Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, base station, control method of base station, and control program of base station

• US 8,725,191 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2008
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hamabe, Kojiro, Morita, Motoki
• Primary Examiner(s): GESESSE, TILAHUN
• Application Number:
  US12/682,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20100248735A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,059 Days
• Field of Search: 455/522, 455/69, 455/67.11, 455/67.13, 455/63.1, 455/226.1
• US Class Current: 455/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/325 Power control of control or pilot channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/005 Transmission of information for alerting of incoming communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/06 using multi-step notification by changing the notification area
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

To provide appropriate communication quality for a mobile station that is permitted to connect to a femto base station regardless of the place at which the femto base station is installed and the place at which the mobile station is used while reducing the transmission power of the femto base station as much as possible, a femto base station 4 measures the reception quality (e.g., received power or reception SIR) by receiving a common pilot signal from a macro base station 3, and sets the transmission power Ptx of a pilot signal to be transmitted by the femto base station itself based on the received power. Further, the femto base station 4 transmits a common pilot signal with a transmission power Ptx and communicates with a plurality of mobile stations 7-2 to 7-4 within a femtocell 6. Furthermore, the femto base station 4 receives a measurement result of the reception quality level of a common pilot signal transmitted from the femto base station 4 from the mobile stations 7-2 to 7-4, and adjusts the transmission power Ptx of a common pilot signal so that the lowest level among a plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system comprising:

a first base station; and

at least one mobile station that is pre-registered with the first base station to connect to and communicate with the first base station, and measures a reception quality level of a first signal from the first base station and reports a measurement result of the reception quality level to the first base station,

wherein the first base station adjusts transmission power of the first base station based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by the at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level, wherein

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, the first base station increases the transmission power, and

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level, the first base station decreases the transmission power.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment, by the first base station, includes adding a difference between the target level and the lowest reception quality level to a current value of the transmission power.

3. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein

each of said at least one mobile station performs the measurement and the reporting a plurality of times,

the first base station obtains an X-percent value (where X is a value no less than 0 and no larger than 100) of a reception quality level of the first signal, and

the adjustment, by the first base station, includes adjusting the transmission power so that a lowest value among a plurality of X-percent values gets closer to the target level, each of the plurality of X-percent values being for a respective one of said at least one mobile station.

4. The wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment, by the first base station, includes adding a difference between the target level and the lowest value of the plurality of X-percent values to a current value of the transmission power.

5. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first base station determines an initial value of the transmission power based on reception quality of a second signal transmitted from a second base station, and starts transmission with the initial value.

6. The wireless communication system according to claim 5, wherein reception quality of the second signal measured by the first base station is received power or a reception SIR.

7. The wireless communication system according to claim 5, wherein the first base station is a femto base station and the second base station is a macro base station.

8. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first base station sets at least one of an upper threshold and a lower threshold of the transmission power based on reception quality of a second signal transmitted from a second base station, and adjusts the transmission power within a range between the maximum value and the minimum value.

9. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein a measurement of a reception quality level of the first signal is performed while said at least one mobile station is communicating with the first base station, or by using completion of communication between said at least one mobile station with the first base station as a trigger.

10. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein

if said at least one mobile station does not report the measurement result to the first base station within a predetermined time, the first base station instructs the mobile station that has not reported the measurement result yet to measure a reception quality level of the first signal, and

the mobile station performs a measurement of the reception quality level in response to the instruction.

11. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first base station prevents a ratio of transmission power of the first signal to total transmission power in a first cell generated by the first base station from falling below a predetermined value.

12. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein a CDMA mode is used as a wireless access mode.

13. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first base station, and said at least one mobile station transmit information by using at least one resource block among a plurality of resource blocks dividing a radio frequency band.

14. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first base station is a femto base station.

15. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first signal is a femto cell common pilot signal and the second signal is a macro cell common pilot signal.

16. A wireless communication method comprising:

measuring, by at least one mobile station, a reception quality level of a first signal from a first base station and reporting a measurement result of the reception quality level to the first base station; and

adjusting, by the first base station, transmission power of the first base station based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by the at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level,

wherein the at least one mobile station is pre-registered with the first base station to connect to and communicate with the first base station,

said adjusting includes increasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, and

said adjusting includes decreasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 16, wherein the first base station sets at least one of a maximum value and a minimum value of the transmission power based on reception quality of a second signal transmitted from a second base station, and adjusts the transmission power within a range between the maximum value and the minimum value.

18. A base station used in a wireless communication system comprising:

a wireless communication unit being configured to transmit a first signal, and communicate with at least one mobile station; and

a setting unit being configured to adjust transmission power based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by said at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level,

wherein the at least one mobile station is pre-registered with the base station to connect to and communicate with the base station,

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, the setting unit increases the transmission power, and

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level, the setting unit decreases the transmission power.

19. The base station according to claim 18, wherein the setting unit sets at least one of a maximum value and a minimum value of the transmission power based on reception quality of a second signal transmitted from other base station, and adjusts the transmission power within a range between the maximum value and the minimum value.

20. A method of controlling a base station used in a wireless communication system comprising:

transmitting a first signal, and communicating with at least one mobile station; and

adjusting transmission power based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by said at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level,

wherein the at least one mobile station is pre-registered with the base station to connect to and communicate with the base station,

said adjusting includes increasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, and

said adjusting includes decreasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level.

21. A non-transitory computer readable media storing a base station control program that causes a computer to execute control processing for a base station comprising wireless transmitting means, the control processing comprising:

a process of causing the wireless transmitting means to transmit a first signal; and

a process of adjusting transmission power in the wireless transmitting means based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level,

wherein the at least one mobile station is pre-registered with the base station to connect to and communicate with the base station,

said adjusting includes increasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, and

said adjusting includes decreasing the transmission power if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level.

22. A base station used in a wireless communication system comprising:

means for transmitting a first signal, and communicating with at least one mobile station; and

means for adjusting transmission power based on a plurality of reception quality levels of the first signal measured by said at least one mobile station so that a lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels gets closer to a predetermined target level,

wherein the at least one mobile station is pre-registered with the base station to connect to and communicate with the base station,

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is smaller than the predetermined target level, said means for adjusting increases the transmission power, and

if the lowest level from among the plurality of reception quality levels is larger than the predetermined target level, said means for adjusting decreases the transmission power.