Configuring power distribution within cooperation areas of cellular communication networks

• US 9,161,318 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2011
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Zirwas, Wolfgang, Mennerich, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Karikari, Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US14/001,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20140057618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,692 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/283 Power depending on the position of the mobile
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/40 during macro-diversity or soft handoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

There is provided a method for configuring a power distribution within a cellular network system. The cellular network system includes at least one cooperation area. The at least one cooperation area is defined by at least two base stations, each including at least one antenna, wherein each base station has at least one beam. The method includes configuring the base stations to transmit at a first transmit power level for providing a first receiving power level for a user equipment at a center region of the cooperation area, and configuring the base stations to transmit at a second transmit power level for providing a second receiving power level at a border region of the cooperation area, wherein the second receiving power level is lower than the first receiving power level.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

configuring at least two base stations to transmit at a first transmit power level for providing a first receiving power level for a user equipment at a center region of the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the at least two base stations define the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the at least one cooperation area is a cooperation area of a joint transmission CoMP system

wherein each base station of the at least two base stations comprises at least one antenna, and

wherein each base station has at least one beam; and

configuring the at least two base stations to transmit at a second transmit power level for providing a second receiving power level at a border region of the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the second receiving power level is lower than the first receiving power level, and

wherein a power distribution between the first and second transmit power levels within the cooperation area shapes an interference floor which avoids interference between cooperation areas.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring each base station in such a manner that

a beam being directed towards the center region is transmitted with a first transmit power level, and

a beam being directed towards the border region is transmitted with a second transmit power level,

wherein the second transmit power level is lower than the first transmit power level.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring each base station in such a manner that

a beam being directed towards the center region is tilted down by a first tilt angle, and

a beam being directed towards the border region is tilted down by a second tilt angle,

wherein the second tilt angle is greater than the first tilt angle.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the base stations to operate according to coordinated multi point transmission for operating the cooperation area and at least one further cooperation area.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

configuring each base station

to operate at least one antenna dedicated to the cooperation area at a specific frequency subband and

to operate at least one antenna dedicated to other cooperation areas at at least one frequency subband other than the specific frequency subband.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

configuring each base station

to operate at least one antenna dedicated to the cooperation area at specific time slots and

to operate at least one antenna dedicated to other cooperation areas at time slots other than the specific time slots.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

measuring the receiving power level of the cooperation area and the at least one further cooperation area.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein measuring the receiving power level is performed per frequency subband, per time slot, or per both.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending information messages to inform user equipments about a subband and/or time slot allocation by using a radio resource management algorithm.

14. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out the method of claim 1.

10. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following;

configuring at least two base stations in a cellular network system comprising at least one cooperation area to transmit at a first transmit power level for providing a first receiving power level for a user equipment at a center region of the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the at least two base stations define the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the at least one cooperation area is a cooperation area of a joint transmission CoMP system

wherein each base station of the at least two base stations comprises at least one antenna, and

wherein each base station has at least one beam; and

configuring the at least two base stations to transmit at a second transmit power level for providing a second receiving power level at a border region of the at least one cooperation area,

wherein the second receiving power level is lower than the first receiving power level, and

wherein a power distribution between the first and second transmit power levels within the cooperation area shapes an interference floor which avoids interference between cooperation area.

11. The apparatus of claim 10,

wherein a first beam of the at least one beam of each base station is directed toward the center region and is transmitted with a first transmit power level,

wherein a second beam of the at least one beam of each base station is directed toward the center region and is transmitted with a second transmit power level, and

wherein the second transmit power level is lower than the first transmit power level.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is a control unit.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is one of the at least two base stations.

15. A wireless communication system comprising a plurality of devices wherein at least one of said plurality is the apparatus of claim 10.