METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION IN A TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM FEATURING MULTIPLE FREQUENCY BANDS

• US 20070135171A1
• Filed: 11/21/2006
• Published: 06/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: HARA, Yoshitaka
• Application Number:
  US11/562,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20070135171A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/562.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/30 Special cell shapes, e.g. doughnuts or ring cells

Abstract

The present invention concerns a base station of a wireless telecommunication network, the base station comprising at least a first antenna which radiates signals in a first frequency band into a first area. The base station comprises plural second antennas which radiate signals in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band and means for directing the signals radiated in the second frequency band by the plural second antennas into different second areas and in that the total area covered by the second areas is sensibly equal to the first area. The invention concerns also a terminal and the corresponding methods.

Claims

1. Base station of a wireless telecommunication network, the base station comprising at least a first antenna which radiates signals in a first frequency band into a first area, characterised in that the base station comprises plural second antennas which radiate signals in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band and means for directing the signals radiated in the second frequency band by the plural second antennas into different second areas and in that the total area covered by the second areas is sensibly equal to the first area.

2. Base station according to claim 1, characterised in that the base station comprises at least two first antennas, each of the at least two first antennas being one of the second antennas and in that the first antennas are spaced by a distance which is larger than the distance spacing two second antennas.

3. Base station according to claim 2, characterised in that each first antenna radiates signals in the first frequency band into different first areas and in that the base station comprises means for transferring, through at least a part of the signals radiated in the first frequency band in each first area, information identifying the first area from the other first areas.

4. Base station according to claim 3, characterised in that the base station comprises means for transferring, through at least a part of the signals radiated in the second frequency band, in each second area information identifying the second area from the other second areas which are comprised in the same first area as the second area.

5. Base station according to claim 4, characterised in that the base station comprises:

means for receiving, from a terminal of the wireless telecommunication network, through the antennas, signals comprising information identifying a first area wherein the terminal is located,

means for receiving, from the terminal, through the antennas, signals comprising information representative of the second area wherein the terminal is located,

means for determining in which second area the terminal is according to the received information.

6. Method according to claim 5, characterised in that the base station comprises means for receiving signals representative of the quality of the signals received by the terminal in the first and second frequency bands.

7. Base station according to claim 1, characterised in that the base station comprises:

means for detecting a request, issued from a telecommunication network, for a communication with a terminal,

means for transferring a message through the first frequency band,

means for receiving signals in the second frequency band in response to the transferred message,

means for determining the second area in which the terminal is located according to the received signals in the second frequency band.

8. Method for managing at least an area covered by a base station of a wireless telecommunication network, the base station comprising at least a first antenna which radiates signals in a first frequency band into a first area, characterised in that the method comprises the step, executed by the base station of, directing the signals radiated by plural second antennas of the base station in a second frequency into different second areas, the second frequency band being higher than the first frequency band, wherein the total area covered by the second areas is sensibly equal to the first area.

9. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the base station has at least two first antenna which radiates signal in the first frequency band into different first areas and the method comprises further step of transferring, through at least a part of the signals radiated in the first frequency band in each first area, information identifying the first area from the other first areas.

10. Method according to claim 9, characterised in that the method comprises further step of transferring, through at least a part of the signals radiated in the second frequency band, in each second area, information identifying the second area from the other second areas which are comprised in the same first area as the second area.

11. Method according to claim 10, characterised in that the method comprises further step of:

receiving, from a terminal of the wireless telecommunication network, through the antennas, signals comprising information identifying a first area wherein the terminal is located,

receiving, from the terminal, through the antennas, signals comprising information representative of the second area wherein the terminal is located,

determining in which second area the terminal is according to the received information.

12. Method according to claim 11, characterised in that the base station comprises means for receiving signals representative of the quality of the signals received by the terminal in the first and second frequency bands.

13. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that the method comprises further steps of:

detecting a request, issued from the wireless area network, for a communication with a terminal,

transferring a message through the first frequency band,

receiving signals in the second frequency band in response to the transferred message,

determining the second area in which the terminal is located according to the received signals in the second frequency band.

19. Computer program which can be directly loadable into a programmable device, comprising instructions or portions of code for implementing the steps of the method according to claims 8 to 13, when said computer program is executed on a programmable device.

14. Terminal of a wireless telecommunication network, the terminal comprising means for receiving signals from a base station wireless telecommunication network in a first frequency band, the signals comprising information identifying a first area in which the signals are radiated by the base station in the first frequency band, means for determining the quality of the received signals in the first frequency band, and means for transferring signals to the base station signals comprising information identifying the first area wherein the terminal is located, characterised in that the terminal further comprises:

means for receiving signals from the base station in a second frequency band, the signals comprising information identifying a second area in which the signals are radiated by the base station in the second frequency band,

means for determining the quality of the received signals in the second frequency band,

means for transferring to the base station signals comprising information identifying the second area wherein the terminal is located, and the quality of the signals received by the terminal.

15. Terminal according to claim 14, characterised in that it comprises means for receiving a message through the first frequency band, the message being representative of a communication which is intended to be established with the terminal and means for transferring signals in the second frequency band in response to the received message.

16. Terminal according to any of the claims 14 or 15 characterised in that the terminal comprises a number of antennas used for the reception and/or the transfer of the signals in the second frequency band which is larger than the number of antennas used for the reception and/or the transfer of the signals in the first frequency band.

17. Method for reporting information by a terminal of a wireless telecommunication network, the method comprises the steps, executed by the terminal, of:

receiving signals from a base station wireless telecommunication network in a first frequency band, the signals comprising information identifying a first area in which the signals are radiated by the base station in the first frequency band,

determining the quality of the received signals in the first frequency band,

transferring to the base station signals comprising information identifying a first area wherein the terminal is located,

characterised in that the method further comprises the steps of;

receiving signals from the base station in a second frequency band, the signals comprising information identifying a second area in which the signals are radiated by the base station in the second frequency band,

determining the quality of the received signals in the second frequency band,

transferring to the base station signals comprising information identifying the second area wherein the terminal is located, and the quality of the signals received by the terminal.

18. Method according to claim 17, characterised in that the terminal:

receives a message through the first frequency band, the message being representative of a communication which is intended to be established with the terminal

transferring signals in the second frequency band in response to the received message.

20. Computer program which can be directly loadable into a programmable device, comprising instructions or portions of code for implementing the steps of the method according to claim 17 or 18, when said computer program is executed on a programmable device.