Direct communication among devices
View Patent ↗Method, operation of a method, and a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a non-transitory computer readable memory in a mobility management entity which identify, evaluate and control potential opportunities for device to device communication among two or more proximately located user equipment. The method or execution of computer instructions include, determining a context of a source user equipment and a context of a target user equipment, determining if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible and determining if the source and target user equipment are authenticated for employing device to device communications. An alternative embodiment includes functionality in a base station.
1. A method for use in device to device communication among two or more user equipments, the method comprising:
determining a context of a source user equipment and a context of a target user equipment;
determining if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible;
determining if the source and target user equipment are authenticated for employing device to device communications;
querying, by a target mobility management entity, information corresponding to a source mobility management entity in a home subscriber server;
conveying, by the target mobility management entity, information corresponding to the target user equipment and an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the target user equipment to the source mobility management entity; and
conveying identifying information corresponding to the source user equipment to each base station of one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment in response to determining that an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the source user equipment belongs to the one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target mobility management entity determines if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible and authenticated for employing device to device communications.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the source user equipment comprises at least one of:
a source user equipment international mobile subscriber identifier;
a source user equipment mobile station integrated services digital network identifier; or
a source user equipment mobile equipment identifier.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information obtained from querying the home subscriber server comprises a source user equipment mobility management entity identifier.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the source mobility management entity determines if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible and authenticated for employing device to device communications.
6. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the target mobility management entity determines if the target user equipment is device to device compatible and authenticated to use device to device communication.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the target user equipment comprises the context of the target user equipment.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target mobility management entity identifies, evaluates and controls potential opportunities for device to device communication when the target user equipment is in an evolved packet system connection management idle mode.
9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the source mobility management entity identifies, evaluates and controls potential opportunities for device to device communication when the target user equipment is in an evolved packet system connection management idle mode.
10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information corresponding to the source user equipment is conveyed to a base station of a tracking area from which the target user equipment performed a last tracking area update.
11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a serving mobility management entity triggers a process of identifying potential device to device communication between the source user equipment and target user equipment.
12. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the target mobility management entity conveys identifying information corresponding to the source user equipment only to base stations which are capable of coordinating device to device communication.
13. The method of claim 2 , wherein, the target mobility management entity conveys information corresponding to the source user equipment to the target user equipment in a paging message.
14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the source user equipment and target user equipment already have participated into a device to device discovery process and the target user equipment has already obtained link quality information measured from a discovery signal sent by the source user equipment.
15. A system for use in device to device communication among two or more user equipments, the system comprising:
circuitry configured to
determine a context of a source user equipment and a context of a target user equipment;
determine if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible;
determine if the source and target user equipment are authenticated for employing device to device communications;
query information corresponding to a source mobility management entity in a home subscriber server;
convey information corresponding to the target user equipment and an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the target user equipment to the source mobility management entity; and
convey identifying information corresponding to the source user equipment to each base station of one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment in response to determining that an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the source user equipment belongs to the one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment.
16. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the system is a target mobility management entity configured to determine if the source and target user equipment are device to device communication compatible and authenticated for employing device to device communications.
17. A system comprising:
circuitry configured to
identify a source user equipment and a target user equipment that are device to device communication compatible;
query information corresponding to a source mobility management entity in a home subscriber server;
convey information corresponding to the target user equipment and an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the target user equipment to the source mobility management entity; and
convey identifying information corresponding to the source user equipment to each base station of one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment in response to determining that an evolved universal telecommunications access network cell global identifier of the source user equipment belongs to the one or more tracking areas of the target user equipment.
18. The system according to claim 17 , wherein the circuitry is configured to identify, evaluate and control potential opportunities for device to device communication when the target user equipment is in an evolved packet system connection management idle mode.
19. The system according to claim 17 , wherein the information corresponding to the source user equipment is conveyed to a base station of a tracking area from which the target user equipment performed a last tracking area update.