Method and apparatus for transmitting signal using spatial silencing

• US 8,743,724 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2010
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kwon, Yeong Hyeon, Lee, Moon Il, Koo, Ja Ho, Chung, Jae Hoon, Moon, Sung Ho, Han, Seung Hee
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAYA, TEJIS A
• Application Number:
  US13/322,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20120076039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,467 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/026 Co-operative diversity, e.g. using fixed or mobile stations as relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0634 Antenna weights or vector/matrix coefficients

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for transmitting signals in a heterogeneous network, the method comprising: a step wherein a base station determines a value-added vector for forming a beam pattern to be applied to a subsidiary carrier; a step wherein carrier operation information including information related to the determined value-added vector is transmitted via a primary carrier; and a step wherein the subsidiary carrier is transmitted by applying the determined value-added vector.

Claims

1. A method for a base station to transmit a signal in a heterogeneous network, the method comprising:

transmitting, to a plurality of user equipment, information associated with a weight vector set, the weight vector set including one or more weight vectors that can be applied to reference signals carried by a subsidiary carrier through downlink control signals carried by a primary carrier;

transmitting, to the plurality of user equipment, the reference signals to which each of the one or more weight vectors included in the weight vector set has been applied;

receiving, from the plurality of user equipment, feedback information associated with channel measurement results for the reference signals;

determining weight vector information applied to a downlink signal carried by the subsidiary carrier, the weight vector information determined based on the feedback information, wherein the weight vector information is specific to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment;

transmitting, to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, the determined weight information; and

transmitting, to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, the downlink signal carried by the subsidiary carrier using the determined weight vector information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the subsidiary carrier and the primary carrier are transmitted through different frequency segments from among a plurality of frequency segments that comprise an available system band.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the weight vector is selectively performed when a carrier used by a macro cell that is supported by the base station overlaps with a carrier used by cells included in the macro cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, feedback information including interference information related to interference between a plurality of cells in association with a channel measurement; and

adjusting a region in which the subsidiary carrier is transmitted after being beamformed in a macro cell, whose service is supported by the base station, the adjusting based on the interference information.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a weight vector for forming a beamforming to be applied to reference signals;

transmitting reference signal operation information including at least information associated with an order of beamforming to be applied to one of the reference signals or information associated with a number of antennas; and

transmitting one of the reference signals upon which the beamforming has been performed.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the weight vector for forming the beamforming is determined such that a different weight vector is applied to a cell common reference signal according to each of a plurality of frequency segments that comprise an available system band.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, to a user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, information associated with a subsidiary carrier transmission, the information including a weight vector for forming a beamforming to be applied to the subsidiary carrier and information associated with time/frequency resources to which a beamforming weight is applied;

receiving, from the user equipment, feedback information using the subsidiary carrier, the feedback information including a channel measurement result; and

performing carrier aggregation upon the subsidiary carrier using the feedback information.

8. A method for a user equipment to receive a signal in a heterogeneous network, the method comprising:

receiving, from a base station, information associated with a weight vector set including one or more weight vectors that can be applied to reference signals carried by a subsidiary carrier through downlink control signals carried by a primary carrier;

receiving, from the base station, the reference signals to which each of the one or more weight vectors included in the weight vector set has been applied;

transmitting, to the base station, feedback information associated with a channel measurement result for the reference signals;

receiving, from the base station, weight vector information applied to a downlink signal carried by the subsidiary carrier, the weight vector information determined based on the feedback information; and

receiving, from the base station, the downlink signal carried by the subsidiary carrier to which the weight vector information has been applied.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

performing a channel measurement using a downlink signal received from the base station;

transmitting, to the base station, feedback information including interference information associated with interference between a plurality of cells related to the channel measurement.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the subsidiary carrier and the primary carrier are transmitted through different frequency segments from among a plurality of frequency segments that comprise an available system band.

11. A base station in a heterogeneous network, the base station comprising:

a transmission module configured to transmit a radio signal;

a reception module configured to receive a radio signal; and

a processor configured to;

determine a weight vector for forming a beam pattern to be applied to a subsidiary carrier that is transmitted through the transmission module;

control the transmitting module to transmit, to a plurality of user equipment, information associated with a weight vector set, the weight vector set including one or more weight vectors that can be applied to reference signals carried by the subsidiary carrier through downlink control signals carried by a primary carrier;

control the transmitting module to transmit, to the plurality of user equipment, the reference signals to which each of the one or more weight vectors included in the weight vector set has been applied;

control the reception module to receive, from the plurality of user equipment, feedback information associated with a channel measurement result for the reference signals;

determine a weight vector information applied to downlink signals carried by the subsidiary carrier, the weight vector information determined based on the feedback information, wherein the weight vector information is specific to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment;

control the transmitting module to transmit, to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, the determined weight vector information; and

control the transmitting module to transmit, to each user equipment of the plurality of user equipment, the downlink signals carried by the subsidiary carrier using the determined weight vector information.

12. A user equipment in a heterogeneous network, the user equipment comprising:

a reception module configured to receive a radio signal;

a transmission module configured to transmit a radio signal; and

a processor configured to;

perform a channel measurement based on a downlink signal received through the reception module;

control the reception module to receive, from a base station, information associated with a weight vector set, the weight vector set including one or more weight vectors that can be applied to reference signals carried by a subsidiary carrier through downlink control signals carried by a primary carrier;

control the reception module to receive, from the base station, the reference signals to which each of the one or more weight vectors included in the weight vector set has been applied;

control the transmitting module to transmit, to the base station, feedback information associated with a channel measurement result for the reference signals;

control the reception module to receive, from the base station, weight vector information applied to a downlink signal carried by the subsidiary carrier, the weight vector information determined based on the feedback information; and

control the reception module to receive, from the base station, downlink signals carried by the subsidiary carrier to which the weight vector information has been applied.

13. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform a channel measurement of the downlink signal to which each of the one or more weight vectors included in the weight vector set has been applied;

generate feedback information associated with a result of the channel measurement; and

control the transmitting module to transmit, to the base station, the feedback information.

14. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the feedback information includes interference information related to interference between a plurality of cells in association with the channel measurement.

15. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

control the reception module to receive, from the base station, a weight vector for forming a beamforming to be applied to the subsidiary carrier and information associated with time/frequency resources to which a beamforming weight is applied

generate feedback information using the subsidiary carrier, the feedback information including a channel measurement result using the subsidiary carrier; and

control the transmitting module to transmit, to the base station, the feedback information.