Data transmission in a mobile network

• US 6,353,605 B1
• Filed: 10/15/1999
• Issued: 03/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Jaamies, Juhani, Vaitovirta, Hannu, Rautanen, Esko T.
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US09/418,660
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/329, 370/336, 370/337, 370/338, 370/341, 370/345, 370/347, 455/422, 455/445, 455/450, 455/451, 455/452, 455/507, 455/509, 455/517, 455/523, 455/524
• US Class Current: 370/337
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for implementing transmission in a mobile network in which base stations (BTS) communicate through a transmission network with a base station controller (BSC) and through a radio path with mobile stations (MS). In order that the transmission of the fixed part of the mobile network may be implemented in a simpler way than heretofore, a common transmission link (TL) is established between several base stations and their common base station controller, a combining network element (41, 42) being located at least at one point of the transmission link in which network element signals arriving from different base stations are combined of the base station to which the time slot basis for incorporation into the time slots of the frame structure used on the transmission link in such a way that the signal from the frame of the common transmission link (TL) for the use of the radio channels dynamically in such a way that any one of several different radio channels can use a specific channel on the transmission link.

Claims

1. A method for implementing transmission in a mobile network including

base stations (BTS) which form radio cells,

mobile stations (MS) located in the area of the radio cells and connected to the base stations through radio channels, and

at least one base station controller (BSC) connected to the base stations via a transmission network, the method comprising the steps of

carrying out transmission in the transmission network in time slots of successive frames,

implementing transmission from a mobile station via a radio channel to a base station and from the base station via a transmission channel to the base station controller, said transmission channel being made up by time slots of successive frames or parts thereof,

establishing a common transmission link (TL) between several base stations and their common base station controller,

allocating channels from the frame of the common transmission link (TL) for the use of the radio channels dynamically in such a way that any one of several different radio channels can use a specific channel on the transmission link,

characterized by

locating a combining network element (41, 42) at least at one point of said transmission link,

in said network element, merging signals arriving from different base stations on a time slot basis by (1) using the contents of time slots arriving substantially simultaneously as input information for a logic operation, and by (2) performing said logic operation so that the result of the operation corresponds to the content of the time slot of the signal of the base station to which the time slot in question is allocated, said result forming at each time the content of a time slot of the frame used on the transmission link.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the allocation of both the transmission channel and the radio channel for the use of a transmission connection is performed in the base station controller (BSC).

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that all time slots allocated to payload traffic in the transmission link frame are allocated for the use of all base stations connected to the transmission link.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the signals sent by the base station controller to the base stations are transmitted to all base stations, each base station extracting from the frame the data of the time slots allocated to that base station.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the signals arriving from the different base stations are combined at more than one points of the common transmission link.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that during the existence of a transmission connection between two terminals, at least one channel from the combination transmission channel/radio channel allocated to it is allocated for the use of another connection.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the combining network element performs a logic AND operation on the signals arriving from the different base stations bit by bit, and in a time slot allocated to any given base station all other base stations connected to the network element send a logical one string.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the combining network element performs a logic OR operation on the signals arriving from the different base stations bit by bit, and in a time slot allocated to any given base station all other base stations connected to the network element send a logical zero string.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the logic operation performed in the combining network element is different in different bits of the time slot or in different time slots.

10. A mobile network, comprising

base stations (BTS) which form radio cells,

mobile stations (MS) located in the area of the radio cells and connected to the base stations through radio channels, and

at least one base station controller (BSC) connected to the base stations via a transmission network, whereby a common transmission link (TL) is established between several base stations (BTS1 . . . BTS4) and their common base station controller (BSC),

means (BSC) for allocating channels from the frame of the common transmission link (TL) for the use of the radio channels dynamically in such a way that any one of several different radio channels can use a specific channel on the transmission link,

transmission being carried out in the transmission network in time slots of successive frames and a transmission connection being established from a mobile station via a radio channel to a base station and from the base station via a transmission channel to the base station controller, said transmission channel being made up by time slots of successive frames or parts thereof,

characterized in that

a combining network element (41, 42) is located at least at one point of said transmission link, in which network element signals arriving from different base stations are merged on a time slot basis by (1) using the contents of time slots arriving substantially simultaneously as input information for a logic operation, and by (2) performing said logic operation so that the result of the operation corresponds to the content of the time slot of the signal of the base station to which the time slot in question is allocated, said result forming at each time the content of a time slot of the frame used on the transmission link.