Inter-base station logical interface communication using relay devices

• US 9,480,106 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Zhang, Hongliang, Kwok, Ming Shan
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Kibrom T
• Application Number:
  US13/688,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20140146739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,427 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15 Active relay systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

A relay device configured to facilitate a wireless communication over a logical interface between a first base station and a second base station is described herein. The logical interface may be an X2 interface for a Long Term Evolution network. The relay device receives the wireless communication from the first base station using one or more wireless transceivers of the relay device. The relay device may identify the second base station based at least in part on information associated with the wireless communication. Then, the relay device may transmit the wireless communication to the second base station through the one or more wireless transceivers.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of base stations of adjacent cells of a telecommunication network, the base stations being configured to engage in wireless communications with each other using X2 interface links to perform at least one of assisting telecommunication device handover or coordinating radio resources; and

a relay device configured to engage in direct or indirect wireless communication with the base stations, including wirelessly receiving an X2 interface communication from one of the base stations and wirelessly transmitting the X2 interface communication to another of the base stations, the wirelessly receiving and wirelessly transmitting providing the X2 interface links among the base stations,

wherein a first base station of the plurality of base stations is configured to;

identify a direct communication path and an indirect communication path between the first base station and a second base station,

identify a wireless backhaul communication path between the first base station and the second base station via at least one core network node,

determine that a signal strength for the direct communication path and signal strength of the indirect communication path have both fallen below a predetermined threshold, and

select the wireless backhaul communication path for the wireless transmitting between the first base station and the second base station based at least in part on a signal strength for the direct communication path and the indirect communication path falling below the predetermined threshold.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the base stations is further configured to obtain from each relay device capable of wireless communication with that base station identities of additional base stations that are capable of direct or indirect wireless communication with that relay device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the base stations is configured to determine that direct wireless communication with another base station and indirect wireless communication with that other base station through a relay device are both available and to utilize the indirect wireless communication when a signal strength associated with the direct wireless communication falls below a threshold.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the base stations engages in wired communication with a core network node of the telecommunication network when no wireless communication with a target base station is available.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising another relay device, the relay device and other relay device wirelessly communicating with each other, and each of the relay device and the other relay device communicating with at least one of the base stations.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the relay device and other relay device are configured to wirelessly communicate with each other using a WiFi network, a WiMax network, a Bluetooth network, or NFC.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication of each of the base stations utilizes radio resources of that base station.

8. The system of claim 1, the relay device further comprising a routing table including one or more identities of base stations that are capable of engaging in wireless communication with the relay device and one or more identities of base stations that are indirectly reachable by the relay device through wireless communication with another relay device.

9. A method comprising:

identifying, by a first base station, a direct communication path and an indirect communication path between the first base station and a second base station, the indirect communication path including a relay device, and the identifying including receiving, from the relay device, identities of base stations reachable through the relay device;

identifying, by the first base station, a wireless backhaul communication path between the first base station and the second base station via at least one core network node;

determining, by the first base station, that a signal strength for the direct communication path and signal strength of the indirect communication path have both fallen below a predetermined threshold and selecting, by the first base station, the wireless backhaul communication path for wirelessly transmitting an X2 interface communication between the first base station and the second base station based at least in part on a signal strength for the direct communication path and the indirect communication path falling below the predetermined threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

wirelessly receiving, by the relay device, a further X2 interface communication, the further X2 interface communication being received from a first base station by one or more wireless transceivers of the relay device;

identifying, by the relay device, a second base station based at least in part on information associated with the X2 interface communication; and

wirelessly transmitting, by the relay device, the X2 interface communication to the second base station through the one or more wireless transceivers.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second base stations are associated with an LTE network.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the X2 interface communication is associated with a handover of a telecommunication device from the first base station to the second base station.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the X2 interface communication is associated with radio resource coordination between the first base station and the second base station.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising discovering other relay devices capable of wired or wireless communication with the relay device, obtaining identities of other base stations capable of wireless communication with the other relay device, and notifying the base stations capable of wireless communication with the relay device of the identities of the other base stations.