Method and Apparatus for Increasing Capacity of Air Interface

• US 20150162978A1
• Filed: 07/16/2012
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZTE Corporation
• Inventors: Liu, Haiwei
• Granted Patent: US 9,614,611 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/264 for data rate control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0002 by adapting the transmission rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/52 using AGC [Automatic Gain Control] circuits or amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for increasing the capacity of an air interface. The method comprises the following steps that: after a traffic channel is established on a base station side, a base station transmitting a ⅛ rate frame to the air interface in a continuous transmission mode if not capturing a traffic channel frame prefix from a terminal, so as to ensure that the terminal can receive a forward frame of the base station; the base station only reducing the transmission of the ⅛ rate frame after capturing the prefix from the terminal; and the terminal keeping calling and does not release the call if continuous good frames are received during the demodulation of forward traffic frame from the base station. Through the disclosure, the interference between forward channels is reduced, and the capacity of the air interface is increased.

Claims

1. A method for increasing the capacity of an air interface, comprising:

after a traffic channel is established on a base station side, transmitting, by a base station, a ⅛

rate frame to the air interface in a continuous transmission mode if the base station does not capture a traffic channel frame prefix from a terminal, so as to ensure that the terminal is able to receive a forward frame of the base station;

reducing, by the base station, only the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame after the base station captures the prefix from the terminal; and

keeping calling, by the terminal, instead of releasing the call if continuous good frames are received during demodulation of forward traffic frame from the base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the base station reduces the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame by converting the continuous transmission mode into a periodic transmission mode.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a non-frame detection period of the terminal is more than a transmission period of the ⅛

rate frame so as to ensure the detection of continuous good frames of the ⅛

rate frame.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein reducing, by the base station, only the transmission of the 1/8 rate frame after the base station captures the prefix from the terminal comprises:

judging, by the base station, whether the forward traffic frame currently transmitted is the ⅛

rate frame after the base station captures the prefix from the terminal;

if so, judging whether a count value of a frame transmission counter is more than a threshold of starting transmitting continuous ⅛

rate frames, if so, transmitting ⅛

rate frames continuously, and otherwise, reducing the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame; and

if the forward traffic frame currently transmitted by the base station is not the ⅛

rate frame, transmitting the forward traffic frame in a conventional mode.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein reducing the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame comprises;

stopping the transmission of ⅛

rate frame by setting a data gain to 0; and

transmitting a backward power control bit by setting a power control gain to a normal value.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein transmitting continuous ⅛

rate frames comprises;

transmitting N ⅛

rate frames continuously, where N=transmission period-threshold value; and

if other non-⅛

rate frames are received during the continuous transmission of N ⅛

rate frames, transmitting other non-⅛

rate frames.

7. An apparatus for increasing the capacity of an air interface, comprising:

a traffic channel frame prefix capturing component, configured to capture a traffic channel frame prefix from a terminal after a call is started and a traffic channel is established on a base station side, so as to obtain the result of capturing the traffic channel frame prefix or the result of not capturing the traffic channel frame prefix;

a ⅛

rate frame transmitting component, configured to continuously transmit ⅛

rate frames according to the result of not capturing the traffic channel frame prefix and reduce the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame according to the result of capturing the traffic channel frame prefix; and

a traffic frame detecting component, configured to facilitate the terminal to keep calling instead of releasing the call if continuous good frames are detected during demodulation of a forward traffic frame from the base station.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the ⅛

rate frame transmitting component comprises;

a continuous transmission mode element, configured to set a continuous transmission mode;

a periodic transmission mode element, configured to set a periodic transmission mode; and

a ⅛

rate frame transmission element, configured to transmit continuous ⅛

rate frames according to the set continuous transmission mode or reduce the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame according to the set periodic transmission mode.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a non-frame detection period component, a detection period of which is more than a transmission period of the ⅛

rate frame, so as to ensure the detection of continuous good frames of the ⅛

rate frame.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a frame transmission counter, configured to judge whether its count value is more than the threshold of starting transmitting continuous ⅛

rate frames after the base station receives the traffic channel frame prefix from the terminal and determines that the traffic frame currently transmitted is the ⅛

rate frame;

if so, the ⅛

rate frame transmitting component is notified to transmit the ⅛

rate frames continuously; and

otherwise, the ⅛

rate frame transmitting component is notified to reduce the transmission of the ⅛

rate frame.