Relays in telecommunications networks

• US 20100297936A1
• Filed: 04/16/2010
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vodafone IP Licensing Limited (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: Vodafone IP Licensing Limited (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Inventors: Nan, MingKai
• Granted Patent: US 8,428,607 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/7
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0032 Distributed allocation, i.e. involving a plurality of allocating devices, each making partial allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1263 Mapping of traffic onto schedule, e.g. scheduled allocation or multiplexing of flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations

Abstract

In a telecommunications network including a plurality of mobile terminals in communication with a network base station, and a plurality of relay nodes configured to assist the base station with data transmissions between the base station and one or more of said plurality of mobile terminals, a method of enabling communication resource reuse amongst the plurality of said relay nodes, the method comprising: predefining a plurality of communication resource sets, each resource set comprising one or more communication resource elements, the communication resource sets arranged so that each relay node can receive data in a predefined receiving resource set and transmit data in a predefined transmission resource set; determining which of two or more relay nodes are spatially separated from one another; and configuring at least two of the two or more spatially separated relay nodes to use the same communication resource sets.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications network including a plurality of mobile terminals in communication with a network base station, and a plurality of relay nodes configured to assist the base station with data transmissions between the base station and one or more of said plurality of mobile terminals, a method of enabling communication resource reuse amongst the plurality of said relay nodes, the method comprising:

predefining a plurality of communication resource sets, each resource set comprising one or more communication resource elements, the communication resource sets arranged so that each relay node can receive data in a predefined receiving resource set and transmit data in a predefined transmission resource set;

determining which of two or more relay nodes are spatially separated from one another; and

configuring at least two of the two or more spatially separated relay nodes to use the same communication resource sets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving resource set and the transmission resource set for each relay node do not comprise overlapping resources.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating the efficiency of a first data transmission path directly communicating between the base station and one of said mobile terminals;

calculating the efficiency of a second data transmission path between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals via one or more of said relay nodes;

selecting the most efficient data transmission path for use in data transmission between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, the method further comprising:

in the receiving resource set, receiving data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

in the transmission resource set, simultaneously transmitting the received resource element from the first relay node and the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the simultaneous transmission from the first relay node and the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node is in the same transmission resource element.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, the method further comprising:

disassociating the first relay node from the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node;

in the receiving resource set, receiving data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

in the transmission resource set, transmitting the received data from the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first relay node is muted for the duration of the transmission of the transmission resource element to the at least one of said mobile terminals.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein at the step of receiving data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals at the first relay node and the second relay node, simultaneously receiving data not scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals in a different receiving resource element.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more resource elements are defined in the time domain.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more resource elements are defined in the frequency domain.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node is located in a region served by both the first relay node and the second relay node.

12. A radio access subsystem comprising a network base station, and a plurality of relay nodes configured to assist the base station with data transmissions between the base station and one or more of a plurality of mobile terminals;

the subsystem being arranged to;

predefine a plurality of communication resource sets, each resource set comprising one or more communication resource elements, the communication resource sets arranged so that each relay node can receive data in a predefined receiving resource set and transmit data in a predefined transmission resource set;

determine which of two or more relay nodes are spatially separated from one another; and

configure at least two of the two or more spatially separated relay nodes to use the same communication resource sets.

13. The radio access subsystem of claim 12, further comprising:

a first calculating device that calculates the efficiency of a first data transmission path directly communicating between the base station and one of said mobile terminals;

a second calculating device that calculates the efficiency of a second data transmission path between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals via one or more of said relay nodes;

a selecting device that selects the most efficient data transmission path for use in data transmission between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals.

14. The radio access subsystem of claim 12, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, further comprising:

in the receiving resource set, a receiver that receives data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

in the transmission resource set, a transmitter that simultaneously transmits the received resource element from the first relay node and the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node.

15. The radio access subsystem of claim 12, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, further comprising:

a disassociating device that disassociates the first relay node from the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node;

in the receiving resource set, a receiver that receives data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

in the transmission resource set, a transmitter that transmits the received data from the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals.

16. A computer readable storage medium storing computer software that enables communication resource reuse among a plurality of relay nodes, the computer software comprising:

executable code that predefines a plurality of communication resource sets, each resource set comprising one or more communication resource elements, the communication resource sets arranged so that each relay node receives data in a predefined receiving resource set and transmits data in a predefined transmission resource set;

executable code that determines which of two or more relay nodes are spatially separated from one another; and

executable code that configures at least two of the two or more spatially separated relay nodes to use the same communication resource sets.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of relay nodes assist a base station with data transmissions between the base station and one or more of a plurality of mobile terminals.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

executable code that calculates the efficiency of a first data transmission path directly communicating between the base station and one of said mobile terminals;

executable code that calculates the efficiency of a second data transmission path between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals via one or more of said relay nodes;

executable code that selects the most efficient data transmission path for use in data transmission between the base station and the one of said mobile terminals.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, further comprising:

executable code that receives data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

executable code that transmits the received resource element from the first relay node and the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein one or more mobile terminals is associated with a first relay node, and one or more terminals is associated with a second relay node, at least one of said mobile terminals being associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node, further comprising:

executable code that disassociates the first relay node from the at least one of said mobile terminals associated with both the first relay node and the second relay node;

executable code that receives data scheduled for the at least one of said mobile terminals at the first relay node and the second relay node in the same resource element; and

executable code that transmits the received data from the second relay node to the at least one of said mobile terminals.