Wireless communication system and method using multiple antennas

• US 7,406,337 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2004
• Issued: 07/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Li, Jianjun, Kim, Sung-jin, Kim, Eung-sun, Kim, Ho-jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord; Marceau
• Application Number:
  US10/778,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20040224725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562.1, 455/522, 455/69, 455/67.16, 455/67.13, 455/452.2, 455/67.11, 455/272, 455/276.1, 370/252, 370/329, 375/267
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0634 Antenna weights or vector/matrix coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0636 Feedback format
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/262 taking into account adaptive modulation and coding [AMC] scheme AMC per se H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity

Abstract

A wireless communication system, and method using multiple antennas, includes a base station that applies predetermined weight vectors to multi-user signals and transmits the multi-user signals through a plurality of transmission antennas, and a plurality of mobile stations that receive and process the multi-user signals, wherein each mobile station includes a signal reception unit that processes the multi-user signals, and a feedback signal generation unit that estimates channel characteristics, over which the multi-user signals have been transmitted, from the multi-user signals, classifies a plurality of weight vectors to be applied to the estimated channel characteristics into a plurality of sets such that vectors orthogonal to one another are classified into a single set, selects a set maximizing a transmission capacity from among the classified sets, and feeds back weight indexes of weight vectors included in the selected set and weighted channel information to the base station.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system, comprising:

a base station that applies predetermined weight vectors to multi-user signals and transmits the multi-user signals through a plurality of transmission antennas; and

a plurality of mobile stations that receive and process the multi-user signals,

wherein each of the plurality of mobile station includes;

a signal reception unit that processes the multi-user signals; and

a feedback signal generation unit that estimates channel characteristics, over which the multi-user signals have been transmitted, from the multi-user signals, classifies a plurality of weight vectors to be applied to the estimated channel characteristics into a plurality of sets such that vectors orthogonal to one another are classified into a single set, selects a set maximizing a transmission capacity from among the classified sets, and feeds back weight indexes of weight vectors included in the selected set and weighted channel information to the base station.

2. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of the plurality of weight vectors included in each set is equal to a number of the plurality of transmission antennas.

3. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weight indexes fed back by the feedback signal generation unit are used as information to determine the predetermined weight vectors in the base station.

4. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feedback signal generation unit comprises:

a channel characteristic estimator that estimates the channel characteristics;

a quadrature weight set classifier that groups a predetermined number of vectors that are orthogonal to one another from among the plurality of weight vectors into a single set and outputs the weight indexes of the weight vectors of each set;

a plurality of Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR) calculators, each of which applies weight vectors included in each set to the channel characteristics and calculates SINRs using the weighted channel characteristics;

a plurality of capacity calculators, each of which correspond to one of the plurality of SINR calculators, and each of which calculates transmission capacities using SINRs received from a corresponding one of the plurality of SINR calculators and sums the transmission capacities;

a peak capacity selection unit that selects a capacity calculator giving a peak of the summed transmission capacities, and outputs SINRs that are received from an SINR calculator corresponding to the selected capacity calculator and weight indexes corresponding to the selected capacity calculator; and

an information feedback unit that feeds back the SINRs and the weight indexes that are received from the peak capacity selection unit to the base station.

5. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base station and the plurality of mobile stations comprise a same table in which indexes correspond to weight vectors, respectively.

6. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base station further comprises:

a feedback signal processing unit that classifies weight indexes and SINRs, which are received from the plurality of mobile stations, for each of the plurality of mobile stations, reclassifies the classified SINRs by the weight indexes, selects a peak SINR from among the classified SINRs, classifies weight vectors corresponding to the weight indexes into a plurality of sets, selects a set giving a peak transmission capacity from among the sets, outputs weight indexes included in the selected set and predetermined types of information measured from the weight indexes and the peak SINR.

7. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base station further comprises:

a signal transmission unit that transmits the multi-user signal through the plurality of transmission antennas, the signal transmission unit including;

a channel selector that selects channels corresponding to mobile station indexes output from the feedback signal processing unit from among a plurality of channels;

a plurality of power and modulation coding controllers that control powers of the selected channels and modulate and code the selected channels, according to the predetermined types of information output from the feedback signal processing unit;

a plurality of spectrum spreaders that spreads signals output from the respective power and modulation coding controllers using predetermined spreading signals, respectively; and

a signal processor that applies a number of transmission antenna weights equal to a number of the plurality of transmission antennas to signals output from each spectrum spreader, sums the transmission antenna weighted signals for each transmission antenna, and outputs results of summations.

8. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the signal reception unit of each of the plurality of mobile stations despreads the received multi-user signals by applying different delays to each path, and applies weights reflecting SINR characteristics of the despread multi-user signals for each path.

9. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 6, wherein a number of the plurality of weight vectors included in each set is equal to a number of the plurality of transmission antennas.

10. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the feedback signal processing unit comprises:

a feedback information analyzer that classifies the weight indexes and the SINRs, which are received from the mobile stations, for each of the mobile stations;

a weight classifier that reclassifies the classified SINRs by the weight indexes;

a plurality of peak selectors each of which selects a peak SINR from among the reclassified SINRs;

a quadrature combination unit that combines weight vectors that are orthogonal to one another into a single set from among the weight vectors corresponding to the weight indexes;

a plurality of capacity generators each of which calculates transmission capacities from peak SINRs corresponding to weight indexes of weight vectors included in each set and sums the calculated transmission capacities; and

a peak capacity selector that selects a peak value from among values output from the capacity generators and outputs weight indexes included in a set corresponding to the selected peak value, mobile station indexes, and power and modulation coding information obtained from the peak SINRs.

11. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the base station further comprises:

a signal transmission unit that transmits the multi-user signals through the plurality of transmission antennas, the signal transmission unit including;

a channel selector that selects channels corresponding to the mobile station indexes output from the peak capacity selector from among a plurality of channels;

a plurality of power and modulation coding controllers that control powers of the selected channels and modulate and code the selected channels, according to the power and modulation coding information output from the peak capacity selector;

a plurality of spectrum spreaders that spread signals output from the respective power and modulation coding controllers using predetermined spreading signals, respectively; and

a signal processor that applies a number of transmission antenna weights equal to the number of the plurality of transmission antennas to signals output from each spectrum spreader, sums the transmission antenna weighted signals for each transmission antenna, and outputs results of summations.

12. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the spectrum spreaders uses a spread spectrum code sequence {c[k,i](j)|j=1, . . . , K_SF} as the predetermined spreading signal, and the spread spectrum code sequence is configured such that a spectrum code sequence of a k-th user is orthogonal to that of other users or the k-th user has a same characteristic as other users, where K_SF has a value of one (1) or a greater value.

13. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the transmission antenna weights correspond to the weight indexes output from the peak capacity selector.

14. The wireless communication system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the signal reception unit of each mobile station despreads the received multi-user signals by applying different delays to respective paths, and applies weights reflecting SINR characteristics of the despread multi-user signals for each path.

15. A mobile station that receives a user signal including multi-user signals from a base station, the mobile station comprising:

a signal reception unit that processes the user signal; and

a feedback signal generation unit that estimates channel characteristics, over which the multi-user signals have been transmitted, from the multi-user signals, classifies a plurality of weight vectors to be applied to the estimated channel characteristics into a plurality of sets, selects a set maximizing a transmission capacity from among the classified sets, and feeds back indexes of weight vectors included in the selected set and weighted channel information obtained from weighted channel characteristics corresponding to the selected set to the base station.

16. The mobile station as claimed in claim 15, wherein a number of weight vectors included in each set is equal to a number of the plurality of transmission antennas included in the base station.

17. The mobile station as claimed in claim 15, wherein the plurality of weight vectors used by the mobile station is the same as the plurality of weight vectors used by the base station.

18. The mobile station as claimed in claim 17, wherein the feedback signal generation unit comprises:

a channel characteristic estimator that estimates the channel characteristics;

a quadrature weight set classifier that groups a predetermined number of vectors that are orthogonal to one another from among the plurality of weight vectors into a single set and outputs the weight indexes of the weight vectors of each set;

a plurality of Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR) calculators, each of which separately applies weight vectors included in each set to the channel characteristics, calculates power of each weighted channel characteristic, and calculates SINRs using the calculated power;

a plurality of capacity calculators, each of which correspond to one of the plurality of SINR calculators and each of which calculates transmission capacities using SINRs received from a corresponding one of the plurality of SINR calculators and sums the transmission capacities;

a peak capacity selection unit that selects a capacity calculator giving a peak of the summed transmission capacities, and outputs SINRs that are received from an SINR calculator corresponding to the selected capacity calculator and weight indexes corresponding to the selected capacity calculator; and

an information feedback unit that feeds back the SINRs and the weight indexes that are received from the peak capacity selection unit to the base station.

19. A base station that processes a user signal based on mobile station index information for channel selection and Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR) information of selected channels, information being fed back from a plurality of mobile stations, and transmits the processed access signal through a plurality of antennas, the base station comprising:

a feedback signal processing unit that classifies indexes and SINRs, which are received from the plurality of mobile stations, for each of the mobile stations, reclassifies the classified SINRs by the weight indexes, selects a peak SINR from among the classified SINRs, classifies weight vectors corresponding to the weight indexes into a plurality of sets, selects a set giving a peak transmission capacity from among the sets, outputs mobile station indexes and predetermined types of information measured from the peak SINR that correspond to the selected set; and

a signal transmission unit that selects channels, over which the user signals are to be transmitted, using the predetermined types of information output from the feedback signal processing unit, modulates and codes the user signals, processes the user signals by applying weight vectors corresponding to the respective selected channels to the user signal, and transmits the processed user signals through the plurality of antennas.

20. The base station as claimed in claim 19, wherein the feedback signal processing unit comprises:

a feedback information analyzer that classifies the weight indexes and the SINRs, which are received from the mobile stations, for each mobile station;

a weight classifier that reclassifies the classified SINRs by the weight indexes;

a plurality of peak selectors each of which selects a peak SINR from among the reclassified SINRs;

a quadrature combination unit that combines weight vectors that are orthogonal to one another into a single set from among the weight vectors corresponding to the weight indexes;

a plurality of capacity generators each of which calculates transmission capacities from peak SINRs corresponding to weight indexes of weight vectors included in each set and sums the calculated transmission capacities; and

a peak capacity selector that selects a peak value from among values output from the capacity generators and outputs weight indexes included in a set corresponding to the selected peak value, mobile station indexes, and power and modulation coding information obtained from the peak SINRs.

21. The base station as claimed in claim 19, wherein the signal transmission unit comprises:

a channel selector that selects channels corresponding to mobile station indexes output from the feedback signal processing unit from among a plurality of channels;

a plurality of power and modulation coding controllers that control power of the selected channels and modulate and code the selected channels, according to the predetermined types of information output from the feedback signal processing unit;

a plurality of spectrum spreaders that spreads signals output from the respective power and modulation coding controllers using predetermined spreading signals, respectively; and

a signal processor that applies weights vectors corresponding to the respective selected channels to signals output from each spectrum spreader, sums the weighted signals for each transmission antenna, and outputs results of summations through the respective corresponding antennas.

22. A wireless communication method, comprising:

transmitting multi-user signals through a plurality of transmission antennas from a base station;

receiving and processing the multi-user signals by a mobile station;

estimating characteristics of channels, through each of which the multi-user signals are transmitted, from the detected multi-user signals;

classifying a plurality of weight vectors to be applied to the measured channel characteristics into sets such that a predetermined number of weight vectors orthogonal to one another is grouped into a single set;

applying each of weight vectors included in each set to the channel characteristics to generate weighted channel characteristics and selecting a set maximizing a transmission capacity based on the weighted channel characteristics of each set; and

feeding back indexes of the weight vectors included in the selected set and weighed channel information obtained from the weighted channel characteristics corresponding to the selected set.

23. The wireless communication method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the plurality of weight vectors used by the mobile station is the same as those used in the base station.

24. The wireless communication method as claimed in claim 23, further comprising:

the base station classifying weight indexes and weighted channel information, which are received from a plurality of mobile stations, for each of the mobile stations;

reclassifying the weighted channel information by the weight indexes;

selecting peak weighted channel information from each reclassified weighted channel information corresponding to each weight index and classifying weight vectors corresponding to the weight indexes into sets by combining a predetermined number of vectors orthogonal to one another into a single set;

selecting a set maximizing the transmission capacity based on the peak weighted channel information corresponding to weight vectors included in each set; and

outputting mobile station indexes belonging to the selected set and predetermined types of information measured from peak weighted channel information corresponding to the selected set.

25. The wireless communication method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the weighted channel information indicates a Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR), and the predetermined types of information is power, modulation, and coding information.

26. The wireless communication method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising:

the base station selecting channels corresponding to the mobile station indexes from among a plurality of channels;

controlling a power of each of the selected channels and modulating and coding the selected channels according to the power, modulation, and coding information;

spreading signals, which have been transmitted through the power-controlled, modulated, and coded channels using predetermined spreading signals; and

applying weight vectors corresponding to the selected channels to spreading signals, summing the weighted signals for each transmission antenna, and outputting a result of summing the signals through each corresponding transmission antenna.