KR102101931B1 - Mobile terminal and mobile communication system applying power saving mode - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile communication terminal to which a power saving mode is applied, which is provided with a mobile communication service from at least one specific mobile communication network among two or more different types of mobile communication networks, is provided from the specific mobile communication network. A communication unit that receives a timer value for a power saving mode, and a state in which traffic between the mobile communication network and the terminal, which is previously set as an application target of the power saving mode, does not occur, lasts longer than a time corresponding to the timer value. A control unit for determining whether a power saving mode switching condition is satisfied, and a mode switching unit for entering the terminal into a power saving mode that blocks a wireless communication function between the mobile communication network and the terminal when the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied. It can contain.

Description

Mobile communication terminal and mobile communication system with power saving mode applied {MOBILE TERMINAL AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM APPLYING POWER SAVING MODE}

The present invention relates to a technology for reducing power consumption of a mobile communication terminal in a mobile communication terminal receiving a mobile communication service from a mobile communication system using two or more different types of mobile communication standards.

Thanks to the improvement of living standards and the development of information and communication technology, an absolute majority of people possess and use personal mobile communication terminals such as cell phones. In recent years, contents available through a mobile communication terminal are becoming high-capacity, and demand for low latency service is also increasing. Accordingly, a technique for providing a high-quality mobile communication service capable of transmitting large amounts of data at a faster rate has been actively researched.

In this regard, recently, a communication scheme in which two or more types of mobile communication networks (for example, LTE and 5G) to which different communication standards are applied coexist, such as dual connectivity, has emerged. In such a mobile communication environment, the terminal can simultaneously access each of a plurality of mobile communication networks to receive a mobile communication service. More specifically, in receiving various mobile communication services, a terminal may receive a mobile communication service using different mobile communication networks for each service in consideration of characteristics of the service.

The mobile communication method as described above has the advantage of being able to provide a high-quality mobile communication service to a terminal by using each heterogeneous mobile communication network according to the situation, but continues to support a plurality of mobile communication networks. It also has the disadvantage that the power consumption of the terminal may increase as it is used.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0088746 (published on August 3, 2015)

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the problem that may occur in the mobile communication method as described above, while reducing the power consumption of the terminal, the technology applied to maintain the quality of the mobile communication service that the terminal feels is applied It is to provide a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication system.

However, the problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to those mentioned above, and another problem not to be solved can be clearly understood by those having ordinary knowledge to which the present invention belongs from the following description. will be.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile communication terminal to which a power saving mode is applied, which is provided with a mobile communication service from at least one specific mobile communication network among two or more different types of mobile communication networks, is provided from the specific mobile communication network. A communication unit that receives a timer value for a power saving mode, and a state in which traffic between the mobile communication network and the terminal, which is previously set as an application target of the power saving mode, does not occur, lasts longer than a time corresponding to the timer value. A control unit for determining whether a power saving mode switching condition is satisfied, and a mode switching unit for entering the terminal into a power saving mode that blocks a wireless communication function between the mobile communication network and the terminal when the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied. It can contain.

Power saving mode including two or more different types of mobile communication networks according to an embodiment of the present invention and providing a mobile communication service to a mobile communication terminal using at least one specific mobile communication network among the mobile communication networks The applied mobile communication system transmits a timer value for a power saving mode to the terminal, and a state in which traffic between the specific mobile communication network and the terminal does not occur continues for more than a time corresponding to the timer value. When the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied, a network control unit that allows the terminal to enter the power saving mode that blocks the wireless communication function between the specific mobile communication network and the terminal may be included.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a power saving mode is applied to a specific mobile communication network among a plurality of mobile communication networks included in one mobile communication system according to a traffic generation mode, thereby consuming unnecessary power of the mobile communication terminal. Can be reduced. In addition, if necessary, the strategy saving mode can be released, and the application of the power saving mode is differently applied according to the terminal and the subscribers of the terminal, so that the quality of the mobile communication service provided to the terminal can also be guaranteed. have.

1 is a view for explaining a mobile communication environment in which several different mobile communication networks coexist.
2 is a diagram for illustratively explaining a mobile communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.
3A and 3B are diagrams respectively illustrating configurations of a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication network to which a power saving mode is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of applying and releasing a power saving mode in a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to completely inform the person having the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In describing embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in an embodiment of the present invention, which may be changed according to intentions or practices of subscribers, operators, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

1 is a view for explaining a mobile communication environment in which several different mobile communication networks coexist. The various mobile communication networks may be any one, but in FIG. 1, two types, each of which are already commercialized and widely used standards, long term evolution (LTE) and next generation standard 5G (5-generation), are respectively used as mobile communication standards. It is assumed that there is a mobile communication network.

In the case of the 5G commercialization early LTE network, the coverage (1) is relatively wide compared to the coverage (2a to 2d) of the 5G network, and may include all of the coverage (2a to 2d) of the 5G network. On the other hand, in the case of 5G network, coverage may be inferior to that of LTE network, but data transmission speed is relatively fast through the introduction of new technology. These assumptions are considered to show the effect when the present invention is applied, and the main subject matter of the present invention is applicable without being limited according to generation or coverage of a specific communication system.

Based on the characteristics of each mobile communication network, a service in which seamless transmission and reception is important (voice communication service, UDP-based media transmission service, etc.) or a service that generates data of small size intermittently (text message service, push alarm service, etc.) ) Has a wide coverage so that even when the mobile communication terminal moves, it can be provided to the terminal using an LTE network capable of stable data communication. In addition, a service that needs to transmit and receive a large amount of data (large file transfer service, VOD service, etc.) or a web-based service can be provided to a terminal using a 5G network capable of high-speed data transmission.

2 is a diagram for illustratively explaining a mobile communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention can be applied. The mobile communication system 10 of FIG. 2 is a system for providing a mobile communication service to the terminal 11, and may include two or more mobile communication networks having different mobile communication standards. As illustrated exemplarily in FIG. 1, in FIG. 2, the mobile communication system 10 may include an LTE network and a 5G network as the two or more mobile communication networks. In Figure 2, E-UTRAN (evolved universal terrestrial radio access network, 21) and MME (mobility management entity, 22) are sub-components of the LTE network, 5G AN (31) and AMF (access and mobility management function, 32) ) Is a sub-component of 5G network. Since the sub-elements of the LTE network and the 5G network follow what is defined in the standard, further detailed description is omitted here.

3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating configurations of a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication network to which a power saving mode is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively. However, since the detailed configuration of the terminal 100 and the mobile communication system 200 of FIGS. 3A and 3B is only an embodiment of the present invention, the technical spirit of the present invention is not limitedly interpreted by FIGS. 3A and 3B.

First, the terminal 100 of FIG. 3A may include a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, and a mode switching unit 130. The terminal 100 is a device for providing various mobile communication services to a user by accessing the mobile communication system 200, and portability and mobility such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, and a smart watch. This may be a guaranteed hand-held-based mobile communication device.

The communication unit 110 may transmit or receive data between the mobile communication system 200 through a wireless channel under the control of the control unit 120. The data transmitted through the communication unit 110 may be a control signal or a data signal. The communication unit 110 may include a data bus for receiving data, a wired / wireless communication module, or the like, and in some cases, a computing device such as a microprocessor.

The controller 120 may control the overall operation of the terminal 100. Specifically, the control unit 120 requests or notifies the mobile communication system 200 through the communication unit 110 or receives necessary information such as a timer value for a power saving mode from the mobile communication system 200. can do. In addition, the controller 120 determines whether a power saving mode switching condition or a power saving mode release condition is satisfied by using the timer value and information such as traffic generation pattern between the terminal 100 and the mobile communication system 200. can do. The control unit 120 may be implemented to include a computing device such as a microprocessor along with a mode switching unit 130 to be described later.

The mode switching unit 130 may enter the terminal 100 into the power saving mode based on the determination of the control unit 120 and may release the terminal 100 operating in the power saving mode from the power saving mode. .

The mobile communication system 200 of FIG. 3B may include a network communication unit 210, a network control unit 220, and a subscriber information database 230. The mobile communication system 200 may include two or more types of mobile communication networks using different mobile communication standards. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the mobile communication system 200 includes a first network and a second network as such a mobile communication network. The first network may be a network having the same characteristics as the 5G network described in FIG. 1, and the second network may also be a network having the same characteristics as the LTE network described in FIG. 1.

The network communication unit 210 may transmit or receive data between the terminal 100 through a wireless channel under the control of the network control unit 220. The network communication unit 210 may include components necessary for wireless communication with the terminal 100, such as a base station. Of course, as the mobile communication system 200 includes the first network and the second network, the network communication unit 210 may also include both the base station of the first network and the base station of the second network.

The network controller 220 may control the overall operation of the mobile communication system 200. Specifically, the network control unit 220 transmits or receives necessary information between the terminal 100 through the network communication unit 210, or performs approval for a request for using the power saving mode of the terminal 100. You can perform the operation. In addition, the network control unit 220 may provide a mobile communication service to the terminal 100 through the network communication unit 210 using one of the mobile communication networks included in the mobile communication system 200. . The mobile communication network to be used for providing the mobile communication service may be differently determined according to the type of the mobile communication service as exemplarily described with reference to FIG. 1. Accordingly, the control unit 120 of the terminal 100 may also be provided with a mobile communication service through the communication unit 110 using one of the mobile communication networks according to the type of the mobile communication service.

IP flow information may be used to classify the mobile communication service. IP flow information includes one or more of a source IP address, a destination IP address, a protocol ID, a source port number, and a destination port number. It may include. In addition, a unique identifier allocated for each application in a specific platform (eg, Android, IOS, Windows, etc.) may be used to classify the mobile communication service.

The mobile communication control unit 220 may include a first control unit 221 that controls the first network and a second control unit 222 that controls the second network. For example, in FIG. 2, the first control unit 221 may correspond to the AMF 32, and the second control unit 222 may correspond to the MME 22.

The subscriber information database 230 may store information about each terminal 100 subscribed to the mobile communication system 200 and subscribers of the corresponding terminal 100. The mobile communication control unit 220 determines whether or not to approve the use of the power saving mode for the terminal 100, or when determining the value of the timer for the terminal 100 when the use is approved, to the subscriber information database 230 The stored information can be used.

The subscriber information database 230 may be specifically implemented as a computer readable recording medium, and examples of such a computer readable recording medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and the like. Hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as optical media, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and flash memory. Can

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of applying and releasing a power saving mode in a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. In describing the process of FIG. 4, descriptions of parts overlapping with FIGS. 1 to 3B may be omitted.

First, the control unit 120 of the terminal 100 may request the mobile communication system 200 to approve the use of the power saving mode through the communication unit 110 (S101). The power saving mode may be a mobile initiated communication only (MICO) mode, but is not limited thereto. The request of the terminal 100 may be made in the initial registration process, but when it is considered that the use of the power saving mode is necessary even in the operation process after the initial registration, the terminal 100 triggers the registration process again You can also perform the request by (trigger).

However, even when the terminal 100 does not request the mobile communication system 200 to request permission to use the power saving mode, the mobile communication system 200 is based on the type of the terminal 100 or subscriber information, In the initial registration process of the terminal 100, at its own discretion, the terminal 100 may be set as a terminal to be used in a power saving mode. If the situation in which the power saving mode is not allowed in the mobile communication system 200 and then switched to allowable, the mobile communication system 200 may notify the terminal 100 of the change of the situation. Then, the terminal 100 may start using the power saving mode while performing the registration process.

The request may be processed by the first control unit 221 among the components of the mobile communication system 200. Specifically, the first control unit 221 may obtain information about the terminal 100 and the subscribers of the terminal 100 from the subscriber information database 230 (S102). Subsequently, the first control unit 221 determines whether to approve the power saving mode use request based on the obtained information, and if so, determines a timer value for the terminal 100 through the network communication unit 210. It can be transmitted to the terminal 100 (S103).

The first control unit 221 may determine whether to approve the request based on the type of the terminal 100 or the type of mobile communication service to which the subscriber of the terminal 100 subscribes. For example, the first control unit 221 may approve or reject the request depending on whether the terminal 100 is a general smartphone, an Internet of things (IoT) terminal, or another type of terminal. You may. In addition, the value of the timer in the case of approval may be differently determined according to the type of the terminal or the type of mobile communication service to which the subscriber of the terminal 100 subscribes.

Next, the control unit 120 of the terminal 100 may perform the necessary settings for the application of the power saving mode when the approval of the request and the timer value are received from the first control unit 221 (S104). . Next, in order to receive a mobile communication service from the mobile communication system 200, the controller 120 connects to a first network (eg, creates a PDU session when the first network is a 5G network) and a second network (eg, a second network). 2 If the network is an LTE network, it may perform a connection with (PDN connection creation) (S105 and S106). Here, since the connection with the second network may not be directly related to the power saving mode, the step S106 may be made in advance of the authorization, regardless of the authorization for the power saving mode.

In addition, the controller 120 may start counting the timer (S107). For example, if the value of the received timer is 30 seconds, the controller 120 may determine that the timer has expired 30 seconds after the count starts.

The controller 120 has a state in which no traffic is generated between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 using a target network that is preset as an application target of power saving mode among the mobile communication networks of the mobile communication system 200. , It may be determined whether a condition for the power saving mode switching, which is a condition that lasts for a time corresponding to the value of the timer, is satisfied (S108). Here, it is assumed that the first network is the target network and the timer value is 30 seconds. In this case, if the state in which uplink or downlink traffic or control signaling using the first network between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 does not occur, the controller 120 continues for 30 seconds. It may be determined that the saving mode switching condition is satisfied, and it may not be considered whether traffic using a second network other than the target network is generated.

For the implementation of the above function, the controller 120 may reset the timer whenever traffic or signaling using the first network occurs (S109), and when the timer expires, it is determined that the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied Then, the mode switching unit 130 may be controlled to switch the terminal 100 to the power saving mode.

The mode switching unit 130 is a power saving mode that does not perform a wireless communication (Access Stratum) function between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 using the target network when the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied. (100) can be entered (S110). For example, the mode switching unit 130 between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 through the first network as the target network. The wireless communication function can be blocked. In this case, the connection between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 through the second network may not be affected despite the blocking.

For the blocking, the mode switching unit 130 stops the function of a part of the components of the terminal 100 that performs data communication with the first network through a method such as blocking power supply to the part. I can do it.

As described above, while the service provided through the first network, which is the target network, the continuity of service is relatively insignificant, the battery power of the terminal 100 may be consumed a lot due to the transmission of large amounts of data. In fact, even though traffic through the first network has not occurred for a relatively long time, power consumption may be high if the connection between the first network and the terminal 100 is continuously maintained or traffic transmission is monitored.

Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, when a state in which traffic through the target network does not occur continues for a predetermined time or more, by entering the terminal 100 in the power saving mode as described above, the power of the battery of the terminal 100 To save money. In addition, the service of the terminal 100 due to the power saving mode is determined by adaptively determining whether to approve the use of the power saving mode and the timer value as a reference for the predetermined time according to the type and subscription information of the terminal 100 Quality reduction can be minimized. If the frequency of traffic occurrence is high and the responsiveness is important, the timer value is set to be long so that the terminal 100 can perform communication rather than putting the terminal 100 in a low power state for a specific network, and the traffic generation cycle is long and the responsiveness In the case of the non-critical terminal 100, the power consumption can be reduced by keeping the timer short.

When the switch to the power saving mode is completed, the control unit 120 may notify the mobile communication system 200, more specifically, the first control unit 221 of the completion of the switching (S111). Then, the first control unit 221 may block downlink traffic to the terminal 100 through the first network. For example, the first control unit 221 may not allocate radio resources to downlink data transmission to the terminal 100 through the first network. In addition, packet buffering may not be performed for the terminal 100 to which the power saving mode is applied in the core equipment of the network system 200 including the network control unit 220. Even when the downlink data is transmitted to the terminal 100, the terminal 100 that has deactivated the function of performing data communication with the first network by entering the power saving mode cannot receive the downlink data. This is because the transmission and buffering can be useless. Through the operation of the first control unit 221, efficient use of radio resources can be achieved.

In a state in which the terminal 100 operates in a power saving mode, the control unit 120 may determine that it is necessary to transmit data from the terminal 100 to the mobile communication system 200 using the first network as a target network. (S112). That is, when uplink data related to a mobile communication service using a first network is to be transmitted (for example, when a user of the terminal 100 wants to transmit a request related to the mobile communication service to the mobile communication system 200) There may be. In this case, since the power saving mode has to be released, the controller 120 may control the mode switching unit 130 to release the terminal 100 from the power saving mode (S113).

For example, the mode switching unit 130 may re-activate a function of a portion of the terminal 100 that performs data communication with the first network. Then, data transmission and reception using the first network between the terminal 100 and the mobile communication system 200 may be possible again. The controller 120 may notify the mobile communication system 200 that the power saving mode has been released, and more specifically, to the first controller 221 (S114). Accordingly, the first control unit 221 also releases a state in which downlink data transmission to the terminal 100 through the first network is blocked, so that traffic from the mobile communication system 200 using the first network to the terminal 100 Can resume.

As described so far, in an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless communication function between the mobile communication system 200 and the terminal 100 through a specific target network among a plurality of mobile communication networks included in the mobile communication system 200 is blocked. By applying the power saving mode to the terminal 100 under certain conditions, power consumption of the terminal 100 can be reduced. In addition, by appropriately releasing the power saving mode applied to the terminal 100 as necessary, it is possible to prevent excessive use of the mobile communication service through the target network. In addition, by using a timer as a condition for determining the entry into the power saving mode, the terminal 100 repeatedly prevents the quality of the mobile communication service from deteriorating by repeatedly entering and releasing the power saving mode. have.

Combinations of each block in the block diagrams and respective steps in the flow diagrams attached to the present invention may be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be mounted on an encoding processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions performed through the encoding processor of a computer or other programmable data processing equipment may include each block in the block diagram or In each step of the flowchart, means are created to perform the functions described. These computer program instructions can also be stored in computer readable or computer readable memory that can be oriented to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement a function in a particular way, so that computer readable or computer readable memory The instructions stored in it are also possible to produce an article of manufacture containing instructions means for performing the functions described in each block or flowchart step of the block diagram. Since computer program instructions may be mounted on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, a series of operational steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process that is executed by the computer to generate a computer or other programmable data. It is also possible for instructions to perform processing equipment to provide steps for executing the functions described in each block of the block diagram and in each step of the flowchart.

Further, each block or each step may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing the specified logical function (s). It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments it is also possible that the functions mentioned in blocks or steps occur out of order. For example, two blocks or steps shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially simultaneously, or it is also possible that the blocks or steps are sometimes performed in reverse order depending on the corresponding function.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential quality of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, while reducing unnecessary power consumption of the mobile communication terminal through the application of the power saving mode, the application of the strategy saving mode is released as necessary, and whether the application of the power saving mode is allowed is determined by the terminal and By applying differently according to the subscriber of the terminal, it is possible to guarantee the quality of the mobile communication service provided to the terminal.

100: terminal
110: communication department
120: control unit
130: mode switching unit
200: mobile communication system
210: network communication unit
220: network control
221: first control unit
222: second control
230: subscriber information database

Claims (10)

A mobile communication terminal receiving a mobile communication service from at least one specific mobile communication network among two or more different types of mobile communication networks,
A communication unit requesting approval for the use of a power saving mode to the specific mobile communication network, and receiving a timer value for the power saving mode from the specific mobile communication network when receiving that the request is approved;
A control unit configured to determine whether a condition in which traffic between the mobile communication network and the terminal, which is previously set as a target of the power saving mode, does not occur, is satisfied with a power saving mode switching condition that lasts for a time corresponding to a value of the timer; And
And a mode switching unit that enters the terminal into a power saving mode that blocks a wireless communication function between the mobile communication network and the terminal when the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied.
Mobile communication terminal with power saving mode applied. According to claim 1,
The mobile communication network is selected based on the type of mobile communication service, and is selected as an application target of power saving mode.
Mobile communication terminal with power saving mode applied. According to claim 1,
The control unit, when the terminal is operating in the power saving mode, when it is determined that data transmission from the terminal to the specific mobile communication network is required, the mode switching unit to release the terminal from the power saving mode Controlled
Mobile communication terminal with power saving mode applied. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the control unit switches to the power saving mode or releases the power saving mode for the terminal, the control unit notifies the specific mobile communication network of the switching or the release through the communication unit.
Mobile communication terminal with power saving mode applied. A mobile communication system including two or more different types of mobile communication networks, and providing a mobile communication service to a mobile communication terminal by using at least one specific mobile communication network among the mobile communication networks.
A network communication unit receiving a request for use of a power saving mode from the terminal; And
When approving the request, the timer transmits a timer value for the power saving mode to the terminal, and a state in which no traffic occurs between the specific mobile communication network and the terminal lasts for a time corresponding to the timer value. And a network control unit that allows the terminal to enter a power saving mode that blocks a wireless communication function between the specific mobile communication network and the terminal when the saving mode switching condition is satisfied.
Mobile communication system with power saving mode. delete The method of claim 5,
The mobile communication system further includes a subscriber information database that stores information about the terminal,
The network control unit determines whether to approve the request based on information on the terminal, and determines the timer value for the terminal when the request is approved, and transmits the value to the terminal through the network communication unit.
Mobile communication system with power saving mode. The method of claim 5,
The network control unit provides the mobile communication service to the terminal using one mobile communication network selected based on the type of the mobile communication service among the mobile communication networks.
Mobile communication system with power saving mode. The method of claim 5,
The network control unit blocks the traffic from the specific mobile communication network to the terminal when the terminal receives a message indicating that the power saving mode switching condition is satisfied.
Mobile communication system with power saving mode. The method of claim 5,
The network control unit resumes traffic from the specific mobile communication network to the terminal when a message indicating that the terminal has released the power saving mode is received from the terminal.
Mobile communication system with power saving mode.

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