CENTRALIZED CONTROL OF INTRA-CELL DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION

Abstract

An apparatus and method to centrally establish and control intra-cell device-to-device connections on licensed bands of a wireless communications network are disclosed herein. An eNodeB receives a request from a first device to communicate with a second device or a request from the first device for content or service. The eNodeB schedules a device discovery between the first device and at least a candidate device. The eNodeB determines establishing the device-to-device connection between the first device and the candidate device based on a discovery report generated by one of the first or candidate device. The discovery report comprises information about signal quality of transmission from the other one of the first or candidate device that is received by the one of the first or candidate device during the scheduled device discovery.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/591,641, entitled “Advanced Wireless Communication Systems and Techniques” filed on Jan. 27, 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to device-to-device communication on licensed bands.

BACKGROUND

With the influx of multi-media, gaming, and social web services, increasing amounts of data traffic originates and terminates at devices. When these devices are wireless devices and operate within a licensed band radio access network (e.g., long term evolution (LTE) network), the communication path comprises wireless data transmission from an originating device to a base station, possible data transfer along the core network, and another wireless data transmission from a base station to a terminating device. When the originating and terminating devices are in relative close proximity to each other, however, such communication path may be a waste of channel resources. Instead, a better use of channel resources may be to enable direct communication between the devices.

However because devices transmit omni-directionally, meaning the transmission radiates circularly out in all directions, the originating device attempting to directly communicate with the terminating device may also inadvertently transmit to one or more of the nearby devices. The resulting interference may be severe enough that neither the terminating device nor the nearby device(s) receive the transmissions they were intended to receive. Permitting direct communication may in effect end up reducing network efficiency rather than improving use of channel resources.

Even if interference associated with direct communication between devices is minimal or otherwise managed, network operators prefer to maintain control of use of its channel resources; not just for quality of service (QoS) and interference management, but also to accurately allocate data service charges for use of its licensed bands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example (portion) of a wireless communications network according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram showing details of the base station (and devices) included in the wireless communications network of FIG. 1 according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate an example flow diagram for enabling centralized control of intra-cell D2D communication on licensed bands between devices associated with the same base station according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate example timing diagrams relating to the flow diagram of FIGS. 3A-3B according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to create and use a computer system configuration and related method and article of manufacture to centrally establish and control intra-cell device-to-device connections on licensed bands of a wireless communications network. In one embodiment, a first device requests communication with a particular second device. The base station schedules device discovery between the first and second devices when such devices are within potential device-to-device range of each other. The device discovery is operable for the second device to listen into the first device's transmission and generate a report regarding the signal quality of the transmission from the first device and/or vice versa. The base station uses the report to determine whether to establish a device-to-device link or conventional device-to-base station links (between the first device and the base station and between the second device and the base station). If a device-to-device link is preferred, then the base station determines a connection identifier for the particular connection and other connection parameters, which are communicated to each of the first and second devices to establish a device-to-device link between the two devices.

In another embodiment, a first device requests certain content or service but does not know which device(s) are offering such content/service. The network determines one or more candidate devices that can provide the requested content/service and are within potential D2D range of the first device. A device discovery is scheduled for each of the candidate devices to listen into the first device's transmission and generate a report regarding the signal quality of that transmission and/or vice versa. The report from or about each of the candidate devices is used to select one device from among the candidate devices and also to determine whether to establish a device-to-device link or device-to-base station links. If a device-to-device link is desired, a connection identifier and other connection parameters are determined to establish a device-to-device link between the first device and the selected one of the devices from among the candidate devices.

Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, in the following description, numerous details are set forth for the purpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without the use of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and processes are not shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the description of the embodiments of the invention with unnecessary detail. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example (portion) of a wireless communications network 100 according to some embodiments. In one embodiment, the wireless communications network 100 comprises an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) standard operating in time division duplex (TDD) mode or frequency division duplex (FDD) mode. In another embodiment, the wireless communications network 100 comprises a WiMax network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a global system for mobile communication (GSM) network, or a variety of other licensed band networks.

The wireless communications network 100 includes a base station 102 and a plurality of devices 106, 108, 109. The base station 102 (also referred to as BS or an enhanced Node B (eNodeB or eNB)) is configured to serve a certain geographic area, denoted as a cell 104. The plurality of devices 106, 108, 109 located within the cell 104 are served by the base station 102. The base station 102 is configured to communicate with each of the plurality of devices 106, 108, 109 on a first carrier frequency and optionally, one or more secondary carrier frequencies. For ease of illustration, only a single base station is shown in FIG. 1. However, it is understood that the wireless communications network 100 includes more than one base station, each of the base stations serving a particular cell which may or may not neighbor the base station 102.

The plurality of devices 106, 108, 109 (also referred to as user equipments (UEs)) may comprise a variety of devices configured to communicate within the wireless communications network 100 including, but not limited to, cellular telephones, smart phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, personal computers, servers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), web appliances, set-top box (STB), a network router, switch or bridge, and the like. The plurality of devices 106, 108, 109 comprises a first device 106, a second device 108, and a third device 109. One or more of the devices 106, 108, 109 may move into or out of the cell 104 at any given time. Less or more than three devices may be served by the base station 102 at any given time.

In one embodiment, the devices 106, 108, 109 located within the cell 104 transmit data to the base station 102 (uplink transmission) and receive data from the base station 102 (downlink transmission) using radio frames. Each radio frame comprises a plurality of uplink and downlink subframes, the uplink and downlink subframes configured in accordance with the uplink-downlink ratio configuration selected by the base station 102 from among the supported uplink-downlink ratio configurations. An example set of supported uplink-downlink ratio configurations are provided in 3GPP TS 36.211Version 9.1.0, E-UTRA Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 9), March 2010 for 3GPP LTE networks.

When the first device 106 wishes to communicate with the second device 108, the conventional communication process is as follows: data is transmitted from the first device 106 to the base station 102 along a first conventional path 110a ; next the data is passed to the core network for processing and back to the base station 102 (unless local switching at the base station 102 is enabled); and finally, the base station 102 relays the data (with possible processing) to the second device 108 along a second conventional path 110b. The transmission rate at each leg of the communication pathway, for example, may be 4 megabit per second (Mbps) for the first conventional path 110a and 24 Mbps for the second conventional 110b. Thus, the 4 Mbps rate on the first portion of the communication pathway limits the overall data rate from the first device 106 to the second device 108 via the base station 102. Conversely, the conventional communication pathway from the second device 108 to the first device 106 via the base station 102 comprises a first conventional path 112a between the second device 108 and base station 102, and a second conventional path 112b between the base station 102 and the first device 106. Continuing the example, the transmission rate associated with each of the first and second conventional paths 112a, 112b can be 24 Mbps.

If the first and second devices 106, 108 were to directly communicate with each other (e.g., without the data passing via the base station 102), then a direct communication path 114 can be defined between the first and second devices 106, 108. Continuing the example, the transmission rate associated with the direct communication path 114 can be 10 Mbps. Thus, data transmission from the first device 106 to the second device 108 should be sent on the direct communication path 114 (at 10 Mbps) instead of via the base station 102 (limited at 4 Mbps for the first conventional path 110a ). However, the rate from the second device 108 to the first device 106 is higher via the base station 102 (at 24 Mbps) rather than the direct communication path 114 (at 10 Mbps). As such the communication flowing in this direction should be via the base station 102. The wireless communications network 100 determines the best data transmission pathway based on optimization of data rates along with a number of the factors, as described in detail below.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram showing details of the base station 102 according to some embodiments. The base station 102 includes a processor 202, a memory 204, a transceiver 206, instructions 208, and other components (not shown). The processor 202 comprises one or more central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), or both. The processor 202 is configured to provide processing and control functionalities for the base station 102. The memory 204 comprises one or more transient and static memory units configured to store instructions, data, setting information, and the like for the base station 102. The transceiver 206 comprises one or more transceivers configured to receive uplink receptions and transmit downlink transmissions with the devices 106, 108, 109 within range of the base station 102. The transceiver 206 includes a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna to support MIMO communications.

The instructions 208 comprises one or more sets of instructions or software executed on a computing device (or machine) to cause such computing device (or machine) to perform any of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 208 (also referred to as computer- or machine-readable instructions) may reside, completely or at least partially, within the processor 202 and/or memory 204 during execution thereof. The processor 202 and memory 204 also comprise machine-readable media. In one embodiment, the processor 202 executes the instructions 208 to enable centralized control of device-to-device (D2D) communication on licensed bands between the plurality of devices served by the base station 102.

One or more of the components described above for the base station 102 may also be included in each of the plurality of devices served by the base station 102. To the extent that any of the devices performs functionalities or operations similar to that performed by the base station 102, such functionalities or operations may be implemented using hardware, firmware, and/or software similar to that included in the base station 102.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate an example flow diagram 300 for enabling centralized control of intra-cell D2D communication on licensed bands between devices associated with a given base station according to some embodiments. FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate example timing diagrams relating to the flow diagram 300 according to some embodiments. FIGS. 3A-3B are described below in conjunction with FIGS. 4A-4B.

As discussed in detail below, the base station (e.g., base station 102) determines whether D2D communication is better use of network resources over conventional communication via the base station. If D2D communication is preferable (either uni-directional or bi-directional), the base station authorizes and establishes a secure D2D connection and schedules all D2D communications between the pair of devices. In this manner, the base station manages reuse of licensed band resources on D2D and device-to-base station (D2B) links, and maintains control of quality of service (QoS), interference, traffic loading, and other service parameters within its cell (e.g., cell 104).

In one embodiment, FIGS. 3A and 4A show a first protocol where the originating (e.g., first device 106) and terminating devices (e.g., second device 108) are already known to the wireless communications network 100 at the time of a communication request. At a block 302 of FIG. 3A, the base station 102 receives a request from the first device 106 (also referred to as D1) to communicate with a specific device, such as the second device 108 (also referred to as D2) (communication 402 in FIG. 4A).

In response to the received request, the base station 102 at a block 304 determines whether the first and second devices 106, 108 are within the cell 104 and within D2D range of each other. If the first and second devices 106, 108 currently have an on-going session with each other, the base station 102 schedules a device discovery period for these devices upon occurrence of a pre-defined event. The pre-defined event (also referred to as a network-defined trigger) can be one or more events. As an example, the pre-defined event can be when the second device 108 performs handover to the same base station that the first device 106 is associated with. If the first and second devices 106, 108 do not currently enjoy an established session with each other, the wireless communications network 100 (or the base station 102) automatically or in response to the presence of a pre-defined event checks whether the first and second devices 106, 108 are within D2D range of each other before establishing their session over traditional infrastructure (e.g., D2B) links. Example checks for sufficiency of D2D range includes checking if both the first and second devices 106, 108 are associated with the same base station (e.g., base station 102), obtaining geo-location information about each of the first and second devices 106, 108 (e.g., global positioning satellite (GPS) locations), and the like.

Next at a block 306, once condition(s) are satisfied to initiate a device discovery period, the base station 102 schedules a device discovery resource allocation during which the second device 108 listens for a transmission from the first device 106 (communication 404). While the remainder of this discussion is based on the foregoing division of device discovery roles, it is understood that the base station 102 can just as easily assign the first device 106 to listen while the second device 108 transmits, or assign the two devices different roles during different parts of the discovery period. The base station 102 can also assign an ad-hoc discovery period where the devices randomly transmit and listen (similar to WiFi discovery). The allocation structure includes instructions for the first device 106 to transmit a specific message, the specific message comprising data that would be typically transmitted to the base station 102 to establish a connection, a specific advertisement message, a specific pilot message, a data ping, or any other information (collectively referred to as a discovery message). The allocation structure also includes instructions to the second device 108 to listen during the resource allocation time period and possibly what to listen for. In some respect the first device 106 transmits data during resource allocation as it normally would to communicate with the base station 102. The first device 106 may not be aware that it is necessarily transmitting data to be overheard by the second device 108.

In the case of the wireless communications network 100 being, for example, a 3GPP LTE network, the base station 102 controls data traffic within its cell 104 via selection of a particular uplink-downlink ratio configuration. The devices associated with the base station 102 all switch to a transmit mode or a receive mode at each respective time period in accordance with the particular uplink-downlink ratio configuration. During the scheduled device discovery resource allocation, the first device 106 operates in transmit mode (as it normally would in accordance with the particular uplink-downlink ratio configuration), but the second device 108 is instructed to switch to receive mode (in contradiction of the particular uplink-downlink ratio configuration) for at least part of that uplink time period.

Moreover, for a 3GPP LTE network operating in TDD mode, the downlink and uplink are performed on the same frequency band and thus a single scheduled device discovery is sufficient to evaluate D2D channel quality regardless of whether it is scheduled during the uplink or downlink. For a 3GPP LTE network operating in FDD mode, the downlink and uplink are performed using different frequencies. Accordingly, if the D2D link is to be scheduled during both the uplink and downlink, the base station 102 schedules at least two device discovery resource allocations, one for the downlink frequencies and the other for the uplink frequencies.

At a block 308, the base station 102 receives a discovery message transmitted by the first device 106 in accordance with the scheduled device discovery resource allocation (communication 406). If the second device 108 successfully receives (overhears) this discovery message from the first device 106 during device discovery allocation, then the second device 108 is able to discern signal quality, channel quality, channel information, and other characteristics relating to receipt of a transmission from the first device 106 (collectively referred to as a device discovery report). The second device 108 sends the device discovery report to the base station 102 (communication 408), and the base station 102 correspondingly receives such device discovery report at a block 310.

Based on the device discovery report received from the second device 108, the base station 102 determines whether a uni-directional D2D link, a bi-directional D2D link, or D2B links (e.g., no D2D link) would be best at a block 312. The base station 102 considers a number of factors including, but not limited to, channel qualities, required QoS, traffic loads, potential interference, and the like.

A D2D connection can increase network capacity by: (1) increasing and optimizing channel reuse, (2) boosting transmission data rates between the first and second devices 106, 108, and (3) reducing the number of transmissions (segments). Increased channel reuse is a result of D2D links being significantly shorter in range and closer to the ground than most D2B links. The shorter range may enable higher data rates at lower transmit powers, since not only is the propagation path shorter, but shadowing and/or interference is often less. The shorter distance from the ground improves signal isolation from other D2D connections as well as standard D2B connections (e.g., they can reuse the same spectrum with acceptable interference levels). Because the base station controls scheduling on both D2D and D2B links, it can use appropriate protocols (e.g., dynamic base station scheduling, MIMO-based interference management, super-position coding, etc.) to optimize reuse of heavily-loaded licensed bands. D2D connections also reduce the number of transmissions by replacing the conventional two-hop path (originating device to base station, through the core network, and then base station to terminating device) with a one-hop path between a given pair of devices.

If the base station 102 determines that a D2D link between the first and second devices 106, 108 is not preferable (“no” branch of block 314), then the base station 102 communicates with the first device 106 and the second device 108 to establish standard D2B links (block 316). Otherwise the base station 102 has determined that a uni-directional or bi-directional D2D link should be established (“yes” branch of block 314), and the base station 102 determines various connection parameters to establish a D2D connection between the first and second devices 106, 108 (block 318). If the D2D link is uni-directional but the traffic between the first and second devices 106, 108 is bi-directional, the base station 102 also establishes D2B links with both devices for the non-D2D traffic direction.

At the block 318, the base station 318 determines or configures the appropriate connection identifiers (CIDs), security context (and potentially re-authenticates the devices), optimal transmission power level, modulation/coding level, and other connection parameters (collectively referred to as D2D connection scheduling information or message) to establish the desired D2D connection. For example, the transmission power level can be lower for a device to transmit to a nearby device than to transmit to a base station. Optimizing the power level decreases interference potential and extends the battery life of the devices. Depending on the network standard, the base station 102 may create a distinct CID for each desired D2D traffic direction or just a single CID for both traffic directions of the D2D link. In the case where a single CID is used for both traffic directions of the D2D link, when the scheduling mechanism allocates bandwidth to the D2D CID, the scheduling mechanism also specifies which device has “transmit rights” for a given point in time. Such D2D connection scheduling information is transmitted (multi-cast) to each of the first and second devices 106, 108 at a block 320 (communication 410).

Then at a block 322, the base station 102 receives a confirmation that a D2D connection has been established from each of the first and second devices 106, 108 (communication 412). Lastly at a block 324, since the base station 102 controls and schedules each communication between the first and second devices 106, 108 on the established D2D link, the base station 102 receives and monitors information about channel quality, QoS, traffic loads, interference information, link data rate, link performance characteristics, etc. pertaining to the D2D link to set the scheduling parameters (e.g., optimal power level, modulation/coding level, schedule resources) associated with the next bandwidth request from the first or second devices 106, 108. Depending on the monitored performance characteristics, the base station 102 can decide to move the data traffic back to the infrastructure path when necessary.

On future bandwidth requests associated with a specific D2D CID, the base station 102 uses the D2D CID to assign channel resources in the scheduling map/message. The base station 102 uses channel quality, QoS, traffic load, and interference information about the D2D link to set the optimal power, modulation/coding level, and schedule resources to optimize network performance.

In another embodiment, FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4B show a second protocol in which the originating device (e.g., first device 106) only knows the content or service it wants but not which device it wants to connect to. At the block 302, the base station 102 receives a request from the first device 106 for data content or service (communication 420 of FIG. 4B). FIG. 3B shows sub-blocks of block 302, in which the base station 102 receives the request for data content or service from the first device 106 (sub-block 330) and then determines potential device(s) that can supply the requested data content or service (sub-block 332).

At the sub-block 332 and block 304, if the network 100 maintains (or has access to) a database of data content and/or services offered by its subscribers' devices, then the network 100 (or base station 102) determines which device(s) that are located within the cell 104 offer the content/service requested by the first device 106. If the network 100 (or base station 102) has more specific location information (such as GPS coordinates) about the devices within the cell 104, then only those device(s) that are within potential D2D range of the first device 106 and which offer the content/service requested by the first device 106, in accordance with the database, may be selected. Alternatively, the network 100 (or base station 102) may choose to expand the group of eligible devices beyond those identified by the database. In some embodiments, the database may be included in the base station 102, such as the memory 204 (FIG. 2).

If the network 100 does not maintain (or have access to) such a database, then the network 100 (or base station 102) can at least identify the device(s) that are within D2D range of the first device 106 (e.g., based association with the same base station or on more specific location information such as GPS data), and then inquire with those device(s) whether they offer the requested content/server. If the base station 102 plans to schedule an ad-hoc discovery period, then it can bypass this inquiry and instead request that only devices with the requested content/service engage in discovery with the first device 106. For instance, the devices identified as candidates for a D2D connection with the first device 106 to provide the requested content/service can be each of the second device 108 and the third device 109 (also referred to as D3). One or more devices can be identified as candidate devices.

Next at the block 306, the base station 102 schedules device discovery resource allocation with each of the first device 106 and all of the devices identified as candidates for a D2D connection (e.g., second and third devices 108, 109) similar to that discussed above with respect to the first protocol (communication 422). The allocation structure instructs the first device 106 to transmit a specific discovery message, and instructs each of the second and third devices 108, 109 to listen in during the first device's 106 transmission time period. As previously noted above, while in this discussion the first device 106 is assigned to transmit the discovery message and the second and third devices 108, 109 are assigned to listen for the discovery message and report the results to the base station 102, the base station 102 can conversely or also schedule the second and third devices 108, 109 to transmit discovery messages and the first device 106 to listen for such discovery messages, or the base station 102 may schedule an ad-hoc discovery period.

In some embodiments, the first device 106 can be further instructed to include in its discovery message information about the requested data content/service so that devices that successfully receive the discovery message during the device discovery allocation time period can confirm that they have available the requested content/service. The first device 106 can also include this information autonomously. Inclusion of information about the requested data content/service in the discovery message may be useful, for example, when there is no available database cataloging the devices' content/service offerings. If the base station 102 schedules the second and/or third devices 108, 109 to transmit the discovery message, each of these devices may transmit its content/service offering.

If the network 100 (or base station 102) chooses to expand the group of candidate devices for D2D connection beyond those identified using the database, this may increase the number of candidate devices significantly. As such, these devices may be grouped and identified according to different criteria (e.g., sector, GPS location, signal strength, etc.) in order to reduce signaling overhead in the allocation structure when scheduling an ad-hoc discovery period.

Once device discovery is scheduled, at the block 308, the first device 106 transmits a specific discovery message and such discovery message is received by the base station 102 similar to that discussed above with respect to the first protocol (communication 424). Each of the candidate devices scheduled to participate in the device discovery, and which successfully received (overhead) the discovery message transmitted by the first device 106, sends a device discovery report to the base station 102. The respective device discovery reports are received by the base station 102 at the block 308 similar to that discussed above with respect to the first protocol. Continuing the example, the base station receives a device discovery report from each of the second and third devices 108, 109 (communication 426). The base station 102 may stop transmission of these reports if or when it determines that it has already found a viable D2D candidate from those already received. The device discovery report includes information about the signal quality, channel quality, and other characteristics of the transmission from the first device 106. If the discovery message includes information about the requested content/service, the device discovery report from each of the devices also confirms the availability of the requested content/service on the respective device. If the base station 102 instead schedules the second the third devices 108, 109 to transmit the discovery message and the first device 106 to listen, the first device 106 may analyze/process the discovery information and filter the list of potential candidates before sending a discovery report to the base station 102.

Next at the block 312, the base station 102 determines which device from among the candidate devices should provide the requested content/service and what kind of communication path should be established to accomplish the content/service “download” (uni-directional D2D link, bi-directional D2D link, D2B links) based on the received device discovery reports. Note that even though the original request for content/service “download” is from the selected device to the first device 106, the base station 102 determines the best communication path for both directions of data traffic, because the first device 106 may subsequently respond to the content/service source. As discussed above with respect to the first protocol, the base station 102 considers channel qualities, traffic load, QoS, and the like reported (or determined from the report) from or about each of the candidate devices to select the content/service source device and communication path.

Continuing the example, the base station 102 may select the third device 109 (from among the second and third devices 108, 109) to be the content/service source to fulfill the first device's request.

The remaining blocks 314-324 are performed the same as discussed above except the blocks are performed with respect to the first device 106 and the selected device (continuing the example, the third device 109). Among other things, the base station 102 communicates scheduling information to each of the first and third devices, 106, 109 (communication 428) to setup or establish a D2D connection there between at the block 320. In response, the base station 102 receives confirmation of establishment of the D2D connection from each of the first and third devices 106, 109 (communication 430) at the block 322.

Once a D2D link has been established between a given pair of devices—for both cases where the requesting and terminating devices are known at the onset and for when only the requesting device is known—the majority of the control signaling passes between the base station and the given pair of devices. The D2D link is primarily used for data traffic. In some embodiments, however, certain of the control signaling may pass between the given pair of devices without involving the base station. For example, the network may determine that it is a more efficient use of network resources for packet acknowledgements, ACK/NACKs, to pass directly between the given pair of devices.

Accordingly, centralized control of intra-cell D2D connections on licensed bands is disclosed herein. The wireless communications network boosts network capacity by judiciously moving data traffic off the infrastructure network onto direct communication links between devices. Such use of D2D links increases channel reuse, improves data rates, and reduces the number of transmissions. Moreover, because this mechanism is fully centralized—controlled and scheduled by the network—the network operator maintains full oversight of D2D links. The network operator thus maintains control of network resources and network performance as well as pricing/charging rights.

The term “machine-readable medium,” “computer readable medium,” and the like should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, non-transitory, and carrier wave signals.

It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description describes some embodiments with reference to different functional units or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processors or domains may be used without detracting from embodiments of the invention. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processors or controllers may be performed by the same processor or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. One skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in accordance with the invention. Moreover, it will be appreciated that various modifications and alterations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. An enhanced node B (eNodeB) for controlling a device-to-device connection on licensed bands of a wireless communications network, the eNodeB comprising:

a transceiver to receive a request from a first device to communicate with a second device or a request from the first device for content or service;

a processor in communication with the transceiver, the processor to schedule a device discovery between the first device and at least a candidate device and to determine establishing the device-to-device connection between the first device and the candidate device based on a discovery report generated by one of the first or candidate device, wherein the discovery report comprises information about signal quality of transmission from the other one of the first or candidate device that is received by the one of the first or candidate device during the scheduled device discovery.

2. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the processor determines scheduling information to establish the device-to-device connection, and wherein the transceiver transmits the scheduling information to each of the first device and the candidate device to establish the device-to-device connection.

3. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the candidate device is the second device when the received request from the first device is to communicate with the second device.

4. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the processor determines the at least one candidate device based on proximity of the at least one candidate device to the first device

5. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the processor determines that at least one candidate device based on availability of the candidate device to offer the content or service requested by the first device.

6. The eNodeB of claim 5, wherein a memory in communication with the processor includes information about the availability of devices to offer the content or service requested by the first device.

7. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the device discovery comprises a first instruction to the other one of the first or candidate device to transmit a specific message during the scheduled device discovery and a second instruction to the one of the first or candidate device to operate in a receive mode during the scheduled device discovery.

8. The eNodeB of claim 7, wherein the device discovery comprises a third instruction to the other one of the first or candidate device to transmit information about the content or service requested and a fourth instruction to the one of the first or candidate device to confirm its availability of the content or service, when the request received from the first device is for the content or service, and wherein the other one of the first or candidate device comprising the first device and the one of the first or candidate device comprising the candidate device.

9. The eNodeB of claim 7, wherein the device discovery comprises a third instruction to the other one of the first or candidate device to include in the specific message content or service being offered by the other one of the first or candidate device, when the request received from the first device is for the content or service, and wherein the other one of the first or candidate device comprises the candidate device and the one of the first or candidate device comprises the first device.

10. The eNodeB of claim 7, wherein the transceiver receives availability information about the content or service automatically from the candidate device without an instruction from the eNodeB.

11. The eNodeB of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications network comprises a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) network.

12. An enhanced node B (eNodeB), comprising:

a transceiver to receive a request from a first device to communicate with a second device or a request from the first device for content or service;

a processor in communication with the transceiver, the processor to schedule a device discovery between the first device and at least a candidate device and to determine establishing the device-to-device connection between the first device and the candidate device based on a discovery report generated by one of the first or candidate device, wherein the discovery report comprises information about transmission signal quality during the scheduled device discovery, and wherein both of the first device and the candidate device are located within a cell served by the eNodeB.

13. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein discovery report comprises information about signal quality of transmission from the other one of the first or candidate device as received by the one of the first or candidate device during the scheduled device discovery.

14. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the processor determines whether to establish the device-to-device connection by selecting among establishing a uni-directional device-to-device connection, a bi-directional device-to-device connection, and device-to-base connections.

15. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the scheduling information comprises a connection identifier (CID) that is unique for the device-to-device connection and at least one signaling parameter for communicating on the device-to-device connection.

16. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the processor selects the at least one candidate device from among a plurality of devices based on a certain device-to-device range between the first device and the candidate device.

17. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the processor monitors performance of a session of the device-to-device connection after the device-to-device connection has been established to schedule subsequent communications between the first device and the candidate device on the device-to-device connection.

18. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the candidate device is the second device when the received request from the first device is to communicate with the second device.

19. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the processor determines the at least one candidate device based on proximity of the at least one candidate device to the first device.

20. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein the processor determines that at least one candidate device based on availability of the candidate device to offer the content or service requested by the first device.

21. The eNodeB of claim 12, wherein each of the first device, the second device, and the candidate device comprises a user equipment (UE) operating in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) network.

22. A method for controlling a device-to-device connection on licensed bands of a wireless communications network including an enhanced node B (eNodeB), the method comprising:

receiving a request from a first device to communicate with a second device;

scheduling, by the eNodeB, a device discovery between the first device and the second device, the scheduling of the device discovery including specifying one of the first or second device to operate in transmit mode and the other one of the first or second device to operate in receive mode during a device discovery time period;

receiving a discovery report from the other one of the first or second device, the discovery report comprising information about signal quality of a transmission from the one of the first or second device as received by the other one of the first or second device during the device discovery time period; and

determining, by the eNodeB, the device-to-device connection between the first and second devices in accordance with the received discovery report.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the determining of the device-to-device connection comprises selecting among establishing a uni-directional device-to-device connection, a bi-directional device-to-device connection, and device-to-base connections.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising transmitting scheduling information to each of the first and second devices to establish the device-to-device connection.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the scheduling information comprises a connection identifier (CID) for the device-to-device connection and at least one signaling parameter for communicating on the device-to-device connection.

26. A computer readable medium including instructions, which when executed by a processor of an enhanced node B (eNodeB), causes the eNodeB to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from a first device for content or service;

scheduling a device discovery between the first device and at least a second device, the scheduling of the device discovery including specifying one of the first or second device to operate in transmit mode and the other one of the first or second device to operate in receive mode during a device discovery time period;

receiving a discovery report from the other one of the first or second device, the discovery report comprising information about signal quality of a transmission from the one of the first or second device as received by the other one of the first or second device during the device discovery time period; and

determining a device-to-device connection between the first and second devices in accordance with the received discovery report.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, further comprising selecting the at least second device from among a plurality of candidate devices based at least on a device-to-device range between the first device and the second device, wherein both the first device and the second device are intra-cell located with each other.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 27, wherein the selecting of the at least second device includes receiving information relating to availability of the content or service requested at the second device prior to scheduling the device discovery.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the scheduling of the device discovery includes instructing the second device to provide information relating to availability of the content or service at the second device during the device discovery time period.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the scheduling of the device discovery includes instructing the first device to transmit identification information corresponding to the content or service requested during the device discovery time period.