WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, REMOTE ACCESS DEVICE, AND BASE STATION DEVICE

• US 20110171944A1
• Filed: 01/06/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: KOBAYASHI, Takaharu, SHIMOMURA, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,929,950 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/29 between an access point and the access point controlling device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

A wireless communication system includes a base station including a determining section that determines control information indicating signal processing for each of wireless resources used for wireless communication with terminal equipment units, and remote access sections each including a first signal processing section that performs first signal processing on a first downlink signal received from the base station so as to generate a second downlink signal to be transmitted to the units via the wireless communication, and a second signal processing section that performs second signal processing on a second uplink signal received from the units via the wireless communication so as to generate a first uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station, and at least one of the first signal processing and the second signal processing being performed for each of the wireless resources based on the control information.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system comprising:

a base station comprising;

a determining section that determines control information indicating signal processing for each of a plurality of wireless resources used for wireless communication with a plurality of terminal equipment units; and

a plurality of remote access sections each comprising;

a first signal processing section that performs first signal processing on a first downlink signal received from the base station so as to generate a second downlink signal to be transmitted to the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication; and

a second signal processing section that performs second signal processing on a second uplink signal received from the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication so as to generate a first uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station, and wherein

at least one of the first signal processing and the second signal processing being performed for each of the wireless resources based on the control information.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the control information indicates whether or not the wireless resources are necessary for each of the remote access sections, and

wherein the first signal processing section of each of the remote access sections inserts, in the second downlink signal, information on a wireless resource indicated by the control information to be necessary for the remote access section, and does not insert, in the second downlink signal, information on a wireless resource indicated by the control information to be unnecessary for the remote access section, the information that is inserted in the second downlink signal and the information that is not inserted in the second downlink signal being included in the first downlink signal.

3. The wireless communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the control information indicates whether or not the wireless resources are necessary for each of the remote access sections, and

wherein the second signal processing section of each of the remote access sections inserts, in the first uplink signal, a wireless resource indicated by the control information to be necessary for the remote access section, and does not insert, in the first uplink signal, a wireless resource indicated by the control information to be unnecessary for the remote access section, the information that is inserted in the first uplink signal and the information that is not inserted in the first uplink signal being included in the second uplink signals.

4. The wireless communication system according to claim 2,

wherein the determining section determines the control information by storing first association information that indicates associations of the units of terminal equipment with the remote access sections that are senders of the second downlink signals to be transmitted to the units of terminal equipment, storing second association information that indicates associations of the wireless resources with the units of terminal equipment that are destinations of the second downlink signals and use the wireless resources, and determining, based on the first association information and the second association information, whether or not the wireless resources are necessary for each of the remote access sections.

5. The wireless communication system according to claim 4,

wherein when a first remote access section is one of the remote access sections, a first unit of terminal equipment is associated with the first remote access section based on the first association information, a first wireless resource is associated with the first unit of terminal equipment based on the second association information, a second unit of terminal equipment is not associated with the first remote access section based on the first association information, and a second wireless resource is associated with the second unit of terminal equipment on the second association information, the determining section determines the control information that indicates the first wireless resource is necessary for the first remote access section and the second wireless resource is not necessary for the first remote access section.

6. The wireless communication system according to claim 4,

wherein the determining section determines the first association information by extracting or identifying, from the first uplink signal, signal power of the signal received by the remote access sections from any of the units of terminal equipment.

7. The wireless communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the first signal processing sections each perform precoding for each of the wireless resources in order to perform MIMO transmission.

8. The wireless communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the control information indicates the first signal processing that is performed by each of the remote access sections on each of streams for each of the wireless resources, and

wherein the first signal processing sections each generate the second downlink signal by performing the first signal processing on each of the streams included in the first downlink signal for each of the wireless resources based on the control information.

9. The wireless communication system according to claim 8,

wherein the determining section determines the control information by storing first association information that indicates associations of the units of terminal equipment with the remote access sections that are senders of the second downlink signals to be transmitted to the units of terminal equipment, storing third association information that indicates associations among the wireless resources, the streams and the units of terminal equipment that are destinations of the second downlink signals and use the streams and the wireless resources, and determining, based on the first association information and the third association information, whether or not the wireless resources are necessary for each of the remote access sections,

wherein when a third remote access section is one of the remote access sections, a fourth remote access section is another one of the remote access sections, a third unit of terminal equipment is associated with the third remote access section based on the first association information, and a fourth unit of terminal equipment is associated with the fourth remote access section based on the first association information, a third wireless resource that is one of the wireless resources is associated with a first stream and a second stream based on the third association information, the first stream being one of the streams and associated with the third unit of terminal equipment, the second stream being another one of the streams and associated with the fourth unit of terminal equipment, and

wherein the determining section inserts a signal to be transmitted to the third unit of terminal equipment in the first stream of the first downlink signal and inserts a signal to be transmitted to the fourth unit of terminal equipment in the second stream of the first downlink signal.

10. The wireless communication system according to claim 4

wherein a plurality of data patterns that are associated with each of the remote access sections and different from each other are prestored in the remote access sections and the units of terminal equipment,

wherein the first signal processing section of each of the remote access sections generates the second downlink signal by converting the first downlink signal based on specific data patterns that are included in the plurality of data patterns and associated with the remote access section,

wherein the units of terminal equipment each receives the second downlink signal, identifies the specific data patterns based on the received second downlink signal, identifies, based on the identified specific data patterns, the remote access section that has transmitted the specific data patterns, and inserts, in the second uplink signal, information on the remote access section that has transmitted the specific data pattern, and

wherein the determining section identifies from the first uplink signal the remote access section that has transmitted the specific data patterns and the unit of terminal equipment that has received the specific data patterns, and determines the first association information so that the identified unit of terminal equipment is associated with the identified remote access section.

11. The wireless communication system according to claim 1 wherein

the base station further comprises:

a first transmitting section that transmits, to the remote access sections, the control information and the first downlink signal that includes signals to be transmitted to the units of terminal equipment; and

a first receiving section that receives, from each of the remote access sections, the first uplink signal that includes signals transmitted from the plurality of units of terminal equipment, and

each of the remote access sections further comprises;

a second receiving section that receives the control information and the first downlink signal from the base station section;

a third receiving section that receives, from the plurality of units of terminal equipment using the wireless communication, the second uplink signals that each include a signal that is transmitted to the base station section;

a second transmitting section that transmits, to the plurality of units of terminal equipment using the wireless communication, the second downlink signals that each include the signal transmitted from the base station section;

a third transmitting section that transmits the first uplink signal to the base station section.

12. The wireless communication system according to claim 1 wherein

each of the remote access sections further comprises:

a fourth transmitting section that transmits the first downlink signal to the other remote access section; and

a fourth receiving section that receives an other-section uplink signal that is the first uplink signal that has been transmitted by the other remote access section, and

wherein the second signal processing sections each generate a section uplink signal by performing second signal processing on the second uplink signal and generate the first uplink signal by combining the other-section uplink signal with the section uplink signal.

13. The wireless communication system according to claim 9,

wherein delay times that are associated with the remote access sections, respectively, and different from each other are prestored in the remote access sections and the base station,

wherein the second signal processing sections each generate the second uplink signal by adding the delay time to the second uplink signals, and

wherein the determining section identifies the terminal equipment unit that is a sender of the second uplink signal included in the first uplink signal, detects the delay time indicated in the first uplink signal, identifies the remote access section that has added the detected delay time to the second uplink signals, and determines the first association information so that the identified terminal equipment unit is associated with the identified remote access section.

14. A remote access device comprising:

a first signal processing section that performs first signal processing on a first downlink signal received from a base station so as to generate a second downlink signal to be transmitted to a plurality of terminal equipment units by performing wireless communication with the plurality of terminal equipment units using a plurality of wireless resources; and

a second signal processing section that performs second signal processing on a second uplink signal received from the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication so as to generate a first uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station, and

at least one of the first signal processing and the second signal processing is performed for each of the wireless resources based on control information, which is determined by the base station, indicating signal processing for each of a plurality of wireless resources used for wireless communication with the plurality of terminal equipment units.

15. A base station comprising:

a determining section that determines control information indicating signal processing for each of a plurality of wireless resources used for wireless communication between a plurality of remote access devices and a plurality of terminal equipment units,

the control information being used for at least one of a first signal processing and a second signal processing performed by each of the plurality of remote access devices for each of the wireless resources,

the first signal processing being performed on a first downlink signal received from the base station so as to generate a second downlink signal to be transmitted to the plurality of terminal equipment units by performing wireless communication with the plurality of terminal equipment units using a plurality of wireless resources, and

the second signal processing being performed on a second uplink signal received from the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication so as to generate a first uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station.

16. A wireless communication method comprising:

determining, at a base station, control information indicating signal processing for each of a plurality of wireless resources used for wireless communication between a plurality of remote access devices and a plurality of terminal equipment units;

first signal processing that processes on a first downlink signal received from the base station so as to generate a second downlink signal to be transmitted to the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication; and

a second signal processing that processes on a second uplink signal received from the plurality of terminal equipment units via the wireless communication so as to generate a first uplink signal to be transmitted to the base station, and wherein

at least one of the first signal processing and the second signal processing being performed by each of the plurality of remote access devices for each of the wireless resources based on the control information.