Wearable Device NAS Layer Segmentation for Network Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable devices connected to smartphones for cellular network access are limited in size and battery life due to the need for a cellular radio and SIM card, making it difficult for operators to identify and authenticate these devices within the network without implementing full cellular technology.
Innovation Solution
Implementing multiple instances of the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layer, either in the user equipment (UE) or the wearable device, allowing for independent authentication and mobility management without a cellular air interface, using the UE's radio interface to communicate with the network and aligning paging occasions to conserve battery life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wearable devices implement full cellular radio technology for direct network access, then network identification and authentication capability is improved, but device size and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network access functionality by separating the NAS layer (authentication, mobility management) from the AS layer (radio communication). The wearable device implements only the NAS layer while relying on the smartphone for AS layer operations, thus achieving network identification and authentication capability without implementing full cellular radio technology in the small device.
Solution Approach 2:
The smartphone acts as an intermediary between the wearable device and the cellular network. The wearable device's NAS messages are transported through the smartphone's cellular radio interface to the network, and network responses are relayed back through the smartphone to the wearable device, enabling indirect network access without direct cellular hardware in the wearable.
2Reliability
If wearable devices implement full cellular radio technology for direct network access, then network identification and authentication capability is improved, but battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network access functionality by separating the NAS layer (authentication, mobility management) from the AS layer (radio communication). The wearable device implements only the NAS layer while relying on the smartphone for AS layer operations, thus achieving network identification and authentication capability without implementing full cellular radio technology in the small device.
Solution Approach 2:
The smartphone acts as an intermediary between the wearable device and the cellular network. The wearable device's NAS messages are transported through the smartphone's cellular radio interface to the network, and network responses are relayed back through the smartphone to the wearable device, enabling indirect network access without direct cellular hardware in the wearable.
3Volume of moving object
If wearable devices use Bluetooth connection to smartphone as gateway, then device size and power consumption are reduced, but network identification and authentication capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network access functionality by separating the NAS layer (authentication, mobility management) from the AS layer (radio communication). The wearable device implements only the NAS layer while relying on the smartphone for AS layer operations, thus achieving network identification and authentication capability without implementing full cellular radio technology in the small device.
Solution Approach 2:
The smartphone acts as an intermediary between the wearable device and the cellular network. The wearable device's NAS messages are transported through the smartphone's cellular radio interface to the network, and network responses are relayed back through the smartphone to the wearable device, enabling indirect network access without direct cellular hardware in the wearable.
4Productivity
If separate paging occasions are configured for wearable device and smartphone, then network resource allocation is optimized, but battery life of wearable device decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the paging occasions of the wearable device with those of the smartphone by configuring the network to use the smartphone's paging timing for both devices. This allows the wearable device to leverage the smartphone's existing paging structure, avoiding additional separate paging operations that would consume extra battery power while still enabling proper network resource allocation through the shared timing.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method of allowing a wearable device connected to a user equipment device to communicate with a mobile communications network, wherein the user equipment device transmits non-access stratum messages to the mobile communications network for performance of an identification and an authentication of the wearable device in the mobile communications network and monitors transmissions sent by the mobile communications network in paging occasions, wherein paging occasions for paging messages intended for the wearable device are time aligned with paging occasions for paging messages intended for the user equipment device.