Base station, wireless communication method, user equipment, and wireless communication system

• US 9,282,583 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2011
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takano, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Siming
• Application Number:
  US13/641,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20130039253A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

There is provided a base station including a communication unit for communicating with a user equipment according to a frame format where subframes for uplink and subframes for downlink are structured in a time division manner, and a scheduler for moving a boundary between a subframe for downlink and a subframe for uplink. The communication unit wirelessly communicates with another base station by using a subframe between the boundary before movement by the scheduler and the boundary after the movement.

Claims

1. A two-way wireless communication node comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate with a user equipment but not another two-way wireless communication node using uplink subframes and downlink subframes according to a predetermined frame format that uses a time division arrangement; and

a processor configured to change a status of a subframe in said predetermined frame format to enable direct communication with said other two-way wireless communication node by setting a subframe of said two-way wireless communication node to downlink use in an event a same subframe of said other two-way wireless communication node is set to uplink use.

2. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein said processor comprises a scheduler that changes said status of said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node while retaining said predetermined frame format used by said other two-way wireless communication node.

3. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein said processor comprises a scheduler that changes said status of said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node by moving a boundary between uplink subframes and downlink subframes.

4. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein said subframe set to downlink use is a subframe that directly follows in time another subframe set to uplink use, which has a same status as originally assigned in said predetermined frame format.

5. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 2, wherein said scheduler determines whether there is data to be sent through an X2 interface;

and wherein said other two-way wireless communication node reserves at least one resource block carrying a subcarrier multiplexing symbol in said subframe having said changed status.

6. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 5, wherein said processor changes said status of said subframe when said scheduler determines that there is data to be sent through said X2 interface;

and

said transceiver transmits, through the X2 interface, said data in said at least one resource block of said subframe.

7. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein said subframe includes information regarding base station interference coordination.

8. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein said processor changes said status of said subframe to be different than a status for a corresponding subframe of a third two-way wireless communication node.

9. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 1, wherein the user equipment designates said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node as a Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network subframe.

10. The two-way wireless communication node of claim 3, wherein another subframe set to downlink use is a subframe that directly follows in time said subframe set to uplink use, which has a same status as originally assigned in said predetermined frame format.

11. A method of coordinating communication via a two-way wireless communication node, comprising:

wirelessly communicating with a user equipment, but not another two-way wireless communications node using uplink subframes and downlink subframes according to a predetermined frame format that uses a time division arrangement; and

changing, by a processor, a status of a subframe in said predetermined frame format to enable direct communication with said other two-way wireless communication node by setting a subframe of said two-way wireless communication node to downlink use in an event a same subframe of said other two-way wireless communication node is set to uplink use.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said changing includes changing said status of said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node, while retaining said predetermined frame format used by said other two-way wireless communication node.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said changing includes changing said status of said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node by moving a boundary between uplink subframes and downlink subframes.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said subframe set to downlink use is a subframe that directly follows in time another subframe set to uplink use, which has a same status as originally assigned in said predetermined frame format.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein another subframe set to downlink use is a subframe that directly follows in time said subframe set to uplink use, which has a same status as originally assigned in said predetermined frame format.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining whether there is data to be sent through an X2 interface;

reserving at least one resource block carrying a subcarrier multiplexing symbol in said subframe having said changed status;

changing said status of said subframe when said scheduler determines that there is data to be sent through said X2 interface; and

transmitting, through said X2 interface, said data in said at least one resource block of said subframe.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein said subframe includes information regarding base station interference coordination.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein changing said status of said subframe includes changing said status to be consistent with a change in status for a corresponding subframe made by a third two-way wireless communication node.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node is a Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network subframe.

20. A non-transitory computer program storage device having instructions that when executed by a processor implement a method of coordinating communication via a two-way wireless communication node, comprising:

wirelessly communicating with a user equipment, but not another two-way wireless communication node using uplink subframes and downlink subframes according to a predetermined frame format that uses a time division arrangement; and

changing, by processor, a status of a subframe in said predetermined frame format to enable direct communication with said other two-way wireless communication node by setting a subframe of said two-way wireless communication node to downlink use in an event a same subframe of said other two-way wireless communication node is set to uplink use.

21. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein said changing includes changing said status of said two-way wireless communication node while retaining a frame format used by said other two-way wireless communication node.

22. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein said changing includes changing said status of said subframe of said two-way wireless communication node by moving a boundary between uplink subframes and downlink subframes.

23. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein said subframe set to downlink use is a subframe that directly follows in time another subframe set to uplink use, which has a same status as originally assigned in said predetermined frame format.

24. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether there is data to be sent through an X2 interface;

reserving at least one resource block carrying a subcarrier multiplexing symbol in said subframe having said changed status;

changing said status of said subframe when it is determined that there is data to be sent through said X2 interface; and

transmitting, through said X2 interface, data in said at least one resource block of said subframe.

25. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein said subframe includes information regarding base station interference coordination.

26. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein changing said status of said subframe includes changing said status to be consistent with a change in status for a corresponding subframe made by a third two-way wireless communication node.

27. The non-transitory computer program storage device of claim 20, wherein said subframe is a Multicast/Broadcast Single Frequency Network subframe.