HK1262412B - High latency communication via scef - Google Patents

Description

High-latency communication via SCEF

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to cellular communication networks, and in particular to data transmission in cellular communication networks.

Background Art

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification recently provided support for Non-Internet Protocol (IP) (Non-IP) Data Delivery (NIDD) as part of the Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) Evolved Packet System (EPS) optimization. Specifically, 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.682 V13.5.0 Section 5.13.3 defines the "Mobile Terminated Non-Internet Protocol (IP) Data Delivery (NIDD) Procedure," which is shown in Figure 1. In this procedure, a Service Capability Server (SCS)/Application Server (AS) sends non-IP data to a specific User Equipment (UE) device identified by an external identifier or Mobile Station (MS) International Subscriber Directory Number (ISDN) (MSISDN).

3GPP specifications also define a number of power-saving features for UEs (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC) UEs), which will play a significant role in the CIoT. Two of these features are extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) and power saving mode (PSM). In short, the principles of eDRX and PSM are to save energy by having UEs supporting eDRX and/or PSM listen to radio transmissions only for short periods of time. This also means that the UE can only be paged during these short periods.

More specifically, Figure 2 is a diagram of a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle. As shown in Figure 2, the UE monitors the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) during the DRX ON duration of the DRX cycle. When in DRX mode (i.e., when the UE is in the DRX OFF state), the UE remains in a low-power mode. During DRX, the UE will only monitor the PDCCH periodically, and then only for a relatively short period of time. The periodicity at which the UE monitors the PDCCH is determined by the DRX cycle. For each DRX cycle, a paging occasion (PO) occurs during which the UE can be paged. Specifically, during the DRX cycle, when all scheduling and paging information is sent, the UE is operational for a certain period of time. This period of time is referred to as the DRX ON duration. During the DRX ON duration, the UE is referred to herein as being in the DRX ON state. During another period in the DRX cycle, the network (e.g., an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) (i.e., a base station) and core network nodes such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME)) is aware that the UE is completely turned off and cannot receive anything. This time period is referred to as the DRX time or DRX OFF duration. In addition, during the DRX time, the UE is referred to herein as being in a DRX OFF state, or simply an OFF state. Except when DRX OFF, the UE radio must be active to monitor the PDCCH (e.g., to identify, for example, a paging request). During the DRX OFF period, the UE radio can be turned off, and the eNB will not schedule the UE, and the MME will not page the UE because they know that the UE radio is not active. The DRX ON duration is defined by the onDurationTimer, and therefore, the DRX ON duration is sometimes referred to herein as the onDurationTimer. The onDurationTimer specifies the number of consecutive PDCCH subframes at the start of the DRX cycle, during which the UE will be in the ON state in order to monitor PDCCH transmissions. For eDRX, the DRX cycle (sometimes referred to herein as the eDRX cycle) can be up to 52 minutes. Therefore, the eDRX function is an effective way to reduce the battery power usage of the UE.

Figure 3 illustrates the PSM defined by 3GPP. As shown, if a PSM-capable UE desires to use PSM, the UE (specifically, the UE Non-Access Stratum (NAS)) sends a request to the MME of the cellular communications network for an Active Time value and, optionally, a Periodic Tracking Area Update (pTAU) timer value. If PSM is acceptable to the UE, the MME returns the Active Time value and the pTAU timer value. Upon transitioning from CONNECTED mode (referred to as ECM_CONNECTED) to IDLE mode (referred to as ECM_IDLE), the UE starts an Active Timer set to the Active Time value and a pTAU timer set to the pTAU timer value received from the MME. The UE's radio remains active, and the UE performs normal IDLE mode procedures until the Active Timer expires. Once the Active Timer expires, the UE deactivates the UE's radio and the UE enters PSM. During PSM, a Mobile Originated (MO) call may occur, in which case the UE (specifically, the UE AS) reactivates the IDLE mode procedures. Once the pTAU timer expires, the UE (specifically, the UE AS) restarts the IDLE mode procedure, thereby exiting PSM.

Thus, for PSM, after having transitioned from CONNECTED mode to IDLE mode, the UE listens to the radio only for a short period of time (i.e., during Active Time). The UE returns to CONNECTED mode when it wishes to send data or when the time arrives to send a pTAU (and/or Periodic Routing Area Update (pRAU)). The UE may also transition from IDLE mode back to CONNECTED mode as a result of being paged during its Active Time. To further reduce energy consumption, MTC devices that only transmit data during certain predefined time periods may set the pTAU/pRAU timeout to be slightly longer than the uplink data time period, as this means that the transmission of the pTAU/pRAU can be omitted, further reducing power consumption.

As a result of eDRX and PSM, the UE may not be available to transmit non-IP data according to the mobile-terminated NIDD procedure of Figure 1. Specifically, in step 3 of Figure 1, when the MME receives a NIDD submit request including non-IP data to be transmitted to a particular UE, the MME may not be able to reach that UE because the UE is in the DRX OFF state (for eDRX) or in PSM (for PSM operation). Therefore, the current mobile-terminated NIDD procedure specified in 3GPP TS 23.682 V13.5.0 does not provide an efficient way to handle power-saving devices (i.e., devices operating in PSM and eDRX).

Summary of the Invention

With the introduction of control plane evolved packet system (EPS) optimizations for Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 13, the question arises as to how downlink user data should be handled if the receiving device uses power saving features such as power saving mode (PSM) or extended discontinuous reception (eDRX).

Buffer handling consistent with downlink data handling via the Serving Gateway (S-GW)/Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) is introduced. Also provided is added signaling for managing buffering when a CIoT user equipment (UE) is using PSM or eDRX.

The buffering introduced in the Service Network Interworking (IWK) Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) is used to avoid data loss due to mobility over the Mobility Management Entity (MME) service area when buffering data in the MME.

Thus, a first embodiment relates to a method in a core network node for transmitting non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data. The method includes receiving a non-Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and upon determining that the wireless device is unreachable, sending a NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device; and upon determining that the wireless device is reachable, sending a NIDD commit indication indicating that the wireless device is reachable.

Another embodiment relates to a core network node for a cellular communication network. The core network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes a network interface; one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, whereby the core network node is operable to: receive, via the network interface, a NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and upon determining that the wireless device is unreachable, send, via the network interface, a NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device; and upon determining that the wireless device is reachable, send a NIDD commit indication indicating that the wireless device is reachable.

Another embodiment relates to a core network node for a cellular communication network. The core network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and is adapted to: receive a NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; upon determining that the wireless device is unreachable, send a NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device; and upon determining that the wireless device is reachable, send a NIDD commit indication indicating that the wireless device is reachable.

Another embodiment relates to a core network node for a cellular communication network. The core network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes: means for receiving a NIDD submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and means for sending a NIDD submission response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device upon determining that the wireless device is unreachable; and means for sending (106) a NIDD submission indication indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

Another embodiment relates to a core network node for a cellular communication network. The core network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes: a request receiving module operative to receive a NIDD submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and a response sending module operative to, upon determining that the wireless device is unreachable, send a NIDD submission response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device; and wherein the receiving module is operative to, upon determining that the wireless device is reachable, send a NIDD submission indication indicating that the wireless device is reachable.

Another embodiment relates to a method in a network node for transmitting non-IP data. The method includes: receiving a first NIDD commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; sending a second NIDD commit request to a mobility management entity, the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and receiving a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity, the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device.

Another embodiment relates to a network node for a cellular communication network. The network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes: a network interface; one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, whereby the network node is operable to: receive a first NIDD commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; send a second NIDD commit request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered to a mobility management entity; and receive a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity, the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device.

Another embodiment relates to a network node for a cellular communication network. The network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and is adapted to: receive a first NIDD commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; send a second NIDD commit request to a mobility management entity, the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and receive a first NIDDF commit response from the mobility management entity, the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device.

Another embodiment relates to a network node for a cellular communication network. The network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes: means for receiving a first NIDD commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; means for sending a second NIDD commit request to a mobility management entity, the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and means for receiving a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity, the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device.

Another embodiment relates to a network node for a cellular communication network. The network node provides for delivery of non-IP data and includes: a request receiving module operative to receive a first NIDD commit request, the NIDD commit request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; a request sending module operative to send a second NIDD commit request to a mobility management entity, the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device to which the non-IP data is to be delivered; and a response receiving module operative to receive a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity, the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not delivered to the wireless device.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and recognize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the embodiments in association with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG1 illustrates a mobile terminated non-Internet protocol (non-IP) data transfer (NIDD) process defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 23.682 V13.5.0;

Figure 2 shows discontinuous reception (DRX), specifically extended DRX (eDRX) provided by the 3GPP specification;

Figure 3 shows the Power Saving Mode (PSM) provided by the 3GPP specification;

FIG4 illustrates an example of a cellular communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG5 illustrates a process for efficiently handling mobile-terminated NIDD for power-saving devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

6 and 7 are block diagrams of example embodiments of network nodes;

8 and 9 are block diagrams of example embodiments of wireless devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below present information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode for practicing the embodiments. After reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and will recognize the applications of these concepts not specifically provided herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is a radio access point or wireless device.

Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" is any node in a radio access network of a cellular communication network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, base stations (e.g., enhanced or evolved Node Bs (eNBs) in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), high-power or macro base stations, low-power base stations (e.g., micro base stations, pico base stations, home eNBs, etc.), and relay nodes.

Wireless Device: As used herein, a "wireless device" is any type of device that accesses (i.e., is served by) a cellular communication network by wirelessly sending and/or receiving signals to a radio access node. Some examples of wireless devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE) devices and machine type communication (MTC) devices in a 3GPP LTE network.

Network node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is part of the radio access network or core network of a cellular communication network/system.

Non-Internet Protocol (Non-IP) Data: As used herein, "Non-IP data" refers to unstructured data from the perspective of, for example, an Evolved Packet System (EPS) in a 3GPP network. For example, the term "Non-IP data" is commonly used in 3GPP specifications, such as the aforementioned 3GPP TS 23.682 V13.5.0.

Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems and therefore generally uses 3GPP LTE terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP LTE terminology. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to LTE or 3GPP systems.

Note that in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell", however, particularly with respect to fifth generation (5G) concepts, beam may be used instead of cell, and therefore it is important to note that the concepts described herein apply equally to cells and beams.

With the introduction of control plane Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) EPS optimization in 3GPP Release 13, there is the question of how downlink user data should be handled if the receiving device uses power saving features such as power saving mode (PSM) or extended discontinuous reception (eDRX). In particular, the current mobile terminated non-IP data delivery (NIDD) procedure specified in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.682 V13.5.0 does not provide an efficient way to handle power saving devices (i.e., devices operating under PSM and eDRX). The use of monitoring events requires a lot of signaling and the non-IP data will be buffered in the home network service capability exposure function (SCEF). In addition, for the Mobility Management Entity (MME), the proposed handling of downlink data originating from the SCEF is different from the handling of downlink data originating from the Serving Gateway (S-GW)/Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW). This increases the complexity of the MME implementation.

This disclosure uses some principles from the buffer handling between MME and S-GW (see 3GPP TS 23.401 V13.6.0 section 5.3.4.3 "Network triggered service request", e.g. step 2). This disclosure uses a modified version of SCEF/Interworking (IWK) SCEF buffering for MME handling.

FIG4 illustrates an example of a cellular communication network 10 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In this example, the cellular communication network 10 is a 3GPP LTE network; however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As shown, the cellular communication network 10 includes a radio access network (RAN), which in this example is an enhanced or evolved universal terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) 12. The E-UTRAN 12 includes a plurality of base stations, referred to in 3GPP terminology as eNBs 14, that serve corresponding cells 16. The eNBs 14 provide radio access to wireless devices, referred to in 3GPP terminology as UEs 18, located in the corresponding cells 16. The eNBs 14 communicate via a base station-to-base station interface, which is referred to in 3GPP LTE as an X2 interface. The eNBs 14 are also connected to a core network, referred to in 3GPP LTE as an evolved packet core (EPC) 20, via an S1 interface.

The EPC 20 includes various core network nodes, including, for example, one or more MMEs 22, one or more S-GWs 24, one or more P-GWs 26, one or more Home Subscriber Servers (HSS) 28, one or more SCEFs 30, one or more IWK-SCEFs 32, and one or more Service Capability Servers (SCS)/Application Servers (AS) 34.

In some embodiments, at least some UEs 18 have power saving feature capabilities (e.g., eDRX capability and/or PSM capability). In addition, in some specific embodiments, the UEs 18 are MTC devices, such as devices operating in CIoT.

As mentioned above, 3GPP specifications now support NIDD as part of EPS optimization for CIoT. Specifically, 3GPP TS 23.682 V13.5.0 defines a mobile-terminated NIDD procedure in which non-IP data is delivered from an SCS/AP 34 to a specific UE 18. However, if the UE 18 is eDRX and/or PSM capable, the UE 18 may be unreachable when the MME 22 desires to send non-IP data to the UE 18 in step 3 of the procedure (see FIG1 ). Therefore, a mobile-terminated NIDD procedure is needed that efficiently handles the delivery of non-IP data to a UE 18 with power saving capabilities.

In this regard, FIG5 illustrates a mobile terminated NIDD process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. More specifically, FIG5 illustrates a process when the SCS/AS 34 sends non-IP data to a given user or UE 18, as identified by an external identifier or Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (ISDN) (MSISDN). This process assumes completion of the process in 3GPP TS 23.682 V13.5.0, Section 5.13.1.

Note 1: The interactions with the SCS/AS 34 (eg, steps 1, 5, and 10 of FIG. 5) are outside the scope of 3GPP and are shown for informational purposes only.

Step 101: If the SCS/AS 34 has activated the NIDD service for a given UE 18 and has downlink non-IP data to send to the UE 18, the SCS/AS 34 sends a NIDD Submit Request (External Identifier or MSISDN, SCS/AS Reference Identifier (ID), Non-IP Data) message to the SCEF 30.

Step 102: If a valid SCEF EPS bearer context corresponding to the external identifier or MSISDN included in step 101 of Figure 5 is found, the SCEF 30 checks whether the SCS/AS 34 is authorized to send the NIDD request and whether the SCS 34 has not exceeded its data submission quota (e.g., 200 bytes in 24 hours) or rate (e.g., 10 bytes/hour). If this check fails, the SCEF 30 sends a NIDD response with a cause value indicating the reason for the failure condition, and the process stops at this step. Otherwise, the process continues with step 103.

If no valid SCEF EPS bearer context is found, the SCEF 30 (depending on the configuration) may:

Send a NIDD response with an appropriate error cause value. The process stops at this step; or

Perform a device trigger (using T4 Short Message Service (SMS) trigger, refer to 3GPP TS 23.682 section 5.2.2) on the UE 18 to establish a non-IP PDN connection towards the SCEF 30. In this case, step 106 is performed with an appropriate cause value; or

• Accept the NIDD Submit Request and perform step 106 with an appropriate cause value and wait for the UE 18 to perform the procedure leading to establishment of a PDN connection (see 3GPP TS 23.401 V13.6.0) with the SCEF 30 (see 3GPP TS 23.682 section 5.13.1.2).

NOTE 2: The duration that the SCEF 30 may wait to establish a PDN connection with the SCEF 30 for a given UE 18 is implementation dependent.

Step 103: If a valid SCEF EPS bearer context corresponding to the external ID or MSISDN included in step 101 is found, SCEF 30 sends a NIDD Submit Request (User ID, EPS Bearer ID, SCEF ID, Non-IP Data) message to MME 22. SCEF 30 (or IWK-SCEF 32, if present) buffers the received non-IP data. SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 sends a NIDD Submit Request message with a copy of the non-IP data to MME 22.

If the IWK-SCEF 32 receives the NIDD Submission Request message from the SCEF 30 , it buffers the non-IP data and relays the message to the MME 22 .

Step 104: If MME 22 can immediately deliver the non-IP data to UE 18, the process continues at step 108. If UE 18 is in a power saving state and MME 22 cannot immediately deliver the data to UE 18, MME 22 sends a NIDD Commit Response (Downlink Buffer Duration) message to SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 to indicate that the data was not delivered to UE 18. This indication may be, for example, "Downlink Buffer Duration," but it may be any suitable information that indicates that the data was not delivered to UE 18. MME 22 stores a new value for the Downlink SCEF Buffer Expiration Time in the MM context of UE 18 based on the Downlink Buffer Duration. The MM context is described in Section 5.7.2 of 3GPP TS 23.401, and there is a row for "DL Data Buffer Expiration Time" for the corresponding buffer time via the SGW. Note that the buffer time may be determined by local policy in MME 22 based on the sleep time of UE 18, subscription, or other information such as load. The MME 22 provides the buffer time to the SCEF 30 / IWK-SCF 32 , thereby informing the SCEF 30 / IWK-SCEF 32 of the duration for buffering the non-IP data.

The SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 that receives the downlink buffer duration in the NIDD submission response message may store the new value of the downlink data buffer expiry time based on the downlink buffer duration, and not send any additional NIDD submission request if a subsequent NIDD submission request is received in the SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 before the downlink data buffer expiry time of the UE 18 expires.

If the IWK-SCEF 32 receives a NIDD Commit Response from the MME 22, it may send a NIDD Commit Response (Downlink Buffer Duration) message to the SCEF 30 indicating that the data has not yet been delivered to the UE 18 and that the data has been buffered and a new delivery will be attempted when the UE 18 becomes reachable (i.e., within the "Downlink Buffer Duration").

Step 105: The SCEF 30 may send a NIDD submission response to the SCS/AS 34, notifying the delayed delivery and the latest time at which the delivery is expected to take place.

Step 106: When the MME 22 detects that the UE 18 has become reachable and data can be transmitted to the UE 18, the MME 22 sends an NrDD Submit Indication to the SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32, indicating that the UE 18 is reachable.

Step 107: SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 sends the buffered data in a NIDD Submit Request message to MME 22. This is done in response to receiving the NIDD Submit Indication sent by MME 22 in step 106.

Step 108: The MME 22 preferably transmits non-IP data using data transfer via MME procedures as described in 3GPP TS 23.401 V13.6.0 section 5.3.4B.3 to the UE 18. Depending on the operator configuration, the SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 may generate the necessary accounting information required for charging.

NOTE 3: A successful result does not mean that the data was successfully received at the UE 18, but only that the UE 18 has responded to the paging and that it is reachable.

Step 109: MME 22 confirms the result to SCEF 30. IWK-SCEF 32 may perform charging procedures for NIDD transmission. When data has been transmitted or when the new downlink buffering duration does not indicate further buffering, the buffer in IWK-SCEF 32/SCEF 30 is cleared.

Step 1010 : The SCEF 30 confirms the transmission to the SCS/AS 34 .

Note 4: From the perspective of the MME 22, the peer nodes on the T6a interface handle buffering. That is, the SCEF 30 in the non-roaming case and the IWK-SCEF 32 in the roaming case. When the SCEF 30 uses the T7 interface, the IWK-SCEF 32 handles buffering.

NOTE 5: If the transfer attempt (step 108) fails for any reason, steps 104-108 may be repeated.

FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of a network node 36 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Here, the network node 36 may be a core network node, such as the MME 22, the SCEF 30, the IWK-SCEF 32, or the SCS/AS 34. As shown, the network node 36 includes one or more processors 38 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), a memory 40, and a network interface 42. In some embodiments, the functions of the network node 36 (e.g., the functions of the MME 22, the SCEF 30, the IWK-SCEF 32, or the SCS/AS 34) may be implemented entirely or partially in software, which may be stored in the memory 40 and executed by the processor 38.

In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions is provided that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the functionality of a network node according to any one of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a network node 36 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The network node 36 includes one or more modules 44, each of which is implemented in software. The modules 44 provide the functionality of the network node 36 described herein. As an example, if the network node 36 is an MME 22, the modules 44 may include a receiving module operable to receive an NIDD submission request, a responding module operable to send an NIDD submission response, an indicating module operable to send an NIDD submission indication, and a transmitting module operable to perform an NIDD transmission, as described above. As another example, if the network node 36 is an SCEF 30, the modules 44 may include a request receiving module operable to receive an NIDD submission request, a request sending module operable to send an NIDD submission request, a response receiving module operable to receive an NIDD submission response, a response sending module operable to send an NIDD submission response, and an indication receiving module operable to receive an NIDD submission indication, as described above. As a final example, if the network node 36 is an SCS/AS 34, the modules 44 may include a request sending module operable to send a NIDD submission request and a response receiving module operable to receive a NIDD submission response, as described above.

FIG8 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a UE 18 (or more generally, a wireless device) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the UE 18 includes one or more processors 46 (e.g., a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, etc.), a memory 48, and one or more transceivers 50 coupled to one or more antennas 56. Each transceiver 50 includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers. In some embodiments, the functions of the UE 18 described above may be implemented in whole or in part using software, which may be stored in the memory 48 and executed by the processor 46.

In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions is provided that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the functionality of the UE 18 according to any one of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier containing the computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

FIG9 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a UE 18 (or more generally, a wireless device) according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The UE 18 includes one or more modules 58, each of which is implemented in software. The modules 58 provide the functionality of the wireless device 18 (e.g., UE) described herein.

While not limited to or by any particular advantage, some examples of advantages provided by embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows. The present disclosure supports high latency communications for NIDD via the SCEF 30 (i.e., it can handle/support PSM and eDRX). The present disclosure provides a method for providing fast acknowledgment to the SCS/AS 34. The feedback may also include an expected (maximum) duration before a device is reachable and a message can be delivered to the device. The present disclosure describes how to transmit mobile terminated (i.e., downlink) data without loss of mobile devices (i.e., devices that cross the MME service area while asleep).

Some non-limiting embodiments/features disclosed herein are:

NIDD Submit Indication ( FIG. 5 , step 106 ) (new message) to trigger the SCEF 30 / IWK-SCEF 32 to send its buffered data in a NIDD Submit Request.

• Buffering in the SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 (a new concept including signalling (Fig. 5, steps 4, 6 and 7)) to manage the buffered data.

• "Downlink Buffer Duration" in the NIDD Submit Response message (a new parameter in the NIDD Submit Response).

• Timer "Downlink Data Buffer Expiry Time" used in SCEF 30/IWK-SCEF 32 to control the buffering time.

• A timer "Downlink SCEF Buffer Expiry Time" used in the MME 22 (in the MM context of the UE 18) to control buffering.

When notifying delayed delivery, the SCEF 30 includes the “latest time of expected delivery” in the NIDD response message sent to the SCS/AS 34.

When the data has been transmitted or when no more transmission attempts are made (i.e. the new downlink buffer duration no longer indicates buffering, i.e. if the transmission attempt failed the loop of steps 4-8 may be repeated), the buffer in the IWK-SCEF 32/SCEF 30 is cleared when the NIDD submits the response ( FIG. 5 , step 109).

The proposed solution has been mainly described above with reference to some embodiments. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, other embodiments than those disclosed above are also possible within the scope of the present disclosure, as shown by the list of items represented by the embodiments listed below.

1. A method for transmitting non-Internet protocol (Non-IP) data in a core network node (22, 36), comprising:

receiving (103) a non-Internet protocol data transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transferred;

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, sending (104) a NIDD commit response indicating that no non-IP data was transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD commit indication is sent (106) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

2. The method of clause 1, further comprising: after sending (106) the NIDD submission indication indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable,

receiving (107) a second NIDD submission request including non-IP data to be transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

The non-IP data is transmitted (108) to the wireless device (18).

3. The method of any one of clauses 1 or 2, wherein sending (104) the NIDD submission response comprises sending the response such that the response includes a downlink buffer duration.

4. The method of clause 3, further comprising storing a new value of a downlink buffer expiry time in an MM context of the wireless device (18) based on the downlink buffer duration.

5. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the network node (22, 36) is a mobility management entity (22), and:

Receiving (103) the NIDD submission request comprises: receiving (103) the request from a Service Capability Exposure Function SCEF (30) or an Interworking SCEF "IWK-SCEF" (32); and

Sending (104) the NIDD submission response comprises sending the response to the SCEF (30) or the IWK-SCEF (32).

6. A core network node (22, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the core network node (22, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

Network interface (42);

one or more processors (38); and

A memory (40) storing instructions executable by the one or more processors (38) whereby the core network node (22, 36) operates to:

receiving a Non-Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request via the network interface (42), the NIDD submission request including Non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the Non-IP data is to be transmitted;

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, sending a NIDD commit response via the network interface (42), the NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD submission indication is sent (106) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

7. A core network node (22, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the core network node (22, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data and adapted to:

receiving a non-internet protocol data transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transferred;

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, sending a NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD submission indication is sent (106) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

8. The core network node (22, 36) according to item 7, wherein the network node (22, 36) is further adapted to perform the method of any one of items 2 to 5.

9. A core network node (22, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (22, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

means for receiving a Non-Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including Non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the Non-IP data is to be transmitted;

means for transmitting a NIDD commit response upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, the NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD submission indication is sent (106) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

10. A core network node (22, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (22, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

a request receiving module operative to receive a Non-Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including Non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the Non-IP data is to be transmitted;

a response sending module operable to send a NIDD submission response when it is determined that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, the NIDD submission response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

The receiving module is operable to, upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, send (106) a NIDD submission indication indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software that, when executed by one or more processors (38) of a core network node (22, 36) of a cellular communication network (10), instructs the core network node (22, 36) to:

receiving a non-internet protocol data transfer (NIDD) submission request including non-internet protocol (Non-IP) data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the Non-IP data is to be transferred;

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, sending a NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and

Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD submission indication is sent (106) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable.

12. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5.

13. A carrier comprising the computer program according to item 12, wherein the carrier is one of an electric signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

14. A method in a network node (30/32, 36) for transmitting non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

receiving (1) a first non-Internet protocol data transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transferred;

sending (103) a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

A first NIDD commit response is received (104) from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data is not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

15. The method of clause 14, wherein the network node (30/32, 36) buffers the non-IP data.

16. A method according to any one of items 14 or 15, wherein receiving (1) the first request comprises receiving (1) the first request from a service capability server SCS/application server AS (34), and the method further comprises sending (105) a second response to the SCS/AS (34), the second response notifying the SCS/AS (34) of a delay in transmitting the non-IP data to the wireless device (18).

17. The method of clause 16, wherein the second response further informs the SCS/AS (34) of the latest time at which the non-IP data is expected to be delivered to the wireless device (18).

18. The method according to any one of clauses 14 to 17, further comprising, after receiving (104) the first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity (22):

receiving (106) a NIDD submission indication from the mobility management entity (22) indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable; and

Upon receiving (106) the NIDD commit indication indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable, sending (107) to the mobility management entity (22) a third NIDD commit request including the non-IP data to be transmitted to the wireless device (18).

19. A method according to any one of items 14 to 18, wherein the first NIDD response received from the mobility management entity (22) includes a downlink buffering duration used by the network node (30/32, 36) to control the buffering time of the non-IP data at the network node (30/32, 36).

20. A method according to any one of items 14 to 19, wherein the non-IP data is buffered at the network node (30/32, 36), and the method further comprises: upon receiving a response from the mobility management entity (22) that the non-IP data has been transmitted to the wireless device (18) when the downlink buffering duration expires, removing the non-IP data from the buffer at the network node (30/32, 36).

21. The method according to any one of items 14 to 20, wherein the network node (30/32, 36) is a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) (30) or an Interworking SCEF (IWK-SCEF) (32).

22. A network node (30/32, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (30/32, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

Network interface (42);

one or more processors (38); and

A memory (40) storing instructions executable by the one or more processors (38) whereby the network node (30/32, 36) operates to:

receiving a first Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted;

sending a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

A first NIDD commit response is received from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data is not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

23. A network node (30/32, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (30/32, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data and adapted to:

receiving (1) a first Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted;

sending (103) a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

A first NIDDF commit response is received (104) from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDDF commit response indicating that the non-IP data is not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

24. The network node (30/32, 36) of clause 23, wherein the network node (30/32, 36) is further adapted to perform the method of any one of clauses 15 to 21.

25. A network node (30/32, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (30/32, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

means for receiving a first Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, said NIDD submission request comprising non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which said non-IP data is to be transmitted;

means for sending a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

Means for receiving a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

26. A network node (30/32, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the network node (30/32, 36) providing for the transfer of non-Internet Protocol (non-IP) data, comprising:

a request receiving module operative to receive a first Internet Protocol Data Transfer (NIDD) submission request, said NIDD submission request including non-IP data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which said non-IP data is to be transmitted;

a request sending module operative to send a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

A response receiving module is operable to receive a first NIDD commit response from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data is not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software which, when executed by one or more processors (38) of a network node (30/32, 36) of a cellular communication network (10), instructs the network node (30/32, 36) to:

receiving (1) a first Internet Protocol data transfer (NIDD) submission request, the NIDD submission request including non-Internet Protocol (Non-IP) data and an identifier of a wireless device (18) to which the Non-IP data is to be transferred;

sending (103) a second NIDD submission request to a mobility management entity (22), the second request including the non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; and

A first NIDD commit response is received (104) from the mobility management entity (22), the first NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data is not transmitted to the wireless device (18).

28. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of clauses 14 to 21.

29. A carrier comprising the computer program according to item 28, wherein the carrier is one of an electric signal, an optical signal, a radio signal or a computer-readable storage medium.

The following abbreviations are used throughout this disclosure.

3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

5G fifth generation

AS application server

ASIC Application-Specific Integrated Circuit

CIoT Cellular Internet of Things

CPU Central Processing Unit

DRX Discontinuous Reception

eDRX Extended Discontinuous Reception

eNB Enhanced or evolved Node B

EPC Evolved Packet Core

EPS Evolved Packet System

E-UTRAN Enhanced or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array

HSS Home Subscriber Server

ID identifier

IP Internet Protocol

ISDN International Services Digital Network

IWK-SCEF interoperability service capability exposure function

LTE Long Term Evolution

MME Mobility Management Entity

MO Mobile Origination

MSISDN Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number

MTC Machine Type Communication

NAS Non-Access Stratum

NIDD Non-Internet Protocol Data Transfer

PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

PDN Packet Data Network

P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway

PO Paging Time

pRAU Periodic Routing Area Update

PSM power saving mode

pTAU Periodic Tracking Area Update

RAN Radio Access Network

SCEF service capability exposure function

SCS Service Capability Server

S-GW Service Gateway

SMS Short Message Service

TS Technical Specification

UE User Equipment

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and all such improvements and modifications are considered to fall within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims (7)

1. A method for transmitting non-Internet Protocol "non-IP" data in a core network node (22, 36), comprising: Receive (103) Non-Internet Protocol Data Transmission (NIDD) Submission Request, the NIDD Submission Request including non-IP data and the identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted; Upon determining that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, a (104) NIDD commit response is sent, the NIDD commit response indicating that no non-IP data was transmitted to the wireless device (18); and When it is determined that the wireless device (18) is reachable, a NIDD submission instruction indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable is sent to the Service Capability Open Function SCEF (30) or Interoperability SCEF "IWK-SCEF" (32). 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after sending (106) an NIDD submission instruction indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable, Receiving (107) includes a second NIDD submission request for non-IP data to be transmitted to the wireless device (18); and Transmit (108) the non-IP data to the wireless device (18). 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein sending (104) the NIDD commit response comprises: sending the response such that the response includes the downlink buffer duration. 4. The method according to claim 3 further comprises: storing a new value of the downlink buffer expiration time in the MM context of the wireless device (18) based on the downlink buffer duration. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the network node (22, 36) is a mobility management entity (22), and: Receiving the NIDD submission request (103) includes: receiving the request (103) from the Service Capability Exposure Function SCEF (30) or the Interoperability SCEF "IWK-SCEF" (32); and Sending the NIDD submission response (104) includes sending the response to the SCEF (30) or the IWK-SCEF (32). 6. A core network node (22, 36) for a cellular communication network (10), the core network node (22, 36) providing transmission of non-Internet Protocol "non-IP" data and comprising: The request receiving module is configured to receive a Non-Internet Protocol Data Transmission (NIDD) Submission Request, the NIDD Submission Request including non-IP data and an identifier of the wireless device (18) to which the non-IP data is to be transmitted. The response sending module is configured to send an NIDD commit response when it is determined that the wireless device (18) is unreachable, the NIDD commit response indicating that the non-IP data was not transmitted to the wireless device (18); and The receiving module is configured to send (106) an NIDD submission indication indicating that the wireless device (18) is reachable to the Service Capability Open Function (SCEF) (30) or the Interoperability SCEF "IWK-SCEF" (32) when it is determined that the wireless device (18) is reachable. 7. The core network node (22, 36) according to claim 6, wherein the network node (22, 36) is further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 5.