Autonomous zone forming communication device and autonomous zone forming method

• US 6,882,845 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2001
• Issued: 04/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamao, Yasushi, Umeda, Narumi, Sato, Hijin
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Application Number:
  US09/926,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20030036409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: 455/446, 455/436, 455/440, 455/442, 455/443, 455/453, 455/422.1, 455/424, 455/500, 455/502, 455/513, 455/515, 455/67.11, 455/67.16, 455/561, 370/330, 370/331, 370/335, 370/342, 375/130, 375/133
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/06 Hybrid resource partitioning, e.g. channel borrowing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC

Abstract

An autonomous zone forming method of autonomously forming a zone which is a service area of a base station in a wireless communication system having the base station is provided. In the method, it is detected that a zone is newly formed around the base station, and a zone which is the service area of the base station is autonomously changed according to a newly formed zone. When determining the zone, receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station is used. In addition, a congestion state of a surrounding base station of the base station is detected, and a zone which is the service area of the base station is enlarged to the direction of the surrounding base station according to the congestion state.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus in a wireless communication system having a base station, comprising:

a part which autonomously forms a zone which is a service area of said base station; and

a part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of a first distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station, and a second distance between said base station and a zone edge of said base station when transmission power of said base station is smaller.

2. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which detects that a zone is newly formed around said base station; and

a part which autonomously changes a zone which is a service area of said base station according to a newly formed zone.

3. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which detects a congestion state of a surrounding base station of said base station; and

a part which enlarges a zone which is said service area of said base station according to said congestion state to the direction of said surrounding base station.

4. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station of said base station.

5. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

a part which measures received power or transmission delay of a signal sent to said base station from a surrounding base station;

a part which calculates a distance between said base station and said surrounding base station on the basis of a result of the measurement; and

a part which determines said zone which is said service area of said base station on the basis of the result of calculation.

6. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

a part which measures a bit error rate or a packet error rate from information sent from said surrounding base station to said base station; and

a part which determines said zone which is said service area of said base station according to a result of the measurement.

7. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which detects a service content of a surrounding base station by said base station; and

a part which determines said zone which is said service area of said base station such that the same services as said service do not overlap in the same service area.

8. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which autonomously determines which pattern is used in which plurality of patterns of said zone which is said service area of said base station are prepared.

9. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of a distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station in which said first distance becomes minimum in surrounding base stations except particular surrounding base stations in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance becomes larger than a predetermined value.

10. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which determines said zone of said base station as a zone formed when transmission power of said base station is minimum if there is a surrounding base station in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance is larger than a predetermined value.

11. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of a distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station in which said first distance becomes minimum in surrounding base stations except particular surrounding base stations in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance becomes larger than a predetermined value, when beam width of an antenna used by said base station exceeds a predetermined angle; and

a part which determines said zone of said base station as a zone formed when transmission power of said base station is minimum if there is a surrounding base station in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance is larger than a predetermined value, when beam width of an antenna used by said base station does not exceed a predetermined angle.

12. The communication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a part which obtains said first distance as a value calculated by subtracting the size of a zone of said surrounding base station from a distance between said base station and said surrounding base station; and

obtains said distance between said base station and said surrounding base station from received power of a signal at said base station sent from said surrounding base station and transmission power of said surrounding base station.

13. A wireless communication system including a plurality of base stations, said wireless communication system including at least a particular base station as only a part of said plurality of base stations, said particular base station including:

a zone determining part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station of said base station, said zone determining part includes;

a part which measures received power or transmission delay of signal sent to said base station from said surrounding base station,

a part which calculates a distance between said base station and said surrounding base station on the basis of a result of the measurement, an

a part which determines said zone which is said service area of said base station on the basis of the result of the calculation.

14. An autonomous zone forming method of forming a zone which is a service area of a base station in a wireless communication system having said base station, said method comprising the steps of:

autonomously forming said zone by performing a zone determining step of determining said zone of said base station on the basis of receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station of said base station, said zone determining step including;

measuring received power or transmission delay of a signal sent to said base station from a surrounding base station,

calculating a distance between said base station and said surrounding base station on the basis of a result of the measurement, and

determining said zone which is said service area of said base station on the basis of the result of calculation.

15. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 14, said method further comprising the steps of:

detecting that a zone is newly formed around said base station; and

autonomously changing a zone which is said service area of said base station according to a newly formed zone.

16. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a congestion state of a surrounding base station of said base station; and

enlarging a zone which is said service area of said base station according to said congestion state to the direction of said surrounding base station.

17. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

detecting a service content of a surrounding base station by said base station; and

determining said zone which is said service area of said base station such that the same services as said service do not overlap in the same service area.

18. An autonomous zone forming method of forming a zone which is a service area of a base station in a wireless communication system having said base station, said method comprising the step of:

autonomously forming said zone by determining said zone of said base station on the basis of a first distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station, and a second distance between said base station and a zone edge of said base station when transmission power of said base station is smallest.

19. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the step of:

determining said zone of said base station on the basis of a distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station in which said first distance becomes minimum in surrounding base stations except particular surrounding base stations in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance becomes larger than a predetermined value.

20. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the step of:

determining said zone of said base station as a zone formed when transmission power of said base station is minimum if there is a surrounding base station in which value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance is larger than a predetermined value.

21. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

determining said zone of said base station on the basis of a distance between said base station and a zone edge of a surrounding base station in which said first distance becomes minimum in surrounding base stations except particular surrounding base station in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance becomes larger than a predetermined value, when beam width of an antenna used by said base station exceeds a predetermined angle; and

determining said zone of said base station as a zone formed when transmission power of said base station is minimum if there is a surrounding base station in which a value obtained by subtracting said first distance from said second distance is larger than a predetermined value, when beam width of an antenna used by said base station does not exceed a predetermined angle.

22. The autonomous zone forming method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining said first distance as a value calculated by subtracting the size of a zone of said surrounding base station from a distance between said base station and said surrounding base station; and

obtaining said distance between said base station and said surrounding base station from received power of a signal at said base station sent from said surrounding base station and transmission power of said surrounding base station.

23. A communication apparatus in a wireless communication system having a base station, comprising:

a part which autonomously forms a zone which is a service area of said base station; and

a zone determining part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station of said base station, said zone determining part including

a part which measure received power or transmission delay of a signal.

24. A communication apparatus in a wireless communication system having a base station, comprising:

a part which autonomously forms a zone which is a service area of said base station; and

a zone determining part which determines said zone of said base station on the basis of receive quality of a signal received from a surrounding base station of said base station, said zone determining part including

a part which measures a bit error rate or a packet error rate from information sent from said surrounding base station to said base station, and

a part which determines said zone according to a result of the measurement of the bit error rate or the packet error rate.