Paging Time Adjustment In A Wireless Network
Patent No. US11889471 (titled "Paging Time Adjustment In A Wireless Network") was filed by Peninsula Technologies Llc on Jan 30, 2023.
What is this patent about?
’471 is related to the field of wireless communication, specifically addressing the problem of paging collisions in multi-SIM devices operating in 4G/5G networks. In such devices, simultaneous monitoring of paging messages from different Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) can lead to missed paging occasions, impacting user experience. The patent addresses this issue within the context of 5G core network architecture, including elements like Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), User Plane Function (UPF), and Session Management Function (SMF).
The underlying idea behind ’471 is to introduce an IMSI offset mechanism. The mobile device requests an offset value from the network. The network then provides an accepted offset value. This offset is added to the device's IMSI to create an alternative IMSI. The alternative IMSI is then used to calculate the paging occasions. This allows the network to shift the paging occasions for a specific device, reducing the likelihood of collisions with paging occasions from other PLMNs or other services.
The claims of ’471 focus on a core network node (e.g., an AMF) receiving a requested IMSI offset from a wireless device and transmitting an accepted IMSI offset back to the device. The key is that the first paging occasions of the first PLMN are derived using an alternative IMSI , which is the sum of the device's actual IMSI and the accepted offset. This mechanism allows the network to control the paging schedule of the device.
In practice, the mobile device detects a potential paging collision and requests a specific IMSI offset from the network during the registration procedure. The network, considering its own policies and resource availability, either accepts or modifies the requested offset. The accepted offset is then used by both the network and the device to calculate the paging occasions. This ensures that the device monitors for paging messages at a time that minimizes collisions.
This approach differs from prior solutions by providing a flexible, network-controlled mechanism for adjusting paging occasions. Instead of relying on fixed or UE-determined offsets, the network can dynamically manage paging schedules based on real-time conditions and device-specific needs. This dynamic adjustment capability is crucial for optimizing performance in complex multi-SIM environments and improving overall network efficiency.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2010s when ’471 was filed, 5G systems were being developed with network slicing as a key feature, at a time when core network functions were typically implemented using virtualized network functions. Systems commonly relied on specific QoS indicators to manage traffic within network slices, and hardware or software constraints made efficient paging mechanisms for devices in different network slices non-trivial.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art, specifically Govindassamy US 10,334,525 and US 10,154,472, teaches collaborative paging and paging information transmission. However, these references, either individually or combined, do not teach or make obvious the claimed invention of deriving paging occasions of a public land mobile network with IMSI and an accepted IMSI offset value after offsetting IMSI, as detailed in the independent claims and figures of the present application.
Claims
This patent contains 20 claims, of which claims 1, 11, and 20 are independent. The independent claims are directed to a method, a core network node, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, respectively, all relating to the use of an IMSI offset value to derive paging occasions. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the elements and features of the independent claims.
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Date
Description
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US11889471
- Application Number
- US18103293
- Filing Date
- Jan 30, 2023
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Apr 10, 2040
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents