RADIO COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND RADIO COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20150009845A1
• Filed: 12/26/2012
• Published: 01/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takano, Hiroaki
• Granted Patent: US 9,590,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/46 in multi hop networks, e.g. wireless relay networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Uplink CoMP point selection is achieved, considering power consumption of a MTC device and uplink overhead.

Two resource blocks of a first resource block containing a reference signal and a second resource block for transmitting user data are combined to achieve uplink CoMP. The time interval between these two resource blocks is a time of approximately several milliseconds to several tens milliseconds necessary that each eNodeB acquires reception quality to be collected to a Serving eNodeB via the X2 interface and analyze its content.

Claims

1. A radio communication apparatus to operate as a terminal station, the radio communication apparatus comprising:

a reference signal transmission unit for transmitting a reference signal to be measured to decide on a coordinating group of base stations that perform coordinated multi point reception, using a first radio resource allocated to the radio communication apparatus; and

a user data transmission unit for transmitting user data using a second radio resource allocated to the radio communication apparatus, the second radio resource being separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

2. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second radio resources are reserved in between with at least one base station that performs coordinated multi point reception.

3. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is a sufficient time interval between the first and second radio resources to decide on the coordinating group based on results of measuring, at base stations, the reference signal from the reference signal transmission unit.

4. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal transmission unit transmits the reference signal that is not precoded.

5. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal transmission unit transmits the reference signal using a time domain of a part of the first radio resource.

6. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal transmission unit transmits the reference signal using a frequency domain of a part of the first radio resource.

7. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal transmission unit transmits the reference signal multiplexed in coordination with other terminal stations in at least one of time and frequency directions in the first radio resource.

8. A radio communication apparatus to operate as a base station, the radio communication apparatus comprising:

a quality evaluation unit for measuring a reference signal transmitted from a terminal station using a first radio resource, and evaluating the quality of a channel;

a measurement result receiving unit for receiving measurement results of the reference signal at other base stations being candidates for a coordinating group that performs coordinated multi point reception for the terminal station;

a decision unit for deciding on base stations to form the coordinating group from the other candidate base stations based on the measurement results received by the measurement result receiving unit; and

a decoding unit for synthesizing received signals by the coordinating group, the signals being user data transmitted by the terminal station in a second radio resource separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

9. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a rescheduling unit for reallocating a radio resource in a cell of the radio communication apparatus upon having decided not to perform coordinated multi point reception for the terminal station.

10. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first and second radio resources are reserved between the radio communication apparatus and the terminal station.

11. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein there is a sufficient time interval between the first and second radio resources to decide on the coordinating group based on results of measuring, at base stations, the reference signal from the reference signal transmission unit.

12. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the decision unit decides on base stations to form the coordinating group based on the measurement results of the reference signal transmitted using a time domain of a part of the first radio resource.

13. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the decision unit decides on base stations to form the coordinating group based on the measurement results of the reference signal transmitted using a frequency domain of a part of the first radio resource.

14. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the decision unit decides on base stations to form the coordinating group based on the measurement results of the reference signal multiplexed in coordination with other terminal stations in at least one of time and frequency directions in the first radio resource.

15. A radio communication apparatus to operate as a base station, the radio communication apparatus comprising:

a quality evaluation unit for measuring a reference signal transmitted from a terminal station using a first radio resource, and evaluating the quality of a channel;

a measurement result transmission unit for transmitting the measurement result by the quality evaluation unit to a serving base station to decide on base stations to form a coordinating group that performs coordinated multi point reception for the terminal station; and

a received signal transmission unit for upon having been decided by the serving base station that the radio communication apparatus joins the coordinating group, transmitting, to the serving base station, a received signal of user data transmitted by the terminal station in a second radio resource separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

16. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a rescheduling unit for reallocating a radio resource in a cell of the radio communication apparatus upon having been decided that the radio communication apparatus does not join the coordinating group.

17. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first and second radio resources are reserved between the serving base station and the terminal station.

18. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein there is a sufficient time interval between the first and second radio resources to decide on the coordinating group based on results of measuring, at base stations, the reference signal from the reference signal transmission unit.

19. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the quality evaluation unit measures the reference signal transmitted using a time domain of a part of the first radio resource, and evaluates the quality of the channel.

20. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the quality evaluation unit measures the reference signal transmitted using a frequency domain of a part of the first radio resource, and evaluates the quality of the channel.

21. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the quality evaluation unit measures the reference signal multiplexed in coordination with other terminal stations in at least one of time and frequency directions in the first radio resource, and evaluates the quality of the channel.

22. A radio communication method to operate as a terminal station, the radio communication method comprising:

a reference signal transmission step of transmitting a reference signal to be measured to decide on a coordinating group of base stations that perform coordinated multi point reception, using a first radio resource allocated to the terminal station; and

a user data transmission step of transmitting user data using a second radio resource allocated to the terminal station, the second radio resource being separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

23. A radio communication method to operate as a base station, the radio communication method comprising:

a quality evaluation step of measuring a reference signal transmitted from a terminal station using a first radio resource, and evaluating the quality of a channel;

a measurement result receiving step of receiving measurement results of the reference signal at other base stations being candidates that perform coordinated multipoint reception for the terminal station;

a decision step of deciding on base stations to form a coordinating group that performs coordinated multi point reception for the terminal station in coordination with the base station from the other candidate base stations based on the measurement results received in the measurement result receiving step; and

a decoding step of synthesizing received signals by the coordinating group, the signals being user data transmitted by the terminal station in a second radio resource separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

24. A radio communication method to operate as a base station, the radio communication method comprising:

a quality evaluation step of measuring a reference signal transmitted from a terminal station using a first radio resource, and evaluating the quality of a channel;

a measurement result transmission step of transmitting the measurement result in the quality evaluation step to a serving base station to decide on base stations to form a coordinating group that performs coordinated multi point reception for the terminal station; and

a received signal transmission step of upon having been decided by the serving base station that the base station joins the coordinating group, transmitting, to the serving base station, a received signal of user data transmitted by the terminal station in a second radio resource separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource.

25. A radio communication system comprising:

a terminal station for transmitting a reference signal using a first radio resource, and transmitting user data using a second radio resource separated by a predetermined time interval from the first radio resource; and

a plurality of base stations for each measuring the reference signal and forming a coordinating group based on the measurement results of the reference signal to perform coordinated multi point reception on the user data.