JP2015041942A - Mobile communication method and mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress increase in the amount of control signals generated when establishing/releasing wireless bearer, the increase being concerned by increase of M2M terminals.SOLUTION: A terminal type information storage section 11 or 41 for storing the terminal type information indicating whether or not it is an M2M terminal to a terminal 1 or HSS4 is provided. When connecting from a terminal to a network, a communication system applied between the terminal 1 is selected in the communication system selection function section 21 of eNodeB2, on the basis of the terminal type information included in a connection request from the terminal 1 or the terminal type information acquired from the HSS4. If the terminal 1 is an M2M terminal, sharing wireless communication function sections 12, 22 set a dedicated wireless channel for M2M between the terminal 1 and eNodeB2, thus eliminating the need for establishing/releasing wireless bearer and reducing the amount of control signals drastically.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication network provided by a mobile communication carrier or the like when establishing or releasing a logical data communication path established on a wireless channel for a mobile terminal to communicate with the communication network. The present invention relates to a technique for suppressing generation of a control signal that sometimes occurs between network devices.

  In current mobile communication, a user terminal (mobile terminal) such as a smartphone establishes a logical data communication path (hereinafter referred to as a radio bearer) with a communication network, and performs communication. (Refer nonpatent literature 1). The radio bearer is individually set for each communication quality (QoS) required by the application of the user terminal and each destination network (NW), and dedicated QoS is provided or charged by the communication carrier for each radio bearer.

  If no-communication time continues for a certain time after the end of communication, the radio bearer is released from the viewpoint of suppressing battery consumption of the terminal and effectively utilizing radio resources.

  When the radio bearer is established or released, a control signal is generated between the user terminal and the core NW. Here, the control signal is different from a general data packet exchanged between user terminals, and as described above, between various nodes (terminals) constituting the NW for the purpose of call processing such as establishment or release of a radio bearer. Is a generic term for messages exchanged in

  Currently, an increase in the amount of control signals due to the spread of smartphones, and the resulting increase in the load on the core network devices of telecommunications carriers, have become apparent, and countermeasures are being studied. This is because smartphone applications can be freely installed by the user and have a high degree of freedom of creation, and each application performs data communication independently, or always-on, that is, an IP address for always-on connection. The reason is that control signals for maintenance are regularly exchanged between network devices (see Non-Patent Document 2).

  In addition to smartphones, in recent years, M2M (Machine-to-Machine) terminals, which communicate with machines such as sensors / actuators and servers that perform data aggregation / instruction to machines without user intervention, have attracted attention. ing. Standardization organizations such as 3GPP are also studying the NW architecture for accommodating M2M terminals and are expected to spread in the future.

  From the viewpoint of the amount of control signal, the appearance of the M2M terminal may have a great impact on the core NW of the carrier. This is because the number of M2M terminals is expected to increase explosively (see Non-Patent Document 3). Although the data communication amount of the M2M terminal is considered to be very small compared to that of the smartphone, the number of control signals is not different, and therefore the increase in the number of terminals directly leads to an increase in the control signal amount.

  Currently, 3GPP is studying a method for suppressing the amount of control signal of the M2M terminal. These are mainly communication characteristics of M2M terminals, such as low communication volume, low communication frequency, or high tolerance for delay and communication quality (generally, users are involved in communication like smartphones). In some cases, high real-time property and communication quality (packet loss rate, etc.) are required, but there are cases where communication between machines is not always necessary).

  One is to extend the interval of a periodic location information update procedure (Tracking Area Update) performed for the purpose of grasping the terminal location by the NW (see Non-Patent Document 4). The M2M terminal attaches information indicating that the communication priority is lower than that of other general terminals in the NW connection procedure (Attach Procedure), and notifies itself to the NW. Notify that there is. The NW device (MME) that has grasped that it is an M2M terminal notifies the terminal of a timer value representing a position information update interval longer than normal. Thereby, the periodic position update interval can be lengthened, and the amount of control signal generation due to position update can be suppressed.

  As another method, when the amount of communication per time is small, such as only one packet, data is transferred to NAS (Non-Access Stratum) which is a protocol used for exchanging control signals between the terminal and the MME. A method of including a packet has been studied (Piggyback method: see Non-Patent Document 5). In this method, the NAS that has received the data packet containing message from the terminal transfers the data packet portion to the S-GW. In this case, the MME or S-GW needs to convert the data packet into a GTP-U packet.

  By extending the location information update interval, generation of control signals due to periodic location information updates can be suppressed. However, the establishment and release of radio bearers caused by data transmission and reception from M2M terminals and the generation of control signals thereby Cannot be addressed and is not a fundamental solution.

  The Piggyback method to NAS is limited to the case where the number of communication packets is small, such as only one packet transmitted by the M2M terminal. In addition, since the NAS message is used, if the number of control signals increases due to an increase in the number of terminals, etc., there is a risk that it may affect congestion on general terminals such as smartphones. Since the MME to be processed processes the data packet, there is a concern about an increase in the load on the MME. The problem is how to realize the suppression of the amount of control signal without affecting other general terminals.

In the present invention, in order to achieve the object,
A mobile communication method in a mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals that hold terminal type information indicating whether or not an M2M terminal, a base station device that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network device ,
Receiving a connection request including terminal type information indicating whether the base station apparatus is an M2M terminal from a mobile terminal;
The base station device selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the received connection request;
Proposed is a mobile communication method characterized in that the base station apparatus includes at least a step of setting an M2M dedicated radio channel with the mobile terminal according to the selection result.

In the present invention, in order to achieve the object,
Subscriber information database that holds subscriber information of each mobile terminal including a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, a network apparatus, and terminal type information that indicates whether the mobile terminal is an M2M terminal A mobile communication method in a mobile communication system including at least:
A base station device receiving a connection request from a mobile terminal;
The base station device inquires the subscriber information database for the terminal type information of the mobile terminal that has received the connection request via the network device;
The base station device selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the response from the subscriber information database;
Proposed is a mobile communication method characterized in that the base station apparatus includes at least a step of setting an M2M dedicated radio channel with the mobile terminal according to the selection result.

In the present invention, in order to achieve the object,
A mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network apparatus,
Each mobile terminal
A terminal type information storage unit for storing terminal type information indicating whether the terminal is an M2M terminal;
A shared wireless communication function unit for communicating with the base station apparatus through an M2M dedicated wireless channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals,
Base station equipment
A communication method selection function unit that selects a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the connection request received from the mobile terminal;
Proposed is a mobile communication system comprising at least a shared radio communication function unit for communicating with a mobile terminal through an M2M dedicated radio channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals.

In the present invention, in order to achieve the object,
A mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network apparatus,
A subscriber information database that holds subscriber information of each mobile terminal including terminal type information indicating whether the terminal is an M2M terminal;
Each mobile terminal
A shared wireless communication function unit for communicating with the base station apparatus through an M2M dedicated wireless channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals,
Base station equipment
Communication method selection for acquiring terminal type information of a mobile terminal that has received a connection request from a subscriber information database via a network device and selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information A functional part;
Proposed is a mobile communication system comprising at least a shared radio communication function unit for communicating with a mobile terminal through an M2M dedicated radio channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals.

  According to the present invention, by introducing a new radio control channel, it is possible to suppress the amount of control signal related to radio bearer establishment / release without affecting conventional smartphones and the like. This reduces the load on the core network device and contributes to the reduction of CAPEX / OPEX.

Terminal and network connection configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a mobile communication system of the present invention Functional configuration diagram of mobile communication system of the present invention Sequence diagram showing the procedure for connecting to a network from a terminal in the current system The sequence diagram which shows an example of the procedure in the case of connecting to the network from the terminal in this invention The sequence diagram which shows the other example of the procedure in the case of connecting to the network from the terminal in this invention Sequence diagram showing the procedure for releasing the radio bearer when the no-communication time in the current method continues for a certain time Sequence diagram showing the procedure for reconnecting from a terminal in the current system Sequence diagram showing the procedure for connecting from the network in the current system

  FIG. 1 shows a connection configuration of a terminal and a network showing an example of an embodiment of a mobile communication system according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a terminal (mobile terminal) and 2 is an eNodeB (base station apparatus). 3 is an MME (Mobility Management Entity: network control device), 4 is an HSS (Home Subscription Server), 5 is a PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function), 6 is an S-GW (Serving Gateway), 7 Is a P-GW (Packet Data Network Gateway).

  In the present invention, a dedicated radio channel is created for communication of an M2M terminal, and this is shared by a plurality of M2M terminals, so that communication between the terminal and the eNodeB can be performed without establishing a dedicated radio bearer for each terminal. It is possible.

  In the present invention, since a bearer is shared by a plurality of M2M terminals, it is not possible to use a mechanism such as QoS control and billing for each terminal, which is realized by the conventional method. Instead, the amount of control signal for establishing / releasing the radio bearer can be drastically reduced.

  The functional configuration of the mobile communication system of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  In the present invention, it is necessary to determine whether a terminal connected to the NW is an application target of communication using the M2M terminal dedicated radio channel in the present invention (whether it is an M2M terminal) in order to distinguish from the conventional communication method. There is. Therefore, a terminal type information storage unit 11 or 41 for storing information for determining whether or not the terminal is an M2M terminal (hereinafter referred to as terminal type information) is added to the terminal 1 or the HSS 4 having a function of holding subscriber information in the mobile network. .

  In the case of the terminal 1, the terminal type information storage unit is preferably provided in a storage area that cannot be controlled by the user, for example, a SIM card area, in order to prevent spoofing by a malicious user. In the case of HSS4, for example, it may be possible to provide an entry that stores subscriber information in an existing data storage unit by newly expanding a 1-bit area indicating True / False whether or not the terminal is an M2M terminal. .

  A communication method selection function unit 21 and a shared wireless communication function unit 22 are added to the eNodeB 2 that accommodates the terminal 1.

  The communication method selection function unit 21 selects a communication method to be applied (conventional method or proposed method) from the terminal type information sent from the terminal 1 or the HSS 4. The shared wireless communication function unit 22 provides a function for realizing wireless communication that does not use a bearer, which is different from the conventional method, here, wireless communication through an M2M dedicated wireless channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals. Also, a similar shared wireless communication function unit 12 is added to the terminal 1.

  There are two possible methods for realizing the shared wireless communication function units 12 and 22: a distributed control method widely used in the current wireless LAN and a centralized control method in which the eNodeB 2 centrally controls communication of the terminal 1. . In the former case, the terminal 1 and the eNodeB 2 are in an equal relationship and have the same functions. However, in the latter case, the eNodeB 2 has a data transmission scheduling function, and the terminal 1 has a packet transmission according to an instruction from the eNode B 2. A function to transmit and receive is required.

  In the following, differences between a typical procedure in the current method (specified in Non-Patent Document 1) will be described with respect to an example of a procedure for realizing a series of communications in the present invention. (1) When connecting from the terminal to the network (Attach Procedure), (2) When transmitting data, (3) When receiving data, (4) When releasing the radio bearer after a certain period of no communication ( S1-Release Procedure), (5) When reconnecting from a terminal (UE-initiated Service Request Procedure), and (6) When connecting from a network (NW-initiated service Request Procedure).

[(1) Connection]
The procedure for connecting to a network from a terminal in the present invention will be described. When the terminal type information is held by the terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 1 transmits a connection request message including the terminal type information stored in the terminal type information storage unit 11 to the eNodeB 2, and the eNodeB 2 Upon reception, the communication method selection function unit 21 selects a communication method to be applied to the terminal 1 based on the terminal type information included in the received connection request, and the terminal 1 is an M2M terminal according to the selection result. For example, the M2M dedicated radio channel is set between the terminal 1 and the eNodeB 2 by the shared radio communication function units 12 and 22. Thereafter, the connection request message is transferred to the MME 3 according to the current method (FIG. 3), and thereafter, between the eNodeB 2 and the external NW (if not established) by the MME 3, HSS 4, S-GW 6, PCRF 5, and P-GW 7 ) Set up a bearer for user data communication.

  When the terminal type information is held by the HSS 4, as shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 1 transmits a connection request message to the eNodeB 2, and when the eNodeB 2 receives the message, the communication method selection function unit 21 receives the connection request. The terminal type information of the terminal 1 is inquired to the HSS 4 via the MME 3, and the communication method to be applied to the terminal 1 is selected based on the terminal type information included in the response from the HSS 4, and according to the selection result, If the terminal 1 is an M2M terminal, the shared wireless communication function units 12 and 22 set an M2M dedicated wireless channel between the terminal 1 and the eNodeB 2. After that, the connection request message is transferred to the MME 3 according to the current method (FIG. 3) as described above, and thereafter (not established) between the eNodeB 2 and the external NW by the MME 3, HSS 4, S-GW 6, PCRF 5, and P-GW 7. If so, set up a bearer for user data communication.

  In the current method, a dedicated radio bearer is established between the terminal 1 and the eNodeB 2 at the time of connection, but in the present invention, the terminal type information is notified from the terminal 1 or the HSS 4 to the eNodeB 2 via the MME 3, so that the M2M terminal No radio bearer is established for 1, and subsequent data communication is performed using a dedicated radio channel for M2M terminals.

[(2) Data transmission]
Since the M2M radio channel used for communication from the terminal 1 to the NW side is shared by M2M terminals accommodated in the same eNodeB 2, a mechanism for collision avoidance is required. As a variation of the implementation method, a method of autonomously decentralizing between the M2M terminals 1 like CSMA / CA in a wireless LAN and a centralized control method in which the eNodeB 2 performs scheduling and instructs the transmission timing of the M2M terminal 1 are conceivable.

  In the latter case, the terminal 1 that has obtained the data transmission right transmits data to the eNodeB 2. This data is transmitted using a format similar to PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) used for transmitting data in the current system. After receiving the data, the eNodeB 2 transmits data packets in the same procedure as in the current method.

[(3) Data reception]
When the eNodeB 2 receives the packet from the higher-order S-GW 6, the eNodeB 2 checks the packet header and identifies the destination terminal. The eNodeB 2 uses the connection procedure (1) to grasp the type of the terminal 1 connected to itself. In the case of an M2M terminal, the eNodeB 2 transmits data from the M2M dedicated radio channel. The M2M terminal 1 monitors the dedicated radio channel, checks the packet header when the data packet arrives, and receives the packet if it is its own packet.

[(4) S1-release]
FIG. 6 shows a procedure for releasing a radio bearer when the no-communication time has continued for a certain time in the current system. However, in the present invention, no radio bearer has been established, and therefore this procedure is all omitted.

[(5) UE-initiated Service Request]
FIG. 7 shows a procedure for reconnecting from a terminal in the current method, that is, a procedure for allowing a terminal that has been released from the radio bearer and is in an idle state to establish a radio bearer again and enable communication. In the present invention, since radio bearer establishment is unnecessary, this procedure is omitted as in (4).

  When a packet to be sent is generated, send the packet via the dedicated channel as described in (2).

[(6) Network-initiated Service Request]
FIG. 8 shows a procedure for connecting from a network in the current system, that is, when a packet addressed to an idle terminal from the NW is generated, the eNodeB to which the terminal belongs is identified in the NW, and a packet for prompting the terminal to establish a bearer It shows the procedure for transmitting (4) Service request from the terminal after being transmitted. As in the previous section, in the present invention, since bearer establishment is unnecessary, this procedure is also omitted.

  1: User terminal, 2: eNodeB, 3: MME, 4: HSS, 5: PCRF, 6: S-GW, 7: P-GW, 11, 41: Terminal type information storage unit, 12, 22: Shared wireless communication Function unit 21: Communication method selection function unit.

"General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access (Release 12), 3GPP TS 23.401 (V12.0.0)", [online], March 2013, 3GPP Organizational Partners ( ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TTA, TTC), [Search August 6, 2013], Internet <URL: http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/23401.htm> "Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, IP Network Equipment Committee, Safety and Reliability Review Working Group, Smartphone Control Signal Countermeasures", [online], June 25, 2012, NTT DoCoMo, Inc. [Search August 6, 2013], Internet < URL: http://www.soumu.go.jp/main content / 000165640.pdf> "GSMA Connected Life Position Paper", February 2012, GSMA, [Search August 6, 2013], Internet <URL: http://connectedlife.gsma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ conn lif pospaper web 01 11-13.pdf> "System improvements for Machine-Type Communications (MTC) (Release 11), 3GPP TS 23.888 (V11.0.0)", September 2012, 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TTA, TTC), [Heisei Search on August 6, 2013], Internet <URL: http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/23888.htm> “Architectural Enhancements for Machine Type and other mobile data applications Communications (draft, Release12), 3GPP TR 23.887 (V0.9.0)”, April 2013, 3GPP Organizational Partners (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TTA, TTC), [Search August 6, 2013] Internet <URL: http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/specs/html-INFO/23887.htm>

Claims (4)

A mobile communication method in a mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals that hold terminal type information indicating whether or not an M2M terminal, a base station device that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network device ,
Receiving a connection request including terminal type information indicating whether the base station apparatus is an M2M terminal from a mobile terminal;
The base station device selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the received connection request;
A base station apparatus includes at least a step of setting an M2M dedicated radio channel with the mobile terminal according to the selection result. Subscriber information database that holds subscriber information of each mobile terminal including a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, a network apparatus, and terminal type information that indicates whether the mobile terminal is an M2M terminal A mobile communication method in a mobile communication system including at least:
A base station device receiving a connection request from a mobile terminal;
The base station device inquires the subscriber information database for the terminal type information of the mobile terminal that has received the connection request via the network device;
The base station device selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the response from the subscriber information database;
A base station apparatus includes at least a step of setting an M2M dedicated radio channel with the mobile terminal according to the selection result. A mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network apparatus,
Each mobile terminal
A terminal type information storage unit for storing terminal type information indicating whether the terminal is an M2M terminal;
A shared wireless communication function unit for communicating with the base station apparatus through an M2M dedicated wireless channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals,
Base station equipment
A communication method selection function unit that selects a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information included in the connection request received from the mobile terminal;
A mobile communication system comprising at least a shared radio communication function unit for communicating with a mobile terminal through an M2M dedicated radio channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals. A mobile communication system including at least a plurality of mobile terminals, a base station apparatus that accommodates each mobile terminal, and a network apparatus,
A subscriber information database that holds subscriber information of each mobile terminal including terminal type information indicating whether the terminal is an M2M terminal;
Each mobile terminal
A shared wireless communication function unit for communicating with the base station apparatus through an M2M dedicated wireless channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals,
Base station equipment
Communication method selection for acquiring terminal type information of a mobile terminal that has received a connection request from a subscriber information database via a network device and selecting a communication method to be applied to the mobile terminal based on the terminal type information A functional part;
A mobile communication system comprising at least a shared radio communication function unit for communicating with a mobile terminal through an M2M dedicated radio channel that can be shared among a plurality of terminals.

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