Advanced multi-sensor processing

• US 20100098014A1
• Filed: 10/05/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Larsson, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,924,949 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/022 Site diversity; Macro-diversity using two or more spaced independent antennas H04B7/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0857 using maximum ratio combining techniques, e.g. signal-to- interference ratio [SIR], received signal strenght indication [RSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/067 providing soft decisions, i.e. decisions together with an estimate of reliability H04L25/068 and H04L25/069 take precedence; sequence estimation techniques H04L25/03178
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00692 using simultaneous multiple data streams, e.g. cooperative multipoint [CoMP], carrier aggregation [CA] or multiple input multiple output [MIMO] allocation of physical resources in CoMP or in CA H04L5/0035
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/12 Outer and inner loops
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity

Abstract

Each receiving node (120) of a plurality of receiving nodes (120-1, 120-2 and 120-3) such as base stations in a wireless network converts a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes such as mobile terminals (10) to produce soft complex signal information. The soft complex signal information associated with the considered plurality of receiving nodes are collected, for example in a central node (130) and jointly detect signal information transmitted from at least a subset of the plurality of transmitting nodes (10) based on the collected soft complex signal information. The collected soft signal information generally retains phase and amplitude information, and the transmitted signals are preferably detected in a joint detection process based on a complex channel representation and collected soft signal information. In a truly distributed realization, adjacent receiving nodes or base stations exchange soft complex signal information with each other, thus forming at least partially overlapping groups for distributed collection of information, detection and subsequent decoding in each base station.

Claims

1. A method for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said method comprising the steps of:

each of a plurality of receiving nodes converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network;

jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes is further based on a complex channel representation related to said plurality of receiving nodes and said plurality of transmitting nodes.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said complex channel representation is a complex channel gain matrix.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said soft complex signal information retains phase and amplitude information.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said soft complex signal information is collected from said plurality of receiving nodes in a central node, and said step of jointly detecting signal information is performed by the central node.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of receiving nodes are partitioned into multiple groups, and said step of collecting soft complex signal information comprises the step of collecting, for each group, soft complex signal information associated with the receiving nodes of the group, and said step of jointly detecting comprises the step of performing, for each group, joint detection of signal information based on the collected soft complex signal information associated with the group.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein at least two of said multiple groups are partially overlapping.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein said step of performing, for each group, joint detection is performed by a signal processing node associated with the group of receiving nodes.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said signal processing node is a designated receiving node that belongs to the corresponding group.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

compressing soft complex signal information on the receiving node side;

collecting the compressed soft complex signal information over a transport network; and

decompressing the compressed soft complex information before jointly detecting signal information.

11. A system for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said system comprising:

a plurality of receiving nodes, each configured for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network; and

means for jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein said means for jointly detecting is configured to operate based on the collected soft complex signal information in combination with a complex channel representation related to said plurality of receiving nodes and said plurality of transmitting nodes.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein said complex channel representation is a complex channel gain matrix.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein said soft complex signal information retains phase and amplitude information.

15. The system according to claim 11, wherein said soft complex signal information is collected from said plurality of receiving nodes in a central node, and said means for jointly detecting signal information is implemented in the central node.

16. The system according to claim 11, wherein said wireless communication network is a cellular network, and said plurality of receiving nodes are base stations and said plurality of transmitting nodes are mobile stations.

17. The system according to claim 11, wherein said plurality of receiving nodes are partitioned into multiple groups, and said means for collecting soft complex signal information comprises means for collecting, for each group, soft complex signal information associated with the receiving nodes of the group, and said means for jointly detecting comprises means for performing, for each group, joint detection based on the collected soft complex signal information associated with the group.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein at least two of said multiple groups are partially overlapping.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein said means for performing, for each group, joint detection is implemented in a signal processing node associated with the group of receiving nodes.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein said signal processing node is a designated receiving node that belongs to the corresponding group.

21. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for compressing soft complex signal information on the receiving node side;

means for collecting the compressed soft complex signal information over a transport network; and

means for decompressing the compressed soft complex information for input of decompressed soft complex information to said means for jointly detecting signal information.

22. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for collecting, from each one of a plurality of receiving nodes, corresponding soft complex signal information produced from a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for jointly detecting signal information from said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to said plurality of receiving nodes and said plurality of transmitting nodes.

23. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information from at least one associated node, each associated node producing soft complex signal information from a superposition of signals received from said plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for jointly detecting signal information based on the acquired soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to the network node, each associated node and said plurality of transmitting nodes.

24. A method for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said method comprising the steps of:

each of a plurality of receiving nodes converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network;

jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information is performed in the frequency domain.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information includes frequency domain handling of joint detection of multiple signals.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information is performed for each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

27. A system for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said system comprising:

a plurality of receiving nodes, each configured for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network; and

means for jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information, wherein said means for jointly detecting is configured for frequency domain operation.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for performing frequency domain handling of joint detection of multiple signals.

29. The system according to claim 27, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for operation on each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

30. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for collecting, from each one of a plurality of receiving nodes, corresponding soft complex signal information produced from a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for jointly detecting signal information from said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to said plurality of receiving nodes and said plurality of transmitting nodes, wherein said means for jointly detecting is configured for frequency domain operation.

31. The network node according to claim 30, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for performing frequency domain handling of joint detection of multiple signals.

32. The network node according to claim 30, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for operation on each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

33. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information from at least one associated node, each associated node producing soft complex signal information from a superposition of signals received from said plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for jointly detecting signal information based on the acquired soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to the network node, each associated node and said plurality of transmitting nodes, wherein said means for jointly detecting is configured for frequency domain operation.

34. The network node according to claim 33, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for performing frequency domain handling of joint detection of multiple signals.

35. The network node according to claim 33, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for operation on each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

36. A method for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said method comprising the steps of:

each of a plurality of receiving nodes converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network;

jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information,

wherein said plurality of receiving nodes are partitioned into multiple groups, wherein said step of collecting soft complex signal information comprises the step of collecting, for each group, soft complex signal information associated with the receiving nodes of the group, and

wherein said step of jointly detecting comprises the step of performing, for each group, joint detection of signal information based on the collected soft complex signal information associated with the group and a complex channel representation, related to the receiving nodes of the group and at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information is performed in the frequency domain.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein said step of jointly detecting said signal information is performed for each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

39. A system for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said system comprising:

a plurality of receiving nodes, each configured for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network; and

means for jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information,

wherein said plurality of receiving nodes are partitioned into multiple groups,

wherein said means for collecting soft complex signal information comprises means for collecting, for each group, soft complex signal information associated with the receiving nodes of the group, and

wherein said means for jointly detecting comprises means for performing, for each group, joint detection based on the collected soft complex signal information associated with the group and a complex channel representation, related to the receiving nodes of the group and at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes.

40. The system according to claim 39, wherein said means for jointly detecting is configured for frequency domain operation.

41. The system according to claim 40, wherein said means for jointly detecting said signal information is configured for operation on each OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) sub-carrier.

42. A system for detecting signal information in a wireless communication network having a number of nodes for communication, said system comprising:

a plurality of receiving nodes, each configured for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information associated with said plurality of receiving nodes over a transport network;

means for jointly detecting said signal information from at least a subset of said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information;

means for providing quality indicators related to said joint detection and/or subsequent decoding to a radio resource management unit for power control and/or link mode feedback to transmitting nodes.

43. The system according to claim 42, wherein said system comprises said radio resource management unit, and said radio resource management unit is configured for providing power control feedback to transmitting nodes for controlling transmit power with reference to a noise floor.

44. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for collecting, from each one of a plurality of receiving nodes, corresponding soft complex signal information produced from a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes;

means for jointly detecting signal information from said plurality of transmitting nodes based on the collected soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to said plurality of receiving nodes and said plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for providing quality indicators related to said joint detection and/or subsequent decoding to a radio resource management unit for power control and/or link mode feedback to transmitting nodes.

45. The network node according to claim 44, wherein said network node comprises said radio resource management unit, and said radio resource management unit is configured for providing power control feedback to transmitting nodes for controlling transmit power with reference to a noise floor.

46. A network node in a wireless communication network, said network node comprising:

means for converting a superposition of signals received from a plurality of transmitting nodes to produce soft complex signal information;

means for collecting soft complex signal information from at least one associated node, each associated node producing soft complex signal information from a superposition of signals received from said plurality of transmitting nodes;

means for jointly detecting signal information based on the acquired soft complex signal information and a complex channel representation related to the network node, each associated node and said plurality of transmitting nodes; and

means for providing quality indicators related to said joint detection and/or subsequent decoding to a radio resource management unit for power control and/or link mode feedback to transmitting nodes.

47. The network node according to claim 46, wherein said network node comprises said radio resource management unit, and said radio resource management unit is configured for providing power control feedback to transmitting nodes for controlling transmit power with reference to a noise floor.