Radio communication system selectively using multicast with variable offset time
First Claim
1. A digital communication system for providing communication coverage over radio frequency (RF) channels that are subdivided into a plurality of time slots during which information is communicated with at least one mobile unit, comprising:
- a base station including a plurality of antennas for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are time slots during which the information is transmitted from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are other time slots during which the same information is transmitted from more than one of the antennas; and
a controller that allocates multicast and non-multicast channels for use in transmitting the information to the mobile unit based on a measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A digital base station improves downlink coverage by allocating multicast and non-multicast channels based on the propagation property of an RF link between a mobile unit and a base station. The non-multicast channels are time slots during which information is transmitted from one antenna, and multicast channels are time slots during which information is transmitted from multiple diversity antennas. Transmission timing is offset from the diversity antennas by an amount that corresponds to the multipath propagation properties of the RF link.
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Citations
75 Claims
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1. A digital communication system for providing communication coverage over radio frequency (RF) channels that are subdivided into a plurality of time slots during which information is communicated with at least one mobile unit, comprising:
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a base station including a plurality of antennas for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are time slots during which the information is transmitted from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are other time slots during which the same information is transmitted from more than one of the antennas; and a controller that allocates multicast and non-multicast channels for use in transmitting the information to the mobile unit based on a measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A digital communication system for providing communication coverage using radio frequency (RF) channels over which information is communicated with at least one mobile unit, comprising:
a base station including a plurality of antennas for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from more than one of the antennas;
wherein the information is transmitted on the multicast channels from at least two of the antennas at separate times that are offset from each other by a multicast offset time that corresponds to a first measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.- View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A base station for transmitting over RF channels that are subdivided into a plurality of time slots during which information is communicated with at least one mobile unit, comprising:
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a plurality of transmitters that couple to a plurality of antennas for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are time slots during which the information is transmitted from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are other time slots during which the same information is transmitted from more than one of the antennas; and a controller that allocates multicast and non-multicast channels for use in transmitting the information to the mobile unit based on a measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A base station for transmitting information to a mobile unit over radio frequency (RF) channels, comprising:
a plurality of transmitters coupled to a corresponding plurality of antennas for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from more than one of the antennas;
wherein the information is transmitted on the multicast channels from at least two antennas at separate times that are offset from each other by a multicast offset time that corresponds to a first measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.- View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A method of communicating information between a base station with a plurality of antennas and at least one mobile unit over radio frequency (RF) channels that are subdivided into a plurality of time slots, comprising:
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transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are time slots during which the information is transmitted from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are other time slots during which the same information is transmitted from more than one of the antennas; and allocating multicast and non-multicast channels for use in transmitting the information to the mobile unit based on a measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.
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73. An apparatus for communicating information between a base station with a plurality of antennas and at least one mobile unit over radio frequency (RF) channels that are subdivided into a plurality of time slots, comprising:
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means for transmitting the information to the mobile unit on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are time slots during which the information is transmitted from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are other time slots during which the same information is transmitted from more than one of the antennas; and means for allocating multicast and non-multicast channels for use in transmitting the information to the mobile unit based on a measure of the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.
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74. A method of communicating information between a base station and at least one mobile unit over radio frequency (RF) channels, comprising:
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transmitting the information to the mobile units from a plurality of antennas on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from more than one of the antennas; measuring the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station; and offsetting the transmission of the information on the multicast channels from at least two antennas at separate times by a multicast offset time that corresponds to the measure of the propagation property of the at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.
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75. An apparatus for communicating information between a base station and at least one mobile unit over radio frequency (RF) channels, comprising:
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means for transmitting the information to the mobile units from a plurality of antennas on any one of a number of multicast and non-multicast channels, wherein the non-multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from only one of the antennas, and the multicast channels are RF channels for transmitting the information from more than one of the antennas; means for measuring the propagation property of at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station; and means for offsetting the transmission of the information on the multicast channels from antennas at separate times by a multicast offset time that corresponds to the measure of the propagation property of the at least one of the RF channels linking the mobile unit to the base station.
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Specification