Communication Protocol for Short Data Transmissions
AssigneeOptis Cellular Technology, LLC
InventorsGeoffrey McHardy, Stefan F. Tjärnlund
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A lightweight communication protocol reduces overhead for small data transmissions from a wireless device to a base station over an uplink channel. The wireless device is preconfigured with a device identifier that is known to the base station. The preconfigured device identifier is associated with a static tunnel between the base station and a serving gateway. The wireless device transmits application data to the base station in a medium access control packet without using higher layer protocols. When the base station receives the medium access control packet, it maps the application data to the tunnel associated with the preconfigured device identifier.
Claims22
A method implemented by a base station in a wireless communication network for supporting small data transmissions by a wireless device, said method comprising:
- associating a preconfigured device identifier for a wireless device with a tunnel between the base station and a serving gateway;
- receiving, at said base station, a medium access control packet from the wireless device over a wireless communication channel, said medium access control packet including application data transmitted by the wireless device for delivery to a destination device;
- mapping the preconfigured device identifier of the wireless device to the associated tunnel;
- and
- forwarding a data packet containing said application data to said serving gateway through said tunnel.
A base station in a wireless communication network for supporting small data transmissions by a wireless device, said base station comprising:
- a transceiver circuit configured to transmit and receive signals over a wireless communication channel;
- and
- a processing circuit coupled to said transceiver circuit and configured to:
- associate a preconfigured device identifier for a wireless device with a tunnel between the base station and a serving gateway;
- receive a medium access control packet from the wireless device over a wireless communication channel, said medium access control packet including application data transmitted by the wireless device for delivery to a destination device;
- map the preconfigured device identifier of the wireless device to the associated tunnel;
- and
- forward a data packet containing said application data to said serving gateway through said tunnel.
A method of asynchronous small data transmission implemented by a wireless device in a wireless communication network, said method comprising:
- generating a medium access control packet including a preconfigured device identifier that is reserved for asynchronous small data transmissions and application data;
- transmitting the medium access control packet without higher layer protocol headers over a wireless communication channel to a serving base station.
A wireless device configured for asynchronous small data transmissions, said wireless device comprising:
- a transceiver circuit configured to transmit and receive signals over a wireless communication channel;
- and
- a processing circuit coupled to said transceiver circuit and configured to:
- generate a medium access control packet including a preconfigured device identifier that is reserved for asynchronous small data transmissions and application data;
- and
- transmit the medium access control packet without higher layer protocol headers over a wireless communication channel to a serving base station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.