Wireless access communications network

• US 7,583,619 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Edwards, Keith Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert W
• Application Number:
  US10/320,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20040114545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,451 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/279
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/14 Relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15557 Selecting relay station operation mode, e.g. between amplify and forward mode, decode and forward mode or FDD - and TDD mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2615 using hybrid frequency-time division multiple access [FDMA-TDMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a cellular telecommunications network. Each cell has at least one base station for sending messages on a downlink of a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) to end user equipments within the cell and for receiving messages on an uplink from end user equipments within the cell. Other end user equipment located within the cell which have no or only poor communication directly with the base station over the FDD communicate with the base station indirectly via an intermediate end user equipment, such as a mobile telephone. The intermediate end user equipment includes an FDD transceiver and a Time Division Duplex (TDD) transceiver and an FDD/TDD interface. The intermediate end user equipment receives signals from the base station over the FDD using the FDD transceiver and relays them via the FDD/TDD interface and the TDD transceiver towards a relevant one of the other end user equipments over a TDD and receives signals from the other end user equipment over the TDD using the TDD transceiver and relays them via the FDD/TDD interface and the FDD transceiver to the base station over the FDD, The network provider thereby improves capacity and coverage by utilising TDD channels without having to deploy and TDD infrastructure.

Claims

1. A method in a telecommunications network comprising a base station, an intermediate end user equipment, and an other end user equipment, the intermediate end user equipment having a frequency division duplex (FDD) transceiver for communicating directly with said base station over a FDD channel, a time division duplex (TDD) transceiver for communicating with the other end user equipment over a TDD channel and an interface for interfacing said FDD channel and TDD channel to establish a communication link between the base station and the other end user equipment, the method comprising the other end user equipment establishing a relationship with the intermediate end user equipment by the steps of:

the intermediate end user equipment scanning an available TDD channel for an ‘

Anyone out there message?’

from the other end user equipment;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving the ‘

Anyone out there message?’

sent by the other end user equipment and sending an acknowledgement to the other end user equipment over the available TDD channel; and

the intermediate end user equipment sending a message to the base station via the FDD channel for registering the other end user equipment with the base station.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the other end user equipment periodically sends the ‘

Anyone out there message?’

.

3. A method in a telecommunications network comprising a base station, an intermediate end user equipment, and an other end user equipment, the intermediate end user equipment having a frequency division duplex (FDD) transceiver for communicating directly with said base station over a FDD channel, a time division duplex (TDD) transceiver for communicating with the other end user equipment over a TDD channel and an interface for interfacing said FDD channel and TDD channel to establish a communication link between the base station and the other end user equipment, the method comprising the intermediate end user equipment establishing a relationship with the other end user equipment by the steps of:

the intermediate end user equipment sending an ‘

Anyone out there message?’

over the TDD channel on a timeslot allocated for that purpose by a controller of the network;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving an acknowledgment of the ‘

Anyone out there message?’

from the other end user equipment over the TDD channel; and

the intermediate end user equipment sending a message to the base station via the FDD channel for registering the other end user equipment with the base station.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the intermediate end user equipment periodically ends the ‘

Anyone out there merage?’

.

5. A method of communicating messages in a telecommunications network comprising a base station, an intermediate end user equipment and a terminal user equipment, comprising at least one of:

(i) communicating an outgoing message from the base station to the terminal user equipment as a data packet by;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving the outgoing message from the base station via a FDD channel;

the intermediate end user equipment storing the outgoing message and reconfiguring the outgoing message for transmission over a TDD channel;

the intermediate end user equipment transmitting the reconfigured outgoing message over the TDD channel directly or indirectly to the terminal user equipment;

and

(ii) communicating an incoming message from the terminal user equipment to the base station as a data packet by;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving the incoming message directly or indirectly from the terminal user equipment over the TDD channel;

the intermediate end user system storing the incoming message and reconfiguring the incoming message for transmission over the FDD channel; and

the intermediate end user system transmitting the reconfigured incoming message directly over the FDD channel to the base station

and in each of (i) and (ii) the method further comprises;

configuring frames communicated over the TDD channel to have the same structure as frames communicated over the FDD channel;

using the same coding and decoding scheme and the same modulation technique for data communicated over the TDD channel as are used for data communicated over the FDD channel,

wherein the telecommunications network further comprises a second end user equipment and wherein the TDD channel is a first TDD channel, the method comprising at least one of;

(iii) communicating the outgoing message from the base station to the terminal user equipment by the additional steps of;

the intermediate end user equipment transmitting the reconfigured outgoing message directly over the first TDD channel to the second end user equipment and

the second end user equipment relaying the message directly or indirectly over a second TDD channel to the terminal user equipment;

and

(iv) communicating the incoming message from the terminal user equipment to the base station by the additional steps of;

the second end user equipment receiving the incoming message directly or indirectly from the terminal user equipment over the second TDD channel; and

the second end user equipment relaying the incoming message directly over the first TDD channel to the intermediate end user equipment.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the intermediate end user equipment has a better quality direct communication link with the base station than the terminal user equipment.

7. A method according to claim 5 further comprising synchronizing the frames transmitted over the TDD channel with the frames transmitted over the FDD channel.

8. A method according to claim 5 comprising the step of a network controller allocating the TDD channel to the intermediate end user equipment.

9. A method according to claim 5 comprising the step of a network controller allocating the TDD channel within a cell to the intermediate end user equipment dependent on the location of the intermediate end user equipment within the cell covered by the base station.

10. A method according to claim 5 comprising the step of configuring frames transmitted by the intermediate end user equipment over the TDD channel to have the same structure as frames received by the intermediate end user equipment from the base station over the FDD channel.

11. A method according to claim 5 comprising the step of using the same coding and decoding scheme for data transmitted by the intermediate end user equipment over the TDD channel as is used for data received by the intermediate end user equipment from the base station over the FDD channel.

12. A method according to claim 5 comprising the step of using the same modulation technique for data transmitted by the intermediate end user equipment over the TDD channel as is used for data received by the intermediate end user equipment from the base station over the FDD channel.

13. A method according to claim 5 wherein telecommunication services supported in a communication between the base station and the terminal user equipment via the intermediate end user equipment are dependent on a service contract between the user of the terminal user equipment and a service provider.

14. A method according to claim 5 comprising the additional step of generating a financial credit to be allocated to the intermediate end user equipment for for supporting a communication between the base station and the terminal user equipment.

15. A method according to claim 5 comprising the additional step of generating a free call time credit to be allocated to the intermediate end user equipment for supporting the communication between the base station and the terminal user equipment.

16. A method according to claim 5 wherein the intermediate end user equipment subscribes to a network operator other than a network operator for said telecommunications network, comprising the additional step of the intermediate end user equipment temporarily connecting to said telecommunications network before communication of the outgoing or the incoming message.

17. A method according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate end user equipment is arranged to relay data packets between frames of the FDD channel and frames of the TDD channel without disassembling and reassembling the data packets.

18. A method of communicating messages in a telecommunications network comprising a base station, an intermediate end user equipment and a terminal user equipment, comprising at least one of:

(i) communicating an outgoing message from the base station to the terminal user equipment as a data packet by;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving the outgoing message from the base station via a FDD channel;

the intermediate end user equipment storing the outgoing message and reconfiguring the outgoing message for transmission over a TDD channel;

the intermediate end user equipment transmitting the reconfigured outgoing message over the TDD channel directly or indirectly to the terminal user equipment;

and

(ii) communicating an incoming message from the terminal user equipment to the base station as a data packet by;

the intermediate end user equipment receiving the incoming message directly or indirectly from the terminal user equipment over the TDD channel;

the intermediate end user system storing the incoming message and reconfiguring the incoming message for transmission over the FDD channel; and

the intermediate end user system transmitting the reconfigured incoming message directly over the FDD channel to the base station,

and in each of (i) and (ii) the method further comprises;

configuring frames communicated over the TDD channel to have the same structure as frames communicated over the FDD channel;

using the same coding and decoding scheme and the same modulation technique for data communicated over the TDD channel as are used for data communicated over the FDD channel,

wherein the telecommunication network further comprises a second end user equipment and the method comprises at least one of;

(v) communicating the outgoing message from the base station to the terminal user equipment by the additional steps of;

the intermediate end user equipment transmitting the reconfigured outgoing message directly or indirectly over the TDD channel to the second end user equipment;

the second end user equipment storing the outgoing message and reconfiguring the message for transmission over a short range technology link, and transmitting the outgoing message directly via the short range technology link to the terminal user equipment;

and

(vi) communicating the incoming message from the terminal user equipment to the base station by the additional steps of;

the second end user equipment receiving the incoming message directly via the short range technology link from the terminal user equipment; and

the second end user equipment storing the incoming message and reconfiguring the message for transmission over the TDD channel and transmitting the outgoing message via the TDD channel directly or indirectly to the intermediate end user equipment.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the short range technology link is selected from among an infrared link, a blue-tooth link, and a wireless LAN link.