Method and apparatus for obtaining emergency services in telecommunication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes identifying that a timer associated with requesting a disaster roaming DR is running, attempting to make an emergency call, and registering an emergency service.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to handling of emergency communications in telecommunication systems. Background Art

[0002] 5G mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band so that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be realized not only in "below 6 GHz" frequency bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in "above 6 GHz" frequency bands called millimeter waves (mmWave) including 28 GHz and 39 GHz. In addition, 6G mobile communication technology (called super 5G system) has been considered to be implemented in terahertz frequency bands (e.g., 95 GHz to 3 THz frequency bands) in order to achieve a transmission rate fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technology and an ultra-low latency one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technology.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technology, in order to support services and meet performance requirements related to enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization on beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio wave path loss in mmWave and increasing radio wave transmission distance in mmWave, parameter sets supporting dynamic operation for efficient utilization of mmWave resources and time slot formats (e.g., operating multiple subcarrier spacings), initial access technology for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadband, definition and operation of BWP (bandwidth part), new channel coding methods for large-volume data transmission (such as LDPC (low-density parity check) codes and polar codes for highly reliable transmission of control information), L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing dedicated networks dedicated to specific services.

[0004] Currently, in view of the services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technology, discussions on the improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technology are underway, and there is already physical layer standardization on technologies such as V2X (Vehicle to Everything) for assisting driving determination of autonomous vehicles based on information about the position and status of vehicles transmitted by vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) for system operation intended to comply with various regulatory-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE power saving, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) (which is UE satellite direct communication for providing coverage in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable), and positioning.

[0005] In addition, there is ongoing standardization of air interface architecture / protocol aspects of technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing nodes for network service area extension by supporting wireless backhaul links and access links in an integrated manner, mobility enhancements including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access (two-step RACH for NR) for simplifying the random access procedure. There is also ongoing standardization of 5G baseline architecture (e.g., service-based architecture or service-based interface) for combining network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined network (SDN) technologies, and system architecture / services for mobile edge computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE location.

[0006] With the commercialization of 5G mobile communication systems, the number of connected devices, which has been growing exponentially, will be connected to the communication network, and it is expected that enhanced functions and performance of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled related to the following items: extended reality (XR) for effectively supporting AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), MR (mixed reality), etc., 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), AI service support, meta-service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a foundation for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in the terahertz band for 6G mobile communication technology, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and massive antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technology using OAM (orbital angular momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Smart Surfaces), but also full-duplex technology for improving the frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technology and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for achieving system optimization by leveraging satellites and AI (artificial intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for achieving services at a complexity level that exceeds the limits of UE operating capabilities by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources. Summary of the invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] The present disclosure relates to the handling of emergency communications, such as calls to emergency services from a mobile phone or user equipment (UE) from a cellular telecommunications system during times when the associated network is experiencing a disaster situation.

[0010] Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least the above problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Therefore, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for managing cache misses caused by device reset and an operating method thereof.

[0011] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

[0012] Solution to the problem

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method may include identifying that a timer associated with requesting disaster roaming (DR) is running, attempting to make an emergency call, and registering for emergency services.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) including a transceiver and a processor is disclosed. The processor may be configured to recognize that a timer associated with requesting disaster roaming (DR) is running, attempt to make an emergency call, and register for emergency services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent through the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG1 illustrates an architecture of a fifth generation (5G) system including a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG2 shows a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0018] FIG3 shows a block diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe these embodiments. It will be understood, however, that no limitation of the scope of the present disclosure is intended thereby, and such changes and further modifications in the illustrated systems and such further applications of the principles of the present disclosure as illustrated therein are deemed to be normally thought of by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure relates.

[0021] Those skilled in the art will understand that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to be limiting.

[0022] References throughout this specification to "on one hand," "on the other hand," or similar language mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in an embodiment," "in one embodiment," "in another embodiment," and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0023] The terms "comprise", "comprising" or any other variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that includes a list of steps includes not only those steps but may also include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or subsystems or elements or structures or parts preceded by "comprises..." do not exclude the presence of other devices or other subsystems or other elements or other structures or other parts or additional devices or additional subsystems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components, without more constraints.

[0024] The embodiments of this article and their various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings and described in detail in the following description. The description of known components and processing techniques is omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of this article. In addition, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, because some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. Unless otherwise stated, the term "or" as used herein refers to non-exclusive. The examples used herein are intended only to facilitate understanding of the manner in which the embodiments of this article can be practiced, and further enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments of this article. Therefore, the examples should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the embodiments of this article.

[0025] As used herein, each of phrases such as "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", and "at least one of A, B or C" may include all possible combinations of items listed together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another component, and do not limit the components in other aspects (e.g., importance or order).

[0026] In the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) may refer to a terminal, an MS (Mobile Station), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a computer, or various electronic devices capable of performing a communication function. According to the present disclosure, a base station may be an entity that allocates resources to a UE, and may be at least one of a gNode B, a gNB, an eNode B, an eNB, a Node B, a BS, a Radio Access Network (RAN), a base station controller, or a node on a network.

[0027] As is conventional in the art, embodiments may be described and illustrated according to blocks that perform one or more functions described. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as units or modules, are physically implemented by analog or digital circuits (such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hard-wired circuits, etc.), and may optionally be driven by firmware and software. The circuit may be, for example, embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or embodied on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards. The circuits constituting the blocks may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuits), or by a combination of dedicated hardware that performs some functions of the blocks and processors that perform other functions of the blocks. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, each block of the embodiment may be physically divided into two or more interacting and discrete blocks. Similarly, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the blocks of the embodiment may be physically combined into more complex blocks.

[0028] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features, and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the present disclosure should be interpreted as extending to any changes, equivalents and substitutes other than those specifically set forth in the accompanying drawings. Although the terms first, second, etc. can be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are usually only used to distinguish one element from another element.

[0029] FIG1 illustrates an architecture of a 5th generation (5G) system including a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] 1 , the 5G system includes a UE 110 and at least one network node 120. In an example, the at least one network node 120 includes a base station (e.g., NR Node B (gNB)) and / or one or more core network entities (e.g., network functions (NFs)). The UE 110 may use communication services via the at least one network node 120.

[0031] The 3GPP working group has developed solutions that enable a UE (e.g., UE 110) to obtain services even when a disaster situation (e.g., fire, etc.) occurs on a public land mobile network PLMN. In this case, when no other PLMN is available, it can be said that the UE obtains disaster roaming services on a prohibited PLMN. In other words, the UE is allowed to temporarily register with a PLMN that is normally unavailable or prohibited during a period that includes a declared disaster.

[0032] The UE may start a timer called the Disaster Roaming Waiting Range, which controls when the UE actually registers to the network to obtain the so-called Disaster Roaming Service, see 3GPP TS 24.501. The Disaster Roaming Waiting Range may be intended to extend UE access to the target PLMN in order to avoid congestion. The Disaster Roaming Waiting Range may be provisioned by the network.

[0033] 3GPP TS 24.501 describes the following about the waiting range:

[0034] When selecting a PLMN for disaster roaming, as specified in 3GPP TS 23.122:

[0035] a) if the UE does not have a stored disaster roaming waiting range, the UE may perform a registration procedure for disaster roaming services on the selected PLMN as described in clause 5.5.1; and

[0036] b) If the UE has a stored disaster roaming waiting range, the UE may generate a random number within the disaster roaming waiting range and start a timer with the generated random number. While the timer is running, the UE may not initiate registration on the selected PLMN. Upon expiration of the timer, if the UE is still camped on the selected PLMN, the UE may perform the registration procedure for disaster roaming services as described in clause 5.5.1.

[0037] As can be seen, it is clearly stated that "while the timer is running, the UE may not initiate registration on the selected PLMN".

[0038] However, a problem with this arrangement is that the UE may have a request for emergency services (which is a high priority service where delays may be highly undesirable or even dangerous) while the wait timer is running and the process set out in the above mentioned prior art cannot achieve access to emergency services. As a result, the user will be in a highly undesirable situation where they will not be able to access emergency services. Such delays are highly undesirable.

[0039] A UE waiting to register for disaster roaming services (which, by definition, will be registered with a barred PLMN) will be in a restricted service state. The network typically broadcasts whether it accepts UEs in a restricted state to obtain emergency services by performing an emergency registration.

[0040] Assuming the network does indicate that a UE in a restricted state is indeed able to obtain emergency services, a UE that needs to make an emergency call but has a waiting timer running will not be able to do so due to the explicit requirement that the UE may not initiate registration on the selected PLMN while the timer is running (as described above). This requirement may cause problems because the user expects to obtain emergency services, but the UE will not initiate the procedure due to the waiting timer being active and running.

[0041] It is an aim of embodiments of the present disclosure to address this problem and allow users to gain access to emergency services in such scenarios.

[0042] According to the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus and a method as set out in the accompanying claims. Further features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the dependent claims and the subsequent description.

[0043] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) is provided, wherein if the UE has an active timer associated with requesting disaster roaming (DR) from a network and the UE attempts to make an emergency call, the UE registers for emergency services.

[0044] In an embodiment, registering for emergency services includes registering to use or establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services.

[0045] In an embodiment, the UE keeps the timer active even after registering for emergency services.

[0046] In an embodiment, if the activity timer expires while the UE has an active emergency call or protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services, the UE performs a registration procedure for DR after the emergency call or PDU session ends.

[0047] In an embodiment, the timer is started with a random number and is arranged to prevent congestion on the network.

[0048] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus arranged to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0049] In an embodiment, the apparatus according to claim 6 comprises a UE.

[0050] While certain preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

[0051] For a better understanding of the present disclosure, and to show how embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0052] In an embodiment, a UE with a running wait time may attempt to register when an emergency PDU session needs to be used.

[0053] Note that the following details apply to the case when the UE has received a broadcast or system information indicating that the cell or PLMN supports emergency services, or an IP Multimedia Core Network subsystem, IMS, emergency services, or a protocol data unit PDU session or eCall for emergency services, optionally for a UE in a limited service state (e.g. in 5GMM-REGISTERED.LIMITED-SERVICE state or 5GMM-DEREGISTERED.LIMITED-SERVICE state).

[0054] When a UE with a running timer started with a random number generated within the disaster roaming waiting range needs to request emergency services or needs to use / establish a PDU session for emergency services, the UE may initiate a registration procedure for emergency services, i.e., the UE may send a registration request with a 5GS registration type information element IE set to "Emergency Registration". In addition, the UE may keep a timer running (i.e., a disaster roaming waiting range timer).

[0055] In other words, if the UE has a running timer started with a random number generated within the disaster roaming waiting range (or if the timer is running), and / or the UE needs to establish a PDU session for emergency services, the UE initiates a registration procedure and sets the 5GS Registration Type IE to "Emergency Registration" in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message. The UE keeps the timer running (or the UE does not stop the timer).

[0056] Optionally, after having selected a PLMN for disaster roaming as specified in 3GPP TS 23.122, the UE behaves as described above.

[0057] When the UE registers for emergency services and establishes a PDU session for the emergency services, a timer (which is started with a random number generated within the disaster roaming waiting range) may expire while the UE's PDU session for the emergency services is still active.

[0058] When this happens, the UE may behave in any of the following ways:

[0059] 1. The UE may perform a registration procedure with the same PLMN where the registration is for disaster roaming services. In this case, the UE sets the 5GS Registration Type IE to "Disaster Roaming Mobility Registration Update" or "Disaster Roaming Initial Registration" in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message. This may be performed while the PDU Session for emergency services is still active (i.e., when it has not been released).

[0060] 2. The UE may perform the registration procedure for disaster roaming only after it has completed the emergency service, or only after the emergency service ends, for example, after the PDU session for the emergency service is released. In one option, the UE may perform the registration procedure for disaster roaming when the UE deregisters from the network, where for example, the UE deregisters after the PDU session for the emergency service is released.

[0061] a. In this alternative, the UE may set the 5GS Registration Type IE to “Disaster Roaming Mobility Registration Update” or “Disaster Roaming Initial Registration” in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message.

[0062] NOTE: When the UE is in 5G MM-CONNECTED mode, or 5G MM-CONNECTED mode with RRC inactivity indication, or in 5G MM-IDLE mode, the UE behaves as described above.

[0063] In addition, if the UE registers for the emergency service and completes the emergency service before the timer expires, the UE maintains the timer (ie, the UE keeps the timer running) until the timer expires, and then the UE registers for the disaster roaming service.

[0064] The above processes may be applied in any order and in any combination.

[0065] The following is an example text that may be proposed for the 3GPP TS 24.501 standard specification according to embodiments of the present disclosure described herein:

[0066] When selecting a PLMN for disaster roaming, if:

[0067] a) the timer operates as described above; and

[0068] b) The UE needs to request a PDU session for emergency services;

[0069] The UE may then initiate a registration procedure and set the 5GS Registration Type IE to "Emergency Registration" in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message. The UE maintains the timer running.

[0070] If the timer expires while the UE is registering for emergency services, the UE may perform the registration procedure and set the 5GS Registration Type IE to “Disaster Roaming Mobility Registration Update” in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message.

[0071] In an alternative embodiment, the UE may make an exception to the prior art requirements and perform the registration procedure for disaster roaming services even while the timer is running. Thus, in this embodiment, the UE initiates the registration procedure and sets the 5GS Registration Type IE to "Disaster Roaming Mobility Registration Update" or "Disaster Roaming Initial Registration" in the REGISTRATION REQUEST message. In this case, the UE may stop the timer after the timer is successfully registered.

[0072] FIG2 shows a representation of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0073] 2 , at operation S201 , a UE (eg, UE 110 ) may start a timer. In the case where multiple UEs attempt to register with another (non-home) network in the event of a disaster affecting the home network, the timer may be used for staggered DR requests.

[0074] At operation S202, when the timer is running, the UE may attempt an emergency call (including an emergency PDU session). At operation S203, the UE may maintain the timer.

[0075] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE is able to make an emergency call even when a timer for staggering / delaying access to a network providing DR is running. This ensures that an emergency call can be made in situations where the prior art may have prohibited emergency calls or otherwise adversely affected emergency calls.

[0076] FIG3 shows a block diagram of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] 3 , a UE (eg, UE 110) may include a processor 310 and a transceiver 320. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 310 may include at least one circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or at least one processing circuit.

[0078] The transceiver 320 may transmit and receive signals to and from an external device (eg, the network node 120 ).

[0079] The processor 310 may control the overall operation of the UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the processor 310 may be configured to perform at least one of the above embodiments. In an embodiment, the processor 310 may start a timer. In the case where multiple UEs attempt to register with another (non-home) network in the event of a disaster affecting the home network, the timer may be used to stagger DR requests. In an embodiment, while the timer is running, the processor 310 may attempt an emergency call (including an emergency PDU session). In an embodiment, the processor 310 may maintain the timer.

[0080] At least some of the example embodiments described herein may be constructed in part or in whole using dedicated special hardware. Terms such as "component", "module" or "unit" used herein may include, but are not limited to, hardware devices, such as circuits in the form of discrete or integrated components, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which perform certain tasks or provide associated functions. In some embodiments, the described elements may be configured to reside on a tangible, persistent, addressable storage medium, and may be configured to execute on one or more processors. In some embodiments, these functional elements may include, for example, components (such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components), processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Although example embodiments have been described with reference to components, modules, and units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. Various combinations of optional features have been described herein, and it should be understood that the described features may be combined in any suitable combination. In particular, the features of any one example embodiment may be appropriately combined with the features of any other embodiment, except where such combinations are mutually exclusive. Throughout the specification, the term "comprising" or "comprises" means including specified components but not excluding the presence of other components.

[0081] Attention is paid to all papers and documents related to the present application which were filed concurrently with or before the present specification and which are open to public inspection together with the present specification, and the contents of all these papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

[0082] All features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) and / or all steps of any method or process so disclosed may be combined in any combination, except combinations in which at least some of such features and / or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0083] Unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

[0084] The present disclosure is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiments. The present disclosure extends to any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel step or any novel combination of steps of any method or process disclosed in this manner.

Claims

1. A method for operating a user equipment UE, the method include: Identifying that a timer associated with requesting disaster roaming DR is running; Attempt to make an emergency call; as well as Sign up for emergency services.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, Registering for emergency services includes registering to use or establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: include: Keep the timer running even after registering with emergency services.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: If the timer expires while the UE has an emergency call or a protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services, a registration procedure for DR is performed after releasing the emergency call or PDU session.

5. The method according to claim 4, in, After releasing the emergency call or PDU session, the UE still camps on the selected public land mobile network PLMN for disaster roaming.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: include: If the UE does not have an emergency call or PDU session when the timer expires, a registration procedure for disaster roaming services is performed.

7. The method according to claim 1, in, The timer is started with a random number and is set to prevent congestion on the network.

8. The method according to claim 1, in, When the UE has a stored disaster roaming waiting range when selecting a PLMN for disaster roaming, the timer is started with a random number having the disaster roaming waiting range.

9. A user equipment UE, comprising a transceiver and a processor, in, The processor is configured to: Identifying that a timer associated with requesting disaster roaming DR is running, Attempt to make an emergency call, and Sign up for emergency services.

10. The UE according to claim 9, in, The processor is further configured to register to use or establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services.

11. The UE according to claim 9 or 10, in, The processor is further configured to: Keep the timer running even after registering with emergency services.

12. The UE according to claim 9, in, The processor is further configured to: If the timer expires while the UE has an emergency call or a protocol data unit (PDU) session for emergency services, a registration procedure for DR is performed after releasing the emergency call or PDU session.

13. The UE according to claim 12, in, After releasing the emergency call or PDU session, the UE remains camped on the selected PLMN for disaster roaming, and Therein, if the UE does not have an emergency call or PDU session when the timer expires, the UE performs a registration procedure for the disaster roaming service.

14. The UE according to claim 9, in, The timer is started with a random number and is arranged to prevent congestion on the network.

15. The UE according to claim 9, in, When the UE has a stored disaster roaming waiting range when selecting a PLMN for disaster roaming, the timer is started with a random number having the disaster roaming waiting range.

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