Clustering method and communication device for coordinated multipoint transmission

• US 8,543,150 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2009
• Issued: 09/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Choi, Hyun Ho, Jang, Kyung Hun, Hwang, Hyo Sun, Lim, Jong Bu
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, WESLEY LEO
• Application Number:
  US12/637,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20100304682A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,379 Days
• Field of Search: 455/500, 455/501, 455/502, 455/507, 455450-4522, 455/524, 455/561, 455/101, 455/525, 370/329, 370/252, 370/464
• US Class Current: 455/502
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality

Abstract

A communication system performing a coordinated multipoint transmission is provided. A mobile station may measure expected channel quality information when an interference of a serving base station does not exist. The serving base station may determine whether a neighbor base station and the serving base station are eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission. The serving base station may determine whether the neighbor base station and the serving base station are eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission using a criterion associated with an evaluation of an increase in a transmission rate of the mobile station.

Claims

1. A method of clustering a coordinated multipoint transmission of a serving base station, the method comprising:

emptying a resource element of the serving base station that corresponds to a signal transmitted from a neighbor base station to a mobile station, before the mobile station computes expected channel quality information of the signal transmitted from the neighbor base station to the mobile station;

receiving, from the mobile station, channel quality information of a signal transmitted from the serving base station to the mobile station, and the expected channel quality information;

comparing the channel quality information with the expected channel quality information; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission with the serving base station based on a result of the comparing.

2. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

checking whether a criterion, associated with an evaluation of an increase in a transmission rate of the mobile station according to the coordinated multipoint transmission, is satisfied based on the result of the comparing; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission based on a result of the checking.

3. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

predicting an increase in a transmission rate of the mobile station according to the coordinated multipoint transmission based on the result of the comparing; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission based on the predicted increase in the transmission rate.

4. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein, when the coordinated multipoint transmission is performed in a plurality of modes, the determining comprises:

checking whether a criterion, associated with an evaluation of an increase in a transmission rate according to a change from a current mode of the coordinated multipoint transmission to a particular mode, is satisfied based on the result of the comparing; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission in the particular mode based on a result of the checking.

5. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station computes the expected channel quality information based on the signal transmitted by the neighbor base station in a radio resource region that is not used by the serving base station.

6. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

providing a weight to the expected channel quality information, or the channel quality information, or any combination thereof.

7. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises:

acquiring periodically the expected quality information, or acquiring the expected channel quality information after instructing the mobile station to report the expected channel quality information.

8. The clustering method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the serving base station, the mobile station with information about the neighbor base station to enable the mobile station to compute the expected channel quality information.

9. The clustering method of claim 1, further comprising:

instructing, by the serving base station, the mobile station to report the expected channel quality information based on the channel quality information.

10. The clustering method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the mobile station with scheduling information to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission, or cell information of the coordinated multipoint transmission, when the neighbor base station is determined to be eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission with the serving base station.

11. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein:

the expected channel quality information comprises information about a signal to interference plus noise ratio of the signal transmitted from the neighbor base station to the mobile station; and

the mobile station computes the signal to interference plus noise ratio when an interference of the serving base station with respect to the neighbor base station is non-existent in substance or removed.

12. The clustering method of claim 1, wherein the comparing comprises:

determining whether the expected channel quality information, or the expected channel quality information subtracted by one, is greater than or equal to the channel quality information.

13. A method of clustering a coordinated multipoint transmission of a serving base station, the method comprising:

emptying a resource element of the serving base station that corresponds to a signal transmitted from a neighbor base station to a mobile station, before the mobile station computes expected channel quality information of the signal transmitted from the neighbor base station to the mobile station;

obtaining, from the mobile station, channel quality information of a signal transmitted from the serving base station to the mobile station, and the expected channel quality information;

comparing the channel quality information with the expected channel quality information;

checking whether a first criterion, associated with an evaluation of an increase in a transmission rate according to the coordinated multipoint transmission of the neighbor base station and the serving base station, or a second criterion, associated with an evaluation of an increase in a transmission rate according to a change from a current mode of the coordinated multipoint transmission to a particular mode, is satisfied based on a result of the comparing; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission with the serving base station, or whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission in the particular mode, based on a result of the checking.

14. The clustering method of claim 13, wherein the mobile station computes the expected channel quality information based on the signal transmitted by the neighbor base station in a radio resource region that is not used by the serving base station.

15. An operation method of a mobile station for a coordinated multipoint transmission, the method comprising:

computing expected channel quality information of a signal transmitted from a neighbor base station to the mobile station, in response to a serving base station emptying a resource element of the serving base station that corresponds to the signal transmitted from the neighbor base station to the mobile station; and

reporting, to the serving base station, channel quality information of a signal transmitted from the serving base station to the mobile station, and the expected channel quality information, to enable the serving base station to compare the channel quality information with the expected channel quality information, and determine whether the neighbor base station and the serving base station perform the coordinated multipoint transmission based on a result of the comparison.

16. The operation method of claim 15, wherein the reporting comprises:

reporting the expected channel quality information based on the channel quality information.

17. The operation method of claim 15, wherein the computing comprises:

computing the expected channel quality information based on the signal transmitted by the neighbor base station in a radio resource region that is not used by the serving base station.

18. The operation method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving scheduling information to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission, or cell information of the coordinated multipoint transmission, when the neighbor base station and the serving base station are determined to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission.

19. The operation method of claim 15, wherein the reporting comprises:

reporting the expected channel quality information using a predetermined feedback control channel.

20. The operation method of claim 15, wherein the computing comprises:

computing the expected channel quality information in a resource element of the neighbor base station that is used to transmit the signal from the neighbor base station to the mobile station.

21. An operation method of a mobile station for a coordinated multipoint transmission, the method comprising:

computing expected channel quality information of a signal transmitted from a neighbor base station to the mobile station, in response to an interference of a serving base station with respect to the neighbor base station being non-existent in substance or removed; and

reporting, to the serving base station, channel quality information of a signal transmitted from the serving base station to the mobile station, and the expected channel quality information using a predetermined feedback control channel, to enable the serving base station to compare the channel quality information with the expected channel quality information, and determine whether the neighbor base station and the serving base station perform the coordinated multipoint transmission based on a result of the comparison,

wherein the serving base station assigns a radio resource used to report the expected channel quality information using the predetermined feedback control channel.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program to implement a method of clustering a coordinated multipoint transmission of a serving base station, the method comprising:

emptying a resource element of the serving base station that corresponds to a signal transmitted from a neighbor base station to a mobile station, before the mobile station computes expected channel quality information of the signal transmitted from the neighbor base station to the mobile station;

receiving, from the station, channel quality information of a signal transmitted from the serving base station to the mobile station, and the expected channel quality information;

comparing the channel quality information with the expected channel quality information; and

determining whether the neighbor base station is eligible to perform the coordinated multipoint transmission with the serving base station based on a result of the comparing.