JP5882821B2 - Discovery information distribution device, mobility management device, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for distributing information relating to an access network that can be used by a user apparatus in a mobile communication network, more specifically, discovery information including information relating to a base station or an access point to the user apparatus.

  Currently, mobile communication networks according to the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard are provided by telecommunications carriers. In these mobile communication networks, in addition to the conventional voice telephone service, a data communication service based on the IP protocol is provided, so that user devices can communicate with devices on the Internet. However, in recent years, the amount of data traffic has increased rapidly in mobile communication networks, and communication carriers are required to cope with this traffic.

  Here, a user device such as a smartphone, in addition to a wireless interface conforming to the 3GPP standard for communicating with a base station of a mobile communication network, for example, other wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability Access), such as WiMAX (World Wide Interoperability Access). In many cases, there are wireless interfaces conforming to the standards, and by using these interfaces, for example, access to the core network of the mobile communication network without going through the access network of the mobile communication network, or the mobile communication network It becomes possible to access the Internet etc. without going through.

  In order to utilize this so-called non-3GPP access, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose an access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF). Specifically, the user apparatus acquires the position information, and the apparatus having the ANDSF function receives the position information acquired by the user apparatus, and based on the received position information, the discovery information, the mobility policy, the routing policy, The policy is notified to the user device. Here, the discovery information includes information on an access point / base station of an access system that can communicate at the current location of the user apparatus, and the access system includes a wireless LAN and a non-3GPP access system such as WiMax. And an access system according to 3GPP standards such as EUTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Access Network). In addition, the mobility policy includes information serving as a reference for the user apparatus to select an access point / base station and information serving as a reference for selecting a handover destination access system. The routing policy includes: For example, when a user apparatus can use a plurality of access systems at the same time, it includes information serving as a reference for selecting an access point to be used for data transmission for each flow.

3GPP TS 23.402 V10.7.0, “Architecture enhancements for non-3GPP accesses”, March 2012 3GPP TS 24.312 V10.5.0, “Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) Management Object (MO)”, March 2012

  The user apparatus determines an access point / base station that can communicate based on the discovery information acquired from the apparatus having the ANDSF function. For example, if a wireless LAN is available, the wireless LAN is used for communication with a large amount of data. You can choose to use it.

  In Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, the user device acquires location information, transmits the location information to a device having an ANDSF function, and receives discovery information. Here, in order to acquire the position information, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) can be used. However, if the GPS function is frequently used, the battery consumption of the user apparatus is accelerated. Also, it is useless to transmit location information and receive discovery information even in areas where access points / base stations such as wireless LAN and WiMax are not set. Therefore, there is a demand for a mechanism for efficiently transmitting discovery information to user devices.

  The present invention provides a distribution apparatus, a mobility management apparatus, and a program that enable distribution of appropriate discovery information to a user apparatus without causing the user apparatus to acquire and transmit position information.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile communication network distribution apparatus includes an access point that communicates with a user apparatus via a wireless interface different from a base station of the mobile communication network, and the access point is installed. When a holding means for holding information indicating a correspondence relationship with a cell of the mobile communication network and information specifying the cell of the mobile communication network are input, a request message including information indicating the specified cell is transferred to the mobility Included in the list when a list of user devices that are in the specified cell and have established a control link with the mobility management device is transmitted to the management device as a response to the request message Each user equipment indicates an access point in the cell in which the user equipment is located Characterized in that it comprises transmitting means for transmitting discovery information including the broadcast, the.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile communication network distribution apparatus includes an access point that communicates with a user apparatus via a wireless interface different from a base station of the mobile communication network, and the access point is installed. When a holding unit that holds information indicating a correspondence relationship with a cell of the mobile communication network and information specifying a mobility management device are input, a request message is transmitted to the mobility management device, and a response to the request message When a list of user devices that have established a control link with the mobility management device is received, an access point in a cell in which the user device is located is assigned to each user device included in the list. Transmission means for transmitting discovery information including the information to be displayed.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, when a mobility management device of a mobile communication network, a management unit that establishes a control link with the mobility management device and manages a user device, and a request message is received from a distribution device, A list including user devices located in the cell specified by the request message and establishing a control link with the mobility management device, or located in a cell managed by the mobility management device and the mobility management device And a transmission means for transmitting a list including the user apparatus that has established a control link to the distribution apparatus.

  Appropriate discovery information can be distributed to the user device without causing the user device to acquire and transmit position information.

The state transition diagram of a user apparatus. The system block diagram by one Embodiment. The block diagram of the delivery apparatus and mobility management apparatus by one Embodiment. The figure which shows the cell by one Embodiment, a mobility management apparatus, and a user apparatus. The sequence diagram for discovery information delivery by one Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, components that are not necessary for the description of the embodiments are omitted from the drawings. In the following description, a device that communicates with a user apparatus (UE) with a radio signal according to the 3GPP standard is called a base station, and a device that communicates with a user apparatus with a radio signal according to the wireless LAN or WiMax is called an access point. This is just a difference in name, and is the same in terms of a device that communicates with a user device by a radio signal and relays information transmitted and received by the user device. Further, the following description will be made using so-called LTE (Long Term Evolution) of the 3GPP standard, but the present invention is not intended to be limited to LTE.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a management state of user devices in a mobile communication network according to the 3GPP standard of the present invention. The state shown in FIG. 1 is managed by a mobility management apparatus (MME) that is arranged in the core network of the mobile communication network and has a mobility management function.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobility management function manages two states, that is, an EMM (EPS Mobility Management) state and an ECM (EPS Connection Management) state. The EMM state takes two states, an “EMM registration” state and an “EMM non-registration” state. In the “EMM registration” state, a user device attaches to a mobile communication network, and an IP address is assigned to the user device. It is in a state. On the other hand, the “EMM unregistered” state is a state in which the user device is not attached to the mobile communication network.

  Also, the ECM state takes two states, an “ECM idle” state and an “ECM connection” state. The “ECM connection” state is a NAS (Non Access Stratum) signaling connection between the mobility management apparatus and the user apparatus, that is, a control link for transmitting and receiving control information is established. Control information can be transmitted to and received from the "ECM idle" state, and the NAS signaling connection is not established. Note that the NAS signaling connection, that is, the control link between the mobility management apparatus and the user apparatus is an RRC (Radio Resource Control) link that is a link between the user apparatus and the base station, and S1 between the base station and the mobility management apparatus. Divided into signaling links. As shown in FIG. 1, in the “EMM non-registered” state, the “ECM idle” state is always set. On the other hand, in the “EMM registration” state, the state is either “ECM connection” or “ECM idle” depending on whether the user apparatus is communicating.

  Specifically, the “EMM registration” state and the “ECM idle” state correspond to a state in which the user apparatus is attached to the mobile communication network but is not performing communication. It does not hold information about which cell the user apparatus is currently in. On the other hand, the “EMM registration” state and the “ECM connection” state are states in which the user apparatus and the mobility management apparatus establish a control link via the base station. The base station stores information on which base station the user apparatus currently establishes for control, that is, in which cell the user apparatus is located.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the “EMM registration” state, the transition from the “ECM connection” state to the “ECM idle” state indicates that the mobility management device has deactivated the user device, that is, has stopped communication. Occurs when the tracking area update process is completed. On the other hand, the transition from the “ECM idle” state to the “ECM connection” state in the “EMM registration” state occurs when the user apparatus starts communication or starts tracking area update processing. Further, when the user device performs an attach process from the “EMM non-registered” state, the state of the user device transitions to the “EMM registered” state and the “ECM connected” state. Note that the transition from the “EMM registration” state to the “EMM non-registration” state is not necessary for understanding the present invention and will not be described.

  FIG. 2 shows a communication system in the present embodiment. For example, the core network 1 of a mobile communication network according to a standard such as 3GPP includes a distribution device 7, the above-described mobility management device (MME) 8, and a user management device 9, and includes a base station 21 of the mobile communication network, 22 and 23 are connected. The base station 21 covers a range (cell) surrounded by a dotted line 6. Each base station is assigned a cell identifier such as ECGI (E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier). In FIG. 2, the user apparatus 5 is located in the cell 6 and can access the core network 1 via the base station 21. In the cell 6, wireless LAN or WiMax access points 41 and 42 are installed, and the user apparatus 5 has a wireless interface for communicating with these access points 41 and 42. The range surrounded by the dotted line 61 is the coverage of the access point 41, that is, the range in which communication with the access point 41 is possible.

  The core network 1 of the mobile communication network is connected to the IP network 3, and the IP network 3 is connected to the access points 41 and 42. The IP network 3 is, for example, the Internet, and the user device 5 can access the IP network 3 that is the Internet via the base station 21 and the core network 1 when communicating with the base station 21. When communicating with the access point 41 or 42, the IP network 3 that is the Internet can be accessed via the access point 41 or 42. The IP network 3 is, for example, a network of a telecommunications carrier that operates the core network 3. When the user apparatus 5 communicates with the base station 21, the user apparatus 5 communicates with the core network via the base station 21. If the network 1 is accessible and communicating with the access point 41 or 42, the core network 1 can be accessed via the access point 41/42 and the IP network 3.

  The distribution device 7 has an ANDSF function, and transmits discovery information and the like to the user device as necessary. The mobility management device 8 manages the state of the user device 5 as described in FIG. In addition, the user management device 9 holds usage amount information that is information expressed in a plurality of stages by performing threshold determination on the amount of data transmitted and / or received by the user device in the past predetermined period. In the following description, it is assumed that the amount of data transmitted and / or received using two threshold values is represented by three stages of high, medium, and low, but the number of stages is an example. As will be described later, the user management device 9 notifies the mobility management device 8 of usage information in response to a request from the mobility management device 8. The user management device 9 is a device that acquires information related to the amount of data transmitted and received by the user device 5, such as a home subscriber server (HSS), a device having a policy and charging rule function (PCRF), or a charging processing system. Can be implemented. Further, the user management device 9 may be a device that includes HSS and PCRF, or a device that acquires the amount of transmission / reception data of the user device 5 from the accounting processing system and stores it as usage information. Hereinafter, the configuration of the distribution device 7 and the mobility management device 8 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A is a schematic configuration diagram of the distribution apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment. The access point information holding unit 71 holds, for each access point, information indicating the correspondence between the access point identifier, the access point installation position, and the cell in which the access point is installed. . For example, the cell corresponding to the access points 41 and 42 in FIG. A cell can be specified by a cell identifier such as ECGI. The access point identifier is information broadcast by the access point to identify the access point. For example, the wireless LAN SSID (service set identifier) or WiMax BS-ID ( Base station identifier). The installation position is information including latitude and longitude, for example.

  Further, the access point information holding unit 71, for each access point, within the coverage of the access point, the strength range (power range) of the radio signal from the base station corresponding to the cell in which the access point is installed ) Indicating intensity range information. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the wireless signal strength range information of the access point 41 is information indicating the strength range of the wireless signal received by the user apparatus 5 from the base station 21 in the region indicated by the dotted line 61. The discovery information distributed to the user apparatus 5 by the distribution apparatus 7 is transmitted to the cell in which the user apparatus 5 is located, that is, to the base station through which the control link established by the user apparatus 5 and the mobility management apparatus 8 passes. It includes information indicating the access point identifier, installation location, and radio signal strength range for each access point in the corresponding cell.

  When the user apparatus 5 receives the discovery information from the distribution apparatus 7, for example, the radio signal strength from the base station 21 is within the range of the radio signal strength range that is one of the access point information included in the discovery information. If so, an interface for communicating with the access point is activated (activated), and it can be determined whether or not communication with the access point is possible. Of course, when the user apparatus 5 determines that communication with the access point is possible from the position information acquired by temporarily starting the GPS function and the position information of the access point included in the discovery information, the access point An interface for communicating with the access point can be activated to start scanning the access point. Furthermore, it is possible to determine whether or not communication with the access point is possible based on both the acquired position information and the radio signal strength from the base station device 21.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the policy holding unit 72 holds a mobility policy and a routing policy. Here, the mobility policy includes information serving as a reference for the user apparatus 5 to select an access point / base station and information serving as a reference for selecting a handover destination access system. In addition, the routing policy includes, for example, information serving as a reference for selecting an access point to be used for data transmission for each flow when the user apparatus 5 can simultaneously use a plurality of access systems. . Note that these mobility policy and routing policy may be commonly applied to all user apparatuses 5 or may be different for each user apparatus 5. Moreover, the mobility policy and routing policy applied according to a network state can also be changed.

  The processing unit 73 obtains information for identifying a cell whose traffic volume exceeds a predetermined amount and information for identifying the mobility management device 8 having jurisdiction over the cell whose traffic volume exceeds a predetermined amount. Is input to the distribution device 7, a user device list request message including information indicating the input cell is transmitted to the input mobility management device 8. Note that the operator inputs only a cell with a large traffic volume, and the mobility management device 8 having jurisdiction over the cell is determined by the processing unit 73 based on information indicating a correspondence relationship between the mobility management device 8 and the cell set in advance. It may be a configuration. The processing unit 73 receives the user device list from the mobility management device 8 as a response to the user device list request message. The user device list includes information indicating the user device 5 whose state is the “ECM connection” state and usage information thereof for each cell specified in the user device list request message. The processing unit 73 transmits the cell discovery information, the mobility policy, and the routing policy to the user device 5 whose usage information is high among the user devices 5 included in the user device list.

  FIG. 3B is a schematic configuration diagram of the mobility management device 8 according to the present embodiment. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the mobility management unit 81 determines whether the user device in the “EMM registration” state in the cell to be managed by the mobility management device 8 is in the “ECM connection” state or the “ECM idle” state. "Managing the state. In addition, when the processing unit 82 receives the user device list request message from the distribution device 7, the processing unit 82 manages the usage amount information of the user device 5 that is in the cell specified by the message and whose state is “ECM connection”. Obtained from the device 9. That is, the usage information of the user device 5 that is in the cell included in the user device list request message and has established a control link with the mobility management unit is acquired from the user management device 9. Thereafter, the processing unit 82 distributes information indicating the user device 5 belonging to the cell specified by the user device list request message and in the “ECM connection” state, and a user device list including usage information of these user devices 5 Transmit to device 7.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the user management device 9 determines a threshold value for the amount of data transmitted and / or received by the user device 5 during a predetermined period in the past, and retains usage information in multiple stages. It was a thing. However, the user management device 9 may hold the data amount, and the processing unit 82 of the mobility management device 8 or the processing unit 73 of the distribution device 7 may determine the data amount as a threshold.

  Hereinafter, the distribution of discovery information in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram used for the following description. In FIG. 4, there are a total of 13 cells # 1 to # 13, the mobility management device 810 manages cells # 1 to # 3, # 5 and # 8, and the mobility management device 820 # 4, # 6, # 7 and # 9 are managed, and the mobility management apparatus 830 manages cells # 10 to # 13. Further, the user device 51 is in the cell # 2, the user device 52 is in the cell # 8, and the user device 53 is in the cell # 9. Note that the usage information of the user devices 51, 52, and 53 is “high”, “low”, and “high”, respectively.

  FIG. 5 shows a sequence for discovery information distribution when cell # 1 to cell # 8 are input to the distribution apparatus 7 as cells with high traffic in the state shown in FIG. First, in S <b> 1, the distribution device 7 receives information indicating high-load cells and information specifying a mobility management device that manages these high-load cells. In S2, the distribution device 7 manages the input cells # 1 to # 3, # 5, and # 8, and the mobility management device 810 that manages the input cells # 4, # 6, and # 7. A user equipment list request message is transmitted to 820. Each user equipment list request message includes information indicating a cell identifier of a cell having a high load. Note that since a cell managed by the mobility management apparatus 830 is not input, the user apparatus list request message is not transmitted to the mobility management apparatus 830.

  In S3, the mobility management device 810 indicates the user device 5 in the “ECM connection” state among the user devices 5 in the cells # 1 to # 3, # 5, and # 8 notified by the user device list request message. The user device list including the information and the usage amount information of the user device 5 is transmitted to the distribution device 7. Similarly, the mobility management device 820 includes information indicating the user device 5 in the “ECM connection” state among the user devices in # 4, # 6, and # 7 notified by the user device list request message, and these users. The user device list including the usage amount information of the device 5 is transmitted to the distribution device 7. The usage information is acquired from the user management apparatus 9 by the mobility management apparatuses 810 and 820.

  In S4, the distribution apparatus 7 determines a user apparatus that transmits discovery information, a mobility policy, and a routing policy based on information included in the user apparatus list. In the example of FIG. 4, since the user device 53 is located in the cell # 9, the user device 53 is not included in the user device list received by the distribution device 7. On the other hand, since the user device 51 is located in the cell # 2 and the user device 52 is located in the cell # 8, the user devices 51 and 52 are included in the user device list received by the distribution device 7. However, since the usage amount information of the user device 52 is “low”, the distribution device 7 determines that it is not necessary to transmit the discovery information, the mobility policy, and the routing policy to the user device 52. On the other hand, since the usage amount information of the user device 51 is “high”, the distribution device 7 determines to transmit discovery information, a mobility policy, and a routing policy to the user device 51.

  Therefore, in S5, the distribution apparatus 7 transmits the discovery information, mobility policy, and routing policy for the cell # 2 to the user apparatus 51. The user apparatus 51 confirms reception in the distribution apparatus 7 in S6. Send. Thereafter, when the distribution device 7 determines the wireless signal strength from the base station based on the discovery information and determines that communication with the access point is possible, for example, the distribution device 7 activates the wireless LAN or WiMax interface to Perform point scanning. Once the access point is discovered by scanning, subsequent traffic can be routed through the access point. In addition, when the user device 51 starts communication via the access point, for example, the user device 51 performs a detach process on the mobile communication network, and releases resources reserved for the user device 51 by the mobile communication network. Can do. In the above embodiment, the discovery information, the mobility policy, and the routing policy are transmitted. However, when the mobility policy and the routing policy are set in the user apparatus 5 in advance, the discovery information is You may just send.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cell whose traffic volume exceeds the predetermined volume is notified in S1. However, it may be configured to notify the mobility management device 8 having jurisdiction over these cells. In this case, the distribution apparatus 7 transmits a user apparatus list request message to the notified mobility management apparatus 8, and the mobility management apparatus 8 that has received the user apparatus list request message receives all the cells managed by the own apparatus. A user device list including a list of the user devices 5 in the “ECM connection” state is transmitted to the distribution device 7. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 4, when information indicating the mobility management devices 810 and 820 is input in S <b> 1 of FIG. 5, the user device 53 is also included in the user device list received by the distribution device 7. Since the usage amount information of the user device 53 is “high”, the distribution device 7 transmits the discovery information and the like to the user device 53 as well.

  In the above-described embodiment, the operator of the communication carrier inputs the high load cell or the mobility management device 8 having jurisdiction over the cell to the distribution device 7 in S1, for example, a monitoring device that monitors the traffic amount May be notified to the distribution device 7. For example, even if the distribution device 7 transmits the discovery information in S5, if the load is still high and a cell that has already been input is input again, the user device whose usage information is “medium” in S4. Also send discovery information. At this time, the distribution device 7 may be configured to transmit the discovery information to the user device included in the previously received user device list without newly transmitting a user device list request message to the mobility management device 8. it can. In addition, the user device list request message is transmitted again to the mobility management device 8, the latest user device list is received, and the discovery information is transmitted to the user device whose usage information is “medium”. Can do. As a result, it is possible to effectively offload the user equipment 5 in the cell having a high load so as not to use the access network of the mobile communication network.

  In the above-described embodiment, the distribution device 7 selects a user device that transmits discovery information based on the usage amount information. However, the mobility management device 8 may select a user device that transmits discovery information based on the usage information, and include only the selected user device in the user device list and notify the distribution device 7 of the selected user device. In this case, the distribution device 7 transmits the discovery information to all the user devices 5 included in the user device list.

  The distribution device 7, the mobility management device 8, and the user management device 9 of the core network 1 are different devices, but they may be a single device. Also, any two devices of the distribution device 7, the mobility management device 8, and the user management device 9 can be made one device.

  Furthermore, the distribution device 7, the mobility management device 8, and the user management device 9 can be realized by a program that causes a computer to operate as the device. These computer programs can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or distributed via a network.

Claims (12)

A mobile communication network distribution device comprising:
Holding means for holding information indicating a correspondence relationship between an access point that communicates with a user apparatus via a wireless interface different from a base station of the mobile communication network and a cell of the mobile communication network in which the access point is installed When,
When information specifying a cell of the mobile communication network is input, a request message including information indicating the specified cell is transmitted to a mobility management device, and the response to the request message is present in the specified cell. When a list of user devices that have established a control link with the mobility management device is received, each of the user devices included in the list has access and access in the cell in which the user device is located. Transmitting means for transmitting discovery information including information indicating points;
A distribution apparatus comprising: The list includes information corresponding to the amount of data transmitted, received, or transmitted / received to / from the mobile communication network by the user device included in the list in the past predetermined period,
The transmission means transmits the discovery information to a user device having the data amount greater than a first threshold;
The distribution apparatus according to claim 1. When the information specifying the specified cell is input again, the transmission means transmits the discovery information to a user apparatus whose data amount is greater than a second threshold,
The second threshold is less than the first threshold;
The distribution apparatus according to claim 2. The input cell is a cell whose traffic volume exceeds a predetermined amount.
The distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the distribution device is a distribution device. A mobile communication network distribution device comprising:
Holding means for holding information indicating a correspondence relationship between an access point that communicates with a user apparatus via a wireless interface different from a base station of the mobile communication network and a cell of the mobile communication network in which the access point is installed When,
When information specifying a mobility management device is input, a request message is transmitted to the mobility management device, and a list of user devices that have established a control link with the mobility management device is transmitted as a response to the request message. Upon receiving, transmitting means for transmitting discovery information including information indicating an access point in a cell where the user apparatus is located to each of the user apparatuses included in the list;
A distribution apparatus comprising: The list includes information corresponding to the amount of data transmitted, received, or transmitted / received to / from the mobile communication network by the user device included in the list in the past predetermined period,
The transmission means transmits the discovery information to a user device having the data amount greater than a first threshold;
The distribution apparatus according to claim 5.   The distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution apparatus includes the mobility management apparatus.   A program that causes a computer to function as the distribution device according to claim 1. A mobility management device for a mobile communication network,
Management means for establishing a control link with the mobility management device and managing user devices;
When receiving the request message from the distribution device, the list includes user devices that are located in the cell specified by the request message and have established a control link with the mobility management device, or the mobility management device has jurisdiction Transmitting means for transmitting a list including user devices located in a cell and establishing a control link with the mobility management device to the distribution device;
A mobility management device comprising: The transmission means is located in a cell specified by the request message and has established a control link with the mobility management apparatus, or is located in a cell managed by the mobility management apparatus and the mobility Information corresponding to the amount of data transmitted, received, or transmitted / received to / from the mobile communication network by a user apparatus that has established a control link with the management apparatus in the past predetermined period is stored in the mobile communication network. Obtained from a device that manages the traffic of the user device, and includes information corresponding to the obtained amount of data in the list,
The mobility management apparatus according to claim 9. The transmitting means includes only user devices whose acquired data amount is greater than a first threshold in the list.
The mobility management apparatus according to claim 10.   A program for causing a computer to function as the mobility management device according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

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