TDMA radio communication system achieving simultaneous assignment of channels to multiple terminal stations

• US 6,424,645 B1
• Filed: 04/29/1999
• Issued: 07/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Sogabe, Tohru, Hamada, Tomokazu, Kawabata, Takashi, Moritani, Youichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Huy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US09/301,565
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 370/330, 370/335, 370/343, 370/347, 370/422, 370/468, 370/509, 370/512, 370/322, 375/285, 375/365, 375/366, 455/69, 455/535, 455/450, 455/453, 455/507, 455/509
• US Class Current: 370/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2656 for structure of frame, burst
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A TDMA radio communication method including the steps of: providing a latter part of each of super frames with an assignment information notification period which is preceded by an assignment processing period, and providing a remaining part of the each of the super frame with an assignment request collecting period; transmitting, from a terminal station to a base station, assignment request information using a plurality of frames included in the assignment request collecting period; transmitting, from the base station to the terminal station, frame structure information and assignment information over a plurality of frames included in the assignment information notification period; and carrying out, in the base station, channel assignment of a radio channel, changes of the frame structure and of the channel assignment in response to timings of the super frames. This makes it possible to solve a problem involved in a conventional TDMA radio communication system in that it is difficult for the base station to achieve reassignment of channels to a plurality of terminal stations at the same time with considering the entire terminal stations connected to the base station because the conventional system carries out channel assignment, changes of the assignment and reassignment individually to the terminal stations.

Claims

1. A TDMA radio communication method which has super frames each consisting of a plurality of frames, and which includes in the frame a control channel for exchanging control information between a base station and at least one terminal station, said TDMA radio communication method comprising the steps of:

providing a latter part of each of the super frames with an assignment information notification period which is preceded by an assignment processing period, and providing a remaining part of the each of the super frame with an assignment request collecting period;

transmitting, from the terminal station to the base station, assignment request information using a plurality of frames included in the assignment request collecting period;

transmitting, from the base station to the terminal station, frame structure information and assignment information over a plurality of frames included in the assignment information notification period; and

carrying out, in the base station, channel assignment of a radio channel, changes of the frame structure and of the channel assignment in response to timings of the super frames.

2. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting the assignment request information and the assignment information a plurality of times to make a majority decision at a receiving side.

3. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame structure information comprises information on a super frame length and a frame length, and one of two pieces of boundary information consisting of boundary information between an upward channel and a downward channel, and boundary information between protocols of multiple access channels such as a random access channel and a TDMA channel, and wherein said TDMA radio communication method further comprises the step of carrying out optimum channel assignment using said frame structure information.

4. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of changing the channel assignment to enable the terminal station, to which discontinuous slots are assigned in a current super frame, to use consecutive slots in a next super frame.

5. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of inhibiting transmission of a next super frame from the terminal station which cannot receive the assignment information during the assignment information notification period, until said terminal station receives the channel assignment information.

6. A TDMA radio communication method which has super frames each consisting of a plurality of frames, and which includes in the frame a control channel for exchanging control information between a base station and at least one terminal station, said TDMA radio communication method comprising the steps of:

providing a latter part of each of the super frames with an assignment information notification period which is preceded by an assignment processing period, and providing a remaining part of the each of the super frame with an assignment request collecting period;

transmitting, from the terminal station to the base station, assignment request information;

carrying out, in the base station, channel assignment from among available slots in a current super frame in response to the assignment request information received by the base station during the assignment request collecting period, and transmitting information on the channel assignment to the terminal station;

carrying out, in the base station, channel assignment from among available slots in both the current super frame and next super frame in response to the assignment request information received by the base station during one of the assignment processing period and the assignment information notification period, and transmitting information on the channel assignment to the terminal station;

transmitting, from the base station to the terminal station, frame structure information and assignment information over a plurality of frames included in the assignment information notification period; and

carrying out, in the base station, changes of the frame structure and of the channel assignment in response to timings of the super frames.

7. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of transmitting the assignment request information and the assignment information a plurality of times to make a majority decision at a receiving side.

8. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said frame structure information comprises information on a super frame length and a frame length, and one of two pieces of boundary information consisting of boundary information between an upward channel and a downward channel, and boundary information between protocols of multiple access channels such as a random access channel and a TDMA channel, and wherein said TDMA radio communication method further comprises the step of carrying out optimum channel assignment using said frame structure information.

9. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of changing the channel assignment to enable the terminal station, to which discontinuous slots are assigned in a current super frame, to use consecutive slots in a next super frame.

10. The TDMA radio communication method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of inhibiting transmission of a next super frame from the terminal station which cannot receive the assignment information during the assignment information notification period, until said terminal station receives the channel assignment information.