DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ENABLING THE RECEPTION, BY A MOBILE TERMINAL LOCATED IN A MOVING CONVEYANCE, OF SIGNALS TRANSFERRED IN AT LEAST A FIRST AND A SECOND CELLS OF A WIRELESS CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK

• US 20080194261A1
• Filed: 02/13/2008
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Voyer, Nicolas, Bonneville, Herve
• Granted Patent: US 8,041,356 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection

Abstract

The present invention concerns a device for enabling the reception, by a mobile terminal located in a moving conveyance, of signals transferred in at least a first and a second cells of a wireless cellular telecommunication network composed of plural base stations, the moving conveyance moving from a first area to a second area. The device comprises means for identifying a first base station which transfers signals in a first cell comprising the first area, means for identifying a second base station which transfers signals in a second cell comprising the second area, means for obtaining signals transferred in the first and the second cells by the first and second base stations, means for combining the obtained signals into combined signals and means for transferring the combined signals to the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance.

Claims

1. Device for enabling the reception, by a mobile terminal located in a moving conveyance, of signals transferred in at least a first and a second cells of a wireless cellular telecommunication network composed of plural base stations, the moving conveyance moving from a first area to a second area, characterised in that the device for enabling the reception of signals comprises:

means for identifying a first base station which transfers signals in a first cell comprising the first area,

means for identifying a second base station which transfers signals in a second cell comprising the second area,

means for obtaining signals transferred in the first and the second cells by the first and second base stations,

means for combining the obtained signals into combined signals,

means for transferring the combined signals to the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the device further comprises:

means for obtaining information representative of the position of the moving conveyance,

means for determining a first and a second coefficients from the information representative of the position of the moving conveyance,

means for multiplying the signals transferred in the first cell by the first coefficient and for multiplying the signals transferred in the second cell by the second coefficient prior to combine the obtained signals transferred in the first and second cells.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the device further comprises:

means for obtaining signals transferred by the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance,

means for transferring to the first and second base stations the signals transferred by the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance.

4. Device according to claim 3, characterised in that the device further comprises:

means for determining a third and a fourth coefficients from the information representative of the position of the moving conveyance,

means for multiplying the signals transferred to the first base station by the third coefficient and for multiplying the signals transferred to the second base station by the fourth coefficient,

means for transferring the signals multiplied by the third coefficient to the first base station and the signals multiplied by the fourth coefficient to the second base station.

5. Device according to claim 4, characterised in that the moving conveyance is an elevator cabin of a building, the combined signals transferred to the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance are transferred through an antenna located in the elevator cabin, the signals transferred by the mobile terminal are obtained through the antenna, the first area is located in the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped and the second area is the destination floor of the elevator cabin.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the device further comprises means for receiving, from an elevator controller, information representative of the position of the destination of the elevator cabin.

7. Device according to claim 6, characterised in that the first and third coefficients are determined from a variable X_a calculated according to the following formula:

8. Device according to claim 7, characterised in that the first and third coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DL1=coeff_UL1=1−

X_a wherein, coeff_DL1 is the first coefficient and coeff_UL1 is the third coefficient.

9. Device according to claim 7, characterised in that the first and third coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DL1=coeff_UL1=10<sup>−

Δ

Xa/10</sup>,

with Δ

is a predetermined value, coeff_DL1 is the first coefficient, and coeff_UL1 is the third coefficient.

10. Device according to any of the claims 6 to 9, characterised in that the first predetermined position is located between the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped and the position of the destination floor or is a position at which information representative of the position of the destination of the elevator cabin have been received or is the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped.

11. Device according to any of the claims 6 to 10, characterised in that the second and fourth coefficients are determined from a variable X_b calculated according to the following formula:

12. Device according to claim 11, characterised in that the second and fourth coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DLj=coeff_ULj=X_b wherein, coeff_DLj is the second coefficient and coeff_ULj is the fourth coefficient.

13. Device according to claim 12, characterised in that the second and fourth coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DLj=coeff_ULj=10<sup>−

Δ

(I−

Xb)/10</sup>,

with Δ

is a predetermined value, coeff_DLj is the second coefficient and coeff_ULj is the fourth coefficient.

14. Device according to any of the claims 11 to 13, characterised in that the second predetermined position is located between the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped and the position of the destination floor or is a position at which information representative of the position of the destination of the elevator cabin have been received or is the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped.

15. Device according to any of the claims 5 to 14, characterised in that the building comprises a third floor in which a third base station transfers signals in a third cell and in that the device further comprises:

means for obtaining signals transferred in the third cell by the third base station,

means for determining a fifth coefficient from the information representative of the position of the elevator cabin,

means for multiplying the signals transferred in the third cell by the fifth coefficient,

and the signals multiplied by the fifth coefficient are combined to the combined signals.

16. Device according to claim 15, characterised in that the device further comprises:

means for determining a sixth coefficient from the information representative of the position of the elevator cabin,

means for multiplying the signals transferred by the mobile terminal by the sixth coefficient,

means for transferring the signals multiplied by the sixth coefficient to the third base station.

17. Device according to any of the claims 5 to 16, characterised in that the device further comprises means for receiving, from an elevator controller, information representative of the position of the third floor, the third floor being another destination floor of the elevator cabin next to the destination of the elevator cabin.

18. Device according to the claim 17, characterised in that the fifth and sixth coefficients are determined from a variable X_c calculated according to the following formula:

19. Device according to claim 18, characterised in that the fifth and sixth coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DL1=coeff_UL1=X_c wherein, coeff_DL1 is the fifth coefficient and coeff_UL1 is the sixth coefficient.

20. Device according to claim 16, characterised in that the fifth and sixth coefficients are calculated according to the following formula:

coeff_DL1=coeff_UL1=10<sup>−

Δ

(1−

Xc)/10</sup>,

with Δ

is a predetermined value, coeff_DL1 is the fifth coefficient and coeff_UL1 is the sixth coefficient.

21. Device according to any of the claims 16 to 18, characterised in that the third predetermined position is located between the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped and the position of the destination floor or is a position at which information representative of the position of the third floor have been received or is the position of the origin floor at which the elevator cabin previously stopped.

22. Device according to claim 16, characterised in that the third floor is not another destination floor next to the destination of the elevator cabin and the fifth and sixth coefficients are equal to null value.

23. Method for enabling the reception, by a mobile terminal located in a moving conveyance, of signals transferred in at least a first and a second cells of a wireless cellular telecommunication network composed of plural base stations, the moving conveyance moving from a first area to a second area, characterised in that the method for enabling the reception of signals comprises the steps of:

identifying a first base station which transfers signals in a first cell comprising the first area,

identifying a second base station which transfers signals in a second cell comprising the second area,

obtaining signals transferred in the first and the second cells by the first and second base stations,

combining the obtained signals into combined signals,

transferring the combined signals to the mobile terminal located in the moving conveyance.

24. 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 23, when said computer program is executed on a programmable device.