BASE STATION DEVICE

• US 20110170527A1
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Takashi, Okada, Yoji
• Granted Patent: US 8,929,191 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2655 Synchronisation arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2657 Carrier synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2675 Pilot or known symbols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0035 detecting errors in frequency or phase

Abstract

While a clock generated by a built-in clock generator is used as a reference signal for determining a carrier frequency of a transmit signal, carrier frequency synchronization is achieved between base stations. A base station device is configured to perform wireless communication with a terminal device. In the base station device, accuracy of a carrier frequency of an OFDM signal is affected by accuracy of a clock frequency generated by a built-in clock generator 18. The base station device receives an OFDM signal transmitted from another base station device while transmission to the terminal device is stopped, estimates a carrier frequency offset of the OFDM signal, and corrects a carrier frequency of an OFDM signal to be transmitted to the terminal device.

Claims

1. A base station device configured to perform wireless communication of an OFDM signal with a terminal device and including a built-in clock generator that generates an operating clock, in which accuracy of a carrier frequency of the OFDM signal is affected by accuracy of a clock frequency generated by the built-in clock generator, the base station device comprising:

means for receiving a radio signal transmitted from another base station device while transmission to the terminal device is stopped;

estimation means for determining, based on an OFDM signal received while transmission to the terminal device is stopped, an estimated value of a carrier frequency offset of the OFDM signal; and

frequency correction means for correcting a carrier frequency of an OFDM signal to be transmitted to the terminal device, based on the estimated value.

2. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means is configured to determine, based on an OFDM signal received while transmission to the terminal device is stopped, an estimated value of a communication timing offset of the OFDM signal and determine an estimated value of a carrier frequency offset of the OFDM signal, based on the estimated value of the communication timing offset.

3. The base station device according to claim 2, wherein

the estimation means includes:

amount-of-phase-rotation calculation means for calculating an amount of phase rotation of an OFDM signal occurring between a first transmission stop time point and a second transmission stop time point, based on a difference between a first estimated value of a communication timing offset and a second estimated value of a communication timing offset, the first estimated value being determined at the first transmission stop time point and the second estimated value being determined at the second transmission stop time point which is a time point different from the first transmission stop time point; and

clock error calculation means for calculating an error in the clock frequency, based on the amount of phase rotation, and

determines an estimated value of the carrier frequency offset, based on the calculated error in the clock frequency.

4. The base station device according to claim 2, further comprising means for correcting a communication frame timing based on the estimated value of the communication timing offset.

5. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein an OFDM signal received from another base station device while transmission to the terminal device is stopped is a preamble signal transmitted from the another base station device to a terminal device.

6. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein

the base station device is configured to perform wireless communication with the terminal device by frequency division duplex where a frequency of an uplink signal is different from a frequency of a downlink signal,

the base station device further comprises:

a first receiving unit that performs uplink signal reception from the terminal device at the frequency of an uplink signal;

a transmitting unit that performs downlink signal transmission to the terminal device at the frequency of a downlink signal; and

a second receiving unit that performs downlink signal reception from another base station device at the frequency of a downlink signal, and

an OFDM signal transmitted from another base station device is received by the second receiving unit while transmission to the terminal device is stopped.

7. The base station device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a distortion compensating unit that performs distortion compensation for an amplifier included in the transmitting unit; and

switching means for switching between a first state in which the distortion compensating unit obtains, through the second receiving unit, a downlink signal outputted from the amplifier and a second state in which the estimation means receives, through the second receiving unit, a downlink signal transmitted from another base station device.

8. The base station device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a signal processing device that generates a signal to be inputted to the transmitting unit; and

switching means for switching between a first state in which the signal processing device receives, through the second receiving unit, feedback of a downlink signal generated by the transmitting unit and a second state in which the estimation means receives, through the second receiving unit, a downlink signal transmitted from another base station device.

9. The base station device according to claim 6, wherein

a frequency converting unit is provided in at least one of the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit, the frequency converting unit converting a frequency of at least one of signals, including an uplink signal from the terminal device and a downlink signal from another base station device, to allow frequencies of the two signals to match each other, and

the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit are configured such that the two signals whose frequencies have matched each other are processed by a common unit which is shared between the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit.

10. The base station device according to claim 1, wherein

the base station device is configured to transmit a downlink signal including a first known signal which can take a plurality of patterns and a second known signal which can take a plurality of patterns, to the terminal device, and

the base station device further comprises:

a recognizing unit that recognizes, when receiving a downlink signal including the first known signal and the second known signal which is transmitted from another base station device, a hierarchical level at which the another base station device is located in a hierarchical structure for inter-base-station-device synchronization, by a combination of a pattern of the received first known signal and a pattern of the received second known signal.

11. The base station device according to claim 10, wherein the recognizing unit includes:

a first recognizing unit that pattern-recognizes which one of the plurality of patterns that can be taken by the first known signal the pattern of the received first known signal is; and

a second recognizing unit that pattern-recognizes which one of the plurality of patterns that can be taken by the second known signal the pattern of the received second known signal is.

12. The base station device according to claim 11, wherein the base station device is configured to:

perform a first pattern recognition by one of the first recognizing unit and the second recognizing unit that recognizes a pattern of a known signal with a small number of patterns that can be taken by the signal; and

perform, after a pattern is recognized by the first pattern recognition, a second pattern recognition by one of the first recognizing unit and the second recognizing unit that recognizes a pattern of a known signal with a large number of patterns that can be taken by the signal.

13. The base station device according to claim 12, further comprising a pattern setting unit that sets a pattern of a first known signal and a pattern of a second known signal which are transmitted included in a downlink signal, from the base station device, wherein

the pattern setting unit sets the pattern of the first known signal and the pattern of the second known signal such that the patterns indicate a hierarchical level lower than a hierarchical level of another base station device which serves as a target of synchronization in inter-base-station-device synchronization.