SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MACHINE TO MACHINE COMMUNICATION

An apparatus may include a processor circuit, a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to the processor circuit, the RF transceiver operable to transmit a wireless data message. The apparatus may also include a communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to monitor transmission of the wireless data message to a network, and to transmit to the network a deregistration request to release a connected state when transmission of the wireless data message is complete. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

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Description

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/450,716 filed Mar. 9, 2011 and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Machine to Machine (M2M) communications is emerging as a dynamic technology, which enables the “Internet of things” that can exchange information without human interaction. In some cases M2M communication entails wireless information exchange between a subscriber station (M2M device) and a server in the core network of an operator, with the aid of a base station in the radio access network of the operator. Another example involves the wireless exchange of information between two different subscriber stations linked to a base station. In each of these M2M communications, no human interaction need take place.

Currently, wireless networks, such as cellular networks are designed to facilitate human communication, such as interactive communication including voice and video, web browsing, and file downloads. Cellular mobile networks are optimized for traffic characteristics of human-based communication applications, including the length, data volume, frequency, and patterns of such communications. However, machine to machine communications over a wireless network may entail very different characteristics. For example, message size in M2M communications may range from very small in the case of smart meters, to large, in the case of tele-care.

At present, when an M2M device acquires a network for wireless communications, the M2M device may be assigned an identity, which is typically a 12 bit number, so that data communications can be managed. Because data communication is typically sporadic for a large number of applications of M2M devices, for many applications the M2M device need not continuously maintain the assigned identity. Accordingly, after data is communicated, a series of procedures may take place that ultimately result in the release of the assigned identity back to the network. In this manner, a finite amount of identities might in principle be shared among a larger group of M2M devices serviced by an operator within a cell. Under current standards, 12 bit identities are used, which limits the number of identities to 4098 (212) within a cell.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a system consistent with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts details of an M2M device consistent with present embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a scenario for operation of the M2M device consistent with the present embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an M2M ID use scenario consistent with the present embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a conventional M2M ID use scenario

FIG. 6 depicts scheduling of IDs for multiple M2M devices consistent with the present embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a conventional scheduling of IDs for M2M devices.

FIG. 8 depicts another exemplary communication scheduling module

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 10 depicts a logic flow consistent with additional embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary system embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing architecture.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are related to improving machine to machine (M2M) communications in a wireless network. In various embodiments, the M2M may communications may be carried by an operator that manages a radio access network and core network to transmit data from an M2M device. Some embodiments of a communications system may be implemented with a radio technology such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) (E-UTRA), among others. IEEE 802.16m is an evolution of IEEE 802.16e, and provides backward compatibility with an IEEE 802.16-based system. The UTRA is a part of UMTS. The 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. LTE-advance (LTE-A) is an evolution of the 3GPP LTE.

Various present day communications standards originally developed to facilitate human communications, also define architecture and procedures for M2M communications, including 802.16m and 3GPP LTE. According to the 802.16p standard (IEEE 802.16p-10/0004, “802.16p System Requirements Document”) a system shall support a large number of devices and mechanisms for low power consumption in M2M devices. This implies that within the range of each base station handling M2M communications, a relatively large number of M2M devices need to be supported. This feature therefore requires sufficient addressing range for simultaneously supporting large numbers of M2M devices within a given cell.

It can be seen, therefore, that present day schemes limit the number of simultaneous identities for M2M devices within a cell to a relatively modest number. As M2M applications proliferate, the need to increase the number of identities might in principle be addressed by increasing the identity bit size, for example, from 12 to 16. However, the change in size may impact many other legacy wireless network functions, which may render this approach less desirable.

In some embodiments, the need to accommodate an increasing number of M2M devices within a cell may be addressed by reducing the duration in which a given M2M device retains an assigned identity. In particular, various embodiments take advantage of the fact that under typical operating conditions, many M2M devices only sporadically communicate data. Because of this, the present embodiments more closely align the period in which an M2M device retains its assigned identity (ID) and the time in which data is being communicated by that M2M device. In this manner, more efficient sharing of the IDs available to M2M devices within a given location may take place. This may facilitate accommodating an increasing number of M2M devices in a radio network without having to increase the identity bit size of an M2M device. In accordance with some embodiments, the standards for procedures to manage ID assignment in M2M devices may be revised to take into account the ability to accommodate larger amounts of M2M devices without changing ID bit size. In one example, the IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Working Group includes the Contributed Document IEEE C802.16p-11/0014 titled “Proposed Text For Addressing of STID Addressing Scheme in IEEE 802.16p system, dated Mar. 3, 2011, which is contributed to the IEEE 802.16p amendment working document (AWD) (hereinafter “WiMAX M2M standard working document”), may be updated to reflect procedures consistent with the present embodiments. In particular, section 16 of the WiMAX standard working document may add the following section (shown in italics):

16.2.1 Addressing

16.2.1.2 Logical identifiers

16.2.1.2.1 Station Identifier

    • A 12-bit STID is used to identify a M2M device in domain of the M2M BS also. M2M BS shall assign a STID to each M2M device or M2M device group during Network entry.
      In one embodiment, the 12-bit STID may be the same 12-bit STID as defined by one or more of the IEEE 802.16m and/or IEEE 802.16p series of standards, progeny, and variants. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In one embodiment, for example, a M2M device may include a communication scheduling module operable on a processor circuit to monitor transmission of a M2M communication, such as a wireless data message, from the M2M device to a network (e.g., a network device) via a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver when the M2M device is in a connected state. A M2M communication is an information exchange between M2M devices through a base station, or between a device and a server in a core network through a base station, that may be carried out without any human interaction. The wireless data message may comprise, among other types of information, a station identifier (STID) assigned to the M2M device upon network entry into the network. The STID may identify the M2M device to the network while in the connected state, and initiate transmission of a deregistration request via the RF transceiver to release the M2M device from the connected state after transmission of the wireless data message is complete and before the M2M device enters a sleep state. The release of the M2M device operates to release the station identifier for reuse or reallocation by the network. In this manner, the network may efficiently and effectively reuse station identifiers, which are a scarce network resource. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 consistent with various embodiments. The system 100 includes multiple M2M wireless devices (or “M2M device”) 102a (where a may be any positive integer) that are serviced by a mobile network operator 104. The mobile network operator 104 may include a radio network 106 that may establish wireless communication the M2M devices 102a, as well as a service network 108. Data transmitted to and from the M2M devices 102a may be communicated to the service network 108, and may also be communicated with other M2M devices coupled to the mobile network operator.

One or more of the M2M devices 102a may include a communication scheduling module whose operation is detailed below. As illustrated, the M2M device 102a includes a communication scheduling module 110, which facilitates managing of IDs that may be assigned to the M2M device 102a for communicating with the network operator 104, and in particular with the radio network 106. In various embodiments, the communication scheduling module 110 may monitor data traffic between the M2M device 102a and radio network 106. The communication scheduling module 110 may coordinate with an entity within the radio network 106, such as a base station, to perform various activities including the release of an ID assigned to the M2M wireless device.

In various embodiments, an M2M device 102a may comprise a device that reports data to be used by other devices, systems, or organizations. Examples of such devices include, but are not limited to, utility meters, parking meters, medical monitors, home security monitors, smart home appliances, maintenance monitors in cars, digital billboards, various types of remote sensors, and other devices. In some embodiments, an M2M device may include a sensor, metering device, or other type of monitor that may collect data, either on a regular periodic basis, or on a non-periodic basis. In some embodiments, the M2M device may be operable to report collected data on an intermittent basis, which may be at regular or irregular intervals. For example, the M2M device 102a may be operable to collect data at several instances during a day, and may also be operable to report the collected data. The data may be reported at the time of collection, or at other instances. For example, a parking meter may collect and report data intermittently, only upon the occasion where the parking meter is subject to use, for example. On the other hand, a utility monitor may collect data at a regular, relatively shorter interval, such as every few minutes, while, reporting the data at a relatively longer interval, such as once a day.

It is to be noted that M2M devices may be coupled to other devices or networks through a wired link. However, the present embodiments generally address improvements in communication from an M2M device over a wireless link.

FIG. 2 depicts details of an M2M device 202 consistent with present embodiments. In the M2M device 202, a sensor 204 may collect data to be reported to an external entity, such as a utility. A processor 206 may regulate the collection of the sensor data, which may, but need not be, placed in a memory 208 before transmission. A communication scheduling module 210 may be operable on the processor 206 to control communications between M2M device 202 and a radio access network 212. The communications scheduling module 210 may control, for example, the duration of time in which the M2M device 202 retains an ID to identify the M2M device 202 to the network. In operation, after the M2M device 202, acquires radio access network 212, different type of messages may be communicated between the M2M device 202 and radio access network 212. For example, transceiver 214 may communicate control messages 216 to and from the M2M device 202. The transceiver 214 may also transmit data messages 218 that may include data collected by the sensor 204.

In order for M2M device 202 to properly communicate data messages 218, the radio access network 212 may provide an ID to be temporarily used by M2M device 202. Because the M2M device 202 may be dormant for long periods between reporting data messages 218, it may be useful for the M2M device 202 to release the ID for use by other devices is a timely fashion, as provided for in the present embodiments.

Consistent with various embodiments, FIG. 3 depicts a scenario for operation of the M2M device 202 in conjunction with a base station 302 of a network (not shown) to receive data reported by the M2M device 202. After powering on, the M2M device may be initially in a disconnected state 304. A series of control messages 306 may be subsequently sent between M2M device 202 and base station 302, including downlink synchronization and ranging, which allow the M2M device 202 to acquire a network containing base station 304. Included in the control messages 306 may be a message sent by base station 302 that assigns an ID to M2M device 202. Subsequently, the M2M device 308 may enter into a connected state 308. During the connected state 308, data message 310 may be communicated between the M2M device 202 and base station 302. For example, the M2M device 202 may collect data and transmit the collected data to base station 304 while in the connected state 308. Consistent with the present embodiments, the transmission of a data message 310 may be primarily one way, that is, the data may be transmitted on an uplink from M2M device 202 and base station 304. Once the data transmitted, a deregistration process 314 may be initiated before the M2M device 202 enters an idle state 318. For example, the M2M device 202 may send one or more bursts of data to the base station 302. The M2M device 202 may transmit a deregistration request together with the last burst of data in order to alert the base station 302 that the M2M device is to be deregistered and its ID to be released. Consequently, the base station 302 may send a deregistration command and/or take other actions to facilitate release of the current ID assigned to the M2M device 202. Subsequently, the M2M device 202 may enter an idle state 318, in which state paging messages 322, 324 may be delivered to the M2M device 202 during a paging period 320.

During the idle mode, the M2M device 202 may continue to monitor and/or collect data, which may be collected intermittently, as noted above. At a subsequent instance, which may not take place until the M2M device 202 has spent hours or days without having an ID, the M2M device 202 may determine that data is to be transmitted to the base station 302. This may be triggered, for example, by an event detected by a sensor 204, or may be triggered as a regularly scheduled event. Accordingly, the M2M device 202 may send a request for registration, which may trigger a series of control messages 326 to register the M2M device 202, resulting in the assignment of new ID to M2M device 202. During a subsequent connect state 328, the M2M device may once more send one or more data messages 330 to the base station 302, after which a second deregistration process 332 takes place.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, an M2M device may effectively communicate data to a network in a manner reduces the time that the M2M device retains an ID assigned by the network. When the procedures illustrated in FIG. 3 are adopted by multiple M2M devices that may be linked to a given base station, the base station may allocate the available IDs more efficiently, thus facilitating servicing of more M2M devices within a coverage area of the base station. This contrasts with procedures specified by current standards in which an assigned ID may be retained by an M2M device for a substantially longer period of time during which no data is being communicated. For example, the present 802.16m standard specifies that procedures to take place during release of an ID of the M2M device (or “station identifier” (“STID”)) are to include the initiation of a sleep window, waiting timer, and sequence of request and response to complete deregistration and release of the ID.

To illustrate this point, FIG. 4 depicts an M2M ID use scenario consistent with the present embodiments, while FIG. 5 depicts a conventional M2M ID use scenario. In FIG. 4, an M2M device may initially enter an unconnected (or idle) state 402, in which the M2M device has not been assigned an ID, such as an STID. Subsequently, a network base station may assign an STID to the M2M device. Once assigned and STID, the M2M device may enter a connected state 404 during which time data transmission may take place between the M2M device and base station. For example, the M2M device may transmit one or more data bursts to a base station during the connected state 404. Once the data transmission is complete, the STID is released as described above. FIG. 4 depicts a period P1, which corresponds to a duration of time in which the STID remains assigned to the M2M device. As illustrated, the beginning of P1 may coincide with the connected state 404 of the M2M device. Moreover, as noted above, the release of the M2M ID may take place upon completion of data transmission, so that the end of the period P1 in which the M2M device releases an STID, may correspond closely to the end of data transmission. After release of the STID, the M2M device may re-enter a disconnected or idle state 402. In various embodiments, the scenario depicted in FIG. 4 may repeat itself multiple times, such that an M2M device cycles from an idle state 402 to a connected state 404, and the STID is maintained only during the connected state 404 in which data transmission can take place.

In FIG. 5, representative of a conventional scenario, an M2M device is initially in an unconnected (idle) state 502, after which an STID is assigned to transition the M2M device into a connected state 504. During the connected state 504 data may be transmitted between the M2M device and a base station. Once data transmission ceases, a sequence may be initiated to transition the M2M device back to an idle state 502. Included in this sequence may be a series of control signals related to deregistration requests. The M2M device may subsequently enter into a sleep state 506 as specified by current standards. During both the connected state 504 and sleep state 506, the M2M device may retain its assigned STID, corresponding to the period P2, as illustrated. The total time elapsed between when data transmission has stopped, and STID release is complete may entail about 4-10 radio frames in the conventional scenario illustrated in FIG. 5. In comparison, a typical duration of data transmission for an M2M device may be on the order of 2-3 radio frames. As a result, a large fraction of the time that the M2M device retains its STID may be spent in transitioning between connected 504 and idle states 502. Moreover, for a given duration of data transmission, the conventional scenario of FIG. 5 may require retention of an ID by the M2M device for substantially longer than the scenario provided by the embodiment in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, for a typical duration of M2M data transmission the total “duty cycle “during which an ID is retained by the M2M device may be two to three times greater for the conventional M2M operation of FIG. 5 as compared to that provided by the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Accordingly, for a given data reporting frequency and given amount of data in each report, the present embodiments provide the ability for a base station to manage a larger group of M2M devices that may report data intermittently as compared to conventional procedures, since the total fraction of time that each M2M device may require an STID is less than for conventional operation. This is illustrated by a comparison of FIG. 6, which depicts scheduling of IDs for multiple M2M devices consistent with the present embodiments, and FIG. 7, which depicts a conventional scheduling of IDs for M2M devices. In the scenario of FIG. 6, the duration for which a given M2M device holds an ID is set to be P1, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 4, while in FIG. 7, the duration for which a given M2M device holds an ID is set to be P2, as discussed above with respect to FIG. 5. The M2M devices 600 may represent those M2M devices serviced by a given base station (not shown) in a given cell of a radio access network. FIG. 6 specifically depicts the state of M2M devices 600 at eight different intervals of time. For the purposes of illustration, the width of the M2M devices 600 is shown the same as the width P1 to emphasize the duration in which each M2M 600 device retains an ID. The M2M devices 600 may each operate according to the procedures outlined with respect to FIGS. 2-4. A communication scheduling module (see communication scheduling module 210) may schedule any group of the M2M devices 600 to release an ID as soon as data is transmitted by the M2M device. This serves to minimize the duration of P1, which affords the ability of a network to service more M2M devices 600.

For the purposes of illustration, in the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that each M2M device uses an ID for the same fixed period P1. Furthermore, each M2M device 600 is also assumed to report data intermittently at the same regular reporting interval D1. Thus, each M2M device 600 retains an ID for a period P1 and is idle for the balance of the reporting D1. This may represent devices that regularly reporting metering information but are idle for substantial periods between reports. For example, the M2M devices 600 may represent a group of metering devices that report metering information at the same regular interval.

To further aid in understanding, it may be assumed that each group of M2M devices 602, 604, 606, 608 represents the maximum number of M2M IDs supported by the radio access network. For example, each group of M2M devices 602, 604, 606, 608 may be about 4096 devices, or 212, which represents the maximum number of distinct IDs that can be formed using a 12 bit ID addressing scheme consistent with current standards, and operating under the assumption for simplicity that each ID is assigned to a single device. For the scenario shown in FIG. 6, it may also be assumed for simplicity that all the M2M devices within a group of devices receive and release their IDs at the same time. Thus, at any given time, only one group of 4096 M2M devices may have its IDs assigned, which are represented by the shaded devices, while the unshaded M2M devices represent those that do not have an assigned ID. For example, between t1 and t1 the M2M devices 602 retain IDs, while the M2M devices 604, 606, and 608 are idle.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, once a group of M2M devices releases their IDs, another group may be assigned the released IDs. For example, at time t1 the M2M devices 602 may release their 4096 IDs, enabling the M2M devices 604 to be assigned the released IDs. Subsequently, at a time t2, the M2M devices 604 may release their IDs, so that the M2M devices 606 may be assigned the released IDs; at a time t3, the M2M devices 606 may releases their IDs, so that the M2M devices 608 may be assigned the released IDs, and so forth.

At the time t4 the M2M devices 608 may release their 4096 IDs, enabling the M2M devices 602 to be assigned the released IDs. In FIG. 6, for simplicity, the time t4 is shown to correspond to the end of the interval D1. Because each of the M2M devices is to report data at intervals of D1, the M2M devices 602 may then report a second set of data beginning at t4. It can be seen that the arrangement of FIG. 6 facilitates support for scheduling IDs for a maximum of 4096×4=16,384 M2M devices for those devices that report data at the intervals of D1, where the duration that an ID is held P1 is ¼ D1.

In contrast, the FIG. 7 depicts a scenario in which M2M devices 700 are scheduled with an ID for a duration of P2, which is set to be twice as long as P1 for the purposes of illustration. This may be due to the fact that the duration of P2 includes a sleep period, as prescribed for M2M ID release in known standards, as discussed with respect to FIG. 5. The M2M devices 700 may represent the total number of M2M devices in the range of a base station in a given cell of a radio access network. Each group of M2M devices 702, 704 may be about 4096, or 212, which represents the maximum number of distinct IDs that can be formed using a 12 bit ID addressing scheme consistent with current standards. It may also be assumed for simplicity that all the M2M devices within a group of devices receive and release their IDs at the same time. Thus, at any given time, only one group of M2M devices 702 or 704, which each represent the maximum amount of available IDs, may have assigned IDs. The scenario of FIG. 7 is further predicated upon the assumption that the M2M devices regularly report data at intervals D1 as in FIG. 6.

As with FIG. 6, the scenario in FIG. 7 depicts the state of M2M devices 700 at various time intervals. At any given instance in time, the shaded devices again illustrate those that currently retain an ID, while the unshaded devices do not have an assigned ID. Once a group of M2M devices releases their IDs, another group may be assigned the released IDs. For example, at time t2 the M2M devices 702 may release their 4096 IDs, enabling the M2M devices 704 to be assigned the released IDs. Subsequently, at a time t4, the M2M devices 704 may releases their IDs, so that other M2M devices may be assigned the released IDs. However, because the time t4 also corresponds to the end of the interval D1, after the M2M devices 704 release their IDs, the released IDs are registered to the M2M devices 702 once more so that a second set of data may be promptly reported. Subsequently, at time t6 when the M2M devices 702 release their IDs, the M2M devices 704 are scheduled with IDs to report a second set of data. In this manner, it can be seen that the total number of M2M devices that can be scheduled for IDs by the scenario of FIG. 7 is only 4096×2=8192. Although other M2M 706 devices may be present in the range of a base station, the M2M devices cannot receive IDs due to the limited number of IDs available at any time (4096), the duration of P2, and the frequency or reporting of data D1.

It is to be noted that in typical scenarios different M2M devices linked to a base station may be assigned an ID individually and may report data at differing intervals. However, the advantages afforded by the present embodiments as illustrated in FIG. 6 still apply. In other words, for a fixed or average interval D for reporting data, reducing the duration P in which an ID is held by an M2M device, allows that ID to be potentially shared by a greater number of M2M devices. Thus, future standards may be modified to account for the lower duration P afforded by the present embodiments. In particular, this may allow standards to accommodate a larger number of M2M devices without having to change the current 12 bit addressing scheme.

FIG. 8 depicts another exemplary communication scheduling module 802, which may form part of an M2M wireless device 102a. The communication scheduling monitor 802 may include a control signal reader 804, a timing module 806, a sensor interface 808, data monitor 810 and wireless device state scheduler 812. The control signal reader 804 may receive control signals from a base station, such as messages that assign an ID, acknowledgment messages, and deregistration commands, among others. The information collected by the control signal reader 804, timing module, sensor interface module 808, and data monitor 810 may be used by the communication scheduling module 802 to schedule transition between different states, such as between idle and connected states. For example, while in a disconnected or idle state the sensor interface 808 module may receive a sensor data signal indicating that data has been recorded by a sensor. The receipt of the sensor data signal may trigger the wireless device state scheduler 812 to send a request for registration to the base station in order to transition to a connected state and receive an STID.

In various embodiments, while in the connected state, the data message monitor 810 may flag every time data is transmitted from an M2M device containing the communication scheduling monitor 802, and may determine when transmission of a data message has been completed, which determination may trigger different sequences of events leading to the transition to an idle state. In some embodiments, the determination that a data message has been sent may trigger the wireless device state scheduler 812 to automatically release its currently-held STID and transition into an idle state. In other embodiments, the determination that a data message has been sent may trigger the communication scheduling monitor 802 to send a request for deregistration to a base station. The control signal reader 804 may subsequently receive one or more control messages from the base station that result in the wireless device state scheduler 812 transitioning the M2M device containing communication scheduling module 802 to an idle mode. In one embodiment, the control signal reader 804 may receive an acknowledgment message (such as a hybrid automatic repeat request message (HARQ)) from the base station that the data message was successfully received, which may trigger the wireless device state scheduler 812 to release its STID and initiate a transition to idle mode. In another embodiment, the control signal reader 804 may receive a data HARQ message as well as a deregistration command message from the base station. When the wireless device state scheduler 812 receives both a data HARQ message and deregistration command message, it may release its STID and initiate a transition to idle mode.

The timing module 806 may also trigger the wireless device state scheduler to take action to transition an M2M device between states. For example, the timing module 806 may initiate a timer after a data message is transmitted to monitor time elapsed after the transmission. In some embodiments in which deregistration requires receipt of a data HARQ message and/or a deregistration command message in a downlink in order to complete the process, the timer module 806 may be set to continue counting until receipt of the required message(s). The timing module 806 may be set to expire at a predetermined interval after initiation, at which instance a signal may be sent to wireless device state scheduler 812 to release the currently held STID. For example, the predetermined interval may be set to allow sufficient time for a HARQ message to be returned and for a data message to be retransmitted from the sending M2M device as needed. In order to ensure that STID allocation is performed efficiently, the timer may be set to expire after a reasonable duration, such as 1 second. Thus, if the timer expires, the wireless device state scheduler 812 may release the currently held STID and transition to an idle state even if an expected data HARQ and/or deregistration command has not been received. In such a case, the M2M device may retain the presently-collected data for transmission during a subsequent connected state.

Included herein is a set of flow charts representative of exemplary methodologies for performing novel aspects of the disclosed system and architecture. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown herein, for example, in the form of a flow chart or flow diagram, are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methodologies are not limited by τhe order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance therewith, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all acts illustrated in a methodology may be required for a novel implementation.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary logic flow 900. At block 902 a network is acquired by an M2M device. This may involve downlink synchronization and ranging, for example. At block 904 an identity for the M2M device is received from the network. At block 906, a data message is transmitted to the network from the M2M device. At block 908 if more data is to be transmitted the flow returns to block 906. If not, the flow proceeds to block 910. At block 910, a deregistration request is sent to the network at the time of the last data transmission.

At block 912, the M2M device enters an idle state. The M2M device may release an STID in concert with transitioning to the idle state. At block 914, while in an idle state, a determination is made as to whether the time has arrived to transmit a further data message. If so, the flow returns to block 904. If not, the flow proceeds to block 916.

At the block 916, it is determined whether to exit the network. If not, the flow returns to block 912. If so, the network may be exited and the logic flow ends.

FIG. 10 depicts a logic flow 1000 consistent with additional embodiments. At block 1002 an identity, such as a station identifier (STID) is received from a network at an M2M device. At block 1004, a data message is transmitted over an uplink to the network that assigned the STID. At block 1006, a determination is made as to whether an acknowledgement (ACK) message, such as a HARQ message sent to acknowledge the uplink data transmission has been received. If not, the flow returns to block 1004 where the data message may be re-transmitted.

If an ACK message has been received, the flow moves to block 1008. At block 1010 the M2M device waits for a deregistration message. At block 1012, a determination is made as to whether a deregistration command has been received. If so, the flow moves to block 1016, where the M2M device enters into an idle state. The M2M device may release an STID in concert with transitioning to the idle state.

If, at block 1012, the deregistration command has not been received, the flow moves to block 1014. At block 1014, a determination is made as to whether a timer has expired. If not, the flow returns to block 1010 where the deregistration command is awaited. If the timer has expired, the flow moves to block 1016, where the idle state is entered.

After block 1016, the flow proceeds to block 1018, where a determination is made as to whether to exit the network. If not, the flow returns to block 1002, where a new station identifier is received. If so, the M2M device exits the network and the flow ends.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary system embodiment and in particular, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a platform 1100, which may include various elements. For instance, FIG. 11 shows that platform (system) 1110 may include a processor/graphics core 1102, a chipset/platform control hub (PCH) 1104, an input/output (I/O) device 1106, a random access memory (RAM) (such as dynamic RAM (DRAM)) 1108, and a read only memory (ROM) 1110, display electronics 1120, display backlight 1122, and various other platform components 1114 (e.g., a fan, a crossflow blower, a heat sink, DTM system, cooling system, housing, vents, and so forth). System 1100 may also include wireless communications chip 1116 and graphics device 1118. The embodiments, however, are not limited to these elements.

As shown in FIG. 11, I/O device 1106, RAM 1108, and ROM 1110 are coupled to processor 1102 by way of chipset 1104. Chipset 1104 may be coupled to processor 1102 by a bus 1112. Accordingly, bus 1112 may include multiple lines.

Processor 1102 may be a central processing unit comprising one or more processor cores and may include any number of processors having any number of processor cores. The processor 1102 may include any type of processing unit, such as, for example, CPU, multi-processing unit, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a processor that have a pipeline, a complex instruction set computer (CISC), digital signal processor (DSP), and so forth. In some embodiments, processor 1102 may be multiple separate processors located on separate integrated circuit chips. In some embodiments processor 1102 may be a processor having integrated graphics, while in other embodiments processor 1102 may be a graphics core or cores.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing system (architecture) 1200 suitable for implementing various embodiments as previously described. As used in this application, the terms “system” and “device” and “component” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution, examples of which are provided by the exemplary computing architecture 1200. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive, multiple storage drives (of optical and/or magnetic storage medium), an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Further, components may be communicatively coupled to each other by various types of communications media to coordinate operations. The coordination may involve the uni-directional or bi-directional exchange of information. For instance, the components may communicate information in the form of signals communicated over the communications media. The information can be implemented as signals allocated to various signal lines. In such allocations, each message is a signal. Further embodiments, however, may alternatively employ data messages. Such data messages may be sent across various connections. Exemplary connections include parallel interfaces, serial interfaces, and bus interfaces.

In one embodiment, the computing architecture 1200 may comprise or be implemented as part of an electronic device. Examples of an electronic device may include without limitation a mobile device, a personal digital assistant, a mobile computing device, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a messaging device, a computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a server, a server array or server farm, a web server, a network server, an Internet server, a work station, a mini-computer, a main frame computer, a supercomputer, a network appliance, a web appliance, a distributed computing system, multiprocessor systems, processor-based systems, consumer electronics, programmable consumer electronics, television, digital television, set top box, wireless access point, base station, subscriber station, mobile subscriber center, radio network controller, router, hub, gateway, bridge, switch, machine, or combination thereof. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

The computing architecture 1200 includes various common computing elements, such as one or more processors, co-processors, memory units, chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces, oscillators, timing devices, video cards, audio cards, multimedia input/output (I/O) components, and so forth. The embodiments, however, are not limited to implementation by the computing architecture 1200.

As shown in FIG. 12, the computing architecture 1200 comprises a processing unit 1204, a system memory 1206 and a system bus 1208. The processing unit 1204 can be any of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi processor architectures may also be employed as the processing unit 1204. The system bus 1208 provides an interface for system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1206 to the processing unit 1204. The system bus 1208 can be any of several types of bus structure that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures.

The computing architecture 1200 may comprise or implement various articles of manufacture. An article of manufacture may comprise a computer-readable storage medium to store various forms of programming logic. Examples of a computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible media capable of storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples of programming logic may include executable computer program instructions implemented using any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, and the like.

The system memory 1206 may include various types of computer-readable storage media in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change or ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing information. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the system memory 1206 can include non-volatile memory 1210 and/or volatile memory 1212. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can be stored in the non-volatile memory 1210.

The computer 1202 may include various types of computer-readable storage media in the form of one or more lower speed memory units, including an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1214, a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1216 to read from or write to a removable magnetic disk 1218, and an optical disk drive 1220 to read from or write to a removable optical disk 1222 (e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD). The HDD 1214, FDD 1216 and optical disk drive 1220 can be connected to the system bus 1208 by a HDD interface 1224, an FDD interface 1226 and an optical drive interface 1228, respectively. The HDD interface 1224 for external drive implementations can include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1294 interface technologies.

The drives and associated computer-readable media provide volatile and/or nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and so forth. For example, a number of program modules can be stored in the drives and memory units 1210, 1212, including an operating system 1230, one or more application programs 1232, other program modules 1234, and program data 1236.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1202 through one or more wire/wireless input devices, for example, a keyboard 1238 and a pointing device, such as a mouse 1240. Other input devices may include a microphone, an infra-red (IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 1204 through an input device interface 1242 that is coupled to the system bus 1208, but can be connected by other interfaces such as a parallel port, IEEE 1294 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, and so forth.

A monitor 1244 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 1208 via an interface, such as a video adaptor 1246. In addition to the monitor 1244, a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices, such as speakers, printers, and so forth.

The computer 1202 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wire and/or wireless communications to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 1248. The remote computer 1248 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 1202, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 1250 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted include wire/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1252 and/or larger networks, for example, a wide area network (WAN) 1254. Such LAN and WAN networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which may connect to a global communications network, for example, the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1202 is connected to the LAN 1252 through a wire and/or wireless communication network interface or adaptor 1256. The adaptor 1256 can facilitate wire and/or wireless communications to the LAN 1252, which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless functionality of the adaptor 1256.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1202 can include a modem 1258, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN 1254, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 1254, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1258, which can be internal or external and a wire and/or wireless device, connects to the system bus 1208 via the input device interface 1242. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1202, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 1250. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used.

The computer 1202 is operable to communicate with wire and wireless devices or entities using the IEEE 802 family of standards, such as wireless devices operatively disposed in wireless communication (e.g., IEEE 802.11 over-the-air modulation techniques) with, for example, a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), communications satellite, any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi (or Wireless Fidelity), WiMax, and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11x (a, b, g, n, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wire networks (which use IEEE 802.3-related media and functions).

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” along with their derivatives. These terms mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are not necessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, some embodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and/or “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow a 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. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosed architecture. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1-25. (canceled)

26. An apparatus, comprising:

a radio-frequency (RF) transceiver; and
a communication scheduling module operable on a processor circuit to monitor transmission of a wireless data message from a machine to machine (M2M) device to a network via the RF transceiver when the M2M device is in a connected state, the wireless data message comprising a station identifier assigned to the M2M device upon network entry into the network and that identifies the M2M device to the network while in the connected state, and initiate transmission of a deregistration request via the RF transceiver to release the M2M device from the connected state after transmission of the wireless data message is complete and before the M2M device enters a sleep state, the release of the M2M device to release the station identifier for reuse by the network.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to determine when the transmission of the wireless data message is complete.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to schedule the M2M device to transition to a connected state with the network using a registration message when the wireless data message is to be transmitted.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, the station identifier comprising a 12 bit station identifier.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to acquire the network after power up of the M2M device and before the connected state is established.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to:

synchronize a downlink channel;
obtain uplink parameters in a random access process; and
negotiate basic capabilities and exchanging a key with the network.

32. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to:

determine whether an acknowledgment message in response to the wireless data message has been received;
determine whether a deregistration command has been received; and
release the station identifier for the M2M device that identifies the M2M device to the network while in the connected state when the acknowledgment message and deregistration command have been received.

33. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to place the M2M device in an idle state after releasing the station identifier.

34. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module operable on the processor circuit to:

place the M2M device in an idle state after the release from the connected state;
receive a paging identifier in the idle state that identifies a base station in the network to transmit information to the M2M device; and
periodically wake up the M2M device at a paging listening interval while in the idle state to listen for pages from the base station.

35. The apparatus of claim 26, the communication scheduling module comprising a timing module operable on the processor circuit to:

start a timer for a timer interval when the wireless data message is transmitted to the network; and
transition from the connected state when the timer interval expires.

36. The apparatus of claim 26, the timer interval comprising one second.

37. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising:

a sensor operable to collect data to be transmitted to the network; and
a sensor interface module operable to alert the M2M device when data from a sensor has been detected.

38. A method, comprising:

receiving a station identifier from a network base station at a wireless machine to machine (M2M) device;
monitoring transmission of a M2M communication sent from a wireless M2M device to the network base station, the M2M communication including a station identifier to identify the M2M device to the network base station while in the connected state; and
transmitting to the network base station a deregistration request to release the station identifier from the wireless M2M device as soon as transmission of the M2M communication is complete to allow the network base station to reallocate the station identifier to another wireless M2M device.

39. The method of claim 38, the station identifier comprising a 12 bit station identifier.

40. The method of claim 38, comprising receiving the station identifier in a registration message that places the wireless M2M device in a connected state with respect to the network base station when the M2M communication is to be transmitted.

41. The method of claim 40, comprising acquiring a signal from the network base station after the M2M device is powered up and before the connected state is established.

42. The method of claim 41, the acquiring comprising:

scanning and synchronizing a downlink channel;
obtaining uplink parameters in a random access process; and
negotiating basic capabilities and exchanging a key with the network base station.

43. The method of claim 38, comprising:

determining whether an acknowledgment message in response to the M2M communication has been received;
determining whether a deregistration command has been received; and
releasing the station identifier for the wireless M2M device that identifies the M2M device to the network base station while in the connected state as soon as the acknowledgment message and deregistration command have been received.

44. The method of claim 38, comprising:

starting a timer when the M2M communication is transmitted to the network base station; and
releasing the station identifier as soon as the timer expires.

45. At least one computer-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

monitor transmission of a wireless data message from a machine to machine (M2M) device to a network when the M2M device is in a connected state, the wireless data message comprising a station identifier assigned to the M2M device upon network entry into the network and that identifies the M2M device to the network while in the connected state; and
initiate transmission of a deregistration request via the RF transceiver to release the M2M device from the connected state after transmission of the wireless data message is complete and before the M2M device enters a sleep state, the release of the M2M device to release the station identifier for reuse by the network.

46. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to determine when the transmission of the wireless data message is complete.

47. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to schedule the M2M device to transition to a connected state with the network using a registration message when the wireless data message is to be transmitted.

48. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to acquire the network after power up of the M2M device and before the connected state is established.

49. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 48 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

synchronize a downlink channel;
obtain uplink parameters in a random access process; and
negotiate basic capabilities and exchanging a key with the network.

50. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

determine whether an acknowledgment message in response to the wireless data message has been received;
determine whether a deregistration command has been received; and
release the station identifier for the M2M device that identifies the M2M device to the network while in the connected state when the acknowledgment message and deregistration command have been received.

51. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to place the M2M device in an idle state after releasing the station identifier.

52. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

place the M2M device in an idle state after the release from the connected state;
receive a paging identifier in the idle state that identifies a base station in the network to transmit information to the M2M device; and
periodically wake up the M2M device at a paging listening interval while in the idle state to listen for pages from the base station.

53. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to:

start a timer for a timer interval when the wireless data message is transmitted to the network; and
transition from the connected state when the timer interval expires.
Patent History
Publication number: 20140056193
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 21, 2011
Publication Date: Feb 27, 2014
Inventors: Rui Huang (Beijing), Honggang Li (Beijing)
Application Number: 13/976,987
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Signaling For Performing Battery Saving (370/311); Having A Plurality Of Contiguous Regions Served By Respective Fixed Stations (370/328)
International Classification: H04W 4/00 (20060101);