termination of PS data session”. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to end a PS data session. The method of claim 1, wherein the signaling connection release indication message is transmitted on a DCCH using AM RLC. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request at the user equipment to release or suspend a signal connection from a higher layer for a particular core network domain. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network is a UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The method according to claim 1, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release indication message. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal connection release indication message is transmitted after a timer of a user equipment expires. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to transition to an idle state or an idle mode. User equipment configured to process a signal connection release indication message, the user equipment comprising a radio subsystem and a processor, wherein the processor includes a memory, the radio subsystem, and a user interface. Configured to interact,
The user equipment is:
Determining whether further data is expected,
In the user equipment, if no further data is expected, setting a reason in the signal connection release instruction message;
Transmitting the signal connection release instruction message from the user equipment to a wireless network;
Configured to do, user equipment. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the reason is set to "UE requested termination of PS data session". The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to end a PS data session. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the signaling connection release indication message is transmitted on the DCCH using AM RLC. 11. The user equipment according to claim 10, further configured to receive a request to release or suspend a signal connection from a higher layer for a specific core network domain at the user equipment. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the wireless network is UTRAN. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release instruction message. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the signal connection release instruction message is transmitted after the user equipment timer expires. A method for processing a signal connection release instruction message in a wireless network, comprising:
The method
Receiving, from the user equipment, the signal connection release instruction message in which a reason is set when no further data is expected in the user equipment;
Initiating a state transition for signal connection based on said reason;
Including a method. The method according to claim 18, wherein the reason is set to "UE requested termination of PS data session". 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to end a PS data session. The method of claim 18, wherein the signaling connection release indication message is transmitted on a DCCH using AM RLC. The method of claim 18, wherein the wireless network is UTRAN. The method according to claim 18, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release indication message. The method of claim 18, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to transition to an idle state or an idle mode. A wireless network device for processing a signal connection release instruction message,
The network device is:
Receiving, from the user equipment, a signal connection release instruction message in which a reason is set when no further data is expected at the user equipment;
Initiating a state transition for signal connection based on said reason;
A wireless network device configured to perform: The radio network device according to claim 25, wherein the reason is set to "UE requested termination of PS data session". 26. The wireless network device of claim 25, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to end a PS data session. The radio network apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the signal connection release indication message is transmitted on a DCCH using AM RLC. 26. The wireless network device according to claim 25, wherein the wireless network is UTRAN. The radio network apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release instruction message. 26. The wireless network device of claim 25, wherein the reason indicates a request by the user equipment to transition to an idle state or an idle mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. Determining whether further data is expected is
The method of claim 1, comprising determining whether no further data is expected at an upper layer of the user equipment. Determining whether further data is expected is
The method of claim 1, comprising determining at the user equipment that an application is not expected to send or receive data. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a state transition message from the wireless network. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine at a higher level whether further data is expected. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine that an application is not expected to send and receive data. The user equipment according to claim 10, further configured to receive a state transition message from the wireless network. The user equipment according to claim 10, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. 26. The wireless network facility of claim 25, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user facility. A method of processing a signal connection release instruction message in user equipment,
The method
Determining whether no further data is expected at the user equipment;
In the user equipment, setting the reason in the signaling connection release instruction message to “UE requested termination of PS data session”;
Sending the signal connection release indication message from the user equipment to the wireless network on the DCCH using AM RLC;
Receiving a state transition message from the wireless network;
Including a method. A method of processing a signal connection release instruction message in user equipment,
The method
Determining whether no further data is expected at the user equipment;
In the user equipment, setting a reason in the signal connection release instruction message;
Transmitting the signal connection release instruction message from the user equipment to a wireless network;
Including a method. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. Determining whether further data is expected is
45. The method of claim 44, comprising determining at a higher layer of the user equipment whether further data is expected. Determining whether further data is expected is
45. The method of claim 44, comprising determining at the user equipment that an application is not expected to send or receive data. The method according to claim 45, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release indication message. 48. The method of claim 47, wherein the reason is set to "UE requested termination of PS data session". 49. The method of claim 48, wherein the signaling connection release indication message is transmitted on a DCCH using AM RLC. 50. The method of claim 49, further comprising receiving a state transition message from the wireless network. User equipment configured to process a signal connection release indication message, the user equipment comprising a radio subsystem and a processor, the processor interfacing with the memory, the radio subsystem and the user interface. Configured to work,
The user equipment is:
Determining whether further data is expected,
Setting the reason in the signaling connection release instruction message to “UE requested termination of PS data session”;
Sending the signal connection release indication message to the wireless network on the DCCH using AM RLC;
Receiving a state transition message from the wireless network;
Configured to do the user equipment. User equipment configured to process a signal connection release indication message, the user equipment comprising: a wireless subsystem; and a processor configured to interact with the memory, the wireless subsystem, and the user interface. Have
The user equipment is:
Determining whether further data is expected,
Setting a reason in the signal connection release instruction message;
Transmitting the signal connection release instruction message to the wireless network;
Configured to do the user equipment. 53. The user equipment of claim 52, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. 54. The user equipment of claim 53, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether further data is expected at a higher layer of the user equipment. 54. The user equipment of claim 53, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine at the user equipment that an application is not expected to send data or receive data. The user equipment according to claim 55, wherein the reason is an information element of the signal connection release instruction message. 57. The user equipment according to claim 56, wherein the user equipment is configured to send the signal connection release indication message on a DCCH using AM RLC. A method of processing a signal connection release instruction message in a wireless network,
The method
When no further data is expected at the user equipment, the signaling connection release indication message with the reason set to “UE requested termination of PS data session” is sent on the DCCH using AM RLC. Receiving from user equipment,
Initiating a state transition for signal connection based on said reason;
Including a method. A method for processing a signal connection release instruction message in a wireless network, comprising:
The method
Receiving, from the user equipment, the signal connection release instruction message set with a reason when no further data is expected at the user equipment;
Initiating a state transition for signal connection based on said reason;
Including a method. 60. The method of claim 59, wherein the reason indicates that no further data is expected at the user equipment. 61. The method of claim 60, wherein the signaling connection release indication message is transmitted on a DCCH using AM RLC. 62. The method of claim 61, wherein the reason is an information element of the signaling connection release indication message. 64. The method of claim 62, wherein the reason is set to "UE requested termination of PS data session". 64. The method of claim 63, wherein initiating a state transition includes sending a state transition message to the user equipment.

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