The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a radio access network device.
In the specifications of 3GPP, a procedure of establishing RRC connection is specified. This procedure is a necessary procedure for establishing connection when a mobile communication terminal starts communication with a network.
In UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network), when a mobile communication terminal UE starts communication while camping on a certain cell, the mobile communication terminal UE is configured to transmit a “RRC Connection Request” to a radio access network device RAN and request establishment of RRC connection.
In this case, the mobile communication terminal UE increments a variable V300 by one when transmitting the “RRC Connection Request”.
Note that the mobile communication terminal UE manages a timer T300 in consideration of a case where the transmission of the “RRC Connection Request” fails.
When the timer T300 expires, the mobile communication terminal UE compares V300 and N300 notified by the radio access network device RAN with each other, and terminates the procedure when V300>N300 is satisfied.
Meanwhile, a similar specification is specified also in E-UTRAN. The mobile communication terminal UE terminates the procedure upon expiration of the timer T300 for a case where the radio access network device RAN transmits no response to the “RRC Connection Request”.
The procedure in E-UTRAN is different from the procedure in UTRAN in that comparison between V300 and N300 is not performed in the procedure in E-UTRAN.
In the aforementioned procedures, the timer T300 and N300 are notified by the radio access network device as broadcast information.
First, referring to
As shown in
In step S1002, the mobile communication terminal UE attempts to start packet communication, voice communication, or the like from a state where no RRC connection is established.
In step S1003, the mobile communication terminal UE transmits the “RRC Connection Request” to the radio access network UTRAN and starts the timer T300.
When the timer T300 expires in step S1004, the mobile communication terminal UE increments V300 by one in step S1005 and compares V300 and N300 with each other in step S1006.
When V300 is equal to or smaller than N300, the mobile communication terminal UE retransmits the “RRC Connection Request” to the radio access network UTRAN and repeats the procedure of steps S1003 to S1006.
Meanwhile, when V300 is greater than N300, the mobile communication terminal UE judges that the procedure of establishing the RRC connection has failed, and terminates the processing.
Thereafter, the mobile communication terminal UE repeats the procedure of step S1002 and the subsequent steps again if the start of packet communication, voice communication, or the like is necessary.
Secondly, referring to
As shown in
In step S2002, the mobile communication terminal UE attempts to start packet communication, voice communication, or the like from a state where no RRC connection is established.
In step S2003, the mobile communication terminal UE transmits the “RRC Connection Request” to the radio access network E-UTRAN and starts the timer T300.
When the timer T300 expires in step S2004, the mobile communication terminal UE judges that the procedure of establishing the RRC connection has failed, and terminates the processing in step S2005.
Thereafter, the mobile communication terminal UE repeats the procedure of step S2002 and the subsequent steps again if the start of packet communication, voice communication, or the like is necessary.
For example, there is a case where the mobile communication terminal UE cannot receive the response to the “RRC Connection Request” from the radio access network due to the following reasons or the like: as shown in
The following case is conceivable as a specific example. When the mobile communication terminal UE stays in a waterfront area and a radio wave from a radio base station #A at a physically-close distance is not strong but a reception power of a downlink signal from a radio base station #B on the opposite waterfront area is strong, the mobile communication terminal UE camps on a cell under the radio base station #B.
In such a case, the mobile communication terminal UE sometimes cannot obtain the response from the radio access network even if the mobile communication terminal UE transmits the “RRC Connection Request” for the same cell again and again.
In this case, there occurs a problem that a situation where a user cannot receive a service continues.
Moreover, since the mobile communication terminal UE continues unnecessary transmission of the “RRC Connection Request”, the mobile communication terminal UE also has a problem of an increase of power consumption.
The present invention has been made in view of the problems described above, and an objective is to provide a mobile communication terminal and a radio access network device which can shorten an out-of-service duration while suppressing an increase of power consumption.
A first feature of the present invention is summarized as a mobile communication terminal including a control unit configured to, when the mobile communication terminal fails, consecutively a predetermined number of times, to transmit a connection establishment request signal for a camping-on cell, add the cell to a rejection cell list and perform cell search. Here, in the cell search, the control unit excludes the cell included in the rejection cell list from cells of selection targets.
A second feature of the present invention is summarized as a radio access network device including a transmission unit configured to transmit a control signal to a mobile communication terminal. Here, when the mobile communication terminal fails, consecutively a predetermined number of times, to transmit a connection establishment request signal for a camping-on cell, the control signal instructs the mobile communication terminal whether or not to add the cell to the rejection cell list and perform cell search.
A mobile communication system in a first embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to
As shown in
The radio access network device RAN in the WCDMA system is a radio network control unit RNC, and the radio access network device RAN in the LTE system is a radio base station eNB.
As shown in part (a) of
The control unit 11 is configured to perform processing for various controls, for example, the whole communication control in the mobile communication terminal UE.
The management unit 12 is configured to manage a rejection cell list to be described later, timers Txx1 to Txx3, and the like.
Part (b) of
The control unit 11 is configured as follows. When the mobile communication terminal UE fails consecutively N-times to transmit a “RRC Connection Request” for a camping-on cell #A, the control unit 11 adds the cell #A to the rejection cell list and performs cell search.
For example, “N=N300×M” is satisfied in UTRAN, and “N=M” is satisfied in E-UTRAN. Note that “M” may be a value uniquely held by the mobile communication terminal UE or a parameter broadcasted by the radio access network device RAN.
Moreover, the control unit 11 is configured to exclude the cell #A included in the rejection cell list from cells of selection targets when performing a cell search.
The control unit 11 is configured to delete the cell #A from the rejection cell list after a certain period elapses from the addition of the cell #A to the rejection cell list.
For example, in a case where the rejection time management method #A is applied, the control unit 11 is configured to start the internal timer Txx1 included in the mobile communication terminal UE when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list, and to delete the cell #A from the rejection cell list (see part (b) of
In a case where the rejection time management method #B is applied, the control unit 11 is configured to start the timer Txx2 when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list and to delete the cell #A from the rejection cell list (see Part (b) of
In this case, the control unit 11 may be configured to calculate the timer Txx2 based on “T300×N300×L” in the UTRAN. Note that “L” may be a value uniquely held by the mobile communication terminal UE or a parameter broadcasted by the radio access network device RAN.
In a case where the rejection time management method #C is applied, the control unit 11 is configured to start the timer Txx3 broadcasted by the radio access network device RAN when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list, and to delete the cell #A from the rejection cell list (see part (b) of
In a case where the rejection time management method #D is applied, the control unit 11 is configured to delete all of the cells in the rejection cell list (see part (c) of
Each of the rejection time management methods #A to #C may be applied in combination with the rejection time management method #D.
Moreover, in the cases where the rejection time management methods #A to #C are applied, as shown in Part (b) of
Operations of the mobile communication system in the embodiment, specifically operations of the mobile communication terminal UE in the embodiment are described below with reference to
First, referring to
As shown in
When the mobile communication terminal UE receives a response to the “RRC Connection Request” from the radio access network device RAN in step S103, the mobile communication terminal UE continues the procedure of establishing the RRC connection in step S104.
Meanwhile, when the mobile communication terminal UE receives no response to the “RRC Connection Request” from the radio access network device RAN in step S103 and detects expiration of the timer T300 in step S105, the mobile communication terminal UE increments V300 by one in step S106 and compares V300 and N300 with each other.
When the mobile communication terminal UE determines that V300 is greater than N300, this operation proceeds to step S108. Meanwhile, when the mobile communication terminal UE does not determine that V300 is greater than N300, this operation returns to step S102.
When the mobile communication terminal UE determines in step S108 that the operation of steps S102 to S107 has not failed consecutively M times, the mobile communication terminal UE judges in step S109 that the procedure of establishing the RRC connection has terminated.
Meanwhile, when the mobile communication terminal UE determines in step S108 that the operation of steps S102 to S107 has failed consecutively M times, the mobile communication terminal UE adds the aforementioned camping-on cell to the rejection cell list in step S110 and executes the cell search in step S111.
When such an operation is performed in the E-UTRAN, step S106 and step S107 are omitted.
Secondly, referring to
As shown in
When the mobile communication terminal GE determines that the cell detected in the cell search is included in the rejection cell list, the mobile communication terminal UE performs the cell search again in step S201.
Meanwhile, when mobile communication terminal UE determines that the cell detected in the cell search is not included in the rejection cell list, the mobile communication terminal UE camps on the cell in step S203.
Thirdly, referring to
As shown in
When the mobile communication terminal UE detects the expiration of the timers Txx1 to Txx3 in step S304, the mobile communication terminal UE deletes the cell #A from the rejection cell list in step S305.
Fourthly, referring to
As shown in
When the mobile communication terminal UE detects the success of communication start in a cell not included in the rejection cell list, the mobile communication terminal UE deletes the cell #A from the rejection cell list in step S403.
When a plurality of cells are registered in the rejection cell list in this case, the mobile communication terminal UE may delete all of the registered cells.
Meanwhile, when the mobile communication terminal UE detects no success of communication start in a cell not included in the rejection cell list, nothing is performed in step S404.
In the mobile communication system of the embodiment, the mobile communication terminal UE can start communication in a cell other than the camping-on cell, even when the “RRC Connection Request” does not reach the radio access network device RAN consecutively N times for some reason or even when the response to the “RRC Connection Request” from the radio access network device RAN is not received for some reason.
Moreover, in the mobile communication system of the embodiment, the mobile communication terminal UE does not transmit the “RRC Connection Request” more than necessary in the camping-on cell, and the power consumption of the mobile communication terminal UE can be reduced.
A mobile communication system in a modified example 1 of the present invention is described below with reference to
As shown in
The transmission unit 21 is configured to transmit various signals to the mobile communication terminal UE. Specifically, the transmission unit 21 is configured to transmit “NW Indicator (I)” to the mobile communication terminal UE. The transmission unit 21 may be configured to broadcast the “NW Indicator (I)” in the cell under the radio access network device RAN.
The “NW Indicator (I)” described above is configured as follows. When the mobile communication terminal UE fails consecutively N times to transmit the “RRC Connection Request” for the camping-on cell #A, the “NW Indicator (I)” instructs the mobile communication terminal UE whether or not to add the cell #A to the rejection cell list and perform the cell search.
For example, as shown in
Specifically, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to determine whether to perform the aforementioned cell search depending on the “NW Indicator (I)” transmitted by the radio access network device RAN.
For example, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to perform the control shown in
As an alternative, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to perform the control shown in
As another alternative, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to perform the control shown in
As yet another alternative, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to perform the control shown in
Meanwhile, the control unit 11 of the mobile communication terminal UE may be configured to perform the normal control (normal RRC connection establishment procedure) without performing the controls shown in
Operations of the mobile communication system in the modified example 1 are described below with reference to
As shown in
In step S3002, the mobile communication terminal UE performs one of the controls shown
In step S3002, the mobile communication terminal UE performs the normal control (normal RRC connection establishment procedure) without performing the controls shown in
The features of the present embodiment may also be expressed as follows.
A first feature of the present embodiment is summarized as a mobile communication terminal. UE including a control unit 11 configured to, when the mobile communication terminal UE fails, consecutively N-times (predetermined number of times), to transmit a “RRC Connection Request (connection establishment request signal)” for a camping-on cell #A, add the cell #A to a rejection cell list and perform cell search. Here, in the cell search, the control unit 11 excludes the cell #A included in the rejection cell list from cells of selection targets.
In the first feature of the embodiment, the control unit starts an internal timer Txx1 included in the mobile communication terminal OE when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list, and deletes the cell #A from the rejection cell list when the internal timer Txx1 expires.
In the first feature of the embodiment, the control unit 11 starts a timer Txx2 calculated by using T300/N300 (parameter) broadcasted by a radio access network device RAN when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list, and deletes the cell #A from the rejection cell list when the timer Txx2 expires.
In the first feature of the embodiment, the control unit 11 starts a timer Txx3 broadcasted by a radio access network device RAN when the cell #A is added to the rejection cell list, and deletes the cell #A from the rejection cell list when the timer Txx3 expires.
In the first feature of the embodiment, when the mobile communication terminal UE succeeds to start communication in a cell not included in the rejection cell list, the control unit 11 deletes all cells in the rejection cell list.
In the first feature of the embodiment, the control unit 11 determines whether or not to perform the cell search depending on “NW Indicator (control signal) ” transmitted by the radio access network device RAN.
A second feature of the present embodiment is summarized as a radio access network device RAN including a transmission unit 21 configured to transmit “NW Indicator” to a mobile communication terminal UE. Here, when the mobile communication terminal UE fails, consecutively N-times, to transmit a “RRC Connection Request” for a camping-on cell #A, the “NW Indicator” instructs the mobile communication terminal UE whether or not to add the cell #A to the rejection cell list and perform cell search.
It should be noted that the foregoing operations of the radio access network device RAN and the mobile communication terminal UE may be implemented by hardware, maybe implemented by a software module executed by a processor, or may be implemented in combination of the two.
The software module may be provided in a storage medium in any format, such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, or a CD-ROM.
The storage medium is connected to a processor so that the processor can read and write information from and to the storage medium. Instead, the storage medium may be integrated in a processor. The storage medium and the processor may be provided inside an ASIC. Such an ASIC may be provided in the radio access network device RAN and the mobile communication terminal UE. Otherwise, the storage medium and the processor may be provided as discrete components inside the radio access network device RAN and the mobile communication terminal UE.
Hereinabove, the present invention has been described in detail by use of the foregoing embodiments. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described in the specification. The present invention can be implemented as an altered or modified embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which are determined by the description of the scope of claims. Therefore, the description of the specification is intended for illustrative explanation only and does not impose any limited interpretation on the present invention.
Note that the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-006223 (filed on Jan. 17, 2013) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-054697 (filed on Mar. 18, 2013) are incorporated by reference in the present specification.
As described above, the present invention can provide a mobile communication terminal and a radio access network device which can shorten an out-of-service duration while suppressing an increase of power consumption.
RAN radio access network device
UE mobile communication terminal
11 control unit
12 management unit
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-006223 | Jan 2013 | JP | national |
2013-054697 | Mar 2013 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2014/050771 | 1/17/2014 | WO | 00 |