The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus, a cone network apparatus, a control method, and a program, and particularly relates to a wireless communication paging technique.
In a cellular communication system, a network is configured so that, if there is data to be transmitted to terminal apparatuses, the network provides notification of such data via paging channels. If a terminal apparatus judges, via a paging channel, that there is data addressed to itself, the terminal apparatus establishes connection with a nearby base station apparatus to receive the data from the network. Here, a timing of paging of each terminal apparatus is calculated based on an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) stored in a Subscriber Identity Module (“USIM” hereinafter) in the terminal apparatus, and system information transmitted from the network. The terminal apparatus is configured to calculate a timing of paging for itself, and to observe a paging channel at the calculated timing in a disconnected state.
Development is under way of a terminal apparatus including two or more USIMs and a smaller number of (for example only one) receivers. Since each USIM is treated as one subscriber, a timing of paging is separately determined for each of the two or more USIMs. If the timings of paging with respect to these USIMs are different from one another, the terminal apparatus can observe the paging channels corresponding to the USIMs even if the number of receivers included in the terminal apparatus is less than the number of USIMs included in the terminal apparatus. On the other hand, the timings of paging with respect to the plurality of USIMs may coincide with one another. In this case, the paging channels for a number of USIMs corresponding to the number of receivers, among the plurality of USIMs, can be observed. However, the paging channels for the rest of the USIMs cannot be observed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-504841 indicates that, if such timings of paging occur, the terminal apparatus reads the paging channel corresponding to a first USIM at the initial timing of paging, and reads the paging channel corresponding to a second USIM at the next timing of paging. However, this operation increases the time that it takes for the terminal apparatus to detect the presence of data addressed to itself, and thus is inefficient.
The present invention provides a technique for efficiently executing paging in a terminal apparatus including a plurality of Subscriber Identity Modules and a smaller number of receivers.
A terminal apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a notifying unit configured to transmit a predetermined notification regarding a paging frame or paging occasion to a core network apparatus to which a base station apparatus is connected; a receiving unit configured to receive, as a response from the core network apparatus to the predetermined notification, an offset value to be used by the terminal apparatus to calculate a paging frame or paging occasion; and a calculating unit configured to calculate a paging frame or paging occasion using the received offset value.
A core network apparatus to which a base station apparatus is connected, the core network apparatus includes: a receiving unit configured to receive a predetermined notification regarding a paging frame or paging occasion from a terminal apparatus; a transmitting unit configured to transmit, as a response to the predetermined notification, an offset value to be used by the terminal apparatus to calculate a paging frame or paging occasion; and a notifying unit configured to, when the predetermined notification has been received, notify the base station apparatus of information regarding a change in a paging frame or paging occasion for the terminal apparatus.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the invention.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, and limitation is not made to an invention that requires a combination of all features described in the embodiments. Two or more of the multiple features described in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar configurations, and redundant description thereof is omitted.
The terminal apparatus 103 includes a plurality of Subscriber Identity Modules (USIMs), and is configured to be capable of communicating with the first base station apparatus 101 and the second base station apparatus 102 using a first USIM and a second USIM, respectively. Note that, in the present embodiment, the terminal apparatus 103 is in a disconnected state in which the terminal apparatus 103 has not established connection with either one of the base station apparatuses. Thus, based on timings of paging that are calculated based on international mobile subscriber identities (IMSIs) stored in the USIMs and information broadcast from the base station apparatuses via System Information Blocks (SIBs), the terminal apparatus 103 observes paging channels transmitted from the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 and judges whether or not there is data addressed to itself. Furthermore, if the paging channel from the first base station apparatus 101 indicates that there is data addressed to itself, the terminal apparatus 103 establishes connection with the first base station apparatus 101 to receive the data. Similarly, if the paging channel from the second base station apparatus 102 indicates that there is data addressed to itself, the terminal apparatus 103 establishes connection with the second base station apparatus 102 to receive the data.
Here, the timings of paging with respect to the first and second USIIVIs in the terminal apparatus 103 may coincide with each other. In such a situation, if the terminal apparatus 103 includes two wireless receivers, the terminal apparatus 103 can observe the paging channels using the wireless receivers. On the other hand, if the terminal apparatus 103 includes only one wireless receiver, the terminal apparatus 103 cannot observe the paging channel for one of the first and second USIIVIs. In a more general sense, if the number of wireless receivers included in the terminal apparatus 103 is equal to (or more than) the number of USIIVIs included in the terminal apparatus 103, the terminal apparatus 103 can observe the paging channels using the wireless receivers. However, if the number of wireless receivers is less than the number of USIMS, the terminal apparatus 103 may not be able to observe paging channels for some USIIVIs. Note that, for example, the terminal apparatus 103 can allocate a plurality of paging occasions to the USIIVIs so that the USIIVIs sequentially observe the paging channels, for example. However, when seen from the terminal apparatus 103 side, this method brings about a situation similar to that when the paging interval for each USIM has been extended in accordance with the number of USIIVIs. Thus, it may take a long period of time from when data is generated to when the terminal apparatus 103 recognizes the presence of the data.
In view of such circumstances, in the present embodiment, the terminal apparatus 103 is configured to judge whether or not the timings of paging in the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 coincide with each other, and to change at least one of the timings if these timings coincide with each other. For example, the terminal apparatus 103 provides at least one of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 with a predetermined notification regarding a timing of paging. Furthermore, a base station apparatus, out of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102, that has received this predetermined notification or that can interpret the predetermined notification can execute control so as to change a timing of paging relating to the terminal apparatus 103. This results in the timings of paging of the plurality of base station apparatuses being different from one another, and thus the terminal apparatus 103 can efficiently observe the paging channels from the base station apparatuses. Accordingly, the terminal apparatus 103 can detect the generation of data to be transmitted to the terminal apparatus 103 in the network side within a short period of time from when the data is generated, and establish connection quickly. Note that, if the terminal apparatus 103 includes a first wireless receiver and a second wireless receiver that can respectively communicate with the first base station apparatus 101 and the second base station apparatus 102, the terminal apparatus 103 can be configured not to provide the above-described predetermined notification. This results in timings of paging not being changed unnecessarily, whereby control load can be mitigated and unnecessary signaling can be reduced. Note that it is conceivable to provide the above-described predetermined notification from the terminal apparatus to the base station apparatuses via an RRC message (for example, RRCSetupComplete or UEAssistanceInformation) or layer 1 signaling.
Note that the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to transmit the above-described predetermined notification only to a base station apparatus that supports the control in a case in which the terminal apparatus includes a plurality of USIMs and that supports the change of a timing of paging of the terminal apparatus, for example. In other words, a configuration can be adopted such that the predetermined notification is not provided to a base station apparatus that cannot change a timing of paging. Thus, unnecessary signaling can be prevented. In this case, only a base station apparatus that supports the control in a case in which the terminal apparatus includes a plurality of USIMs changes a timing of paging, and a base station apparatus that does not support the control in a case in which the terminal apparatus includes a plurality of USIMs does not change a timing of paging.
Furthermore, if both the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 support the control in a case in which the terminal apparatus includes a plurality of USIMs, the terminal apparatus 103 may use a random number, values relating to the base station apparatuses, such as identification information of the base station apparatuses, etc., to select the base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging, for example. For example, the first base station apparatus 101 may be selected as the base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging if the value of a random number that takes a value no less than zero and less than one is less than 0.5, and the second base station apparatus 102 may be selected as the base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging if the value of the random number is 0.5 or more. Furthermore, values such as IDs relating to the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 may be compared, and the base station apparatus having a greater value may be selected as the base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging. Also, the terminal apparatus 103 may have a user select which of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 is to be prioritized, and may select the base station apparatus of lower priority as the base station that is to change a timing of paging. If the two base station apparatuses both support the control in a case in which the terminal apparatus includes a plurality of USIMs, it is possible to cause only one base station apparatus to change a timing of paging by using such methods. Thus, a situation can be prevented in which timings of paging coincide with each other again after the timings have been changed.
Note that the terminal apparatus 103 may judge only whether or not paging frames of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 coincide with each other, or may further judge whether paging occasions in the paging frames of these base station apparatuses coincide with each other. In other words, the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to provide the predetermined notification if the paging frames of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 coincide with each other, or may be configured not to provide the predetermined notification even if the paging frames coincide with each other unless paging occasions coincide with each other. Furthermore, for example, the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to provide the predetermined notification if all of a plurality of paging frames (paging occasions in some cases) of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 overlap, and not to provide the predetermined notification if there is only a partial overlap. Also, for example, the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to provide the predetermined notification if any of a plurality of paging frames (paging occasions in some cases) of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 overlap. Furthermore, for example, the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to provide the predetermined notification if portions corresponding to a predetermined proportion or more of a plurality of paging frames (paging occasions in some cases) of the first and second base station apparatuses 101 and 102 overlap. Note that the processing described above is only one example, and the terminal apparatus 103 may be configured to provide the predetermined notification if criteria other than these are satisfied.
Note that, for example, a base station apparatus that supports the change of a timing of paging can notify the terminal apparatus 103 in advance of an offset value for paging frames (paging occasions in some cases). For example, this notification is provided via a broadcast signal. For example, in a case in which the terminal apparatus 103 has provided the first base station apparatus 101 with the predetermined notification, the terminal apparatus 103 shifts a timing of paging of the first base station apparatus 101 by an amount corresponding to the offset value notification of which has been provided in advance, and similarly, the first base station apparatus 101 also shifts a timing of paging for the terminal apparatus 103 by an amount corresponding to the offset value that the first base station apparatus 101 has notified the terminal apparatus 103 of. In such a manner, matching of the changed timings of paging can be performed between the terminal apparatus 103 and the first base station apparatus 101. Note that the base station apparatuses may be configured to notify the terminal apparatus 103 of the offset value when the predetermined notification has been received from the terminal apparatus 103. In other words, notification of the offset value need not be provided in advance. In this case, it is also conceivable for the terminal apparatus 103 to include a timing of paging of a base station apparatus that is not to change a timing of paging in the predetermined notification, and for the base station apparatuses to determine the offset value so as to avoid the timing of paging notification of which has been provided, and notify the terminal apparatus 103 of the determined offset value.
Furthermore, the base station apparatuses may notify the terminal apparatus 103 in advance of a first setting value (parameter) for specifying a timing in a case in which a timing of paging is not to be shifted, and a second setting value for specifying a timing in a case in which a timing of paging is to be shifted. In this case, if the terminal apparatus 103 has provided the first base station apparatus 101 with the predetermined notification, for example, the terminal apparatus 103 specifies a changed timing of paging based on the second setting value notification of which has been provided from the first base station apparatus 101. Furthermore, the first base station apparatus 101 also specifies a changed timing of paging for the terminal apparatus 103 based on the second setting value that the first base station apparatus 101 has notified the terminal apparatus 103 of in advance. Thus, matching of the changed timings of paging can be performed between the terminal apparatus 103 and the first base station apparatus 101. Note that the base station apparatuses may transmit such notification of setting values to the terminal apparatus 103 when the base station apparatuses have received the predetermined notification. In this case, it is also conceivable for the terminal apparatus 103 to include a timing of paging of the second base station apparatus 102, which does not change a timing of paging, in the predetermined notification, and for the first base station apparatus 101 to determine the second setting value so as to avoid the timing of paging notification of which has been provided from the terminal apparatus 103, and notify the terminal apparatus 103 of the determined second setting value. Note that the above-described first and second setting values may be broadcast via a System Information Block (SIB) from the base station apparatuses, or notification thereof may be provided via an RRC message (for example, RRCReconfiguration) other than SIB. It is also conceivable for different notification methods to be used for the first and second setting values, such as SIB for the first setting value and RRCReconfiguration for the second setting value.
Also, for example, the base station apparatuses may provide, in advance, notification of a plurality of types of setting values or offset values for calculating a changed timing of paging in a case in which timings of paging of the plurality of base station apparatuses coincide with each other in the terminal apparatus 103. Furthermore, the terminal apparatus 103 selects one setting value or offset value to be used to calculate a changed timing of paging from among the plurality of setting values or offset values notification of which has been provided. Then, the terminal apparatus 103 can notify a base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging of the result of the selection by including the result in the predetermined notification, for example. Also, a base station apparatus having received the predetermined notification from the terminal apparatus 103 may select one setting value or offset value to be used to calculate a changed timing of paging from among the plurality of setting values or offset values notification of which has been provided. Then, the base station apparatus may notify the terminal apparatus 103 of the result of the selection by including the result of the selection in a response signal that is a response to the predetermined notification. Thus, matching of the changed timings of paging can be performed between the terminal apparatus 103 and the first base station apparatus 101. Note that the above-described processing is only one example, and matching of the changed timings of paging can be performed between the terminal apparatus 103 and the first base station apparatus 101 using methods other than these.
Furthermore, it is conceivable for a base station apparatus that has changed a timing of paging to notify other base station apparatuses and a core network apparatus of information relating to the change of the timing of paging relating to the terminal apparatus. Thus, the processing relating to the change of a timing of paging can be prevented from being executed again when the terminal apparatus moves and connects to other base station apparatuses.
Note that, while an example in which the terminal apparatus 103 notifies the base station apparatus 101, which is to change a timing of paging, of information relating to paging has been described in the above-described embodiment, an example is also conceivable in which the terminal apparatus 103 notifies a core network apparatus to which base station apparatuses are connected, instead of base station apparatuses, of the change of a timing of paging using a NAS message (for example, Registration Request or the like). In such a case, the core network apparatus having received the information can notify one or more base station apparatuses in the area in which the terminal apparatus 103 is present of information relating to the change of a timing of paging.
The timing specification unit 301 specifies a timing of paging for each of the plurality of USIMs included in the terminal apparatus. Note that the timing of paging may be a paging frame or a paging occasion, for example. For example, in the present embodiment, a timing of paging of the first base station apparatus 101 and a timing of paging of the second base station apparatus 102 are specified.
The change necessity judgment unit 302 judges whether or not a timing of paging needs to be changed, in accordance with whether or not the timings of paging for the plurality of USIMs specified by the timing specification unit 301 coincide with each other. For example, the change necessity judgment unit 302 judges that a timing of paging needs to be changed if all paging frames (or paging occasions in some cases) of the plurality of base station apparatuses coincide with one another. Other judgment criteria have been described above, and thus description thereof is omitted here. Furthermore, the change necessity judgment unit 302 can judge for which one of the base station apparatuses a timing of paging is to be changed. Criteria for making this judgment have also been described above, and thus description thereof is omitted here.
If the change necessity judgment unit 302 judges that a timing of paging is to be changed, the change processing unit 303 transmits the predetermined notification to the base station apparatus that is to change a timing of paging. Furthermore, the change processing unit 303 specifies a changed timing of paging based on, for example, an offset value or setting value notification of which has been provided from the base station apparatus in advance, or an offset value or setting value received in response to the transmission of the predetermined notification to the base station apparatus. Then, the change processing unit 303 performs the observation of a paging channel following this point using the changed timing of paging that has been specified. Note that, because other operations of the terminal apparatus have been described above, description thereof is omitted here.
The notification reception unit 401 receives the predetermined notification from a terminal apparatus. Based on this predetermined notification, the base station apparatus recognizes that a timing of paging for the terminal apparatus that has transmitted the predetermined notification needs to be changed. In response to the reception of the predetermined notification, the change control unit 402 executes control for changing the timing of changing. For example, the change control unit 402 changes the timing of paging based on an offset value or setting value notification of which has been provided to the terminal apparatus in advance, or based on an offset value or setting value notification of which has been provided to the terminal apparatus by including the offset value or setting value in a response to the predetermined notification. The information notification unit 403 notifies the terminal apparatus of an offset value or setting value for allowing the changed timing of paging to be specified. Other operations of the base station apparatus have been described above, and thus description thereof is omitted here.
An example of a flow of processing executed in the wireless communication system will be described with reference to
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-041170 | Mar 2020 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation of International Pat. Application No. PCT/JP2020/034031 filed on Sep. 9, 2020, which claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-041170 filed on Mar. 10, 2020, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2020/034031 | Sep 2020 | US |
Child | 17895325 | US |