Apparatus and method for formating virtual cell in a virtual cell network system

• US 9,455,817 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2014
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jung Hoon, Choi, Wan, Yu, Hyun-Kyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mew, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US14/323,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20150009841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 817 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0073 Allocation arrangements that take into account other cell interferences for intercell interference mitigation or co-ordination in orthogonal multiplex systems H04J11/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex

Abstract

An apparatus is configured to perform a method for providing a wireless communication service to at least one User Equipment (UE) from among a plurality of UEs having links established with a distributed small Base Station (BS) in a Virtual Cell Network (VCN) system in which a plurality of virtual cells exist within one macro cell. The method includes selecting at least one UE to which a wireless communication service is to be provided in a virtual cell, calculating a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE, by sharing path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by each of the plurality of virtual cells, and providing information about the calculated feedback allocation amount to the selected at least one UE.

Claims

1. A method for providing a wireless communication service to at least one user equipment (UE) from among a plurality of UEs having links established with a distributed small base station (BS) in a virtual cell network (VCN) system in which a plurality of virtual cells exist within one macro cell, the method comprising:

selecting at least one UE to which a wireless communication service is to be provided in a virtual cell and identifying a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE, by sharing path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by each of the plurality of virtual cells; and

transmitting information about the identified feedback allocation amount to the selected at least one UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection and identification comprises:

collecting path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by each of a plurality of distributed small BSs forming the plurality of virtual cells by a central management unit (CMU) of the VCN system; and

selecting at least one UE to which the wireless communication service is to be provided in each virtual cell, taking into account the collected path losses and user characteristics and identifying a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection and identification comprises:

collecting path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by other distributed small BSs by a distributed small BS forming the virtual cell; and

selecting at least one UE to which the distributed small BS forming the virtual cell is to provide the wireless communication service, taking into account the collected path losses and user characteristics and path losses measured and determined on a UE basis by other distributed small BSs by the distributed small BS forming the virtual cell and identifying a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE by the distributed small BS fainting the virtual cell.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user characteristics comprise data rates required for a plurality of groups into which a plurality of UEs located in the virtual cell are classified according to user types.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the path losses measured on a UE basis are measured using reference signals (RSs) received from the plurality of UEs.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting a reference signal (RS) and receiving channel information generated based on the RS and quantized to a number of feedback bits corresponding to the feedback allocation amount from the at least one UE selected for the virtual cell by the distributed small BS forming the virtual cell.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection and identification comprises:

selecting at least one UE from among the plurality of UEs located in the virtual cell to provide a maximum data rate in the virtual cell, when a number of feedback bits required to support a maximum data rate required by each UE located in the virtual cell is considered within a total number of feedback bits available to the virtual cell; and

identifying a number of feedback bits required to support a maximum data rate required by the selected at least one UE as the feedback allocation amount.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE is determined based on a service quality to be provided to the UE.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE is determined based on a characteristic of data to be serviced to the UE.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE is determined based on a size of a queue provided for the wireless communication service in the UE.

11. An apparatus for providing a wireless communication service to at least one user equipment (UE) from among a plurality of UEs having links established with a distributed small base station (BS) in a virtual cell network (VCN) system in which a plurality of virtual cells exist within one macro cell, the apparatus comprising:

a controller configured to select at least one UE to which a wireless communication service is to be provided in a virtual cell and identify a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE, by sharing path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by each of the plurality of virtual cells; and

a transmitter configured to transmit information about the identified feedback allocation amount to the selected at least one UE.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein in a central management unit (CMU) of the VCN system, the controller is configured to collect path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by each of a plurality of distributed small BSs forming the plurality of virtual cells, select at least one UE to which the wireless communication service is to be provided in each virtual cell, taking into account the collected path losses and user characteristics, and identify a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein in a distributed small BS forming the virtual cell, the controller is configured to collect path losses and user characteristics measured and determined on a UE basis by other distributed small BSs, select at least one UE to which the distributed small BS forming the virtual cell is to provide the wireless communication service, taking into account the collected path losses and user characteristics and path losses measured and determined on a UE basis by other distributed small BSs, and identify a feedback allocation amount for each of the selected at least one UE.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user characteristics comprise data rates required for a plurality of groups into which a plurality of UEs located in the virtual cell are classified according to user types.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to measure the path losses on a UE basis using reference signals (RSs) received from the plurality of UEs.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein in the distributed small BS forming the virtual cell, the transmitter is configured to transmit a reference signal (RS) and receive channel information generated based on the RS and quantized to a number of feedback bits corresponding to the feedback allocation amount from the at least one UE selected for the virtual cell.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to select at least one UE from among the plurality of UEs located in the virtual cell to provide a maximum data rate in the virtual cell, when a number of feedback bits required to support a maximum data rate required by each UE located in the virtual cell is considered within a total number of feedback bits available to the virtual cell, and identify a number of feedback bits required to support a maximum data rate required by the selected at least one UE as the feedback allocation amount.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to determine the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE based on a service quality to be provided to the UE.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to determine the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE based on a characteristic of data to be serviced to the UE.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to determine the number of feedback bits required to support the maximum data rate required by each UE based on a size of a queue provided for the wireless communication service in the UE.