Base station, user apparatus and method for use of multiple sizes of resource blocks

• US 8,009,623 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Higuchi, Kenichi, Sawahashi, Mamoru
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, KENNY S
• Application Number:
  US12/305,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20100062782A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/342, 370/343
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0007 by modifying the frame length
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/006 Quality of the received signal, e.g. BER, SNR, water filling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0064 Rate requirement of the data, e.g. scalable bandwidth, data priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0071 Allocation based on fairness other than the proportional kind
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0085 when channel conditions change
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0096 Indication of changes in allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1273 of downlink data flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A base station includes a scheduler at least determining a resource block assigned to a data channel, a transmitted signal generation unit generating a signal to transmit the data channel in accordance with scheduling information supplied from the scheduler, a transmission unit transmitting the signal to a user apparatus, and a resource block size adjustment unit adjusting a size of the resource block.

Claims

1. A base station, comprising:

a scheduler determining a resource block to assign a data channel for a user apparatus, wherein a plurality of resource blocks each occupying a predefined band and a predefined period are arranged in a frequency axis direction in a system band and each of the resource blocks is assigned to a single user apparatus; and

a transmission unit generating a transmission signal for transmitting the data channel assigned to the resource block determined by the scheduler and transmitting the transmission signal to the user apparatus,

wherein the scheduler defines a first assignment unit having a predefined size and a second assignment unit having as twice size as the first assignment unit as assignment units of the resource blocks,

a plurality of resource blocks having the first assignment unit allowed to assign to a single user apparatus are locally arranged in two consecutive resource blocks in a system band, and

resource block groups each consisting of two locally arranged consecutive resource blocks having the first assignment unit are arranged to separate one of the resource block groups from an adjacent one of the resource block group by one resource block having the second assignment unit such that the resource block groups are globally distributed over the system band.

2. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scheduler arranges the resource blocks by combining a resource block having the first assignment unit and a resource block having the second assignment unit in the system band without overlapping.

3. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the scheduler, the assignment of the resource blocks arranged in the frequency axis direction is limited to a predefined number of assignment pattern options.

4. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the scheduler, the assignment of the resource blocks to each user apparatus is represented in the assignment units of the resource blocks in accordance with bit mapping method.

5. The base station as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the scheduler, the assignment of the resource blocks is represented to indicate which user apparatus each of the resource blocks is assigned to.

6. A transmission method, comprising the steps of:

determining a resource block to assign a data channel for a user apparatus, wherein a plurality of resource blocks each occupying a predefined band and a predefined period are arranged in a frequency axis direction in a system band and each of the resource blocks is assigned to a single user apparatus;

generating a transmission signal for transmitting the data channel assigned to the determined resource block; and

transmitting the transmission signal to the user apparatus,

wherein the step of determining comprises defining a first assignment unit having a predefined size and a second assignment unit having as twice size as the first assignment unit as assignment units of the resource blocks,

a plurality of resource blocks having the first assignment unit allowed to assign to a single user apparatus are locally arranged in two consecutive resource blocks in a system band, and

resource block groups each consisting of two locally arranged consecutive resource blocks having the first assignment unit are arranged to separate one of the resource block groups from an adjacent one of the resource block group by one resource block having the second assignment unit such that the resource block groups are globally distributed over the system band.

7. The transmission method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the step of determining comprises arranging the resource blocks by combining a resource block having the first assignment unit and a resource block having the second assignment unit in the system band without overlapping.

8. The transmission method as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the step of determining, the assignment of the resource blocks arranged in the frequency axis direction is limited to a predefined number of assignment pattern options.

9. The transmission method as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the step of determining, the assignment of the resource blocks to each user apparatus is represented in the assignment units of the resource blocks in accordance with bit mapping method.

10. The transmission method as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the step of determining, the assignment of the resource blocks is represented to indicate which user apparatus each of the resource blocks is assigned to.

11. A user apparatus, comprising:

a reception unit receiving a signal including a data channel assigned by a base station to a resource block, wherein a plurality of resource blocks each occupying a predefined band and a predefined period are arranged in a frequency axis direction in a system band and each of the resource blocks is assigned to a single user apparatus; and

a processing unit deriving the data channel from the signal received by the reception unit,

wherein the base station defines a first assignment unit having a predefined size and a second assignment unit having as twice size as the first assignment unit as assignment units of the resource blocks in the signal received by the reception unit,

a plurality of resource blocks having the first assignment unit allowed to assign to a single user apparatus are locally arranged in two consecutive resource blocks in a system band, and

resource block groups each consisting of two locally arranged consecutive resource blocks having the first assignment unit are arranged to separate one of the resource block groups from an adjacent one of the resource block group by one resource block having the second assignment unit such that the resource block groups are globally distributed over the system band.

12. A reception method, comprising the steps of:

receiving a signal including a data channel assigned by a base station to a resource block, wherein a plurality of resource blocks each occupying a predefined band and a predefined period are arranged in a frequency axis direction in a system band and each of the resource blocks is assigned to a single user apparatus; and

deriving the data channel from the signal received by the step of receiving,

wherein the base station defines a first assignment unit having a predefined size and a second assignment unit having as twice size as the first assignment unit as assignment units of the resource blocks in the signal received at the step of receiving,

a plurality of resource blocks having the first assignment unit allowed to assign to a single user apparatus are locally arranged in two consecutive resource blocks in a system band, and

resource block groups each consisting of two locally arranged consecutive resource blocks having the first assignment unit are arranged to separate one of the resource block groups from an adjacent one of the resource block group by one resource block having the second assignment unit such that the resource block groups are globally distributed over the system band.