Terminal device and interference removal method

• US 8,681,686 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Saito, Yoshiko, Miyoshi, Kenichi, Imamura, Daichi, Yuda, Yasuaki
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, DUC CHI
• Application Number:
  US13/574,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20120294229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 375/211, 455/11.1
• US Class Current: 370/315
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations

Abstract

When a terminal (200) is capable of connecting to two relay devices that are adjacent to the terminal, from among a plurality of relay devices, a receiving unit (208) receives signals in a first period and a second period for communication among the plurality of relay stations, which are transmitted from the higher order device to the lower order device toward other terminal devices. An interference removal unit (209) obtains a signal transmitted toward the terminal (200) from the higher order relay device by employing the signals toward the other terminal devices that are received in the first period and the second period and removing a signal toward other terminal devices that is transmitted in a third period for communication between the plurality of relay devices and the terminal device from the lower order device from a signal that is received in the third period.

Claims

1. A terminal apparatus in a radio communication system in which a plurality of relay apparatuses relay communication between a base station apparatus and terminal apparatuses using the same frequency, on a per-subframe basis where each subframe includes a first period and a second period for communication between the plurality of relay apparatuses and a third period for communication between the plurality of relay apparatuses and the terminal apparatuses, while two adjacent relay apparatuses among the plurality of relay apparatuses perform transmission processing in mutually-different periods, respectively, in the first period and the second period, and the plurality of relay apparatuses simultaneously perform transmission to terminal apparatuses connected to the relay apparatuses, in the third period, the terminal apparatus comprising:

a selection section that selects connection to an upstream relay apparatus positioned upstream in a signal transfer direction between the base station apparatus and the terminal apparatus from among the two relay apparatuses, when the terminal apparatus is connectable to the two relay apparatuses;

a receiving section that receives a signal for another terminal apparatus, the signal being transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus to a downstream relay apparatus positioned downstream in the transfer direction among the two relay apparatuses, in the first period or the second period; and

a removing section that removes a signal for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus in the third period from a signal received in the third period, using the signal for the other terminal apparatus received in the first period or the second period, thereby obtaining a signal for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus.

2. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when both of received signal strength indicators of signals received respectively from the two relay apparatuses are not less than a pre-set threshold value, the selection section selects connection to the upstream relay apparatus, whereas the selection section selects connection to the downstream relay apparatus when the received signal strength indicator of the signal received from the upstream relay apparatus among the two relay apparatuses is less than the threshold value and the received signal strength indicator of the signal received from the downstream relay apparatus among the two relay apparatuses is not less than the threshold value.

3. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the upstream relay apparatus generates control information for the other terminal apparatus connected to the downstream relay apparatus, using control information for the terminal apparatus connected to the upstream relay apparatus,

the receiving section further receives the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus, which are transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus to the downstream relay apparatus, in the first period or the second period, and

the removing section removes the signal for the other terminal apparatus from the signal received in the third period, using the signal for the other terminal apparatus, the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus, which are received in the first period or the second period.

4. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in the radio communication system, downlink and uplink are switched on a per subframe basis, and a first guard time is provided between a downlink subframe and an uplink subframe, while a second guard time is provided between the second period and the third period, and

the receiving section further receives control information for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus and control information for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus, respectively, in the first guard time or the second guard time, and

the removing section removes the signal for the other terminal apparatus from the signal received in the third period, using the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus.

5. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the receiving section receives control information for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus and control information for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus in the first period or the second period;

and

the removing section removes the signal for the other terminal apparatus from the signal received in the third period, using the signal for the other terminal apparatus, the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus, which are received in the first period or the second period.

6. The terminal apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising

a detection section that detects notification information indicating existence or non-existence of the signal for the terminal apparatus and thereby determines whether or not the signal for the terminal apparatus is transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus, the notification information being included in a control header provided in the control information for the terminal apparatus, wherein,

when the detection section determines that the signal for the terminal apparatus is transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus, the receiving section receives the control information for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus, in the first period or the second period, whereas the receiving section stops processing for receiving the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus when the detection section determines that the signal for the terminal apparatus is not transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus.

7. The terminal apparatus according to claim 5,

further comprising a detection section that detects notification information transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus in a previous sub frame and indicating existence or non-existence of the signal for the terminal apparatus in a current subframe and thereby determines whether or not the signal for the terminal apparatus is transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus in the current subframe, wherein,

when the detection section determines that the signal for the terminal apparatus is transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus, the receiving section receives the control information for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus, in the first period or the second period in the current subframe, whereas the receiving section stops processing for receiving the control information for the terminal apparatus and the control information for the other terminal apparatus in the current subframe when the detection section determines that the signal for the terminal apparatus is not transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus.

8. An interference removal method in a radio communication system in which a plurality of relay apparatuses relay communication between a base station apparatus and terminal apparatuses using the same frequency on a per subframe basis where each subframe includes a first period and a second period for communication between the plurality of relay apparatuses and a third period for communication between the plurality of relay apparatuses and the terminal apparatuses, while two adjacent relay apparatuses among the plurality of relay apparatuses perform transmission processing in mutually-different periods, respectively, in the first period and the second period, and the plurality of relay apparatuses simultaneously perform transmission to terminal apparatuses connected to the relay apparatuses, in the third period, the method comprising:

a selection step of selecting connection for the terminal apparatus to an upstream relay apparatus positioned upstream in a signal transfer direction between the base station apparatus and the terminal apparatus from among the two relay apparatuses, when the terminal apparatus is connectable to the two relay apparatuses;

a reception step of receiving a signal for another terminal apparatus, the signal being transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus to a downstream relay apparatus positioned downstream in the transfer direction among the two relay apparatuses, in the first period or the second period; and

a removal step of removing a signal for the other terminal apparatus transmitted from the downstream relay apparatus in the third period from a signal received in the third period, using the signal for the other terminal apparatus received in the first period or the second period, thereby obtaining a signal for the terminal apparatus transmitted from the upstream relay apparatus.