Radio communication system using point-to-point and point-to-multipoint user information communications

• US 7,321,569 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Issued: 01/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsunoda, Keiji, Sakamoto, Takafumi, Kamagata, Eiji, Takagi, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing
• Assistant Examiner(s): Scheibel; Robert C
• Application Number:
  US11/223,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20060056341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 862 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

An information communication scheme for enabling the radio base station to carry out both point-to-point user information communications and point-to-multipoint user information communications with respect to radio terminals is disclosed. A first media access control identifier is allocated to a radio terminal which made a connection request, a correspondence between the first media access identifier and the radio terminal is broadcast, and a user information destined to the radio terminal is transmitted using a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier. On the other hand, a second media access control identifier is allocated to a multicast information identifier, a correspondence between the second media access control identifier and the multicast information identifier is transmitted, and the multicast information is transmitted using a time-slot corresonding to the second media access control identifier.

Claims

1. A radio base station device, comprising:

a reception unit configured to receive a connection request from one radio terminal;

a set up unit configured to set up a datalink connection with respect to said one radio terminal;

a first allocation unit configured to allocate a first media access control identifier which is an unused media access control identifier, to said one radio terminal that issued the connection request;

a broadcast unit configured to broadcast a correspondence between the first media access control identifier and said one radio terminal;

a second allocation unit configured to allocate both a second media access control identifier and a datalink connection identifier to an identifier of a multicast information that are to be received by a plurality of radio terminals, the datalink connection identifier being used to transmit uplink information related to the multicast information;

a first transmission unit configured to transmit a correspondence information for enabling said plurality of radio terminals to recognize a correspondence between the second media access control identifier and the identifier of the multicast information; and

a second transmission unit configured to transmit a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier with a user information destined to said one radio terminal loaded thereon, and a time-slot corresponding to the second media access control identifier with the multicast information loaded thereon.

2. The radio base station device of claim 1, wherein the first transmission unit transmits the correspondence information using a radio control broadcast channel that is set to be received by any radio terminal located within an area of the radio base station device.

3. The radio base station device of claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to obtain information on a correspondence between said one radio terminal and the identifier of the multicast information that said one radio terminal wishes to receive,

wherein the first transmission unit transmits the correspondence information to said one radio terminal, using either a radio control broadcast channel that is set to be received by any radio terminal located within an area of the radio base station device or a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier.

4. The radio base station device of claim 1, further comprising:

a third allocation unit configured to allocate a broadcast media access control identifier to be received by any radio terminal located within an area of the radio base station device; and

a notification unit configured to notify any radio terminal located within the area of the radio base station device to receive the broadcast media access control identifier, using a radio control broadcast channel that is set to be received by any radio terminal located within the area of the radio base station device.

5. The radio base station device of claim 1, wherein the second allocation unit allocates a media access control identifier that is set to be received by any radio terminal located within an area of the radio base station device as the second media access control identifier.

6. The radio base station device of claim 1, wherein the reception unit receives the connection request that contains a multicast connection request, from said one radio terminal.

7. A radio terminal device, comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit a connection request to a radio base station;

a set up unit configured to set up a datalink connection with respect to the radio base station;

a first reception unit configured to receive a first media access control identifier allocated to the radio terminal device, which is broadcast from the radio base station;

a second reception unit configured to receive an identifier of a multicast information to be received by a plurality of radio terminals and both a second media access control identifier and a datalink connection identifier allocated to the identifier of the multicast information, which are transmitted from the radio base station, the datalink connection identifier being used to transmit uplink information related to the multicast information; and

a third reception unit configured to receive a user information destined to the radio terminal device which is loaded on a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier, and the multicast information which is loaded on a time-slot corresponding to the second media access control identifier.

8. The radio terminal device of claim 7, wherein the transmission unit transmits the connection request that contains a multicast connection request.

10. The radio terminal device of claim 7, further comprising a fourth reception unit configured to receive a broadcast media access control identifier to be received by any radio terminal located within an area of the radio base station,

wherein the third reception unit also receives information loaded on a time-slot corresponding to the broadcast media access control identifier.

11. The radio terminal device of claim 7, wherein the transmission unit transmits the connection request that contains a multicast connection request.

9. A method of information communication from a radio base station to a radio terminal, comprising the steps of:

making a connection request from the radio terminal to the radio base station;

setting up a datalink connection between the radio terminal and the radio base station;

allocating a first media access control identifier which is an unused media access control identifier, to the radio terminal, at the radio base station which received the connection request;

transmitting a correspondence between the first media access control identifier and the radio terminal, from the radio base station to the radio terminal;

transmitting a user information from the radio base station to the radio terminal using a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier;

allocating both a second media access control identifier and a datalink connection identifier to a multicast information to be received by a plurality of radio terminals, at the radio base station, the datalink connection identifier being used to transmit uplink information related to the multicast information;

transmitting a correspondence information for enabling said plurality of radio terminals to recognize a correspondence between the second media access control identifier and the identifier of the multicast information; and

transmitting the multicast information from the radio base station to said plurality of radio terminals using a time-slot corresponding to the second media access control identifier.

12. A method of information communication from a radio base station to a radio terminal, comprising the steps of:

making a connection request from the radio terminal to the radio base station;

setting up a datalink connection between the radio terminal and the radio base station;

allocating a first media access control identifier which is an unused media access control identifier, to the radio terminal, at the radio base station which received the connection request;

transmitting a correspondence between the first media access control identifier and the radio terminal, from the radio base station to the radio terminal;

transmitting a user information from the radio base station to the radio terminal using a time-slot corresponding to the first media access control identifier;

allocating both a second media access control identifier and a datalink connection identifier to a multicast information to be received by a plurality of radio terminals, at the radio base station, the datalink connection identifier being used to transmit uplink information related to the multicast information;

transmitting a correspondence information for enabling said plurality of radio terminals to recognize a correspondence between the second media access control identifier and the identifier of the multicast information; and

transmitting the multicast information from the radio base station to said plurality of radio terminals using a time-slot corresponding to the second media access control identifier.