Wireless relay system, wireless relay apparatus, and wireless relay method

• US 7,826,541 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2005
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2004
• 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: Suda, Hirohito, Fujii, Hiromasa, Tanaka, Tetsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghayour, Mohammad H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hassan, Sarah
• Application Number:
  US11/061,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20050190822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,083 Days
• Field of Search: 375/211, 375/219, 375/296, 375/316, 375347-348, 375/2.08, 375/214, 375/260, 370491-492, 370500-501, 370/294, 379/4, 379/15.01, 379/338, 379/343, 379/406.01, 37940612-40613, 455/7, 455/73, 455/91
• US Class Current: 375/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15585 by interference cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0226 sounding signals per se
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0032 Distributed allocation, i.e. involving a plurality of allocating devices, each making partial allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver

Abstract

A wireless relay system for relaying a radio signal transmitted from a first wireless station to a second wireless station via a wireless relay apparatus is disclosed. The wireless relay system includes a relay control part for receiving transmission symbols transmitted from the first wireless station and refraining from relaying a portion of the symbols, a pilot signal transmission part for transmitting a pilot signal that is inserted into a section of the portion of the transmission symbols, a coupling loop interference wave estimation part for receiving the pilot signal and estimating a coupling loop interference wave based on the pilot signal, and a coupling loop interference wave cancellation part for subtracting the estimated coupling loop interference wave from a reception signal.

Claims

1. A wireless relay system for relaying a radio signal transmitted from a first wireless station to a second wireless station via a wireless relay apparatus, the wireless relay system comprising:

a relay control part for receiving transmission symbols transmitted from the first wireless station and refraining from relaying a portion of the transmission symbols;

a pilot signal transmission part for transmitting a pilot signal that is inserted into a section of the portion of the transmission symbols such that the wireless relay system relays signals without interruption;

a coupling loop interference wave estimation part for receiving the pilot signal and estimating a coupling loop interference wave based on the pilot signal during a time when the pilot signal is being transmitted; and

a coupling loop interference wave cancellation part for subtracting the estimated coupling loop interference wave from a reception signal,

wherein the first wireless station is configured to insert the portion of the transmission symbols to be refrained from relay according to a desired accuracy for estimating a coupling loop interference wave, and an accuracy of the coupling loop interference wave estimated by the coupling loop interference wave estimation part increases as the portion of the transmission symbols to be refrained from relay increases.

2. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wireless station includes a control signal transmission part for transmitting a control signal that is included in the transmission symbols transmitted to the wireless relay apparatus, wherein the wireless relay apparatus includes a relay refrain control part for refraining from relaying the radio signals in a section of the control signal.

3. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control signal transmission part includes a frame generation part for generating a frame of the transmission symbols with a null symbol inserted therein, wherein the relay refraining control part includes a relay refraining part for refraining relay of signals in a section where the null symbol is inserted.

4. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wireless relay apparatus includes a delay part for delaying the relay of the transmission symbols to an extent of N symbols, wherein N represents an integer which is not less than 1.

5. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in a case of relaying a signal by using an OFDM transmission method,

the wireless relay apparatus includes an IFFT part for performing an IFFT process to generate the transmission signal, and an FFT part for performing an FFT process on the reception signal, and

the first wireless station includes an OFDM frame generation part for inserting a null signal into a portion of a time/frequency domain and generating a frame that is to be transmitted to the wireless relay apparatus.

6. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the OFDM frame generation part calculates a sub-carrier interval for inserting the null signal in accordance with a formula of ceil {(FFT point value)/(GI point value)}, wherein “

ceil (x)”

represents a numeric function that returns a least integer greater than x, “

FFT”

represents Fast Fourier Transform and “

GI”

represents guard interval.

7. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the wireless relay apparatus includes a channel estimation part for receiving the pilot signal and estimating a channel in accordance with the received pilot signal, and a signal amplitude control part for controlling an amplitude of the reception signal based on a result of the channel estimation by the channel estimation part.

8. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the signal amplitude control part employs a water filling theorem for controlling the amplitude of the reception signal.

9. The wireless relay system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wireless station, the second wireless station, and the wireless relay apparatus each includes a plurality of antennas, wherein the antennas are used to form a MIMO channel, wherein the relay control part, a pilot signal transmission part, the coupling loop interference wave estimation part, and the coupling loop interference wave cancellation part are employed when executing transmission of MIMO channel signals.

10. A wireless relay apparatus for relaying a radio signal transmitted from a first wireless station to a second wireless station, the wireless relay apparatus comprising:

a relay control part for receiving transmission symbols transmitted from the first wireless station and refraining from relaying a portion of the transmission symbols;

a pilot signal transmission part for transmitting a pilot signal that is inserted into a section of the portion of the transmission symbols such that the wireless relay apparatus relays signals without interruption;

a coupling loop interference wave estimation part for receiving the pilot signal and estimating a channel impulse response of coupling loop interference wave based on the pilot signal during a time when the pilot signal is being transmitted; and

a coupling loop interference wave cancellation part for subtracting the estimated coupling loop interference wave from a reception signal,

wherein the portion of the transmission symbols to be refrained from relay is inserted by the first wireless station according to a desired accuracy for estimating a coupling loop interference wave, and an accuracy of the coupling loop interference wave estimated by the coupling loop interference wave estimation part increases as the portion of the transmission symbols refrained to be from relay increases.

11. A wireless relay method for relaying a radio signal transmitted from a first wireless station to a second wireless station, the wireless relay method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving transmission symbols transmitted from the first wireless station;

b) refraining from relaying a portion of the transmission symbols inserted by the first wireless station according to a desired accuracy for estimating a coupling loop interference wave;

c) transmitting a pilot signal that is inserted into a section of the portion of the transmission symbols such that either the pilot signal or the transmission symbols are transmitted without interruption;

d) receiving the pilot signal;

e) estimating a coupling loop interference wave based on the pilot signal during a time when the pilot signal is being transmitted, wherein an accuracy of the coupling loop interference wave estimated in step e) increases as the portion of the transmission symbols to be refrained from relay increases; and

f) subtracting the estimated coupling loop interference wave from a reception signal.