NETWORK-WIDE INTER-CELL INTERFERENCE MINIMIZATION VIA COORDINATED MULTIPOINT CELL SCHEDULING COORDINATION
First Claim
1. A method of reducing interference in a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of sub-cells, the sub-cells grouped into two or more Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) cells wherein each CoMP cell comprises a plurality of contiguous sub-cells and a controller operative to manage transmissions within the sub-cells of the CoMP cell to minimize intra-CoMP cell interference, the method comprising the steps of:
- scheduling, by a first CoMP cell controller, transmissions to and from user equipments (UEs) within a first CoMP cell;
transmitting, from the first CoMP cell controller to a second controller of a neighboring second CoMP cell, scheduling information regarding transmissions scheduled to and from UEs in sub-cells at the border of the first CoMP cell, in advance of the transmissions; and
scheduling, by the second CoMP cell controller, transmissions to and from UEs within the second CoMP cell utilizing the scheduling information transmitted by the first CoMP cell controller to minimize inter-CoMP cell interference between the first and second CoMP cells.
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Abstract
Network-wide inter-cell interference is reduced by aggregating cells (herein, sub-cells) into Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) cells, each having a controller. The CoMP cells are divided into sets, similar to a frequency reuse plan. Scheduling information regarding transmissions scheduled to and from UEs in one set of CoMP cells is transmitted to controllers in sets of neighboring CoMP cells, in advance of the transmissions. Controllers in the receiving sets of CoMP cells schedule transmission to minimize both inter-sub-cell interference and interference with the set of CoMP cells that transmitted the scheduling information, and assuming no interference from other CoMP cells. They then transmit scheduling information to subsequent set(s) of CoMP cells. The order of scheduling information transmission between sets of CoMP cells may be rotated for fairness. The scheduling information may range from bare threshold data indicating at least one transmission, to detailed information such as estimated path gains to each UE.
36 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of reducing interference in a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of sub-cells, the sub-cells grouped into two or more Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) cells wherein each CoMP cell comprises a plurality of contiguous sub-cells and a controller operative to manage transmissions within the sub-cells of the CoMP cell to minimize intra-CoMP cell interference, the method comprising the steps of:
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scheduling, by a first CoMP cell controller, transmissions to and from user equipments (UEs) within a first CoMP cell; transmitting, from the first CoMP cell controller to a second controller of a neighboring second CoMP cell, scheduling information regarding transmissions scheduled to and from UEs in sub-cells at the border of the first CoMP cell, in advance of the transmissions; and scheduling, by the second CoMP cell controller, transmissions to and from UEs within the second CoMP cell utilizing the scheduling information transmitted by the first CoMP cell controller to minimize inter-CoMP cell interference between the first and second CoMP cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 24)
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13. A Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) cell controller communicatively linked to a plurality of network transceivers, each transceiver providing radio communications to User Equipments (UEs) in a sub-cell of the CoMP cell, comprising:
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a scheduler for scheduling transmissions with UEs in sub-cells of the CoMP cell to minimize inter-sub-cell interference within the CoMP cell, wherein the scheduler generates scheduling information; and a communication interface for transmitting to one or more controllers of neighboring CoMP cells, scheduling information generated by the scheduler regarding transmissions scheduled to and from UEs in sub-cells at the border of the CoMP cell, in advance of the transmissions. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. (canceled)
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23. A method of reducing inter-cell interference within a Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) cellular network architecture having a plurality of CoMP cells, wherein each CoMP cell includes a plurality of sub-cells in which radio transmissions are made to and from User Equipments (UEs), said method comprising the steps of:
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grouping the plurality of CoMP cells into a number of mutually exclusive subsets, wherein the CoMP cells in each subset are sufficiently separated from each other geographically so that no inter-CoMP-cell interference occurs among the CoMP cells in any given subset; scheduling transmissions to and from UEs in the sub-cells of the CoMP cells in a first subset to minimize intra-CoMP-cell interference among the sub-cells within the CoMP cells in the first subset; passing scheduling information from each of the CoMP cells in the first subset to neighboring CoMP cells in all other subsets; and scheduling transmissions to and from UEs in the sub-cells of the CoMP cells in a second subset, wherein transmissions in the second subset are scheduled to minimize intra-CoMP-cell interference among the sub-cells within the CoMP cells in the second subset, and wherein transmissions in the second subset are also scheduled utilizing the scheduling information received from the first subset to minimize inter-CoMP-cell interference with CoMP cells in the first subset.
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25. A system in a cellular communication network for minimizing inter-cell interference among Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) cells, the system comprising:
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a first CoMP cell controller communicatively linked to a first plurality of network transceivers, each transceiver providing radio communications to User Equipments (UEs) in a sub-cell of the CoMP cell; a second CoMP cell controller communicatively linked to a second plurality of network transceivers neighboring the first plurality of network transceivers; wherein the first and second CoMP cell controllers include; a scheduler for scheduling transmissions with UEs in sub-cells of the first and second CoMP cells, respectively, to minimize inter-sub-cell interference within the first and second CoMP cell, wherein the schedulers generate scheduling information; and a communication interface for transmitting from the first CoMP cell controller to the second CoMP cell controller, scheduling information generated by the scheduler of the first CoMP cell controller regarding transmissions scheduled to and from UEs in sub-cells at the border of the first CoMP cell, in advance of the transmissions; wherein the scheduler of the second CoMP cell controller includes means for utilizing the scheduling information transmitted by the first CoMP cell controller to schedule transmission to and from UEs in the in sub-cells at the border of the second CoMP cell so as to minimize inter-CoMP cell interference between the first CoMP cell and the second CoMP cell.
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Specification