Location registration device, location registration system, location registration method, and program

Abstract

This position registration device comprises: a terminal management database that stores, for each terminal, identification information about terminals and position information about terminals; and a position information processing unit that receives a position registration request from a certain terminal and updates the position information in the terminal management database with position information included in the position registration request, wherein regions in the terminal management database are configured to be sorted according to the mobility of the terminals.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to location registration of terminals in mobile communication networks. [Background technology]

[0002] In mobile communication networks, various grant-free communication methods such as NOMA and MUSA are being considered for radio access networks as a method to efficiently accommodate a large number of terminals in view of the expansion of IoT, etc. Grant-free communication methods are expected to improve system throughput and reduce processing load by omitting explicit means to acquire transmission rights.

[0003] On the other hand, there has been limited research into core networks that can accommodate a large number of terminals. In mobile communication networks, it is particularly important to know the location of terminals, but the home memory that records the location registration and its management function are usually provided on the core network side, which has an overview of the entire network. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-193592 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As the number of devices accommodated in the network increases due to the expansion of IoT and other technologies, the processing volume for location registration will inevitably increase, and in some cases, the possibility of congestion will increase.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has an object to provide a technique for realizing a reduction in the amount of processing required for registering the location of a terminal in a mobile communication network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the disclosed technology, a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of a terminal for each terminal; a location information processing unit that receives a location registration request from a certain terminal and updates the location information in the terminal management database using the location information included in the location registration request; The area in the terminal management database is classified by the mobility of the terminal. The areas are divided into high speed area, medium speed area, and low speed or stop area. divided A location registration device, In the terminal management database, a memory area is divided according to the mobility of the terminal, or a physical memory is divided according to the mobility of the terminal; A location registration device is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The disclosed technology provides a technology for reducing the amount of processing required for registering the location of a terminal in a mobile communication network. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a basic location registration operation. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a position registration device 200. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image of management according to the mobility of a terminal. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a terminal management DB. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 illustrates dynamically updating mobility partitions. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobility management device 300. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining a process using the mobility management device 300. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of the apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0011] In this embodiment, a multiple simultaneous connection environment in 5G mMTC is assumed as the mobile communication network environment. However, the application scope of the technology according to the present invention is not limited to the multiple simultaneous connection environment in 5G mMTC, and the technology according to the present invention is applicable to all mobile communication networks that perform location registration.

[0012] (System configuration example) An example of the configuration of a system corresponding to a mobile communication network in this embodiment is shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, in this system, a plurality of base stations - 110 are connected to a core network .

[0013] One or more terminals (which may be referred to as UEs) exist in the cells 101 to 103 under the control of each base station. Each terminal communicates with the core network 10 via the base station to which it is connected.

[0014] 1, the core network 10 includes a location registration device 200, a mobility management device 300, and a network (NW) node device 111. In the example of Fig. 1, the location registration device 200 and the mobility management device 300 are separate devices, but this is just an example. The location registration device 200 may include the functions of the mobility management device 300.

[0015] The NW node device 111 may be, for example, a gateway device for connecting to an external data network, or a call control device for making calls, etc. The NW node device 111 in FIG. 1 is a representative example of various NW node devices provided in the core network 10.

[0016] The location registration device 200 may be realized by one computer (server) or by multiple computers. The location registration device 200 may be called a location registration system. Also, a configuration including the location registration device 200 and the mobility management device 300 may be called a location registration system. The configurations and operations of the location registration device 200 and the mobility management device 300 will be described later.

[0017] (Example of basic location registration operation) In location registration, identification information of the area in which the terminal is located is recorded in a database (hereinafter referred to as a terminal management DB) of the location registration device 200 together with identification information of the terminal, and as the terminal moves (moves to a different area), the information in the terminal management DB for the terminal is updated. The terminal management DB of the location registration device 200 may also be called a "home memory." The above area may also be called a visiting zone, a visiting area, a tracking area, a paging area, etc. Hereinafter, the above area will be called a "visiting zone."

[0018] Generally, a visitor zone includes multiple cells (multiple base stations). For example, when a call control device receives an incoming call signal for a certain terminal, the call control device acquires the visitor zone in which the terminal is located from the terminal management DB of the location registration device 200, and transmits an incoming call signal (call signal) only to base stations within the visitor zone to call the terminal.

[0019] An example of a location registration operation (location update operation) will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Here, it is assumed that terminal 104 moves from a certain coverage zone B (a coverage zone that does not include base station 108) to another coverage zone A (a coverage zone that includes base station 108). While terminal 104 is located in coverage zone B, it receives an identifier of coverage zone B from the base station through broadcast information (which may also be called system information) or the like.

[0020] 2, the terminal 104 moves to the coverage zone A. Specifically, it is assumed that the terminal 104 moves to the cell of the base station 108 in the coverage zone A.

[0021] In S102, terminal 104 receives the identifier of coverage zone A from base station 108 by means of broadcast information or the like. In S103, when terminal 104 detects that the received identifier of the coverage zone has changed from the identifier of coverage zone B to the identifier of coverage zone A, it determines that the coverage zone has changed.

[0022] In S104, the terminal 104 transmits a location registration request including the identifier of the current zone A to the location registration device 200. As a result, the location registration device 200 updates the location information (the current zone identifier) ​​of the terminal 104 in the terminal management DB from the identifier of the current zone B to the identifier of the current zone A.

[0023] (Configuration and Operation Example of Position Registration Device 200) 3 shows an example of the configuration of the position registration device 200 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG.

[0024] The location information processing unit 210 executes information registration (including information update) in the terminal management DB 220, information readout from the terminal management DB 220, and the like.

[0025] A set of identification information of the terminal and an identifier of the zone in which the terminal is located is stored for each terminal in the terminal management DB 220. The set of identification information of the terminal and an identifier of the zone in which the terminal is located may be called "location information."

[0026] In the prior art, location information is uniformly registered in the terminal management DB 220 without distinguishing between terminals with high and low mobility.

[0027] However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the location information of a huge number of terminals will be registered in the terminal management DB 220, and in such an assumption, the above-mentioned conventional technology has poor processing efficiency in the terminal management DB 220.

[0028] In conventional technology, the terminal management DB220 does not distinguish between terminals based on mobility, so when updating the location information of a terminal, regardless of whether the mobility is low or high, it is necessary to search all the information in the terminal management DB220, extract the information of the terminal, and update the information of the terminal.

[0029] Therefore, for example, when processing such as updating location information for a terminal with high mobility that is updated frequently, it is necessary to perform searches and other processing including location information for terminals with low mobility that are rarely updated, which increases the processing load.

[0030] Furthermore, for example, a processing error when processing location information for a highly mobile terminal that is frequently updated may cause a problem that affects the location information of a less mobile terminal.

[0031] In this embodiment, in order to solve the above problem, the mobility management device 300 shown in Fig. 1 is used. The mobility management device 300 acquires (calculates) the mobility of each terminal and notifies the mobility of each terminal to the location registration device 200. Alternatively, the location registration device 200 may acquire the mobility of each terminal from the mobility management device 300.

[0032] The location information processing unit 210 of the location registration device 200 classifies (layers) the terminals by mobility based on the mobility of each terminal, and stores the location information in areas in the terminal management DB 220 by mobility.

[0033] That is, in this embodiment, the areas in the terminal management DB 220 are divided by mobility. Dividing the areas by mobility may mean providing a table for each mobility, dividing the areas in memory, physically dividing the memory, or dividing the database device.

[0034] When physically dividing the memory, separate memories are used, for example, memory 1 for "mobility: high speed", memory 2 for "mobility: medium speed", and memory 3 for "mobility: low speed or stopped".

[0035] When the database device is divided, it is assumed that the terminal management DB 220 is configured with multiple database servers. In this case, separate database servers are used, for example, database server 1 for "mobility: high speed", database server 2 for "mobility: medium speed", database server 3 for "mobility: low speed or stopped".

[0036] Fig. 4 shows an image of (a) when the areas of the terminal management DB 220 are not divided according to mobility, and (b) when they are divided. Fig. 5 shows an example of a case where the tables in the terminal management DB 220 are divided according to mobility. In the example of Fig. 5, SIM information (specifically, IMSI) is used as terminal identification information, and the name of the city, ward, town, or village is used as the location zone identifier. Note that using SIM information as terminal identification information is just one example. Any information may be used as long as it can identify the terminal.

[0037] In the example of FIG. 5, table (a) is a table for "mobility: high speed", table (b) is a table for "mobility: medium speed", and table (c) is a table for "mobility: low speed or stopped".

[0038] An example of the operation of the position registration device 200 will be described using the example in Fig. 5. Here, an example of updating the position information will be described. The position information processing unit 210 of the position registration device 200 receives a position registration request from a certain terminal (terminal T). The position registration request includes identification information of terminal T and an identifier of the presence zone in which terminal T is located.

[0039] Next, location information processing unit 210 inquires about the mobility of terminal T by transmitting the identification information of terminal T to mobility management device 300. When location information processing unit 210 receives the mobility of terminal T from mobility management device 300, it accesses only the table corresponding to this mobility, searches the table using the identification information of terminal T, and updates the location information of the entry for terminal T. For example, if the mobility of terminal T is "mobility: high speed", location information processing unit 210 accesses only table (a).

[0040] By performing the above-described processing, the location information processing unit 210 accesses only the area corresponding to the mobility of the terminal being processed, thereby reducing the processing load related to location registration and enhancing security compared to conventional techniques.

[0041] It should be noted that the mobility of a terminal changes. For example, when the mobility management device 300 determines that the mobility of terminal T has changed, it transmits the identification information of terminal T, the mobility before the change, and the mobility after the change to the location registration device 200. The location information processing unit 210 of the location registration device 200 deletes the location information of terminal T in the area of ​​the mobility before the change, and stores the location information of terminal T in the area of ​​the mobility after the change. This makes it possible to dynamically update the mobility management classification, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0042] (Configuration and Operation Example of Mobility Management Device 300) 7 shows an example of the configuration of the mobility management device 300. As shown in FIG. 7, the mobility management device 300 includes a terminal information collection unit 310, a mobility calculation unit 320, a terminal information DB 330, a mobility DB 340, and a notification unit 350.

[0043] The terminal information collection unit 310 periodically (at certain time intervals) collects the "location information and the time when the location information was acquired" of each terminal, and stores the collected information together with the terminal's identification information in the terminal information DB. This allows time-series information on the location to be obtained.

[0044] The location information here may be latitude and longitude information obtained by the terminal itself using its GPS function, information about the cell in which the terminal is located (cell ID), information about the zone in which the terminal is located, or other information.

[0045] The mobility calculation unit 320 calculates the mobility of each terminal. For example, by referring to the terminal information DB 330, when the mobility calculation unit 320 detects that the movement distance of a certain terminal within a predetermined time is equal to or greater than threshold A, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "high speed," when it detects that the movement distance is less than threshold A but equal to or greater than threshold B, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "medium speed," and when it detects that the movement distance is less than threshold B, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "low speed or stationary," and stores the determined mobility in the mobility DB 340. The mobility DB 340 stores identification information and mobility of the terminal for each terminal. The mobility of each terminal is updated, for example, periodically.

[0046] The notification unit 350 reads the mobility of the terminal from the mobility DB 340 in response to an inquiry from the position registration device 200 or autonomously, and notifies the position registration device 200 of the mobility.

[0047] An example of the operation of the system including the mobility management device 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Here, an example will be described in which the terminal 104 acquires its own location information using the GPS function.

[0048] In S201, the terminal 104 acquires its own location information, and in S202 transmits the location information to the mobility management device 300. The operations of S201 and S202 are performed periodically.

[0049] In S203, the mobility management device 300 calculates the mobility of the terminal 104 based on the plurality of pieces of location information of the terminal 104. In S204, the mobility management device 300 notifies the location registration device 200 of the mobility of the terminal 104.

[0050] The above-mentioned process is performed for each terminal. In S205, the position registration device 300 manages the position information (specifically, the location zone identifier) ​​of the terminal for each mobility, as described with reference to FIG.

[0051] (Example of hardware configuration) Both the location registration device 200 and the mobility management device 300 can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or a virtual machine on the cloud. Hereinafter, the location registration device 200 and the mobility management device 300 will be collectively referred to as "devices."

[0052] That is, the device can be realized by executing a program corresponding to the processing performed by the device using hardware resources such as a CPU and memory built into a computer. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and stored or distributed. The program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or email.

[0053] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer in Fig. 9 includes a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, and the like, all of which are interconnected by a bus BS.

[0054] A program for realizing processing on the computer is provided by a recording medium 1001 such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When the recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in the drive device 1000, the program is installed from the recording medium 1001 to the auxiliary storage device 1002 via the drive device 1000. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0055] The memory device 1003 reads and stores a program from the auxiliary storage device 1002 when an instruction to start the program is received. The CPU 1004 realizes the functions related to the device in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network, etc. The display device 1006 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like according to the program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard, mouse, buttons, a touch panel, etc., and is used to input various operation instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations.

[0056] (Effects of the embodiment) The technology according to this embodiment stores the location information of the terminal in areas classified by mobility in the terminal management DB, thereby making it possible to improve the efficiency of processing the terminal management DB, reducing the processing load, and improving the security of the information stored in the terminal management DB.

[0057] (Addendum) The following additional clauses are disclosed in relation to the above-described embodiment. (Additional note 1) a memory having a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of the terminal for each terminal; at least one processor coupled to said memory; Including, The processor: receiving a location registration request from a certain terminal, and updating the location information in the terminal management database with the location information included in the location registration request; The areas in the terminal management database are divided according to the mobility of the terminal. Location registration device. (Additional note 2) The processor acquires the mobility of the terminal that is the sender of the location registration request, accesses an area in the terminal management database that corresponds to the mobility, and executes an update process. Item 1. A location registration device according to claim 1. (Additional note 3) In the terminal management database, The tables are divided according to the device's mobility. The memory area is divided according to the device's mobility. Physical memory is divided according to device mobility, or Database servers are divided according to the mobility of the device. 3. The location registration device according to claim 1 or 2. (Additional note 4) A location registration system comprising: a location registration device according to any one of appendixes 1 to 3; and a mobility management device that manages the mobility of a terminal, The mobility management device includes a processor that calculates the mobility of a terminal from time-series information on the location of the terminal, and a memory. Location registration system. (Additional note 5) A location registration method executed by a computer having a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of a terminal for each terminal, comprising: The areas in the terminal management database are divided according to the mobility of the terminal, A location registration request is received from a certain terminal, and an area in the terminal management database corresponding to the mobility of the terminal is accessed to perform a location information update process. Location registration method. (Additional note 6) A non-transitory storage medium storing a program executable by a computer to execute a location registration process, the computer including a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of a terminal for each terminal, and areas in the terminal management database are divided according to the mobility of the terminal; The location registration process includes: A location registration request is received from a certain terminal, and an area in the terminal management database corresponding to the mobility of the terminal is accessed to perform a location information update process. Non-transitory storage medium.

[0058] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 10 Core Network Cells 101-103 Terminals 104-107 108~110 Base station 111 Network node equipment 200 Location registration device 210 Location information processing unit 220 Terminal Management DB 300 Mobility management device 310 Terminal Information Collection Department 320 Mobility calculation unit 330 Terminal Information DB 340 Mobility DB 350 Notification Department 1000 Drive Device 1001 Recording media 1002 Auxiliary storage 1003 Memory device 1004 CPU 1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input Device 1008 Output Device

Claims

1. a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of the terminal for each terminal; a location information processing unit that receives a location registration request from a certain terminal and updates the location information in the terminal management database using the location information included in the location registration request; A location registration device in which the areas in the terminal management database are divided into a high speed area, a medium speed area, and a low speed or stop area according to the mobility of the terminal, In the terminal management database, a memory area is divided according to the mobility of the terminal, or a physical memory is divided according to the mobility of the terminal; Location registration device.

2. The location information processing unit acquires the mobility of the terminal that is the sender of the location registration request, accesses an area in the terminal management database that corresponds to the mobility, and executes an update process. The location registration device according to claim 1 .

3. 3. A location registration system comprising the location registration device according to claim 1 or 2 and a mobility management device that manages the mobility of a terminal, The mobility management device includes a mobility calculation unit that calculates the mobility of a terminal from time-series information on the location of the terminal. Location registration system.

4. A location registration method executed by a computer having a terminal management database that stores identification information and location information of a terminal for each terminal, comprising: The areas in the terminal management database are divided into a high-speed area, a medium-speed area, and a low-speed or stationary area according to the mobility of the terminal, A location registration method that receives a location registration request from a certain terminal, accesses an area in the terminal management database that corresponds to the mobility of the terminal, and executes a location information update process, In the terminal management database, a memory area is divided according to the mobility of the terminal, or a physical memory is divided according to the mobility of the terminal; Location registration method.

5. A program for causing a computer to function as the location information processing unit in the location registration device according to claim 1 or 2.

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