WO2006136995A2

WO2006136995A2 - Method and apparatus for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks

Info

Publication number: WO2006136995A2
Application number: PCT/IB2006/051954
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lin Du; Dan Shang; Yan Zhang; Jindong Hou
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2005-06-24
Filing date: 2006-06-19
Publication date: 2006-12-28
Also published as: WO2006136995A3

Abstract

A method, executed by a user terminal, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks, comprising the steps of: receiving service information provided by at least one of information sources; sending, to network side, an information that the user terminal can transmit received service information to at least one of other user terminals; receiving the wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing a direct communication links with the other user terminals; and transmitting the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SERVICE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for an information distribution service, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the development of information technology, especially the maturing of wireless communication network technology, people not only expects to acquire required information through the wireless communication networks in time, but also is solicitous of an information service with more contents and more diversity.

However, in the present wireless communication networks, since information service providers and user terminals for acquiring information are distributed in different subnetworks which constitute communication networks, each user terminal need to acquire required service information through network nodes of the sub-networks in which the information service providers are located. When a plurality of the user terminals requests the information services from the information service provider simultaneously, it is unavoidable that the network resources will be competed by the service information streams of different user terminals at the network nodes. Moreover, when a plurality of the user terminals sends requests for the information service to the information service provider simultaneously, there also will be serious challenges for the equipment processing capability of the information service provider, namely, the available service load status of the network and the transmitting capability of the service information for multi-users.

Further, in the actual application, the information service provider generally needs to transmit the service information requested by user to the user terminals through the relaying of base stations, and the user terminals also need to acquire the required service information from the information service provider through the relaying of the base stations.

With the continuous increasing number of the wireless communication network users and the rapid development of the network value-added services of which the information service is representative, how to efficiently use the limited wireless resources to provide more and better information services for the users is becoming the principal concern of the wireless communication network providers, network equipment and user terminal manufacturers, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks, with which not only the abundant service information can be provided for the users in time, but also the resources of the wireless networks can be efficiently saved.

A method, executed by a user terminal, for implementing information distribution service in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: receiving service information provided by at least one of information sources; sending, to a network side, an information that can transmit received service information to at least one of other user terminals; receiving the wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing a direct communication links with other user terminals; and transmitting the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

A method for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: sending, to a network side, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to at least one of user terminals; receiving the information about each user terminal of receiver side from the network side; grouping each user terminal receiver side based on the information of each user terminal of receiver side; transmitting the service information to each group of the user terminals.

A method, executed by a network side, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: receiving, from an information source, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by the information source to other user terminals; detecting if there is any potential user terminal that expects to receive the service information; sending, to the information source, an information of the detected user terminals of receiver side that expect to receive the service information.

A method, executed by a network side, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: receiving, from at least one of the information sources, a status report that the information source can transmit the service information possessed by it to other user terminals; receiving, from at least one of the user terminals, a request for expecting to receive the service information; based on the status report, detecting if there is a group of the potential information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminals; and if the potential information sources exist, allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the user terminals can receive the service information from the group of the information sources.

A method for allocating wireless resources in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: receiving, from an information source, a request for starting the service information matching service; based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the information source can transmit the service information by using the corresponding wireless resources.

The method further comprises the steps of: receiving, from a user terminal, a request for starting the corresponding service information matching service; based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the user terminal can receive the service information by using the corresponding wireless resources.

A method for allocating wireless resources in wireless communication networks according to the present invention, comprising the steps of: sending, to a network side, a request for starting the service information matching service; receiving the corresponding wireless resources allocated by the network side based on the content and/or form of the service information; receive and/or send the service information by using the corresponding wireless resources.

The method further comprises the step of: sending, to the network side, a request for starting the corresponding service information matching service, so as to obtain the corresponding wireless resources allocated by the network side based on the content and/or form of the service information.

A user terminal according to the present invention, comprising: a receiving unit, for receiving the service information provided by at least one of information sources; a sending unit, for sending, to a network side, an information that the user terminal can transmit the received service information to at least one of other user terminals; wherein, the receiving unit obtains the wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing a direct communication links with the other user terminals, so that the sending unit can transmit the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

An information source according to the present invention, comprising: a sending unit, for sending, to a network side, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to at least one of user terminals; a receiving unit, for receiving the information about each user terminal of receiver side from the network side; a grouping unit, for grouping each user terminal of receiver side based on the information of each user terminal of receiver side; wherein, the sending unit transmits the service information to each group of the user terminals by using the direct communication link.

A network side according to the present invention, comprising: a receiving unit, for receiving, from an information source, an information distribution request for transmitting its service information to other user terminals; a detecting unit, for detecting, within the range of the direct wireless communication of the information source, if there is any potential user terminal that expects to receive the service information; a sending unit, for sending, to the information source, an information of the detected user terminals of receiver side that expect to receive the service information.

A network side according to the present invention, comprising: a receiving unit, for receiving, from at least one of information sources, a status report that the information source can transmit the service information possessed by it to other user terminals, and receiving, from at least one of the user terminals, a request for receiving the service information; a detecting unit, for detecting if there is a group of the potential information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminals based on the status report; and an allocating unit, if the potential information sources exist, for allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the user terminals can receive the service information from the group of the information sources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for implementing the information distribution service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for implementing the information distribution service according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the network side allocates the corresponding wireless network resources based on the service information.

Fig. 4 is a system schematic diagram illustrating the implementation of the information distribution service in the wireless communication networks according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout all the above drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like, similar or corresponding features or functions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the method for implementing the information distribution service that is provided by the present invention, after a user terminal receives a required service information from an information source, for example, an information service provider, the user terminal can serve as a new information source, and transmit the received service information to other user terminals that expect to receive the service information respectively. Wherein, in the process of the user terminal acquiring the information and transmitting the service information to the other user terminals, a peer to peer direct communication link, namely, a dedicated link for transmitting the service information (also known as P2P communication link), can be adopted to transmit the service information, so that the object of the present invention can be achieved, which efficiently uses the limited wireless resources to provide abundant information services.

Wherein, the process of the user terminal acquiring the required service information from an information source can be regarded as a first stage of the method for the information distribution service of the present invention, while the process that the user terminal serves as a new information source and transmits the received service information to other user terminals that expect to receive the service information respectively, can be regarded as a second stage of the method. Hereinafter, the two stages will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings that illustrate particular embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for implementing the information distribution service according to an embodiment of the present invention. At the first stage of the embodiment, one side that possesses the service information actively requests to transmit its service information to other user terminals that expect to receive the service information. This operating mode is also referred to as an operating mode actively providing information service (namely, Push mode).

The operating process of the Push mode will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 1 as follows. As shown in Fig.l, first, one side that possesses the service information, for example, the information service provider, transmits, to a network side, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to other user terminals (Step SlO). After receiving the information distribution request, the network side detects which user terminals, within the wireless range of the P2P communication of the information service provider, expect to receive the service information (Step S 15), and transmits, to the information service provider, the potential receive user terminals and the expected information forms, such as text information, video or audio multimedia information and the like (Step S20).

After receiving the corresponding information of the potential receive user terminals provided by the network side, based on the content and form of the service information required by each receive user terminal, the information service provider groups the receive user terminals (Step S25), and transmits, to each group of the user terminals, an inquiring message if the service information can be received through, for example, the common control channel (Step S30). After receiving the inquiring message from the information service provider, the user terminal of receiver side, for example, the user terminal UEl, based on whether the users need the service information currently, transmits, to the information service provider, a confirmation message to indicate the acceptance of receiving the service information If needed (Step S35).

After receiving the confirmation message from the receive user terminal, the information service provider requests the wireless resources for transmitting the corresponding service information from the network side (Step S40). If the information service provider will send the service information with different content or form to different receive user terminals, the wireless resource management module of the network side allocates wireless resources used for the direct communication link in single-point to single-point mode (also known as uni-cast mode) for the information service provider and each receive user terminal respectively, in the present embodiment, the wireless resources are allocated for the information service provider and the UEl respectively (Steps S45 and S46); while if the information service provider will send the service information with the same content or form to the plurality of receive user terminals, the wireless resource management module of the network side allocates the wireless resources used for the direct communication link in single point to multi-point mode (also known as multi-cast mode) for the information service provider and each receive user terminal.

The forgoing process of single-point to single-point service transmitting that uses the wireless resources of the peer-to-peer direct communication link was described in detail by the patent application document with the application No. 03119892.9, the title "Apparatus and method for establishing peer to peer communication in wireless communication networks", and submitted by Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV on March 7, 2003, herein, the process will not be descried in detail. While the forgoing single-point to multi-point service transmitting process that uses the wireless resources of the peer-to-peer direct communication link was also described in detail by the patent application document with the application No. 200510003923.3, the title "Apparatus and method for establishing multi-cast communication in wireless communication networks", and submitted by Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV on Jan. 12, 2005, the whole of which is incorporated herein as reference.

In the forgoing process of allocating the wireless resources, the wireless resource management module of the network side can, based on the current load status of the network, randomly allocate the wireless resources used by the direct communication link for the information service provider and each receive user terminal, and also can, based on the content and/or form of the transmitted service information, allocate the corresponding wireless resources used by the direct communication link for the information service provider and each receive user terminal. Thereinafter, this wireless resource allocation plan in which the wireless resources correspond to the specific content and form for the service will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3.

After obtaining the wireless resources allocated by the network, the information service provider transmits the service information to each receive user terminal through the direct communication link in single-point to single-point mode or single-point to multipoint mode, such as the communication link shown in Fig. 1, which is not through the network side (Step S50). After receiving the service information, the receive user terminal, for example, UEl of the present embodiment, sends a status report to the network side (Step S55). The status report includes the content and form of the service information received by the UEl; If the user expects to share the received service information with other user terminals, the status report may further include the current load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information of UEl, so that the network side knows that the UEl can transmit the received service information to the other user terminals currently. Certainly, the status report may further include the information distribution request for UEl actively requesting to instantly transmit the received service information to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information.

After receiving the status report, when other user terminals request to receive the service information, based on the status report, the network side can let the UEl serve as a new information source and transmit its service information to the other user terminals.

Up to now, the first stage of the information distribution service method of the present embodiment, namely, by the Push mode, the process of the user terminal UEl acquiring the required service information from the information service provider serving as an information source, is primarily finished. At the second stage, based on the received status report, the network side will let UEl serve as a new information source and transmit the received service information to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information.

In detail, if the status report transmitted from UEl to the network side at the first stage includes the information distribution request, it means that UEl, which has already received the service information from the information service provider, expects to keep on using the Push mode at the second stage and actively requests to transmit the service information possessed by it to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information.

Therefore, at the second stage, UEl can serve as the information service provider at the forgoing first stage, another user terminal that expects to receive the service information, which is located within the wireless range of the P2P communication of UEl, for example, the user terminal UE2, can serve as the receive user terminal UEl at the forgoing first stage, thus, by executing the similar operations as that at the forgoing first stage, UEl, serving as a new information source, transmits the service information to the receive user terminal UE2 through the P2P direct communication link.

At the second stage, in addition to executing the same or similar operations as that of the information service provider at the first stage, UEl can further select a part of the receive user terminals from the plurality of the potential receive user terminals, which are provided by the network side and located within the wireless range of the P2P communication of UEl, and transmit the service information to the selected receive user terminals. The service information is actively transmitted to the other user terminals in the Push mode selectively. This will be advantageous for the users to inform the relatives, friends or companions around of the interest information in time.

If the status report sent from UEl to the network side at the first stage does not include the information distribution request, the network side only regards the EUl as a potential new information source that possesses the service information. When other user terminals request to receive the service information, based on the current status of UEl, for example, the current position of UEl, whether UEl still possesses the service information currently (UEl may have already deleted the service information), the current service load of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information of UEl, and the like, the network side determines if the UEl can transmit the required service information to the other user terminals as a potential candidate information source.

The operating mode, in which one side that possesses the service information passively transmits the service information possessed by it to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information, is also referred to as an operating mode passively providing information service (namely, Pull mode).

In the Pull mode, only when the users that expect to receive the service information send the requests for acquiring the service information to a network side, the network side then allocates the wireless resources for the corresponding information sources and the receive user terminals so as to transmit the service information. Compared with the Push mode, the Pull mode can efficiently save the wireless resources, and reduce the interference to the wireless network due to the transmission of the service information as possible.

Hereinafter, the operating process of the Pull mode will be described in detail by another embodiment with reference to Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2, first, after receiving the service information from the information service provider, one side that possesses the service information, for example, UEl of the forgoing embodiment, periodically sends a status report to the network side, so as to inform the network side that the UEl can transmit the service information currently possessed by it to the other user terminals (Step SIlO). The status report not only includes the content and form of the service information provided by UEl currently, but also includes the current load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information of UEl.

After receiving the status report, the network side records UEl in an index server as a potential information source that can provide the service information.

When receiving from a user terminal, for example, UE3, a request for expecting to receive the service information (Step S 115), based on the status report of each information source recorded in the index server, the network side detects, within the wireless range of the P2P communication of UE3, if there is a potential group of the information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminal (Step S120).

If such a group of the potential information sources exist, the network side sends an evaluation information to UE3, the evaluation information includes the information of each potential information source in the group, such as the current location, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information, and the like

(Step S 125).

After receiving the evaluation information, based on the current location, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information of each potential information source, UE3 selects one or several appropriate information sources

(Step S 130), and returns the selection information of the selected information sources to the network side (Step S135).

Based on the selection information from UE3, the wireless resource management module of the network side allocates the wireless resources used for the direct communication link in single-point to single-point mode for UE3 and the selected information source, for example, UEl in the present embodiment (Steps S140 and S141).

If the selected source is a plurality of the information sources, the wireless resource management module allocates the wireless resources used for the direct communication link in single point to single point mode for the selected information sources and UE3 respectively, so that UE3 can receive different parts of the service information from each selected information source through different direct communication links established with different information sources, therefore, the speed of the UE3 for acquiring the completed service information will be enhanced.

Like in the push mode, when the wireless resources are allocated in the pull mode, the wireless resource management module of the network side can randomly allocate the wireless resources used for the direct communication link for the information sources and the receive user terminals based on the current load status of the network, and also can allocate the corresponding wireless resources used for the direct communication link for the information sources and each receive user terminal based on the content and/or form of the transmitted service information.

After obtaining the wireless resources allocated by the network, UEl transmits the service information to the receive user terminal UE3 through the direct communication link in single point to single point mode (Step S145). After receiving the service information, UE3 sends a status report to the network side (Step S 150). Like in the Push mode, the status report includes the content and form of the service information received by UE3.If the user expects to share the received service information with other user terminals, the status report may further include the current load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information of UE3, so that the network side knows that UE3 currently can transmit the received service information to the other user terminals. Certainly, the status report may further include the information distribution request for UE3 actively requesting to instantly transmit the received service information to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information.

After receiving the status report, when other user terminals request to receive the service information, based on the status report, the network side can let UE3 to serve as a new information source and transmit the service information possessed by it to the other user terminals. Up to now, the first stage of the method for the information distribution service according to the present embodiment, namely, by the Pull mode, the process that UE3 acquires the required service information from UEl that serves as an information source, is primarily finished. Like the forgoing first embodiment, at the second stage, based on the status report received at the end of the first stage, the network side will let UE3 serve as a new information source and transmit the received service information to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information.

In detail, if the status report sent from the UE3 to the network side at the first stage includes the information distribution request, at the second stage, UE3, serving as an information source, uses the Push mode and actively requests to transmit the service information possessed by it to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information, which are located within the wireless range of the P2P communication of UE3.

The operation process of the Push mode is described in detail in the forgoing first embodiment and will not be described herein.

If the status report sent from the UE3 to the network side at the first stage does not include the information distribution request, the network side only regards UE3 as a potential new information source that possesses the service information. When other user terminals request to receive the service information, UE3 serves as the role of UEl at the first stage of the present embodiment, and another user terminal also expects to receive the service information, which is located within the wireless range of the P2P communication of UE3, for example, UE4, serves as the role of the receive user terminal UE3 at the first stage of the present embodiment. Moreover, the similar operations as that at the first stage of the present embodiment will be executed, and UE3, serving as a new information source, uses the Pull mode and transmits the service information to UE4 through the P2P direct communication link.

After receiving the service information, UE4 can also serve as a new information source. By respectively using the Push or Pull mode at the first and second stage, UE4 transmits, through the direct communication link, the service information possessed by it to the other user terminals that expect to receive the service information. Thus, the service information can be transmitted between user terminals via the direct communication link between the user terminals. In this way, not only the load of the communication network in which the information service provider locates and the load of the equipment of the information service provider can be alleviated, but also the limited wireless network resources can be used adequately.

The method for the information distribution service of the present invention is described in detail by the two above embodiments with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Hereinafter, the process in the two embodiments will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3, in which the wireless resource management module, based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocates the corresponding wireless resources used for the direct communication link for the information service provider and the receive user terminal.

As shown in Fig. 3, first, the information source that serves as the information distributor and the user terminal that serves as the information receiver, for example, the information service provider and UEl at the first stage of the forgoing first embodiment, register the service information and wireless resource matching service, namely, the information matching service, on the network side in advance (Steps S200 and S210). When the information source and the receive user terminal expect to transmit the service information by using the information matching service, the information source can, by sending a request of "starting the information matching service" to the network side, inform the network side of the content and/or form of the service information that expects to be transmitted (Step S220).

The wireless resource management module of the network side, based on the content and/or form of the service information that expects to be transmitted, allocates the wireless resources that correspond to the service information and are used for the direct communication link, for example, the transmitting power, the transceiving timeslot and the channelization code, for the information source and the receive user terminal (Step S230).

The information source and the receive user terminal respectively receive the wireless resources allocated by the network side (Steps S240 and S250), and probe the direct communication link by using the corresponding wireless resources. In detail, the information source, by using the transmitting power and the channelization code specified by the network side, periodically sends a probing message directly to the receive user terminal (Step S260). In the corresponding transceiving timeslot, the receive user terminal listens to the channel whether there is the probing message from the information source

(Step S270), and after receiving the probing message, by using the transmitting power specified by the network side, transmits a probing response message to the information source through the direct communication link (Step S280). After receiving the probing response message, the information source sends a probing success message to the receive user terminal (Step S290). After the probing successes, the information source and the receive user terminal can transmit the service information by using the wireless resources matched with the service information.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 3 describes in detail the process, e.g., when the information source that serves as the information distributor and the user terminal that serves as the information receiver are about to transmit the service information, the wireless resource management module, based on the request of "starting the information matching service" from the information source, allocates the corresponding wireless resources used for the direct communication link for the information source and the receive user terminal.

In actual application, the wireless resources that correspond to the certain kind of service information may have already been allocated to a certain information source to distribute the service information, for example, in the embodiment shown in the Fig. 3, the information service provider is using the allocated wireless resources to transmit the service information to UEl. At the same time, there is another user terminal, for example, UE5, which also expects to receive the service information distributed by the information service provider. Therefore, UE5 can send a request of "starting the information matching service" to the network side to obtain the wireless resources that correspond to the service information and are used for the direct communication link, for example, the transmitting power, the transceiving timeslot and the channelization code. Then, by executing the similar steps as the forgoing steps S260-S290, and after the probing operation with the information service provider successes, UE5 receives the service information distributed by the information service provider. This allocation manner of the wireless resources may be typically found in the applications that the information service provider rents certain wireless resources to distribute a certain kind of service information.

The forgoing method for implementing the information distribution service in the wireless communication networks of the present invention can be embodied in software, also in hardware, further in the combination of software and hardware.

Fig. 4 is a system schematic diagram illustrating the implementation of the information distribution service in the wireless communication networks according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the system, the constitutions of the information source, the network side and the user terminal are shown in the figure respectively, wherein, the same parts that are also for the conventional information service provider equipment, the network system and the user terminal are not shown in the figure.

As shown in the figure, the information source 100 (namely, the information service providing equipment) comprises: a sending unit 110, for sending, to a network side, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to at least one of user terminals; a receiving unit 120, for receiving the information about each user terminal of receiver side from the network side; a grouping unit 130, for grouping each user terminal of receiver side based on the information of each user terminal of receiver side. The sending unit 110 transmits the service information to each group of the user terminals by using the direct communication link.

The network side 200 comprises: a receiving unit 210, for receiving, from an information source, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to other user terminals; a detecting unit 220, for detecting, within the range of the direct wireless communication of said information source, if there is any potential user terminal that expects to receive the service information; a sending unit 230, for sending, to the information source, an information of the detected user terminals of receiver side that expect to receive the service information; and an allocating unit 240, based on the content and/or form of the service information, for allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the information source 100 can use the corresponding wireless resources to transmit the service information.

Wherein, the receiving unit 210 can further be used to receive, from at least one of information sources, a status report that the information source can transmit the service information possessed by it to other user terminals, and receive, from at least one of the user terminals, a request for expecting to receive the service information. The detecting unit 220 of the network side 200 can, based on the status report, detect if there is a group of the potential information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminals, so that the sending unit 230 can send an evaluation information to the user terminals based on the detecting result. Wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of the group of the potential information sources, and the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of the each information source: the location information, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information, and the like. Moreover, the receiving unit 210 receives, from the user terminal, the information of the information source selected by the user terminal based on the evaluation information, so that the allocating unit 240 allocates the corresponding wireless resources for the selected information source.

The user terminal 300 comprises: a receiving unit 310, for receiving the service information provided by at least one of information sources; a sending unit 320, for sending, to a network side, an information that the user terminal can transmit the received service information to at least one of other user terminals; wherein, the receiving unit 310 obtains the wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing the direct communication links with the other user terminals, so that the sending unit 320 can transmit the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

Wherein, the sending unit 320 further can send, to the network side, a request for expecting to receive the service information. The receiving unit 310 receives the evaluation information provided by the network side 200. Wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of each potential candidate information source that can provide the service information, which is located within the range of the direct wireless communication of the user terminal. Wherein, the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of each candidate information source: the location information, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information.

The user terminal 300 further comprises a selecting unit 330, for selecting at least one of the information sources based on the evaluation information, and sending the selected information source to the network side 200 through the sending unit 320, so as to receive the service information from the selected information source.

When the system shown in Fig. 4 is used for the distribution of the service information, each component part of the information source, the network side and the user terminal can adopt the Pull or Push mode according to the forgoing process that is described in the method for the information distribution service of the present invention, and transmit the service information through the two stages. Accordingly, the information distribution service of the present invention can be achieved.

BENEFICIAL EFFECT

As mentioned above, with the method and apparatus provided by the present invention for implementing the information distribution service, the user terminal that has acquired the service information will serve as a new information source, and through the direct communication link, transmit the acquired service information to the other user terminals around, which also expect to receive the service information. Therefore, in the wireless communication networks, not only the abundant service information for the users can be provided in time without any extra load for the equipment and the networks of the information service provider, but also the limited wireless network resources can be used adequately. Accordingly, the method and apparatus of the present invention for implementing the information distribution service will have good application perspective in the future development of the wireless network.

In the actual application, the technology detail provided by the present invention can be freely carried out and adaptively modified as needed. For example, in the daily life, when the service information providers such as the marketplace and the like promote or introduce the merchandise for sell, generally, the Push mode is used to distribute their information to the customers in and around the marketplace.

However, for the service information providers who provide the travel information such as the airline, train and weather forecast information, the Pull mode is generally used, and when the traveler inquires, provide the corresponding information to the inquirer. Further, by detecting the current position of the user terminal, the network side can further actively promote, to the user, the title of the service information that may be possible to correspond to the current position of the user, so that the user can selectively inquire the particular service information.

Similarly, for the user terminal that can serve as a new information source, after obtaining the service information, the user terminal can, based on the content and form of the service information, actively distribute the interest information to the companions around by using the Push mode. Alternatively, the user terminal can further be waiting for the inquiry from other user terminals that expect to receive the service information by using the Pull mode, and after receiving the inquiry, transmit the service information to the inquirer. Certainly, the network providers or the information providers can also use some commercialized reward policies to encourage the user terminals to serve as a new information source and transmit the received service information to the other user terminals, so as to alleviate the pressure and the network load of the network providers or the information service providers.

Further, in the present invention, the network side index server for recording the following information, such as the content and form of the service information that the information service provider can provide, and the content and form of the service information that the user terminal who acquired the service information and served as a new information source can provide, and the like, can be a separate equipment or integrated with the other equipments of the network side, to provide support when the user inquires the corresponding service information.

The method of the present invention for implementing the information distribution service not only is applicable to the TDD CDMA (Time Division Duplex - Code Division Multiple Access) system of which the TD-SCDMA is a representative, but also can be applied in the other communication configurations.

It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, various modifications could be made to the method for implementing the information distribution service disclosed in the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is to be defined by the appended claims herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method, executed by a user terminal, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving service information provided by at least one of information sources;

(b) sending, to network side, an information indicating the capability of sending received service information to at least one of other user terminals;

(c) receiving wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing the direct communication links with the other user terminals; and

(d) transmitting the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the user terminal receives different parts of the service information from different information sources respectively.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the step (a) further comprises: receiving, from the information source, an inquiry as to whether to receive the service information; based on whether to expect to receive the service information, sending, to the information source, a confirmation message to inform the network side that the user terminal can receive the service information.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the step (a) further comprises: sending, to the network side, a request for expecting to receive the service information; receiving an evaluation information provided by the network side, wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of each potential candidate information source that can provide the service information, which is located within the range of the direct wireless communication of the user terminal; based on the evaluation information, selecting at least one of the information sources; informing the network side of selected information source so as to receive the service information from the selected information source.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of each potential candidate information source: location information, service load status of the network and transmitting ability of the service information.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprises the steps of: receiving, from the network side, the information about the other user terminals; based on the information about the other user terminals, grouping the other user terminals, so as to transmit the service information to each group of the user terminals.

7. The method according to claim 6 further comprises the step of: based on the information about the other user terminals, selecting a part of the other user terminals, so as to transmit the service information to the selected user terminals.

8. A method for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks comprising the steps of:

(a) sending, to network side, an information distribution request for transmitting service information possessed by it to at least one of the user terminals;

(b) receiving the information about each user terminal of receiver side from the network side;

(c) grouping each user terminal of receiver side based on the information about each user terminal of receiver side;

(d) transmitting the service information to each group of the user terminals through a direct communication link.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the step (d) further comprises: sending, to the user terminal of receiver side, an inquiry as to whether to receive the service information; receiving, from the user terminal of receiver side, a confirmation message, so as to transmit the service information to the user terminal of receiver side that expects to receive the service information.

10. A method, executed by a network side, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, from an information source, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by the information source to other user terminals;

(b) detecting if there is any potential user terminal that expects to receive the service information;

(c) sending, to the information source, the information of the detected user terminals of receiver side that expect to receive the service information.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the user terminal locates within the range of the direct wireless communication of the information source.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11 further comprises the step of: based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocating corresponding wireless resources, so that the information source uses the corresponding wireless resources to transmit the service information.

13. A method, executed by a network side, for implementing an information distribution service in wireless communication networks, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving, from at least one of information sources, a status report that the information source can transmit the service information possessed by it to other user terminals;

(b) receiving, from at least one of the user terminals, a request for expecting to receive the service information;

(c) based on the status report, detecting if there is a group of the potential information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminals; and

(d) if the potential information sources exist, allocating corresponding wireless resources so that the user terminals can receive the service information from the group of the information sources.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, the step (d) further comprises: based on the detecting result, sending an evaluation information to the user terminal, wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of the group of the potential information sources; receiving a selection information from the user terminal, wherein, the selection information includes the information of the information source selected by the user terminal based on the evaluation information, so as to allocate corresponding wireless resources for the selected information source; wherein, the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of the each information source: the location information, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information.

15. A method for allocating wireless resources in wireless communication networks, comprising the steps of: receiving, from an information source, a request for starting service information matching service; based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocating corresponding wireless resources, so that the information source can transmit the service information by using the corresponding wireless resources.

16. The method according to claim 15 further comprises the steps of: receiving, from a user terminal, a request for starting corresponding service information matching service; based on the content and/or form of the service information, allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the user terminal can transmit the service information by using the corresponding wireless resources.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein, the wireless resources are used to establish a peer to peer direct communication.

18. A user terminal comprises: a receiving unit, for receiving service information provided by at least one of information sources; a sending unit, for sending, to network side, an information that the user terminal can transmit the received service information to at least one of other user terminals; wherein, the receiving unit receives wireless resources allocated by the network side for establishing the direct communication links with the other user terminals, and the sending unit can transmit the service information to the other user terminals by using the wireless resources.

19. The user terminal according to claim 18, wherein, the sending unit transmits, to the network side, a request for expecting to receive the service information; the receiving unit receives an evaluation information provided by the network side, wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of the each potential candidate information source can provide the service information, which is located within the range of the direct wireless communication of the user terminal; the user terminal further comprises: a selecting unit, based on the evaluation information, for selecting at least one of the information sources; the sending unit sends the selected information sources to the network side, so as to receive the service information from the selected information sources, wherein, the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of the each candidate information source: the location information, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information.

20. An information source comprising: a sending unit, for sending, to network side, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to at least one of user terminals; a receiving unit, for receiving information about each user terminal of receiver side from the network side; a grouping unit, for grouping the each user terminal of receiver side based on the information about the each user terminal of receiver side; wherein, the sending unit transmits the service information to each group of the user terminals by using a direct communication link.

21. A network side comprising: a receiving unit, for receiving, from an information source, an information distribution request for transmitting the service information possessed by it to other user terminals; a detecting unit, for detecting, within the range of the direct wireless communication of the information source, if there is any potential user terminal that expects to receive the service information; a sending unit, for sending, to the information source, an information about the detected user terminals of receiver side that expect to receive the service information.

22. The network side according to claim 21 further comprises: an allocating unit, based on the content and/or form of the service information, for allocating the corresponding wireless resources, so that the information source can use the corresponding wireless resources to transmit the service information.

23. A network side comprising: a receiving unit, for receiving, from at least one of the information sources, a status report that the information source can transmit the service information possessed by it to other user terminals, and receiving, from at least one of the user terminals, a request for expecting to receive the service information; a detecting unit, based on the status report, for detecting if there is a group of the potential information sources that can provide the service information expected by the user terminals; and an allocating unit, if the potential information sources exist, for allocating corresponding wireless resources, so that the user terminals can receive the service information from the group of the information sources.

24. The network side according to claim 23 further comprises: a sending unit, based on the detecting result, for sending an evaluation information to the user terminals, wherein, the evaluation information includes the information of the group of the potential information sources, and the evaluation information includes at least one of the following information of each information source: the location information, the service load status of the network and the transmitting ability of the service information, wherein, the receiving unit receives, from the user terminal, the selection information including information of the information source selected by the user terminal based on the evaluation information, so that the allocating unit allocates corresponding wireless resources for the selected information sources.