Wireless communications system and method
First Claim
1. A mobile communications system in which communication with a plurality of mobile terminals is provided by a base station, wherein said terminals are adapted each to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish ad-hoc groups of terminals, each said group functioning cooperatively as a micro-cell for communications purposes, wherein each terminal in a said group is arranged to perform a first processing step on signals received from the base station, to exchange directly with the other terminals of the group transmission related signal information derived from said first processing step, and to perform a second spatial processing step utilizing exchanged transmission related signal information received from other terminals of the group so as to derive, from the received signals, a signal intended for reception by that terminal, and wherein the number of terminals within a said group maximizes the spectral efficiency of the system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a mobile communications system having improved spectral efficiency. The invention is further directed to methods and apparatus to achieve this improved spectral efficiency. In the mobile communications system communication with a plurality of mobile terminals is provided by a base station. Within the system terminals are adapted to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish groups of terminals, called micro-cells. Each terminal within a micro-cell receives signals from the base station and then performs a first processing step on these signals. These processed signals are shared with all the other terminals within the micro-cell. Each terminal then performs a second processing step on the information it has received from all the other terminals within the micro-cell which enables it to derive a signal intended for reception by that terminal. The technique is applicable to both the uplink (user to base station) and the down link (base station to user) and also to peer to peer (user to user) communication.
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Citations
18 Claims
- 1. A mobile communications system in which communication with a plurality of mobile terminals is provided by a base station, wherein said terminals are adapted each to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish ad-hoc groups of terminals, each said group functioning cooperatively as a micro-cell for communications purposes, wherein each terminal in a said group is arranged to perform a first processing step on signals received from the base station, to exchange directly with the other terminals of the group transmission related signal information derived from said first processing step, and to perform a second spatial processing step utilizing exchanged transmission related signal information received from other terminals of the group so as to derive, from the received signals, a signal intended for reception by that terminal, and wherein the number of terminals within a said group maximizes the spectral efficiency of the system.
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7. A method of providing spectrum re-use in a mobile communications system in which communication with a plurality of mobile terminals is provided by a base station, and wherein said terminals are adapted each to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish ad-hoc groups of terminals, each said group functioning co-operatively as a micro-cell for communications purposes, the method comprising:
- transmitting signals from the base station to all terminals of the group;
at each terminal of said group, performing a first processing step on signals received from the base station;
exchanging directly with the other terminals of the group transmission related signal information derived from said first processing step, and performing a second spatial processing step utilizing exchanged transmission related signal information received from other terminals of the group so as to derive, from the received signals, a signal intended for reception by that terminal, and wherein the number of terminals within a said group is selected to maximize the spectral efficiency of the system. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17)
- transmitting signals from the base station to all terminals of the group;
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14. A method of providing spectrum re-use in a mobile communications system in which a plurality of mobile terminals communicate with one another in a peer to peer manner, and wherein said terminals are adapted each to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish ad-hoc groups of terminals, each said group functioning co-operatively as a micro-cell for communications purposes, the method comprising:
- receiving signals at all terminals of the group;
at each terminal of said group, performing a first processing step on the received signals;
exchanging directly with the other terminals of the group transmission related signal information derived from said first processing step, and performing a second spatial processing step utilizing exchanged transmission related signal information received from other terminals of the group so as to derive, from the received signals, a signal intended for reception by that terminal, and wherein the number of terminals within a said group is selected such as to maximize the spectral efficiency of the system.
- receiving signals at all terminals of the group;
- 15. A mobile terminal for use in a mobile communications system in which communication with a plurality of similar mobile terminals is provided by a base station, wherein said terminal is adapted to communicate with one or more adjacent similar terminals to establish an ad-hoc group of terminals functioning co-operatively as a micro-cell for communications purposes, and wherein said terminal is arranged to perform a first processing step on signals received from the base station, to exchange directly with the other terminals of the group transmission related signal information derived from said first processing step, and to perform a second spatial processing step utilizing exchanged transmission related signal information received from other terminals of the group so as to derive, from the received signals, a signal intended for reception by that terminal.
Specification