Radio communication system

• US 6,266,537 B1
• Filed: 03/29/1999
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamanaka, Katsuhiro, Kashitani, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Congvan
• Application Number:
  US09/280,218
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 455/522, 455/422, 455/525, 455/517, 455/524, 455/574, 455/436, 455/437, 455/438, 455/439, 455/550, 455/575, 455/456, 455/69, 370/345, 370/346
• US Class Current: 455/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling

Abstract

A radio communication system includes a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile stations belonging to the service areas covered by the radio zones respectively formed by the base stations and performs data communication by polling. Each base station includes a transmission output control section for controlling the transmission output of a polling signal to sequentially form a plurality of radio zones having different coverages, a section for receiving responses from the plurality of mobile stations to a plurality of polling signals having different transmission outputs and determining the position of each of the mobile stations in a specific one of the plurality of radio zones.

Claims

1. A radio communication system which comprises a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile stations belonging to service areas covered by radio zones respectively formed by said base stations and performs data communication by polling,

each of said plurality of base stations comprising transmission output control means for controlling a transmission output of a polling signal to alternately transmit a long-distance polling signal having a strong transmission output and a short-distance polling signal having a weak transmission output, thereby alternately forming large and small radio zones, and means for receiving responses from said plurality of mobile stations to the long- and short-distance polling signals and determining a specific one of the large and small zones in which each of said mobile stations is located.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of base stations continuously transmits only the long-distance polling signal without transmitting the short-distance polling signal when there is no mobile station that responds to the long- and short-distance polling signals.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of mobile stations makes no response when the polling signal received following the short-distance polling signal is the long-distance polling signal.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein when different data need to be transmitted to said plurality of mobile stations, each of said base stations preferentially transmits the data to a mobile station which is located in the large zone formed by each of said plurality of base stations but is not located in the small zone.

5. A system according to claim 2, wherein when different data need to be transmitted to said plurality of mobile stations, each of said base stations preferentially transmits the data to a mobile station which is located in the large zone formed by each of said plurality of base stations but is not located in the small zone.

6. A system according to claim 2, wherein the small zones respectively formed by said plurality of base stations are arranged such that the small zones formed by said adjacent base stations do not overlap.

7. A system according to claim 4, wherein the small zones respectively formed by said plurality of base stations are arranged such that the small zones formed by said adjacent base stations do not overlap.

8. A radio communication system which comprises a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile stations belonging to service areas covered by radio zones respectively formed by said base stations and performs data communication by polling,

each of said plurality of base stations comprising transmission output control means for controlling a transmission output of a polling signal to alternately transmit a long-distance polling signal having a strong transmission output and a short-distance polling signal having a weak transmission output, thereby alternately forming large and small radio zones, and means for receiving responses from said plurality of mobile stations to the long- and short-distance polling signals and determining a specific one of the large and small zones in which each of said mobile stations is located,

wherein each of the polling signals has an ID for identifying a base station which has originated the polling signal and a transmission output value indicating whether the polling signal is the long-distance polling signal or the short-distance polling signal, and

each of said plurality of mobile stations determines, from an ID number of said base station and the transmission output obtained by receiving the polling signal, a specific one of the large and small radio zones in which said mobile station is located and a specific one of said plurality of base stations which forms the radio zone in which said mobile station is located.