Radio communication system

• US 20010022791A1
• Filed: 02/08/2001
• Published: 09/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Prost, Jean-Baptiste, Abdesselem, Ouelid, Fouilland, Pascal
• Application Number:
  US09/779,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20010022791A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/510
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2681 Synchronisation of a mobile station with one base station
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements

Abstract

The invention provides a communications system having a novel multi-frame signal format. Frequency correction information is transmitted in a time slot of a frame immediately preceding a timeslot in which synchronization information is transmitted. The invention allows faster synchronization to a cell in the communication system.

Claims

1. A communication system using multi-frame signals, each frame of the multi-frame signal being divided into a plurality of timeslots, wherein in at least one frame of the multi-frame signal first control channel information is transmitted in a first timeslot immediately preceding a second timeslot in which second control channel information is transmitted.

2. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein bursts containing control channel information overlap the timeslot boundary between first and second timeslots.

3. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein adjacent bursts containing first and second control channel information have a combined length greater than a normal burst length.

4. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein a single burst containing first control channel information and second control channel information is transmitted.

5. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the control channel information contains information indicating the frame of the multi-frame containing the control channel information.

6. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the length of a burst or the part of a burst which contains first control channel information is less than the length of a normal burst.

7. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the length of a burst or the part of a burst containing first control channel information is variable.

8. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the length of a burst or part of a burst containing first control channel information depends on the size of cells in the communication system.

9. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, where the length L of a burst or the part of a burst containing first control channel information is given by:

L<

N-d/(t_s·

c)

where N is the number of symbols between the beginning of the first timeslot and the end of the burst;

t_s is the symbol duration;

d is the distance to an adjacent base station; and

c is the speed of light.

10. The communication system as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the first control channel information is frequency correction information and the second control channel information is synchronization information.

11. A base station adapted for use in the communication system as claimed in

claim 1

.

12. A subscriber station adapted for use in the communication system as claimed in

claim 1

.

13. The subscriber station as claimed in

claim 12

, wherein the subscriber station uses frequency correction channel information to set an automatic frequency correction algorithm before decoding of synchronization channel information, this correction being a software correction applied on memorized samples of the synchronization channel.