Method for switching working mode on relay network, base station, relay node, and communications system

• US 9,198,058 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Chongming, Wang, Bin, Xu, Liang
• Primary Examiner(s): LEVITAN, DMITRY
• Application Number:
  US14/134,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20140105078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/315, 370/328, 370/329, 370/343
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15 Active relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15557 Selecting relay station operation mode, e.g. between amplify and forward mode, decode and forward mode or FDD - and TDD mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for switching a working mode on a relay network, a base station, a relay node, and a communications system. A donor eNB (DeNB) sends an RN reconfiguration message to a relay node RN in frequency division duplex FDD mode, so that the RN switches from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex H-FDD mode. The DeNB receives an acknowledgment message sent by the RN in FDD mode. When the DeNB verifies, according to the RN reconfiguration message and the acknowledgement message, that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode, the DeNB switches from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode.

Claims

1. A method for switching a working mode on a relay network, the method comprising:

sending, by a donor eNB (DeNB) a relay node (RN) reconfiguration message to a RN in frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, so that the RN switches from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex (H-FDD) mode;

receiving, by the DeNB, an acknowledgment message sent by the RN in FDD mode;

after receiving the acknowledgment message, verifying, by the DeNB that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode according to the RN reconfiguration message and the acknowledgement message;

switching, by the DeNB, from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode; and

receiving, by the DeNB in H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message sent by the RN in H-FDD mode.

2. The method for switching a working mode on a relay network according to claim 1, further comprising determining, by the DeNB, whether the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode according to a first sequence number of the RN reconfiguration message and a second sequence number of the acknowledgment message.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining whether the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode comprises determining that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is greater than or equal to the first sequence number;

and determining that RN has not started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is less than the first sequence number.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

recording, by the DeNB, the first sequence number in the RN configuration message, the first sequence number being added into the RN reconfiguration message by a DeNB-side Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer; and

recording, by the DeNB, the second sequence number in the acknowledgement message, the second sequence number being added into the acknowledgement message by an RN-side Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising switching from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode by configuring a Media Access Control layer and a physical layer of an air interface protocol stack in a DeNB side.

6. A method for switching a working mode on a relay network, the method comprising:

receiving, by a relay node (RN) in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, an RN reconfiguration message sent by a donor eNB (DeNB) in the FDD mode;

starting to switch the RN from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex (H-FDD) mode according to the RN reconfiguration message;

sending, by the RN in the FDD mode, an acknowledgment message to the DeNB, wherein upon receiving the acknowledgment message the DeNB verifies, according to the RN reconfiguration message and the acknowledgement message, that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode, and wherein the DeNB switches from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode after verifying that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode; and

sending, by the RN in H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message to the DeNB in H-FDD mode.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising switching, by the RN, from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode by configuring a Media Access Control layer and a physical layer in an air interface protocol stack of an RN side.

8. A base station, comprising:

a sending unit configured to send, in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, a relay node (RN) reconfiguration message to an RN;

a receiving unit configured to receive an acknowledgement message sent by the RN in the FDD mode, the acknowledgment message verifying that the RN is switching from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex (H-FDD) mode; and

a, configured to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode after verifying that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode,

wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive, in the H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message sent by the RN in H-FDD mode.

9. The base station according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine, according to a first sequence number of the RN reconfiguration message and a second sequence number of the acknowledgment message, whether the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode.

10. The base station according to claim 9, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is greater than or equal to the first sequence number, and to determine that the RN has not started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is less than the first sequence number.

11. The base station according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform, by configuring a Media Access Control layer and a physical layer in an air interface protocol stack of a base station side, switching of the base station from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode.

12. A relay node, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive, in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, a relay node (RN) reconfiguration message sent by a donor eNB (DeNB) in the FDD mode;

a processing unit, configured to perform, according to the RN reconfiguration message, switching of the RN from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex (H-FDD) mode; and

a sending unit, configured to send, in the FDD mode, an acknowledgment message to the DeNB, wherein upon receiving the acknowledgment message the DeNB verifies, according to the RN reconfiguration message and the acknowledgement message, that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode, and wherein the DeNB switches from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode after verifying that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode; and

wherein the sending unit is further configured to send, in the H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message to the DeNB in H-FDD mode.

13. The relay node according to claim 12, wherein the processing unit is configured to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode by configuring a Media Access Control layer and a physical layer in an air interface protocol stack of an RN side.

14. A communications system, comprising:

a donor eNB (DeNB); and

a relay node (RN);

wherein the DeNB is configured to send, in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, an RN reconfiguration message to the RN and to receive an acknowledgement message sent by the RN in the FDD mode,

wherein the DeNB verifies, according to a first sequence number of the RN reconfiguration message and a second sequence number of the acknowledgment message, that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to a half-duplex frequency division duplex (H-FDD) mode, and to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode after verifying that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode; and

wherein the RN is configured to switch from the FDD mode to the half-duplex frequency division duplex FDD mode according to the RN reconfiguration message.

15. The communications system according to claim 14, wherein the DeNB is further configured to determine that the RN has already started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is greater than or equal to the first sequence number, and to determine that the RN has not started to switch from the FDD mode to the H-FDD mode when the second sequence number is less than the first sequence number.

16. The communications system according to claim 14, wherein the DeNB is configured to record the first sequence number of the RN reconfiguration message, and to record the second sequence number of the acknowledgement message.

17. The communications system according to claim 16, wherein the first sequence number is added to the RN reconfiguration message via a DeNB-side Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer.

18. The communications system according to claim 16, wherein the second sequence number is added to the acknowledgment message via an RN-side Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer.

19. The communications system according to claim 14, wherein the RN is configured to send, in the H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message to the DeNB in the H-FDD mode.

20. The communications system according to claim 14, wherein the DeNB is further configured to receive, in the H-FDD mode, an RN reconfiguration completion message from the RN in the H-FDD mode.