COMMUNICATION DEVICE, BASE STATION, AND BASE STATION SYSTEM

• US 20130070816A1
• Filed: 09/12/2012
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Aoki, Tsuguhide, Tohzaka, Yuji, Tanabe, Yasuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,842,743 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a communication device communicates with N remote units. Each remote unit includes a plurality of antennas, wireless transmitting units, and wireless receiving units. The communication device is provided with a received signal processing unit, to which received signals by a plurality of the wireless receiving units are combined and input, and which specifies the remote unit subjected to interference, and a switch which decreases a reception gain of the wireless receiving unit included in N−1 remote units out of the N remote units in a predetermined measurement section. The received signal processing unit calculates a correlation value between the combined received signals and a reference signal transmitted by a user terminal connected to another base station system in the measurement section and specifies the remote unit subjected to the interference by the second user terminal based on the correlation value.

Claims

1. A communication device for communicating with N (N is an integer not smaller than 2) remote units, each remote unit including a plurality of antennas, wireless transmitting units for transmitting signals to a first user terminal through the antennas, and wireless receiving units for receiving signals from the first user terminal through the antennas, the communication device comprising:

a transmission signal processing unit configured to output a transmission signal to be transmitted to the first user terminal;

a received signal processing unit, to which received signals from the plurality of the wireless receiving units are combined and input through a plurality of paths as many as the number not larger than the number of the antennas provided on the remote units, the received signal processing unit specifying a remote unit subjected to interference by a second user terminal different from the first user terminal; and

a switch configured to adjust a reception gain of each of the wireless receiving units,

wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit included in N−

1 remote units out of the N remote units in a predetermined measurement section, and

the received signal processing unit calculates a correlation value between the combined received signals and a reference signal transmitted by the second user terminal in the measurement section to judge that the remote unit of which reception gain is not decreased is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than a predetermined threshold.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit included in the remote unit judged to be subjected to the interference by the second user terminal by the received signal processing unit.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the received signal processing unit includes

an analog/digital converting unit configured to convert the combined received signals to a digital signal,

a converting unit configured to apply discrete Fourier transform to the digital signal,

a demodulating unit configured to demodulate an output signal of the converting unit,

a generator configured to generate the reference signal transmitted by the second user terminal,

a correlator configured to calculate the correlation value between the output signal of the converting unit and the reference signal, and

a judging unit configured to compare the correlation value calculated by the correlator with the predetermined threshold and judge that the remote unit of which reception gain is not decreased is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than the predetermined threshold.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the received signal processing unit includes

an analog/digital converting unit configured to convert the combined received signals to a digital signal,

a converting unit configured to apply discrete Fourier transform to the digital signal,

a demodulating unit configured to demodulate an output signal of the converting unit,

a generator configured to generate the reference signal transmitted by the second user terminal,

a correlator configured to calculate the correlation value between the output signal of the converting unit and the reference signal, and

a judging unit configured to compare the correlation value calculated by the correlator with the predetermined threshold and judge that the remote unit of which reception gain is not decreased is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than the predetermined threshold.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives control information from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received control information to a predetermined value.

6. The device according to claim 2, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives control information from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received control information to a predetermined value.

7. The device according to claim 3, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives control information from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received control information to a predetermined value.

8. The device according to claim 4, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives control information from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received control information to a predetermined value.

9. The device according to claim 5, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives an ACK/NACK signal from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received ACK/NACK signal to a NACK signal.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein, when the received signal processing unit receives an ACK/NACK signal from the first user terminal in the predetermined measurement section, the received signal processing unit sets the received ACK/NACK signal to a NACK signal.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined measurement section is a section of a last symbol in a predetermined subframe and the reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

12. The device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined measurement section is a section of a last symbol in a predetermined subframe and the reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS).

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the received signal processing unit also calculates the correlation value in a section other than the measurement section and judges that at least any one of the N remote units is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than the predetermined threshold, and

the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit in the predetermined measurement section after the received signal processing unit judges that at least any one of the remote units is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal.

14. The device according to claim 10, wherein

the received signal processing unit also calculates the correlation value in a section other than the measurement section and judges that at least any one of the N remote units is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than the predetermined threshold, and

the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit in the predetermined measurement section after the received signal processing unit judges that at least any one of the remote units is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement section is set such that a frequency that transmission timing of the first user terminal and the measurement section overlap with each other is not larger than a predetermined value.

16. The device according to claim 10, wherein the measurement section is set such that a frequency that transmission timing of the first user terminal and the measurement section overlap with each other is not larger than a predetermined value.

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit in the predetermined measurement section only when the transmission signal processing unit does not output a transmission instruction of new data to the first user terminal a first predetermined time period before the predetermined measurement section and the received signal processing unit is able to normally receive a signal from the first user terminal a second predetermined time period before the predetermined measurement section, the second predetermined time period being longer than the first predetermined time period.

18. The device according to claim 10, wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit in the predetermined measurement section only when the transmission signal processing unit does not output a transmission instruction of new data to the first user terminal a first predetermined time period before the predetermined measurement section and the received signal processing unit is able to normally receive a signal from the first user terminal a second predetermined time period before the predetermined measurement section, the second predetermined time period being longer than the first predetermined time period.

19. A base station, comprising:

a communication device for communicating with N (N is an integer not smaller than

     2) remote units, each remote unit including a plurality of antennas, wireless transmitting units for transmitting signals to a first user terminal through the antennas, and wireless receiving units for receiving signals from the first user terminal through the antennas, the communication device including;

a transmission signal processing unit configured to output a transmission signal to be transmitted to the first user terminal;

a received signal processing unit, to which received signals from the plurality of the wireless receiving units are combined and input through a plurality of paths as many as the number not larger than the number of the antennas provided on the remote units, the received signal processing unit specifying a remote unit subjected to interference by a second user terminal different from the first user terminal; and

a switch configured to adjust a reception gain of each of the wireless receiving units,

wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit included in N−

1 remote units out of the N remote units in a predetermined measurement section, and

the received signal processing unit calculates a correlation value between the combined received signals and a reference signal transmitted by the second user terminal in the measurement section to judge that the remote unit of which reception gain is not decreased is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than a predetermined threshold; and

an interface unit configured to perform communication between the transmission signal processing unit and the received signal processing unit and an upper network.

20. A base station system, comprising:

N (N is an integer not smaller than

     2) remote units, each remote unit including a plurality of antennas, wireless transmitting units configured to transmit signals to a first user terminal through the antennas, and wireless receiving units configured to receive the signals from the first user terminal through the antennas;

a base station; and

a hub unit,

wherein the base station includes

a communication device for communicating with the N remote units, the communication device including

a transmission signal processing unit configured to output a transmission signal to be transmitted to the first user terminal,

a received signal processing unit, to which received signals from the plurality of the wireless receiving units are combined and input through a plurality of paths as many as the number not larger than the number of the antennas provided on the remote units, the received signal processing unit specifying a remote unit subjected to interference by a second user terminal different from the first user terminal, and

a switch configured to adjust a reception gain of each of the wireless receiving units,

wherein the switch decreases the reception gain of the wireless receiving unit included in N−

1 remote units out of the N remote units in a predetermined measurement section, and

the received signal processing unit calculates a correlation value between the combined received signals and a reference signal transmitted by the second user terminal in the measurement section to judge that the remote unit of which reception gain is not decreased is subjected to the interference by the second user terminal when the correlation value is larger than a predetermined threshold, and

an interface unit configured to perform communication between the transmission signal processing unit and the received signal processing unit and an upper network, and

the hub unit includes a distributor configured to distribute the transmission signal output from the transmission signal processing unit to the wireless transmitting units, and a combining unit configured to combine the signals received by the wireless receiving units and output the combined signal to the received signal processing unit.