RU2540892C1 - Communication method and device for common control channel - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: radio engineering, communication.

SUBSTANCE: invention is intended for controlling various types of terminals for using various uplink common control channels (CCCH) The method comprises: a first terminal receiving a message sent from a network side device, wherein the message contains information instructing the first terminal to use CCCH assignments; and wherein the first terminal is a first-type terminal and the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated for first-type terminals; and communication via the first terminal with the network side device in the assigned CCCH according to said information. The terminal comprises a receiving unit and a communication unit. The network side device comprises an assignment unit and a sending unit.

EFFECT: high efficiency of using communication resources.

17 cl, 5 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to communication technologies and, in particular, to a communication method and apparatus for a common control channel.

BACKGROUND

In the Global System for Mobile Communications (Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM), when the terminal needs to establish communication with the network, a message should be sent to the network via the random access channel (Random Access Channel, RACH) of the uplink of the common control channel (Common control channel, CCCH) in order to be applied in the system for the signaling channel, and the network side device determines the type of channel assigned in accordance with the needs of the channel request. A message sent to the RACH is called a channel request or an EGPRS packet transmission channel request (Channel request or EGPRS packet transmission channel request, CR). After receiving the CR sent by the terminal, the network side device sends an access grant message in the downlink access grant channel (Access grant channel, AGCH) of the CCCH channel. When a terminal receives an access grant message, it means that the terminal has successfully started accessing. The terminal establishes a connection with the network side device in the next stream and performs signaling or data transmission.

With the development of network technology, in addition to human-to-human transmission terminals (human-to-human transmission, H2H), there are a large number of machine-to-machine transmission terminals (machine-to-machine transmission, M2M). M2M can connect to each other and can additionally connect to a machine-type communication server (machine-type communication, MTS). A large number of M2M terminals creates a number of new problems. For example, as soon as a failure occurs in a certain zone (power failure, earthquake, etc.), M2M terminals should report this event to the MTS server; thus, the connection to the network side will be activated at the same time. In this case, the network may suddenly come into conflict with connections with a large number of M2M terminals, while these M2M terminals share CCCH with H2H terminals in the network, thereby significantly affecting the communication between H2H terminals and the network side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method and device for CCCH in order to control various types of terminals for communication with a network side device in accordance with information instructing the corresponding terminal to use the assigned CCCH in accordance with its type, which is included in the information sent by the network device side.

In one aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method for CCCH, comprising:

receiving, by the first terminal, a message sent from the network side device, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned common CCCH control channel; and wherein the first terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type; and

communication of the first terminal with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a communication method for CCCH, comprising:

assignment by the device of the network side of the allocated common control channel CCCH to the first terminal in accordance with the type of terminal; and

sending a message to the first terminal of the first type, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type so that the terminals of the first type communicate with the network side device in the assigned CCCH in accordance with this information.

In yet another aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a terminal comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a message sent from the network side device, the message containing information instructing the terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type; and

a communication module configured to communicate with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information.

In yet another aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a network side device, comprising:

a destination module, configured to assign the allocated CCCH to the first terminal in accordance with the type of terminal; and

a sending module, configured to send a message to the first terminal of the first type, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type so that the terminals of the first type communicate with the network side device in the assigned CCCH in accordance with this information.

In the communication method and device for the CCCH in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a message transferring information instructing the terminal to use the CCCH assigned and allocated to it is sent to the terminal through the network side device, and the terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in in accordance with this information, by means of this, effectively controlling that various types of terminals use dedicated CCHS for communication with the network side, and e good controlling access terminals to the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions of the prior art or embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the descriptions of the prior art or in the embodiments are briefly described below. Obviously, the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings from these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of a terminal provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of a network side device provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In order to make the task, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and fully described below with reference to the drawings of embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the technical solutions described herein are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on embodiments of the present invention, any other embodiment obtained by a person skilled in the art without any creative effort is within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this method includes:

Step 101: the first terminal receives a message sent from the network side device, the message including information instructing the terminal to use the assigned CCCH.

Moreover, the first terminal, as a rule, refers to any terminal within the coverage area of the network side device. The first terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type. It should be noted that terminals of the first type can be determined in accordance with at least one of the applications, priorities and characteristics of the terminals. That is, the terminals are divided into different types in accordance with different applications and / or characteristics and / or priorities of the terminals, for example, the first type, the second type, etc., in embodiments of the present invention. The number of types is not limited to one, two or more, and the terminals are divided according to practical operational requirements. Moreover, the use of the terminal may include, but is not limited to, an intelligent measuring instrument, intelligent transport, smart home, intelligent monitoring, intelligent community, cloud computing, mobile payment, sensor network, healthcare, etc. A terminal characteristic may include, but is not limited to, a group characteristic, delay time sensitivity, low mobility, time controllability, a data service, a small data service, a terminal-initiated service, an alarm, a monitoring service, a triggering determination locations etc. The priority of the terminal may include, but is not limited to, high priority, normal priority, low priority, a certain priority level, etc.

The network side device may send information instructing the terminal to use the assigned CCCH to the first terminal via a radio interface message, which may be system information (SI), paging message (Paging message, Paging call), or cell broadcast (Cell broadcast, CB).

Step 102: the first terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with the information.

At step 102, there are many situations in which the terminal communicates with the network side device, for example, the terminal listens on CBs in the designated CCCH without sending any data to the network side device, or there is information interaction between the terminal and the network side device.

In the communication method for CCCH provided in this embodiment of the present invention, a message transferring information instructing the terminal to use the CCCH assigned and allocated to it is sent to the terminal using the network side device, while the terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information, thereby effectively controlling that various types of terminals use the dedicated CCCH for communication with the network side, as well as managing terminal access to the network. For example, the network side device may assign C0, C2, and C4 to the H2H terminal and assign C6 to the M2M terminal, therefore, the H2H terminal and the M2M terminal can accordingly communicate with the network side in the allocated CCCH, and congestion can be avoided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, this method includes:

Step 201: The base station in the existing CCCH sends a radio interface message to the terminal within its cell coverage area, the radio interface message conveying instructional information that instructs the terminal to use the assigned CCCH.

Terminals within the coverage area of a base station may be various types of terminals. For example, the first type may be M2M, the second type may be H2H, and the third type may be transmission from device to device (transmission from device to device, D2D), etc.

The radio interface message may be system information, paging message, or CB. In this embodiment, explanations are given by the example of a radio interface message that is system information. SI3 system information is given as an example and includes control channel description information that is shown in Table 1 of the prior art:

Table 1 Bit 8 Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 IEI (Information Element Identifier) Control Channel Description Byte 1 Mscr ATT BS-AG-BLKS-RES CCCH-CONF Byte 2 0 CBQ3 0 0 BS-PA-MFRMS Byte 3 reserve reserve T3212 timeout value Byte 4

In this embodiment, instructional information is included in the control channel description information and is mainly represented by a spare bit 4 and bit 5 in byte 3 of the control channel description information, as shown in Table 2:

table 2 Bit 8 Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 IEI control channel descriptions Byte 1 Mscr ATT BS-AG-BLKS-RES CCCH-CONF Byte 2 0 reserve CBQ3 Instructional information BS-PA-MFRMS Byte 3 T3212 timeout value Byte 4

In this case, the instructing information takes two bits, and the value of the information presented is shown, but without limitation, in Table 3:

Table 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Format description 0 0 The M2M terminal occupies all SSSN in accordance with CCCH_CONF 0 one The M2M terminal occupies one CCCH (C2, C4 or C6 adjacent to the CCCH in H2H) one 0 The M2M terminal occupies two CCCH (C2 and C4 or C4 and C6 adjacent to the CCCH in H2H) one one The M2M terminal occupies three SSSN (C2, C4 and C6)

It should be noted that this embodiment only describes instructive information on the example of SI3 control channel description information. In fact, instructive information can be carried in any message sent to the terminal, and is not limited to setting two bits. The instructing information may be represented by a large number of bits, while the instructing information represented by a large number of bits may be known to the network side device and the terminal.

Step 202: the terminal reads the system information of the cell and decides whether the system information transfers the information of the allocated CCCH assigned to this type of terminal (i.e., information that instructs the terminal to use the assigned CCCH).

If the system information carries the information of the dedicated CCCH assigned to this type of terminal, step 203 is performed.

Step 203: the terminal determines its CCCH group in accordance with the information of the allocated CCCH appropriately assigned to this type of terminal, and communicates with the device of the network side in the group to which the dedicated CCCH belongs.

Moreover, before establishing a connection with the network side, the terminal is in an idle state, and the group to which the terminal belongs can be calculated, but not limited to, using the following equation (1):

(1)CCCH_GROUP (0 .. BS_CC_CHANS-1) = ((IMSI mod 1000) mod (BS_CC_CHANS × N)) div N $$\begin{array}{ccc}& & \end{array}$$

(one)

Where

N = number of available CCCH paging blocks corresponding to a given type of terminal

= number of paging blocks available in 51 TDMA × BS_PA_MFRMS multiframe;

IMSI = international mobile subscriber identifier (international mobile subscriber identifier);

mod = arithmetic operation modulo;

div = integer division.

It should be noted that IMSI is only one of the identifiers of the terminal and is given as an example in this document. Terminal identifiers may also be at least one of a group identifier (ID), an IPv6 address, and an IPv4 address.

In this case, BS_CC_CHANS in equation (1) must be determined in accordance with the instructing information. For example, instructional information, as shown in Table 3, is used as an example, with BS_CC_CHANS shown in Table 4:

Table 4 Bit 2 Bit 1 BS_CC_CHANS 0 0 In accordance with the existing method, the M2M terminal determines BS_CC_CHANS in accordance with CCCH_CONF 0 one 1 (see specific CCCH in Table 3) one 0 2 (see specific CCCH in Table 3) one one 3 (see specific CCCH in Table 3)

Moreover, communication may include, but is not limited to, network access, cell reselection, etc.

It should be noted that for the same network-side device, system information can be divided into many sets in accordance with the types of terminals. For example, system information for an H2H terminal is sent in a broadcast control channel (BCCH) of a dedicated CCCH assigned to an H2H terminal without considering an M2M terminal. System information for the M2M terminal is sent to the BCCH of the allocated CCCH assigned to the M2M terminal without considering the H2H terminal. Thus, the network-side device can send two sets of system information independently from each other in the same cell without interference. For example, the RACH control parameter in the system information is only sent for the H2H terminal to BCH for H2H and only sent for the M2M terminal to BCH for M2M. The resulting advantage is that the change in the existing system information for the Н2Н terminal is very insignificant, and it requires M2M to be directed to a given dedicated CCCH. According to another example, two sets of system information can determine different CCCH configuration parameters, for example, different BS-AG-BLKS-RES or BS-PA-MFRMS, so different types of terminals correspond to different structures of the CCCH, making it easy to adapt to the requirements of different types of terminals.

Regarding step 203, it should also be noted that if the terminal reads the information of the allocated CCCH corresponding to its type in the time slot C0 and determines the group to which the terminal belongs, in accordance with the above method, the terminal refers to the dedicated CCCH corresponding to it type, reads system information in a dedicated SSSN and communicates with the network in accordance with system information in a dedicated SSSN. For example, after receiving system information (including SI for terminals of the first type and a sending message instructing the terminals of the second type to use the second type СССН) at С0, the second type terminal is connected to the allocated СССН, re-reads SI in the allocated СССН and communicates with the network in in accordance with the re-read SI in the allocated CCCH. Further, when the configurations of the various types of CCCH are changed, the network-side device also notifies the terminal of the second type, which re-selects the dedicated CCCH for it in accordance with the last notification.

In the communication method for CCCH provided in this embodiment of the present invention, a message transferring information instructing the terminal to use the CCCH assigned and allocated to it is sent to the terminal using the network side device, while the terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information, thereby effectively controlling that various types of terminals use the dedicated CCCH for communication with the network side, as well as managing terminal access to the network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication method for CCCH provided in yet another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, this method includes:

Step 301: the base station sends to the CCCH a radio interface message to the terminal within its cell coverage area, the radio interface message transferring instructive information that instructs the terminal to use the assigned CCCH.

Moreover, the SSSN includes not only the existing SSSN, for example, SSSN, at least on one of the carrier frequencies C0, C2, C4 and C6, but also the newly added SSSN, for example, SSSN, at least in one of the temporary slots C1, C3, C5 and C7. The base station sends a radio interface message to different CCCHs for various types of terminals that receive a radio interface message to different CCCHs. For example, a radio interface message may be sent to the H2H terminal in the CCCH at least in one of C0, C2, C4 and C6 and sent to the M2M terminal in the CCCH in at least one of C1, C3, C5 and C7.

Step 302: the terminal reads the system information of the cell and decides whether the system information transfers the information of the dedicated CCCH assigned to that type of terminal (i.e., information that instructs the terminal to use the assigned CCCH).

If the system information carries the information of the dedicated CCCH assigned to this type of terminal, step 303 is performed.

Step 303: the terminal determines its CCCH group in accordance with the information of the allocated CCCH appropriately assigned to this type of terminal, and communicates with the network side device in the group to which the dedicated CCCH belongs.

Moreover, in contrast to the above-described embodiments, in this embodiment, various types of terminals receive instructive information in different channels, and the terminal can communicate with the network side device using CCCH, in which instructive information is received.

The grouping method can be similar to the method at step 203, while the calculation can be carried out in accordance with C1, C3, C5 and C7. The CCCH configurations allocated for M2M are shown in Table 5:

Table 5 CCCH_CONF BS_CC_CHANS BS_CCCH_SDCCH_COMB Corresponding CCCH time slot number 000 one Lying C1 001 one true C1 010 2 Lying C1, C3 one hundred 3 Lying C1, C3, C5 110 four Lying C1, C3, C5, C7

It should be noted that for the same network-side device, system information can be divided into many sets in accordance with the types of terminals. For example, system information for the H2H terminal can be sent to the BCCH of the allocated CCCH assigned to the H2H terminal without considering the M2M terminal, and system information for the M2M terminal can be sent to the BCCH of the allocated CCCH assigned to the M2M terminal without considering the H2H terminal. Thus, the same network-side device can send two sets of system information independently from each other without interference. For example, the RACH control parameter in the system information is only sent for the H2H terminal to BCH for H2H and only sent for the M2M terminal to BCH for M2M. The resulting advantage is that the change in the existing system information for the Н2Н terminal is very insignificant, and it only requires the direction of М2М to a given dedicated CCCH.

In the communication method for CCCH provided in this embodiment of the present invention, a message transferring information instructing the terminal to use the CCCH assigned and allocated to it is sent to the terminal using the network side device, while the terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information, thereby effectively controlling that various types of terminals use the dedicated CCCH for communication with the network side, as well as managing terminal access to the network.

FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of a terminal provided in one embodiment of the present invention. The terminal is a specific means of executing the above-described embodiment of the method, therefore the contents of this embodiment of the method are included in this embodiment by reference to it and are omitted here. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal includes: a receiving module 401 and a communication module 402. In this case, the receiving module 401 is configured to receive a message sent from the network side device, the message containing information instructing the terminal to use the assigned CCCH. The terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type. The communication module 402 is configured to communicate with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with this information.

In one embodiment, the communication module 402 is configured to communicate with the network side device by selecting one of the CCCH channels in accordance with the terminal identifier, the identifier may be some character to uniquely identify the terminal, for example, group ID, IP address and IMSI.

In this case, terminals of the first type can be determined in accordance with at least one of the applications, priorities and characteristics of the terminals.

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of a network side device provided in one embodiment of the present invention. The network side device is a specific means of executing the method embodiment described above, therefore the contents of this method embodiment are included in this embodiment by reference to it and are omitted here. As shown in FIG. 5, the network side device comprises an assignment module 501 and a send module 502. Moreover, the destination module 501 is configured to assign the allocated CCCH to the first terminal in accordance with the type of terminal. The sending module 502 is configured to send a message to the first terminal of the first type, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH. The CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type so that the terminals of the first type communicate with the network side device in the assigned CCCH in accordance with this information.

In addition, the sending module 502 can also be configured to send a message to the second terminal of the second type, the message sent to the second terminal instructing the second terminal to communicate with the network side device in the CCCH other than the dedicated CCCH assigned to the first terminal.

In this case, the network side device may be a base station or a base station controller.

In the communication device for the CCCH provided in this embodiment of the present invention, a message transferring information instructing the terminal to use the CCCH assigned and allocated to it is sent to the terminal through the network side device, and the terminal communicates with the network side device in the designated CCCH in in accordance with this information, thereby effectively controlling that the various types of terminals use the dedicated CCHS for communication with the network side, as well as well managing terminal access to the network.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that all steps or parts thereof in the above described embodiments of the method can be implemented by issuing instructions to the appropriate hardware using a program that can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium and can, when executed, carry out the steps of the above options the implementation of the method. Moreover, the storage medium includes various media capable of storing program codes, for example, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.

The above-described embodiments of the device are merely examples, wherein the blocks described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts represented as blocks may or may not be physical blocks, i.e. they can be located in the same place or distributed over at least two network elements. The task of solving this embodiment can be achieved by selecting parts or all of the modules, if necessary. The present invention can be understood and implemented by a person skilled in the art without any creative effort.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are used only to describe the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to impose restrictions on it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions of these embodiments may nevertheless be changed, or some technical features may be replaced by equivalents, while at the same time these changes or replacements do not cause deviations of the essence of the relevant technical solutions from the essence and scope of technical solutions of the respective embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (17)

1. A communication method for a common control channel, characterized in that it comprises the steps in which:
receiving (101) the first terminal a message sent from the network side device, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned common control channel CCCH; and wherein the first terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type; and
communicate (102) through the first terminal with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with the above information. 2. The communication method according to claim 1, in which the message is a system message, message retrieval call or cell broadcast. 3. The communication method according to claim 2, in which, if the message is a system information 3, then the information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH is transferred to the description information of the control channel of the system information 3. 4. The communication method according to claim 1, in which the terminals of the first type are determined in accordance with at least one of the applications, priorities and characteristics of the terminals. 5. The communication method according to claim 1, in which the CCCH assigned to the terminals of the first type contains at least one of the channels CCCH in the time slots C0, C2, C4 and C6, or the CCCH assigned to the terminals of the first type contains at least one from CCCH channels in time slots C1, C3, C5 and C7. 6. The communication method according to claim 1, in which the communication through the first terminal with the network side device in the designated CCCH in accordance with the information mentioned, in particular, comprises the step of:
communicate through the first terminal with the network side device by selecting one of the CCCH channels in accordance with its identifier, the identifier containing the group ID, IP address, or international identifier of the IMSI mobile communication subscriber. 7. A communication method for a common control channel, characterized in that it comprises the steps in which:
assigning, by the network side device, a dedicated common CCCH control channel to the first terminal in accordance with the type of terminal; and
sending a message to the first terminal of the first type, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type, so that the terminals of the first type communicate with the network side device in the assigned CCCH in accordance with the information. 8. The communication method according to claim 7, in which the message is a system message, message retrieval call or cell broadcast; and / or terminals of the first type are determined in accordance with at least one of the applications, priorities and characteristics of the terminals. 9. The communication method according to claim 8, in which, if the message is a system information 3, then the information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH is transferred to the description information of the control channel of the system information 3. 10. The communication method according to claim 7, additionally containing a stage in which:
send a message to the second terminal of the second type, and the message sent to the second terminal is used to instruct the second terminal to communicate with the network side device in the CCCH other than the dedicated CCCH assigned to the first terminal. 11. The communication method of claim 10, wherein the message sent to the first terminal has a parameter configuration different from the message sent to the second terminal. 12. The terminal, characterized in that it contains:
a receiving module (401), configured to receive a message sent from the network side device, the message containing information instructing the terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the terminal is a terminal of the first type, and the CCCH assigned to the terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type; and
a communication module (402) configured to communicate with a network side device in a designated CCCH in accordance with said information. 13. The terminal according to item 12, in which the communication module is configured to communicate with the network side device by selecting one of the CCCH channels in accordance with the terminal identifier, the identifier containing the group ID, IP address, or international identifier of the IMSI mobile subscriber. 14. The terminal according to claim 12, in which the terminals of the first type are determined in accordance with at least one of the applications, priorities and characteristics of the terminals. 15. The network side device, characterized in that it contains:
an assignment module (501), configured to assign a dedicated common CCCH control channel to the first terminal in accordance with the type of terminal; and
a sending module (502), configured to send a message to the first terminal of the first type, the message containing information instructing the first terminal to use the assigned CCCH; and wherein the CCCH assigned to the first terminal is allocated to terminals of the first type, so that the terminals of the first type communicate with the network side device in the assigned CCCH in accordance with the information. 16. The network side device of claim 15, wherein the sending module is further configured to send a message to the second terminal of the second type, wherein the message sent to the second terminal is used to instruct the second terminal to communicate with the network side device in the CCCH other than the dedicated CCCH assigned to the first terminal. 17. The network side device of claim 15, wherein the network side device is a base station or a base station controller.

Images