Transmission Mode Selection Based on Radio Link Quality and Radio Load on the Air Interface

• US 20110243100A1
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Payer, Wolfgang, Ball, Carsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,675,611 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/335
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0689 using different transmission schemes, at least one of them being a diversity transmission scheme
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0697 using spatial multiplexing

Abstract

It is described a method for selecting a transmission mode for a radio data transfer between a user equipment and a base station of a telecommunication network. The method includes (a) determining the quality of a radio link, which extends between the user equipment and the base station, (b) determining the radio load within the telecommunication network, and (c) selecting a transmission mode based on the quality of the radio link and on the radio load. It is further described a control device for selecting a transmission mode for a radio data transfer between a user equipment and a base station and a computer program for controlling the described transmission mode selection method.

Claims

1. Method for selecting a transmission mode for a radio data transfer between a user equipment and a base station of a telecommunication network, the method comprising

determining the quality of a radio link, which extends between the user equipment and the base station,

determining the radio load within the telecommunication network, and

selecting a transmission mode based on the quality of the radio link and on the radio load.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the transmission mode is selected from the transmission modes

1TX-2RX,

Single user MIMO:

diversity, single codeword transmission, double codeword transmission and spatial multiplexing,

Multi-User MIMO mode, and

Cooperative MIMO mode.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising

determining an actual speed of the user equipment, wherein selecting the transmission mode further takes into account the actual speed.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising

determining at least one technical capability of the user equipment, wherein selecting the transmission mode further takes into account the determined technical capability.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising

determining a quality of service requested by the user equipment, wherein selecting the transmission mode further takes into account the requested quality of service.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein selecting a transmission mode comprises

changing a transmission mode from a first transmission mode to a second transmission mode, wherein the change of the transmission mode is indicated by means of a slow Radio Resource Control signaling message.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein changing the transmission mode is started only at predefined starting times.

8. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein changing the transmission mode

is bound to a certain time interval and

is confirmed by a radio resource control message, which is transmitted from the user equipment to the base station.

9. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the first transmission mode is a default transmission mode.

10. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein selecting a transmission mode further comprises

performing a dynamic MIMO switching.

11. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein

the change of the transmission mode by means of the slow Radio Resource Control signaling message is initiated when the quality of the radio link crosses a first threshold and

the change of the transmission mode by means of the dynamic MIMO switching is initiated when the quality of the radio link crosses a second threshold.

12. The method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the quality of the radio link being assigned to the second threshold is better than the quality of the radio link being assigned to the first threshold.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold for a closed loop transmission mode selection is different than the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold for an open loop transmission mode selection.

15. A computer program for selecting a transmission mode for a radio data transfer between a user equipment and a

base station of a telecommunication network, the computer program, when being executed by a data processor, is adapted for controlling the method as set forth in claim 1.

14. A control device for selecting a transmission mode for a radio data transfer between a user equipment and a base station of a telecommunication network, the control device comprising

a first determining unit for determining the quality of a radio link, which extends between the user equipment and the base station,

a second determining unit for determining the radio load within the telecommunication network, and

a selecting unit for selecting a transmission mode based on the quality of the radio link and on the radio load.