Apparatus and method for multi cell communication using beamforming in wireless communication system

• US 9,736,690 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2014
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Sang-Jin, Kim, Yung-Soo
• Primary Examiner(s): Brandt, Christopher M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gao, Jing
• Application Number:
  US14/328,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20150020157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/246 specially adapted for base stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/00 Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system means for positioning H01Q1/125
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/24 varying the orientation by switching energy from one active radiating element to another, e.g. for beam switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00692 using simultaneous multiple data streams, e.g. cooperative multipoint [CoMP], carrier aggregation [CA] or multiple input multiple output [MIMO] allocation of physical resources in CoMP or in CA H04L5/0035
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/00695 using split of the control plane or user plane
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/30 Connection release

Abstract

A multicell access method using beamforming in a wireless communication system is provided. In the method for operating a terminal, an access procedure for accessing a first base station using a first antenna and accessing a second base station using a second antenna is performed. Communication with the first base station is performed using the first antenna. Communication with the second base station is performed using the second antenna.

Claims

1. A method for operating a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

performing at least one access procedure for accessing a base station of a wireless network using a first antenna and for accessing another base station of the wireless network using a second antenna; and

communicating with the base station using the first antenna and communicating with the other base station using the second antenna;

determining, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the base station and the first antenna and a state of a second radio link between the other base station and the second antenna, a representative base station for transmitting control information for the second antenna among the base station and the other base station; and

transmitting, based on determining the representative base station as the base station, the control information for the second antenna to the base station using the first antenna.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the at least one access procedure comprises:

performing a radio resource connection establish procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

performing an authentication procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

performing a wireless section security setting procedure and a radio resource connection resetting procedure with the base station using the first antenna; and

performing the radio resource connection establish procedure, the wireless section security setting procedure, and the radio resource connection resetting procedure with the other base station using the second antenna.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the at least one access procedure comprises:

performing a radio resource connection establish procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

performing a wireless section security setting procedure and a radio resource connection resetting procedure for both the base station and the other base station using the first antenna; and

performing a radio resource connection establish procedure with the other base station using the second antenna.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating comprises:

selecting a base station for transmitting uplink data among the base station and the other base station; and

transmitting the uplink data to the selected base station using an antenna corresponding to the selected base station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing communicating comprises:

upon determining that the state of the first radio link is better than the state of the second radio link, communicating data of a delay-sensitive service with the base station using the first antenna.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

upon determining that the state of the second radio link becomes better than the state of the first radio link, transmitting a message comprising information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link to the other base station; and

communicating the data of the delay-sensitive service with the other base station using the second antenna.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the representative base station comprises:

in response to determining that a transmission of control information for the second antenna is required, determining the representative base station among the base station and the other base station based on the information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted control information for the second antenna is used for performing one of a handover, a position update, and a network access release.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a value for indicating the state of the first radio link becomes less than or equal to a threshold;

transmitting a message reporting that the value becomes less than or equal to the threshold to the other base station using the second antenna;

receiving a message requesting a cell re-access for the first antenna;

releasing a first antenna resource allocated for accessing the base station; and

changing a communication mode for the other base station from a single antenna mode to a multi-antenna mode.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a value for indicating the state of the first radio link becomes less than or equal to a threshold;

determining to change a serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

transmitting a message requesting a cell re-access for the first antenna to the other base station using the second antenna;

receiving a message informing that the cell re-access for the first antenna is accepted from the other base station using the second antenna;

releasing a first antenna resource allocated for accessing the base station; and

changing a communication mode for the other base station from a single antenna mode to a multi-antenna mode.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon determining to release accesses for both the base station and the other base station, determining a representative base station for releasing the accesses among the base station and the other base station; and

performing signaling for releasing the accesses with the representative base station using an antenna corresponding to the representative base station.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method of claim 1.

13. A method for operating a base station of a wireless network, the method comprising:

performing an access procedure with a terminal for operating as a serving cell for a first antenna of the terminal;

communicating with the terminal via the first antenna of the terminal; and

receiving, from the terminal, control information for a second antenna of the terminal,

wherein the control information for the second antenna is transmitted, based on determining that a representative base station for transmitting the control information for the second antenna as the base station, from the terminal using the first antenna,

wherein the representative base station is determined, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the first antenna and the base station and a state of a second radio link between the second antenna and another base station of the wireless network, among the base station and the other base station, and

wherein the other base station is configured to perform another access procedure with the terminal for operating as a serving cell for the second antenna of the terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the performing of the access procedure comprises:

receiving, from a gateway, a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station and second context information for communicating with the other base station; and

transmitting a message comprising the second context information to the other base station.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the performing of the access procedure comprises:

receiving a message comprising radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the other base station from the other base station; and

transmitting a message comprising the radio resource information to the terminal,

wherein the radio resource information comprises one or more of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, or a security algorithm.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the performing of the access procedure comprises:

receiving a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station from the other base station; and

transmitting a message comprising radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the base station to the other base station,

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from a gateway, a message comprising context information for communicating with the base station and radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the other base station; and

transmitting a message comprising the radio resource information to the terminal,

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from the terminal, a message comprising information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link;

determining to exchange data paths of a service provided in the first radio link and a service provided in the second radio link based on the information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link; and

transmitting a message for requesting to exchange the data paths to the other base station.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from a gateway, a message for requesting to exchange data paths of a service provided in the first radio link and a service provided in the second radio link; and

transmitting a message for requesting to exchange the data path to the other base station.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a message comprising information regarding the state of the second radio link from the terminal; and

transmitting the message comprising the information regarding the state of the second radio link to the other base station.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a message for reporting the state of the second radio link by deputy via the other base station from the terminal;

determining to change a serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

transmitting a message for requesting to become the serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

receiving a message for accepting the serving cell for the first antenna from the other base station; and

transmitting a message for instructing cell re-access by deputy to the terminal via the other base station.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from the other base station, a message for requesting a data transfer due to a change of a serving cell for the first antenna;

buffering data to be transmitted to the first antenna; and

transmitting the buffered data to the other base station.

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a message for requesting to release an access with the terminal via the other base station from the terminal;

transmitting a message according to the message for requesting to release the access to the terminal via the other base station; and

transmitting a message for informing to release the access with the terminal to a gateway.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a message for requesting to release accesses with both the base station and the other base station from the terminal;

transmitting a message for requesting to release the accesses to a gateway;

receiving a message for instructing to release a first resource and a second resource from the gateway;

releasing the first resource; and

transmitting a message for instructing to release the second resource to the other base station,

wherein the first resource is allocated, by the base station, for the terminal, and

wherein the second resource is allocated, by the other base station, for the terminal.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method of claim 13.

26. A method for operating a gateway in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

performing an access procedure with a terminal which accesses a base station of a wireless network using a first antenna, and accesses another base station of the wireless network using a second antenna; and

communicating with the terminal via the base station and the other base station,

wherein the terminal is configured to;

determine, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the base station and the first antenna and a state of a second radio link between the other base station and the second antenna, a representative base station for transmitting control information for the second antenna among the base station and the other base station; and

transmit, based on determining the representative base station as the base station, the control information for the second antenna to the base station using the first antenna.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the performing of the access procedure comprises:

transmitting a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station and second context information for communicating with the other base station to the base station.

28. The method of claim 27,

wherein the first context information comprises a security key common to the base station and the other base station, and bearer information for communication between the base station and the terminal, and

wherein the second context information comprises a security key common to the base station and the other base station, and bearer information for communication between the other base station and the terminal.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the performing of the access procedure comprises:

transmitting a message comprising second context information for communicating with the other base station to the other base station;

receiving a message comprising radio resource information to be used for an access with the other base station from the other base station; and

transmitting a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station, and the radio resource information to the base station, and

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the communicating comprises:

in case of transmitting downlink data to the terminal, distributing the downlink data to the base station and the other base station based on at least one of radio link quality for each antenna of the terminal, and load levels of the base station and the other base station.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the communicating comprises:

transmitting/receiving data of a delay-sensitive service via a cell accessed using an antenna whose link quality is better than another antenna.

32. The method of claim 26, wherein the communicating comprises:

transmitting/receiving data of a delay-sensitive service via a cell whose load level is lower than another cell.

33. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

storing serving cell management information of the terminal,

wherein the serving cell management information comprises at least one of a serving cell list for each antenna of the terminal, radio link quality information for each serving cell, load level information for each serving cell, service information for each serving cell, type information of a provided service, and quality of service (QoS) level information of a service.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving a message informing to release at least one access of the terminal; and

deleting information regarding at least one cell corresponding to the released at least one access from the serving cell management information.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving a message for requesting to exchange data paths of services provided in respective radio links of the terminal; and

updating the service information for each serving cell in the serving cell management information.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving a message for informing a load level of the base station from the base station;

receiving a message for informing a load level of the other base station from the other base station;

determining to exchange data paths of services provided in respective radio links of the terminal based on load levels of the base station and the other base station; and

updating service information for each serving cell in the serving cell management information.

37. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving a message for informing to release all accesses of the terminal from the base station;

determining a serving cell list of the terminal; and

transmitting a message for instructing to release a resource of base stations included in the serving cell list to the base station.

38. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method of claim 26.

39. An apparatus for a terminal in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor, coupled to the at least one transceiver, configured to;

perform at least one access procedure for accessing a base station of a wireless network using a first antenna and for accessing another base station of the wireless network using a second antenna;

control to communicate with the base station using the first antenna and to communicate with the other base station using the second antenna;

determine, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the base station and the first antenna and a state of a second radio link between the other base station and the second antenna, a representative base station for transmitting control information for the second antenna among the base station and the other base station; and

control to transmit, based on determining the representative base station as the base station, the control information for the second antenna to the base station using the first antenna.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

perform a radio resource connection establish procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

perform an authentication procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

perform a wireless section security setting procedure and a radio resource connection resetting procedure with the base station using the first antenna; and

perform the radio resource connection establish procedure, the wireless section security setting procedure, and the radio resource connection resetting procedure with the other base station using the second antenna.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

perform a radio resource connection establish procedure with the base station using the first antenna;

perform a wireless section security setting procedure and a radio resource connection resetting procedure for both the base station and the other base station using the first antenna; and

perform a radio resource connection establish procedure with the other base station using the second antenna.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

select a base station for transmitting uplink data among the base station and the other base station; and

control to transmit the uplink data to the selected base station using an antenna corresponding to the selected base station.

43. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

upon determining that the state of the first radio link is better than the state of the second radio link, control to communicate data of a delay-sensitive service with the base station using the first antenna.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

upon determining that the state of the second radio link becomes better than the state of the first radio link, control to transmit a message comprising information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link to the other base station; and

control to communicate the data of the delay-sensitive service with the other base station using the second antenna.

45. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

in response to determining that a transmission of control information for the second antenna is required, determine the representative base station among the base station and the other base station based on the information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link.

46. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the transmitted control information for the second antenna is used for performing one of a handover, a position update, and a network access release.

47. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine that a value for indicating the state of the first radio link becomes less than or equal to a threshold;

control to transmit a message reporting that the value becomes less than or equal to the threshold to the other base station using the second antenna;

control to receive a message requesting a cell re-access for the first antenna;

release a first antenna resource allocated for accessing the base station; and

change a communication mode for the other base station from a single antenna mode to a multi-antenna mode.

48. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine that a value for indicating the state of the first radio link becomes less than or equal to a threshold;

determine to change a serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

control to transmit a message requesting a cell re-access for the first antenna to the other base station using the second antenna;

control to receive a message informing that the cell re-access for the first antenna is accepted from the other base station using the second antenna;

release a first antenna resource allocated for accessing the base station; and

change a communication mode for the other base station from a single antenna mode to a multi-antenna mode.

49. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

upon determining to release accesses for both the base station and the other base station, determine a representative base station for releasing the accesses among the base station and the other base station; and

perform signaling for releasing the accesses with the representative base station using an antenna corresponding to the representative base station.

50. An apparatus of a base station of a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor, coupled to the at least one transceiver, configured to;

perform an access procedure with a terminal for operating as a serving cell for a first antenna of the terminal;

control to communicate with the terminal via the first antenna of the terminal; and

control to receive, from the terminal, control information for a second antenna of the terminal,

wherein the control information for the second antenna is transmitted, based on determining that a representative base station for transmitting the control information for the second antenna as the base station, from the terminal using the first antenna,

wherein the representative base station is determined, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the first antenna and the base station and a state of a second radio link between the second antenna and another base station of the wireless network, among the base station and the other base station, and

wherein the other base station is configured to perform another access procedure with the terminal for operating as a serving cell for the second antenna of the terminal.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive, from a gateway, a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station and second context information for communicating with the other base station; and

control to transmit a message comprising the second context information to the other base station.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message comprising radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the other base station from the other base station; and

control to transmit a message comprising the radio resource information to the terminal,

wherein the radio resource information comprises one or more of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, or a security algorithm.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station from the other base station; and

control to transmit a message comprising radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the base station to the other base station,

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

54. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive, from a gateway, a message comprising context information for communicating with the base station and radio resource information to be used for establishing radio resource connection between the terminal and the other base station; and

control to transmit a message comprising the radio resource information to the terminal,

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

55. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive, from the terminal, a message comprising information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link;

determine to exchange data paths of a service provided in the first radio link and a service provided in the second radio link based on the information regarding the state of the first radio link and the state of the second radio link; and

control to transmit a message for requesting to exchange the data paths to the other base station.

56. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive, from a gateway, a message for requesting to exchange data paths of a service provided in the first radio link and a service provided in the second radio link; and

control to transmit a message for requesting to exchange the data path to the other base station.

57. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message comprising information regarding the state of the second radio link from the terminal; and

control to transmit the message comprising the information regarding the state of the second radio link to the other base station.

58. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for reporting the state of the second radio link by deputy via the other base station from the terminal;

determine to change a serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

control to transmit a message for requesting to become the serving cell for the first antenna to the other base station;

control to receive a message for accepting the serving cell for the first antenna from the other base station; and

control to transmit a message for instructing cell re-access by deputy to the terminal via the other base station.

59. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive, from the other base station, a message for requesting a data transfer due to a change of a serving cell for the first antenna;

buffer data to be transmitted to the first antenna; and

control to transmit the buffered data to the other base station.

60. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for requesting to release an access with the terminal via the other base station from the terminal;

control transmit a message according to the message for requesting to release the access to the terminal via the other base station; and

control to transmit a message for informing to release the access with the terminal to a gateway.

61. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for requesting to release accesses with both the base station and the other base station from the terminal;

control to transmit a message for requesting to release the accesses to a gateway;

control to receive a message for instructing to release a first resource and a second resource from the gateway;

release the first resource; and

control to transmit a message for instructing to release the second resource to the other base station,

wherein the first resource is allocated, by the base station, for the terminal, and

wherein the second resource is allocated, by the other base station, for the terminal.

62. An apparatus of a gateway in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor, coupled to the at least one transceiver, configured to;

perform an access procedure with a terminal which accesses a base station of a wireless network using a first antenna, and accesses another base station of the wireless network using a second antenna; and

control to communicate with the terminal via the base station and the other base station,

wherein the terminal is configured to;

determine, based on information regarding a state of a first radio link between the base station and the first antenna and a state of a second radio link between the other base station and the second antenna, a representative base station for transmitting control information for the second antenna among the base station and the other base station; and

transmit, based on determining the representative base station as the base station, the control information for the second antenna to the base station using the first antenna.

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to transmit a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station and second context information for communicating with the other base station to the base station.

64. The apparatus of claim 63,

wherein the first context information comprises a security key common to the base station and the other base station, and bearer information for communication between the base station and the terminal, and

wherein the second context information comprises a security key common to the base station and the other base station, and bearer information for communication between the other base station and the terminal.

65. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to transmit a message comprising second context information for communicating with the other base station to the other base station;

control to receive a message comprising radio resource information to be used for an access with the other base station from the other base station; and

control to transmit a message comprising first context information for communicating with the base station, and the radio resource information to the base station,

wherein the radio resource information comprises at least one of a dedicated preamble, broadcast channel (BCH) information, and a security algorithm.

66. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

in case of transmitting downlink data to the terminal, distribute the downlink data to the base station and the other base station based on at least one of radio link quality for each antenna of the terminal, and load levels of the base station and the other base station.

67. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to transmit/receive data of a delay-sensitive service via a cell accessed using an antenna whose link quality is better than another antenna.

68. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to transmit/receive data of a delay-sensitive service via a cell whose load level is lower than another cell.

69. The apparatus of claim 62, further comprises:

a storage coupled to the at least one processor,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control to store serving cell management information of the terminal, and

wherein the serving cell management information comprises at least one of a serving cell list for each antenna of the terminal, radio link quality information for each serving cell, load level information for each serving cell, service information for each serving cell, type information of a provided service, and quality of service (QoS) level information of a service.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message informing to release at least one access of the terminal; and

delete information regarding at least one cell corresponding to the released at least one access from the serving cell management information.

71. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for requesting to exchange data paths of services provided in respective radio links of the terminal; and

update the service information for each serving cell in the serving cell management information.

72. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for informing a load level of the base station from the base station;

control to receive a message for informing a load level of the other base station from the other base station;

determine to exchange data paths of services provided in respective radio links of the terminal based on load levels of the base station and the other base station; and

update service information for each serving cell in the serving cell management information.

73. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

control to receive a message for informing to release all accesses of the terminal from the base station;

determine a serving cell list of the terminal; and

control to transmit a message for instructing to release a resource of base stations included in the serving cell list to the base station.