Transmission control apparatus and transmission control method

• US 7,570,957 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2003
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Abeta, Sadayuki, Sawahashi, Mamoru, Atarashi, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; CongVan
• Application Number:
  US10/368,610
• Publication Number:
  US 20030162551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,357 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562.1, 455/561, 455/452.1, 455/450, 455/456, 342/74, 342/147, 342/153, 342/368, 342/374, 342/384
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0408 using two or more beams, i.e. beam diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/24 Cell structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel

Abstract

An object is to implement transmission by an appropriate transmission method according to a type of information even in application of directional beam transmission. A transmission control apparatus 12 for transmitting information by radio communication toward a mobile station located in a predetermined sector is provided with a selector 12B for selecting a transmission method according to a type of information to be transmitted, out of two or more options selected from omnisector transmission of transmitting the information toward the entire sector, fixedly controlled directional beam transmission of transmitting the information in at least one fixed direction preliminarily determined, and adaptively controlled directional beam transmission of adaptively controlling a transmission direction according to a location of a target mobile station; pilot symbol generators 12C, 12E, 12G for generating respective pilot signals according to associated transmission methods; and transmitters 12D, 12F, 12H each transmitting a signal in which a pilot signal is superimposed on the information to be transmitted, by the selected transmission method.

Claims

1. A transmission control apparatus for transmitting information by radio communication toward a mobile station located in a predetermined sector, the transmission control apparatus comprising:

selecting means for selecting a transmission method according to a type of the information to be transmitted, the information including at least two different types of information, from options including at least two of omnisector transmission of transmitting the information to the entire sector, fixedly controlled directional beam transmission of transmitting the information to at least one fixed direction preliminarily determined, and adaptively controlled directional beam transmission of adaptively controlling a transmission direction according to a location of a target mobile station;

transmitting means for transmitting the information by the transmission method thus selected; and

multiplex control means for controlling transmission of the information by the transmitting means such that a pilot channel and corresponding channels for one of the at least two transmission methods is multiplexed with a pilot channel and corresponding channels for the other of the at least two transmission methods using a combination of at least two different multiplex structures from a time division multiplex structure, a frequency division multiplex structure, and a code division multiplex structure.

2. The transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

assignment control means for controlling the transmission of the information by the transmitting means such that transmission is carried out while a plurality of channels determined according to a number of target mobile stations and types of the information to be transmitted are assigned to the at least two transmission methods.

3. The transmission control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of channels are:

a common control channel for transmitting a control signal destined for all mobile stations in the sector;

a shared control channel for transmitting individual control signals destined for respective mobile stations;

an individual control channel for individually transmitting individual control signals destined for respective mobile stations;

a common data channel for transmitting information destined for all mobile stations in the sector;

a shared data channel for transmitting individual information destined for respective mobile stations; and

an individual data channel for individually transmitting individual information destined for respective mobile stations.

4. The transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

division control means for controlling when the transmitting means transmits the information to a plurality of mobile stations by emitting directional beams into a plurality of respective directions in the fixedly controlled directional beam transmission, and the directional beams into the respective directions are emitted by a division scheme selected from a time division scheme, a frequency division scheme, and a code division scheme.

5. The transmission control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the division control means performs such control that the directional beams into the respective directions are grouped into a plurality of groups and the directional beams into the respective directions are emitted by a division scheme selected from the time division scheme, the frequency division scheme, and the code division scheme or by a scheme of a combination of at least two thereof for each of the groups.

6. The transmission control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the options include all of omnisector transmission of transmitting the information to the entire sector, fixedly controlled directional beam transmission of transmitting the information to at least one fixed direction preliminarily determined, and adaptively controlled directional beam transmission of adaptively controlling a transmission direction according to a location of a target mobile station.

7. A transmission control method for transmitting information by radio communication toward a mobile station located in a predetermined sector, the transmission control method comprising:

selecting a transmission method according to a type of the information to be transmitted, the information including at least two different types of information, from options including at least two of omnisector transmission of transmitting the information to the entire sector, fixedly controlled directional beam transmission of transmitting the information to at least one fixed direction preliminarily determined, and adaptively controlled directional beam transmission of adaptively controlling a transmission direction according to a location of a target mobile station;

transmitting the information by the transmission method thus selected; and

controlling transmission of the information by the transmitting such that a pilot channel and corresponding channels for one of the at least two transmission methods is multiplexed with a pilot channel and corresponding channels for the other of the at least two transmission methods using a combination of at least two different multiplex structures from a time division multiplex structure, a frequency division multiplex structure, and a code division multiplex structure.

8. The transmission control method according to claim 7, wherein control is performed in the transmitting the information so that transmission is carried out while a plurality of channels determined according to the number of target mobile stations and types of the information to be transmitted are assigned to the at least two transmission methods as the options.

9. The transmission control method according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of channels are:

a common control channel for transmitting a control signal destined for all mobile stations in the sector;

a shared control channel for transmitting individual control signals destined for respective mobile stations;

an individual control channel for individually transmitting individual control signals destined for respective mobile stations;

a common data channel for transmitting information destined for all mobile stations in the sector;

a shared data channel for transmitting individual information destined for respective mobile stations; and

an individual data channel for individually transmitting individual information destined for respective mobile stations.

10. The transmission control method according to claim 7, wherein when the information is transmitted to a plurality of mobile stations by emitting directional beams into a plurality of respective directions in the fixedly controlled directional beam transmission in the transmitting the information, division transmission control is performed so that the directional beams into the respective directions are emitted by a division scheme selected from a time division scheme, a frequency division scheme, and a code division scheme.

11. The transmission control method according to claim 10, wherein in the division transmission control, control is performed so that the directional beams into the respective directions are grouped into a plurality of groups and the directional beams into the respective directions are emitted by a division scheme selected from the time division scheme, the frequency division scheme, and the code division scheme or by a scheme of a combination of at least two thereof for each of the groups.

12. A transmission control apparatus for transmitting information by radio communication toward a mobile station located in a predetermined sector, the transmission control apparatus comprising:

a selecting unit configured to select a transmission method according to a type of the information to be transmitted, the information including at least two different types of information, from options including at least two of omnisector transmission of transmitting the information to the entire sector, fixedly controlled directional beam transmission of transmitting the information to at least one fixed direction preliminarily determined, and adaptively controlled directional beam transmission of adaptively controlling a transmission direction according to a location of a target mobile station; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the information by the transmission method thus selected; and

a multiplex control unit configured to control transmission of the information by the transmitting unit such that a pilot channel and corresponding channels for one of the at least two transmission methods is multiplexed with a pilot channel and corresponding channels for the other of the at least two transmission methods using a combination of at least two different multiplex structures from a time division multiplex structure, a frequency division multiplex structure, and a code division multiplex structure.