Radio communication system

• US 7,043,271 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2000
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Seto, Ichiro, Shibata, Osamu, Matsuoka, Hidehiro, Murakami, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bhattacharya, Sam
• Application Number:
  US09/660,467
• Time in Patent Office: 2,065 Days
• Field of Search: 455/561, 455/562.1, 455/277.1, 455/277.2, 455/272, 455/63.4, 455/25, 455/132, 455/134, 455/524, 455/525, 398/58, 398/41, 398/43
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2605 Array of radiating elements provided with a feedback control over the element weights, e.g. adaptive arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/2676 Optically controlled phased array
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25753 Distribution optical network, e.g. between a base station and a plurality of remote units
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/10 of transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/20 of receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/02 Wavelength-division multiplex systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0298 with sub-carrier multiplexing [SCM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

There is disclosed a radio communication system in which a constitution of a base station and further a control station can be simplified. A radio communication system according to the present invention converts a received signal received by a plurality of antenna elements in a base station to a signal of different frequency band, and then conflates the converted signal in order to generate sub-carrier wave multiplex signal. The signal is converted to an optical signal, and then the optical signal is transmitted to a control station via an optical fiber. Or the control station performs weighting to phase of the transmitted signal transmitted from a plurality of antennas of a base station, and then performs frequency conversion to different frequency band, and then conflates the converted signal in order to generate the sub-carrier wave multiplex signal. The signal is converted to an optical signal, and then an optical signal is transmitted to the base station side via the optical fiber. The control station and the base station divides the received sub-carrier wave multiplex signal by each frequency band, and then the frequency of the divided signals are converted to the same frequency band in order to generate the transmitted/received signal of each antenna element. By such a constitution, it is possible to reduce constituent of the optical transmission components to the minimum and to simplify the constitution of the base station. Furthermore, it is possible to maintain the relative phase difference and the relative intensity of the transmitted/received signal of each antenna element. Because of this, it is possible to estimate an arrival direction of the received signal and to control radiation beam pattern of the transmitted signal.

Claims

1. A radio communication system comprising a base station for performing radio communication with a radio communication terminal;

and a control station connected to the base station via an optical transmission line,

said base station comprising;

a variable direction array antenna which comprises a plurality of antenna elements and which can change directivity in accordance with a position of said radio communication terminal;

a base station side frequency conversion unit configured to subject received signals received from said radio communication terminal via said plurality of antenna elements to frequency conversion to different bands;

a sub-carrier multiplexing signal generation unit configured to combine a plurality of signals subjected to the frequency conversion by said base station side frequency conversion unit to generate a sub-carrier multiplexing signal; and

a base station side transmission means configured to transmit optical signals generated by conducting optical modulation with respect to said sub-carrier multiplexing signal to said control station via said optical transmission line,

said control station comprising;

a first optical/electric conversion unit configured to convert the optical signal transmitted from said base station into an electric signal;

a first branching unit configured to branch the electric signal to the signals received by the plurality of antennas;

control station side frequency conversion unit configured to perform the frequency conversion to obtain the signals of the same frequency band for each of the branched signals;

a beam calculation unit configured to obtain a weighting coefficient to control directivity of said plurality of antenna elements;

a weighting unit configured to perform weighting with respect to the branched signals of which frequencies have been converted by said control station side frequency conversion unit based on said weighting coefficient;

a combiner unit configured to combine the weighted signals; and

a received signal generation unit configured to demodulate the combined signals to generate a received signal.

2. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein said base station further comprises:

a first local oscillator for supplying a first reference signal as a frequency conversion reference to said base station side frequency conversion unit,

said control station further comprises;

a second local oscillator for supplying a second reference signal as the frequency conversion reference to said control station side frequency conversion unit, and

said second local oscillator outputs said second reference signal which has a predetermined phase relation with said first reference signal so that said control station side frequency conversion unit output the signal maintaining a relative phase difference among the respective received signals of said plurality of antenna elements.

3. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein said base station comprises:

a reference signal generation unit configured to generate a reference signal; and

a reference signal transmission unit configured to directly transmit the generated reference signal for superposing the reference signal to said sub-carrier multiplexing signal and transmitting the signal to said control station, and

said base station side frequency conversion unit and said control station side frequency conversion unit perform the frequency conversion based on the same reference signal generated by said reference signal generation unit.

4. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein said control station comprises:

an addition unit configured to superpose a signal correlated with the transmitted signal transmitted to said radio communication terminal from said variable direction antenna and a signal correlated with said weighting coefficient; and

control station side transmission means configured to transmit the signal superposed by said addition means to said base station,

said base station comprises;

a second branching unit configured to branch the signal converted with the transmitted signal included in the signal transmitted from the control station to a number equal to a number of said antenna elements, and detect a weighting control signal correlated with the weighting coefficient; and

a base station side weighting unit configured to weight the signals correlated with said transmitted signal branched by said second branching unit based on the weighting control signal;

wherein said antenna elements transmit the respective signals subjected to the base station side weighting unit to said radio communication terminals.

5. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein

said base station comprises:

a second optical/electric conversion unit configured to convert an optical signal transmitted from said control station via said transmission line to an electric signal;

a separation unit configured to separate the electric signal converted by the second optical/electric conversion means to the transmitted signal for said radio communication terminal and a beam control signal for controlling the radiation beam-pattern of said variable direction antenna;

an antenna control unit configured to control the radiation beam-pattern of a transmission/reception beam of said variable direction antenna based on said beam control signal;

a base station side transmission frequency conversion unit configured to convert the transmitted signals for said radio communication terminal separated by said separation unit to a radio frequency signal and supply the radio frequency signal to said base station side transmission unit, and

a radio transmission control unit which transmits transmission signals for said radio communication terminal via the variable direction antenna to said radio communication terminal

said control station comprises;

a level detection unit configured to detect a maximum intensity and/or an intensity distribution of the signals subjected to the frequency conversion by said control station side frequency conversion unit, and generating said beam control signal based on the detection result;

a control station side frequency multiplexing unit configured to multiplex the transmitted signal for said radio communication terminal and said beam control signal; and

an second electric/optical conversion unit configured to optically modulate the signal multiplexed by said control station side frequency multiplexing unit to generate said optical signal, and the first optical signal to said base station via said optical transmission line.

6. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein

said base station comprises:

a second optical/electric conversion unit configured to convert an optical signal transmitted from said control station via said transmission line to an electric signal;

a separation unit configured to separate the electric signal converted by the second optical/electric conversion unit to the transmitted signal for said radio communication terminal and a beam control signal for controlling the radiation beam pattern of said variable direction antenna; and

received signal selection unit configured to select some signals from signals correlated with the respective received signals received from said radio communication terminal via said plurality of antenna elements based on said beam control signal, and

said sub-carrier multiplexing signal generation unit multiplexes only the signals selected by said received signal selection means.

7. The radio communication system according to claim 1 wherein

said base station comprises the variable direction antenna constituted of first to n-th antenna elements (n is a positive integer),

at least one of said base station and said control station comprises a phase compensation unit configured to compensate a phase fluctuation amount generated by a signal propagation path between said base station and said control station, and a signal processing on the side of said base station and said control station, and

said phase compensation unit establishes a relation

φ

₁+2m₁π

=φ

₂+2m₂π

=φ

₃+2m₃π

= . . . =φ

_n+2m_nπ

(m₁, . . . , m_n are integers)

in respective phase change amounts φ

₁ to φ

_n in blocks of said antenna elements disposed on said base station and said weighting unit disposed on said control station with respect to the received signal of said variable direction antenna.

8. The radio communication system according to claim 1,

wherein said base station side frequency conversion unit generates a frequency-converted signal obtained by converting the signals weighed by said weighting unit to frequencies different from each other based on a plurality of local oscillation signals with frequencies different from each other, and

said sub-carrier multiplexing signal generation unit generates the sub-carrier multiplexing signal obtained by multiplexing the frequency-convened signal and the plurality of local oscillation signals.

9. A radio communication system comprising a base station including a variable direction array antenna which has a plurality of antenna elements and which can change directivity in accordance with a position of a radio communication terminal;

and a control station connected to the base station via an optical transmission line,

said control station comprising;

a control station side branching unit configured to branch a signal correlated with a transmitted signal transmitted to said radio communication terminal from said variable direction antenna for said plurality of antenna elements;

a weighting unit configured to weight based on a weight control signal with respect to the signals of the respective antenna elements relating to the transmitted signal transmitted from said variable direction antenna to said radio communication terminal;

a control station side frequency conversion unit configured to convert frequencies of the signals weighted by said weighting unit to respective different bands;

a sub-carrier multiplexing signal generation unit configured to combine the respective signals converted to the different bands subjected to the frequency conversion by said control station side frequency conversion unit to generate a sub-carrier multiplexing signal; and

a transmission unit configured to transmit optical signals generated by conducting optical modulation with respect to said sub-carrier multiplexing signal to said base station via said optical transmission line,

said base station comprising;

a base station side branching unit configured to convert the optical signals transmitted from said base station via said optical transmission line to electric signals, and branch the electric signals for said plurality of antenna elements; and

a base station side frequency conversion unit configured to subject the respective signals branched by said base station side branching unit to the signals of the same frequency band,

wherein said plurality of antenna elements transmit the respective signals subjected to the frequency conversion by said base station side frequency conversion unit to said radio communication terminal.

10. The radio communication system according to claim 9 wherein said base station further comprises:

a first local oscillator for supplying a first reference signal as a frequency conversion reference to said base station side frequency conversion unit,

said control station further comprises;

a second local oscillator for supplying a second reference signal as the frequency conversion reference to said control station side frequency conversion unit, and

said second local oscillator outputs said second reference signal which has a predetermined phase relation with said first reference signal so that said control station side frequency conversion unit output the signal maintaining a relative phase difference among the respective received signals of said plurality of antenna elements.

11. The radio communication system according to claim 9 wherein said control station comprises:

a reference signal generation unit configured to generate a reference signal; and

a reference signal transmission unit configured to directly transmit the generated reference signal for superposing the reference signal to said sub-carrier multiplexing signal and transmitting the signal to said base station, and

said base station side frequency conversion unit and said control station side frequency conversion unit perform the frequency conversion based on the same reference signal generated by said reference signal generation unit.

12. The radio communication system according to claim 9 wherein

said base station comprises the variable direction antenna constituted of first to n-th antenna elements (n is a positive integer),

at least one of said base station and said control station comprises phase compensation unit configured to compensate a phase fluctuation amount generated by a signal propagation path between said base station and said control station, and a signal processing on the side of said base station and said control station, and

said phase compensation unit establishes a relation

φ

₁+2m₁π

=φ

₂+2m₂π

=φ

₃+2m₃π

= . . . =φ

_n+2m_nπ

(m₁, . . . , m_n are integers)

in respective phase change amounts φ

₁ to φ

_n in blocks of said antenna elements disposed on said base station and said weighting unit disposed on said control station with respect to the transmitted signal to said variable direction antenna.

13. The radio communication system according to claim 9,

wherein said control station side frequency conversion unit generates a frequency-converted signal obtained by converting the signals weighed by said weighting unit to frequencies different from each other based on a plurality of local oscillation signals with frequencies different from each other, and

said sub-carrier multiplexing signal generation unit generates the sub-carrier multiplexing signal obtained by multiplexing the frequency-converted signal and the plurality of local oscillation signals.