Relay apparatus and its relay method

• US 10,484,077 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2016
• Issued: 11/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SOFTBANK Corporation (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: SOFTBANK Corporation (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshimura, Takayuki, Nanri, Masahiko, Nomachi, Masanori, Takii, Takanori, Takagi, Jumpei
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mathew, Max
• Application Number:
  US15/506,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20190089449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 455 9
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/12 of transmit antennas, e.g. of the amplitude or phase
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/40 of relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/10 Polarisation diversity; Directional diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15528 Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

Beamforming for radio communication (uplink) from a relay apparatus to a donor base station is performed accurately. A relay apparatus 20 is a relay apparatus 20 for relaying communication between a terminal device 10 and a donor base station 30 and includes: an amplitude and phase measurement unit 25 that measures an amplitude and phase of radio communication from the donor base station 30 to the relay apparatus 20; and a beam adjuster 27 that performs beamforming with respect to the donor base station 30 by adjusting amplitudes and phases from a plurality of antennas used at the relay apparatus 20 by measuring the amplitude and the phase by using the amplitude and phase measurement unit 25, wherein during a time slot when the terminal device 10 does not exist in a service area of the relay apparatus 20, the relay apparatus 20 detects no existence of the terminal device 10 in the service area and stops access radio, the amplitude and phase measurement unit 25 measures the amplitude and the phase, and the beam adjuster 27 performs the beamforming with respect to the donor base station 30, after which the access radio is restarted.

Claims

1. A relay apparatus for relaying communication between a terminal device and a donor base station,

the relay apparatus comprising:

an amplitude and phase measurement unit that measures an amplitude and phase of radio communication from a donor base station to the relay apparatus; and

a beam adjuster that makes adjustment for beamforming with respect to the donor base station by adjusting amplitudes and phases from a plurality of antennas used at the relay apparatus on the basis of the measured amplitude and phase,

wherein the adjustment for the beamforming with respect to the donor base station is performed by measuring the amplitude and the phase during a time slot when a terminal device does not exist in a service area of the relay apparatus.

2. The relay apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the relay apparatus includes a timer for activating the amplitude and phase measurement unit and the beam adjuster and the timer is set to be activated during a time slot when it is presumed that a terminal device may not exist in the service area of the relay apparatus.

3. The relay apparatus according to claim 2, wherein after the activation of the timer, the relay apparatus:

detects that the terminal device does not exist in the service area; and

measures the amplitude and the phase after stopping access radio between the relay apparatus and the terminal device.

4. The relay apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the relay apparatus includes a detector that detects whether a terminal device exists in the service area or not;

and

wherein when the detector detects that the terminal device does not exist in the service area of the relay apparatus for a certain period of time, the relay apparatus measures the amplitude and the phase and makes the adjustment for the beamforming with respect to the donor base station.

5. The relay apparatus according to claim 4, wherein after detecting that the terminal device does not exist in the service area for the certain period of time, the relay apparatus stops access radio between the relay apparatus and the terminal device and then measures the amplitude and the phase.

6. The relay apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the relay apparatus restarts the access radio after making the adjustment for the beamforming.

7. The relay apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the relay apparatus restarts the access radio after making the adjustment for the beamforming.

8. A relay method for a relay apparatus,

the relay method comprising:

a step of measuring an amplitude and phase of radio communication from a donor base station to the relay apparatus; and

a beam adjustment step of making adjustment for beamforming of radio communication from the relay apparatus to the donor base station by adjusting amplitudes and phases from a plurality of antennas used at the relay apparatus on the basis of the measured amplitude and phase,

wherein the relay apparatus makes the adjustment for the beamforming by measuring the amplitude and the phase during a time slot when a terminal device does not exist in a service area of the relay apparatus.

9. The relay method according to claim 8, wherein the relay apparatus makes the adjustment for the beamforming by measuring the amplitude and the phase during a time slot when it is presumed that a terminal device may not exist in the service area of the relay apparatus.

10. The relay method according to claim 8, further including a detection step of detecting whether a terminal device exists in the service area or not, wherein when in the detection step, it is detected that the terminal device does not exist in the service area of the relay apparatus for a certain period of time, the relay apparatus makes the adjustment for the beamforming by measuring the amplitude and the phase.