Patent Application
20240056163
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-127979, filed on Aug. 10, 2022, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-155391, filed on Sep. 28, 2022, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a communication system, a method, a relay station, and a control device.
In radio communication such as 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), ultra low latency communication of a sub-millisecond or less is expected. In addition, in terms of improvement in communication service, expansion of a coverage area of a cell is desired, and to achieve this, relay communication by way of a relay station is effective. Thus, a radio communication method using a terminal station that performs radio communication as a relay station has been proposed. Further, as a relay technique with low latency, non-regenerative relay in which demodulation or decoding is not performed at a relay station is desirable.
One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a communication system, a method, a relay station and, a control device that enable improvement in a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a reception side in radio communication in which non-regenerative relay is performed.
An aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system including:
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a method executed by a computer, including:
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a relay station including:
An aspect of the present disclosure is a control device including:
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a reception side in radio communication in which non-regenerative relay is performed.
In non-regenerative relay, different phase rotation amounts and different delay times are respectively provided to a plurality of relay signals relayed by a plurality of relay stations on a radio propagation path. These plurality of relay signals are received at different timings and in different phases at a reception station, and thus, there is a case where a sufficient SNR is not obtained when the signals are synthesized, due to, for example, amplitudes being cancelled out among the plurality of relay signals. In view of this, one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to improving an SNR obtained when non-regenerative relay is performed at the relay station.
One aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system including a transmission station, a reception station, one or more relay stations, and a controller. For example, the transmission station may be a base station, and the reception station may be a terminal station. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the transmission station may be a terminal station, and the reception station may be a base station. The relay station may be, for example, a small base station, a mobile base station, a smartphone, in-vehicle equipment, or the like. A slot timing of a radio frame may be synchronous among the transmission station, the reception station and the one or more relay stations. The one or more relay stations may perform non-regenerative relay of relaying signals without demodulating or decoding the signals.
The controller may be, for example, a computer, a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), or an arithmetic circuit such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The controller may be provided in, for example, a relay station, a base station, or a terminal station, or may be provided in a control device which is connected to a base station and which manages a radio line. The controller may acquire, for at least a first relay station, a first delay time and a first phase rotation amount to be provided to a first signal in relay by the first relay station so that relay signals of the first signal arrive at the reception station in the same phase and at the same time after a first time length from the head of a slot. The first signal may be a signal transmitted from the transmission station to the reception station. The first relay station may be a relay station in which the controller is provided, for example, in the case where the controller is provided in the relay station. For example, in the case where the controller is provided in the control device, the first relay station may be one or more relay stations that actually perform relay among the one or more relay stations.
The controller may acquire the first delay time and the first phase rotation amount on the basis of radio propagation characteristics between the transmission station and the first relay station and radio propagation characteristics between the reception station and the first relay station. The first relay station may provide the first delay and the first phase rotation amount in non-regenerative relay of the first signal. The radio propagation characteristics may include, for example, a propagation delay, a delay spread and a phase rotation amount. However, the radio propagation characteristics are not limited to these.
The first delay time may be acquired by, for example, calculating backwards a transmission timing at the first relay station on the basis of the propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station so that a radio wave reaches the reception station from the first relay station after the first time length from the head of the slot. More specifically, the controller may acquire the first delay time so that the relay signal of the first signal is transmitted from the first relay station after a second time length from the head of the slot, the second time length being obtained by subtracting the propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station from the first time length.
By obtaining the first phase rotation amount so as to cancel a phase rotation amount to be applied to the relay signals on a radio propagation path, phases of the relay signals relayed by the respective relay stations are aligned. More specifically, the controller may acquire, as the first phase rotation amount, a value obtained by subtracting a phase rotation amount to be applied at a transmitter of the first relay station, a phase rotation amount to be applied on a propagation path from the transmission station to the first relay station and a phase rotation amount to be applied on a propagation path from the first relay station to the reception station from a phase rotation amount to be applied at a receiver of the first relay station.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the respective relay stations that relay the first signal from the transmission station to the reception station provide the first delay time and the first phase rotation amount to the relay signals so that the relay signals arrive at the reception station at the same time and in the same phase. As a result of this, a plurality of relay signals are received at the same time and in the same phase, and thus, signal power when the plurality of relay signals are synthesized becomes a square of an amplitude, so that it is possible to improve an SNR at the reception station.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, each of the one or more relay stations may include a first filter configured to perform filtering to suppress interference between a signal received from the transmission station and the signal to be transmitted to the reception station, the interference occurring in each of the relay stations. The interference between the signal received from the transmission station and the signal to be transmitted to the reception station is also referred to as self interference. The first filter provides the first delay time to the first signal by the filtering and provides the first phase rotation amount to the first signal after the filtering. The first filter is, for example, a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. By filtering the relay signal by the first filter, it is possible to provide the first delay time and the first phase rotation amount while suppressing self interference of the relay signal.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, the controller may determine whether or not a relay of the first signal by the first relay station is executed. For example, the controller may determine whether or not the relay signal of the first signal transmitted from the first relay station is able to arrive at the reception station within a first time length from the head of the slot on the basis of the propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station. In the case where it is determined that the relay signal of the first signal is able to arrive at the reception station from the first relay station within the first time length from the head of the slot, the controller determines that the relay of the first signal by the first relay station is executed. In the case where it is determined that the relay signal of the first signal is not able to arrive at the reception station from the first relay station within the first time length from the head of the slot, the controller determines that the relay of the first signal by the first relay station is not executed.
Whether or not the relay signal of the first signal transmitted from the first relay station can arrive at the reception station within the first time length from the head of the slot may be determined by, for example, determining whether or not a total time length of a propagation delay between the transmission station and the first relay station, a delay spread between the transmission station and the first relay station, a processing delay at the first relay station, and the propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station is equal to or less than the first time length.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a relay signal does not reach the reception station at a timing other than a timing after the first time length from the head of the slot during a period of cyclic prefix in which the reception signal is subjected to equalization processing, so that a sufficient SNR can be efficiently obtained. This is because, during the period of cyclic prefix, it is possible to prevent occurrence of the relay signals that cancel the amplitudes by synthesis of the relay signals.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, the communication system may further include a control device configured to manage a radio line. The control device may acquire the first time length on the basis of the radio propagation characteristics between the transmission station and the reception station and the respective radio propagation characteristics between the one or more relay stations and the reception station and may notify the one or more relay stations of the first time length. The first time length may be acquired by, for example, summing a propagation delay between the transmission station and the reception station, a delay spread between the transmission station and the reception station, and a delay occurring by relay by one relay station among the one or more relay stations. By acquiring the first time length in this manner, it is possible to involve more relay stations in relay of the first signal and enable more relay signals to arrive at the reception station. As a result of more relay signals arriving at the reception station at the same time and in the same phase, the reception station can obtain a greater SNR.
Another aspect of the present disclosure can also be specified as a method in which a computer executes processing to be executed in the above communication system. Specifically, the method is a method including, by a computer, acquiring, for at least a first relay station among one or more relay stations that relay a first signal from a transmission station to a reception station without demodulating or decoding the first signal, a first delay time and a first phase rotation amount to be provided to the first signal in relay by the first relay station on the basis of radio propagation characteristics between the transmission station and the first relay station and radio propagation characteristics between the reception station and the first relay station so that one or more relay signals of the first signal relayed by the one or more relay stations arrive at the reception station at the same time and in the same phase after a first time length from a head of a slot in a radio frame which is synchronous among the transmission station, the reception station, and the one or more relay stations and in which the first signal is transmitted, and causing the first relay station to provide the first delay time and the first phase rotation amount to the first signal.
Further, another aspect of the present disclosure can also be specified as a relay station or a control device that executes the processing of the method. Further, other aspects can also be specified as a program for causing the relay station or the control device to execute the processing of the method and a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium in which the program is recorded.
In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the embodiments described below are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration of the embodiments.
The base station 2 provides a radio access network to the terminal station 4. An area in which radio communication is possible on the radio access network is also referred to as a cell. In the first embodiment, the base station 2 includes one or more antennas (for example, #0 and #1), a radio unit 21 to be connected to these one or more antennas, and a control circuit 22. The control circuit 22 includes, for example, a processor and a memory. The processor controls communication with the control device 1 and radio communication with the relay stations 3 and the terminal station 4 by a computer program on the memory.
The terminal station 4 is, for example, a mobile station such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal and an in-vehicle data communication device. However, the terminal station 4 is not limited to this and may be a stationary terminal device. For example, the terminal device is connected to the radio access network in a range of a cell provided by the base station 2. A relay station 3 relays radio communication between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4. The relay station 3 is, for example, a small base station, a mobile base station, an in-vehicle device, a smartphone, or the like. In the first embodiment, the relay station 3 is a device selected as a relay station by the control device 1 among devices having a configuration that enables non-regenerative relay.
The control device 1 selects one or more devices located in the range of the cell provided by the base station 2 as the relay station 3 upon occurrence of a connection request from the terminal station 4 and instructs the one or more relay stations 3 to relay radio communication. In the first embodiment, in the case where a plurality of relay stations 3 are individually distinguished from one another, branch numbers like relay stations 3-1, . . . , 3-N are assigned. Here, a branch number N is an integer indicating the number of candidates for the relay station 3.
The relay station 3 includes one or more antennas (for example, #0), a radio unit 31 to be connected to each of these one or more antennas and a control circuit 32 in a similar manner to the base station 2.
The terminal station 4 includes one or more antennas (for example #0), a radio unit 41 to be connected to the one or more antennas, and a control circuit 42. For example, by a mobile station within a cell requesting connection to the radio access network to the base station 2 and the mobile station being connected to the radio access network, the mobile station operates as the terminal station 4. The mobile station within the cell may directly request connection to the radio access network to the base station 2. Alternatively, the mobile station within the cell may request connection to the radio access network to the base station 2 via a device that operates as the relay station 3 within the cell. The terminal station 4 can be said as a station that can perform communication with the base station 2 via one of the one or more relay stations 3 or without interposition of any of the one or more relay stations 3.
The central base station 2A includes a control circuit 22A. Further, the distributed base station 2B includes a radio unit 21B. The control circuit 22A of the central base station 2A and the radio unit 21B of the distributed base station 2B are, for example, connected with an optical fiber C1 or a radio network. A topology of the optical fiber C1 that connects the central base station 2A and a plurality of distributed base stations 2B is not limited to a specific topology. For example, the topology of the optical fiber C1 may be one-to-one connection among nodes, a network that branches with increasing distance from the central base station 2A, a star network, a ring network, or the like. Further, in the case where the control circuit 22A of the central base station 2A is connected to the radio unit 21B of the distributed base station 2B with a radio network, adopted radio network standards and protocol are not limited to specific ones.
The control circuit 22A includes a processor and a memory in a similar manner to the control circuit 22 in
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the following is employed in the communication system 100. In the communication system 100, the same frequency channel is used in uplink and downlink by time-division multiplex. Further, a slot timing of a radio frame is synchronous among the base station 2, the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4. In the communication system 100, a block transmission scheme having cyclic prefix such as cyclic prefix-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) is employed as a radio modulation scheme. Further, the relay station 3 shares resource block information to be used by the terminal station 4 which is a relay target in uplink and downlink. Note that the uplink is a link in a direction from the terminal station 4 to the base station 2. The downlink is a link in a direction from the base station 2 to the terminal station 4. In the first embodiment, a case where non-regenerative relay is performed in a downlink direction will be described. In other words, in the first embodiment, the transmission station is the base station 2, and the reception station is the terminal station 4.
In the first embodiment, each relay station 3 provides a delay and phase rotation to the relay signal so that the relay signals arrive at the terminal station 4 at the same time and in the same phase. A timing at which the relay signal is caused to arrive at the terminal station 4 is acquired by the control device 1, and the control device 1 notifies each relay station 3. Each relay station 3 acquires a delay time to be provided to the relay signal on the basis of radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 and radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 so that the relay signal arrives at the base station 2 at the notified timing. The radio propagation characteristics include, for example, a propagation delay, a delay spread, a phase rotation amount, and the like. However, information included in the radio propagation characteristics is not limited to these. The propagation delay is a time length from when a signal is transmitted from a transmission side device until when the signal reaches a reception side device. The delay spread is a time length from when a signal first arrives at the reception side device until when reception of the signal is completed.
Further, each relay station 3 acquires the phase rotation amount to be provided to the relay signal so that a phase rotation amount to be provided on a propagation path from the base station 2 to the relay station 3, a phase rotation amount to be provided in relay processing at the relay station 3 and a phase rotation amount to be provided on a propagation path from the relay station 3 to the terminal station 4 are cancelled. By this means, a plurality of relay signals relayed by the respective relay stations 3 arrive at the terminal station 4 at the same time and in the same phase. At the terminal station 4, the plurality of relay signals that arrive at the same time and in the same phase are synthesized, thereby an amplitude of a synthesized wave is amplified, and as a result of this, an SNR also exponentially increases.
Here, a power difference between the transmission signal and the reception signal is, for example, approximately 100 dB. On the other hand, isolation of the circulator 314 is approximately 30 dB, and part of the transmission signal interferes with the reception signal. Interference between part of the transmission signal and the reception signal at the radio unit 31 is referred to as self interference. The self interference is suppressed by using a radio frequency (RF) analog filter within the receiver 312 and an FIR filter within the baseband circuit 313 in conjunction with each other.
The receiver 312 receives the reception signal from the antenna (#0) via the circulator 314. The receiver 312 includes a quadrature detection circuit and an analog-to-digital (AD) converter. The receiver 312 down-converts the reception signal by quadrature detection and further converts the down-converted reception signal into digital data by the AD converter to obtain a baseband signal. The receiver 312 outputs the obtained baseband signal to the baseband circuit 313.
The baseband circuit 313 includes an FIR filter. The baseband circuit 313 suppresses a transmission signal which is mixed into the reception signal and which causes self interference and delays the reception signal by a predetermined delay time by the FIR filter. The baseband circuit 313 outputs the reception signal filtered by the FIR filter to the transmitter 311.
The transmitter 311 includes a digital-to-analog (DA) converter and a modulation circuit. The transmitter 311 converts the reception signal from the baseband circuit 313 into an analog signal and generates an RF signal by the modulation circuit. The transmitter 311 transmits the RF signal from the antenna (#0) via the circulator 314 as the relay signal.
The control circuit 32 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU or an arithmetic circuit such as an FPGA. The control circuit 32 controls non-regenerative relay processing. More specifically, the control circuit 32 measures radio propagation characteristics of a propagation path, notifies the control device 1 of the measurement result or sets the FIR filter. The control circuit 32 is an example of the “controller” of the “relay station”.
Note that the hardware configuration of the relay station 3 is not limited to that illustrated in
In the first embodiment, the FIR filter has a configuration for causing the relay signal to reach the terminal station 4 at the same time and in the same phase as other relay signals in addition to the above-described configuration for suppressing self interference. The FIR filter according to the first embodiment includes a delayer Dφ that further adds a delay and the multiplier ML that further performs weighting to the signal to which the delay is added and which is subjected to weighted averaging, by the taps from the tap T1 in the first stage to the tap TN_(D, i) in the last stage. The delayer Dφ adds a signal of a delay time for causing the relay signal to reach the terminal station 4 at the same time as other relay signals. The multiplier ML performs weighting with a weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)). The weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) is a weight for providing phase rotation to the relay signal so as to cause the relay signal to reach the terminal station 4 in the same phase as other relay signals.
The number of taps N_(D, i) to be used in the FIR filter, the delay time to be provided at the delayer Dφ and the weights from the weight w_(i, 1) to the weight w_(i, N_(D, i)+1) are acquired by the control circuit 32. Details will be described later.
The CPU 11 executes a computer program loaded to the main memory 12 so as to be executable and provides processing of the control device 1. The main memory 12 stores a computer program to be executed by the CPU 11, data to be processed by the CPU 11, and the like. The main memory 12 is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read only memory (ROM), or the like. Further, the external storage device 13 is, for example, used as a storage area that supports the main memory 12 and stores a computer program to be executed by the CPU 11, data to be processed by the CPU 11, and the like. The external storage device 13 is a hard disk drive, a solid state drive (SSD), or the like. Further, a drive device of a detachable storage medium may be connected to the control device 1. The detachable storage medium is, for example, a Blu-ray disk, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a compact disc (CD), a flash memory card, or the like. The CPU 11 is an example of the “controller” of the “control device”.
The output device 14 is, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display and an electro luminescence panel. However, the output device 14 may include a speaker or other devices that output sound. The operation device 15 is, for example, a touch panel, or the like, in which a touch sensor is superimposed on a display. The communication device 16, for example, performs communication with the base station 2 and an external network such as the Internet via an optical fiber. The communication device 16 is, for example, gateway connected to the base station 2 and a gateway that performs communication with an external network such as the Internet. The communication device 16 may be one device or a combination of a plurality of devices. Note that a hardware configuration of the control device 1 is not limited to that illustrated in
<Control Method>
First, it is assumed that CP-OFDM is employed in the communication system 100, and thus, the directly delivered signal from the base station 2 and the relay signals from the respective relay stations 3 are requested to arrive at the terminal station 4 during a cyclic prefix length Tcp. Thus, an arrival timing ΔR of the relay signals at the terminal station 4 is set shorter than the cyclic prefix length Tcp. Further, phases of the directly delivered signal from the base station 2 and the relay signals from the respective relay stations 3 are not the same, and thus, there is a possibility that if arrival at the terminal station 4 overlaps, an SNR improvement effect is not sufficiently obtained. Thus, to prevent overlapping of the directly delivered signal from the base station 2 and the relay signals from the respective relay stations 3, ΔR is set longer than a total time length of a propagation delay τ_(BS→UE) and a delay spread σ_(BS→UE) between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4.
Thus, in the first embodiment, the delay time ΔR from the head of the slot, which becomes an arrival timing of the relay signal at the terminal station 4 is acquired using the following expression (1).
ΔR=τBS→UE+σBS→UE+τR (EXPRESSION 1)
The term τ_(R) is a value in which a processing delay at the relay station 3 and a propagation delay between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 are taken into account. The value of τ_(R) is a value obtained by adding +α to a sum of a maximum value of the processing delay at the relay station 3 and a maximum value of the propagation delay between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 among the plurality of relay stations 3. The value of τ_(R) is set by the control device 1.
The relay station 3 transmits the relay signal while providing a delay to the relay signal so that the relay signal reaches the terminal station 4 at ΔR from the head of the slot. A transmission timing of the relay signal of the relay station 3, that is, a delay time Δi from the head of the slot is acquired using the following expression (2) assuming that the propagation delay between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 is τ_(UE→R, i). The variable i is a variable indicating the relay station 3 and takes a value from 0 to K−1 (K: the number of the relay stations 3).
Δi=ΔR−τUE→R,i (EXPRESSION 2)
The relay station 3 receives the relay signal after a total time length of the propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 and the a delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) from the head of the slot. Thus, a delay time φi to be provided to the relay signal at the relay station 3 is acquired using the following expression (3).
φi=Δi−τBS→R,i−σBS→R,i (EXPRESSION 3)
The delay time φi to be provided to the relay signal at the relay station 3 is an example of the “first delay”. The delay time ΔR is an example of the “first time length”. The propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i) between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 is an example of the “propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station”. A propagation delay τ_(BS→UE) between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4 is an example of the “propagation delay between the transmission station and the reception station”. The delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4 is an example of the “delay spread between the transmission station and the reception station”. The expression τ_(R) is an example of the “delay occurring in relay by one relay station among the one or more relay stations”.
Next, a phase rotation amount θi to be provided to the relay signal at the relay station 3 to make the phases of the relay signals arriving at the terminal station 4 the same will be described. The following phase rotation amounts are applied to the relay signal to be relayed by the relay station 3 until the relay signal arrives at the terminal station 4.
The phase rotation amount θ_(BS→R, i) and the phase rotation amount θ_(UE→R, i) are respectively measurement values measured on the basis of a reference signal transmitted from the base station 2 or the terminal station 4. Thus, each of the phase rotation amount θ_(BS→R, i) and the phase rotation amount θ_(UE→R, i) includes the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) to be applied at the receiver 312 of the relay station 3. Thus, the phase rotation amount θi to be applied to the relay signal is acquired using the following expression (4).
θi=(θBS→R,i−θRX,i)+θTX,i+θRX,i+(θUE→R,i−θRX,i)=θBS→R,i+θUE→R,i+θTX,i−θRX,i (EXPRESSION 4)
The phase rotation amount θi is an example of the “first phase rotation amount”. The phase rotation amount θ_(BS→R, i) to be applied on the propagation path between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 is an example of the “phase rotation amount to be applied on a propagation path from the transmission station to the first relay station”. The phase rotation amount θ_(UE→R, i) to be applied on the propagation path between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 is an example of the “phase rotation amount to be applied on a propagation path from the first relay station to the reception station”. The phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i to be applied at the receiver 312 of the relay station 3 is an example of the “phase rotation amount to be applied at the receiver”. The phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) to be applied at the transmitter 311 is an example of the “phase rotation amount to be applied at the transmitter”.
<Processing Flow>
In OP101, the control device 1 instructs the base station 2 and each relay station 3 to measure radio propagation characteristics to the terminal station 4. The radio propagation characteristics include, for example, a propagation delay, a delay spread time and a phase rotation amount. Note that the relay station 3 has already selected before the processing illustrated in
In OP102, the control device 1 receives from the base station 2, a measurement result of the radio propagation characteristics to the terminal station 4. In OP102, the control device 1 acquires the propagation delay τ_(BS→UE) and the delay spread σ_(BS→UE) between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4.
In OP103, the control device 1 receives from each relay station 3, a measurement result of the radio propagation characteristics to the terminal station 4. In OP103, the control device 1 acquires the propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i), the delay spread σ_(UE→R, i), and the phase rotation amount θ_(UE→R, i) between each relay station 3 and the terminal station 4.
In OP104, the control device 1 calculates the delay time ΔR that is an arrival timing of the relay signal at the terminal station 4. Note that in OP104, the control device 1 may acquire τ_(R) in which the propagation delay between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 and the processing delay at the relay station 3 are taken into account.
In OP105, the control device 1 notifies each relay station 3 of the delay time ΔR. Note that communication between the control device 1, and the base station 2 and each relay station 3 in
In OP201, the base station 2 determines whether or not an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is received from the control device 1. In the case where an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is received from the control device 1 (OP201: Yes), the processing proceeds to OP202. In the case where an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is not received from the control device 1 (OP201: No), the processing illustrated in
In OP202, the base station 2 receives a reference signal transmitted from the terminal station 4 with a predetermined period. In OP203, the base station 2 measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4 on the basis of the reference signal received in OP202. The radio propagation characteristics measured in OP203 include the propagation delay τ_(BS→UE) and the delay spread σ_(BS→UE) between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4. In OP204, the base station 2 notifies the control device 1 of the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4.
In OP205, the base station 2 transmits a data signal to the terminal station 4. Note that transmission/reception of the reference signal in OP202 and notification of the radio propagation characteristics in OP204 are preformed through the control channel. Transmission of the data signal in OP205 is performed through a data channel. Then, the processing illustrated in
In OP301, the relay station 3 determines whether or not an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is received from the control device 1. In the case where an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is received from the control device 1 (OP301: Yes), the processing proceeds to OP302. In the case where an instruction to measure the radio propagation characteristics is not received from the control device 1, the processing illustrated in
In OP302, the relay station 3 receives a reference signal transmitted from the terminal station 4 with a predetermined period and measures the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 from the reference signal. The radio propagation characteristics measured in OP302 include the propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i), the delay spread σ(UE→R, i) and the phase rotation amount θ_(UE→R, i) between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4. In OP303, the relay station 3 notifies the control device 1 of the measurement result of the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4.
In OP304, the relay station 3 determines whether or not a notification of the delay time ΔR is received from the control device 1. In a case where a notification of the delay time ΔR is received (OP304: Yes), the processing proceeds to OP305. In the case where a notification of the delay time ΔR is not received (OP304: No), the relay station 3 is put into a standby state.
In OP305, the relay station 3 measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 from the reference signal attached to a signal that makes a notification of the delay time ΔR in OP304. The radio propagation characteristics measured in OP305 include the propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i), the delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) and the phase rotation amount θ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3.
The processing from OP306 to OP308 is processing of determining whether or not to relay a transmission signal of the radio frame. In OP306, the relay station 3 calculates a processing delay τ_(R, i) at the relay station 3. The processing delay τ_(R, i) is obtained by multiplying the number of taps of the FIR filter—1 (N_(D, i)−1) by a delay time τ_(D) per tap. Note that the number of taps of the FIR filter N_(D, i) is, for example, acquired on the basis of a delay spread (seconds) of self interference and a sampling frequency (seconds) of a baseband waveform so that self interference is removed.
In OP307, the relay station 3 calculates a minimum value τ_(min, i) of a timing at which the relay signal arrives at the terminal station 4. The value of τ_(min, i) is calculated using the following expression (5).
τmin,i=τBS→R,i+σBS→R,i+τR,i+τUE→R,i (EXPRESSION 5)
The propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 is an example of the “propagation delay between the transmission station and the first relay station”. The delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3 is an example of the “delay spread between the transmission station and the first relay station”. The processing delay τ_(R, i) at the relay station 3 is an example of the “processing delay at the first relay station”. The propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i) between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 is an example of the “propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station”. The expression τ_(min, i) is an example of the “total time length of the propagation delay between the transmission station and the first relay station, the delay spread between the transmission station and the first relay station, the processing delay at the first relay station, and the propagation delay between the first relay station and the reception station”.
In OP308, the relay station 3 determines whether or not τ_(min, i) is equal to or less than ΔR. In the case where τ_(min, i) is equal to or less than ΔR, it indicates that the relay signal by the relay station 3 can arrive at the terminal station 4 by ΔR, and thus, the relay station 3 determines to execute relay processing of the transmission signal of the radio frame. In this case, the processing proceeds to OP309 in
The processing illustrated in
In OP310, the relay station 3 obtains the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312 and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311 with reference to a look-up table held by the control circuit 32. The look-up table describes a relationship between setting values such as gains at the transmitter and the receiver and the phase rotation amounts.
In OP311, the relay station 3 acquires and sets a weight of each multiplier ML and a delay time of the delayer Dφ of the FIR filter. The delay time φi to be provided to the signal at the FIR filter is acquired from the delay time ΔR, the propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4, the propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3, and the delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) using the above-described expression (3). The relay station 3 sets a value obtained by subtracting the processing delay τ_(R, i) in the configuration for suppressing self interference of the FIR filter from the delay time φi as the delay time of the delayer Dφ.
Each weight w_(i, L) (L=1, . . . , N_(D, i)) from the tap T1 to the tap TN_(D, i) of the FIR filter for suppressing self interference is determined on the basis of a matrix H_(SI, i). A method for calculating the weight w_(i, L) is acquired using a publicly known method. The weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) is acquired using the following expression (6) to cancel the phase rotation amount θi to be applied to the relay signal.
w
i,N
=e
−jθ
=e
−j(θ
+θ
+θ
−θ
) (EXPRESSION 6)
In OP312, the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relay of the data signal received from the base station 2. In OP313, the relay station 3 determines whether or not to continue relay. The relay station 3 continues relay until an instruction to stop relay is received from the control device 1. In the case where relay is continued (OP313: Yes), the processing proceeds to OP301 in
In S11, a connection request is transmitted from the terminal station 4. The connection request is received at the base station 2 that manages a cell in which the terminal station 4 is located and transferred from the base station 2 to the control device 1. In S12, the control device 1 transmits to the base station 2 and the relay station 3-i, an instruction to measure radio propagation characteristics to the terminal station 4 (
In S21, the terminal station 4 transmits the reference signal with a predetermined period. In S31, the base station 2 receives the reference signal from the terminal station 4 (
In S51, the control device 1 calculates the delay time ΔR using the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the terminal station 4 and the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3-i and the terminal station 4 (
In S53, the relay station 3-i measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3-i on the basis of the reference signal attached to the signal that makes a notification of the delay time ΔR received from the base station 2 (
In S61 in
In S71, the base station 2 transmits the data signal to the terminal station 4 (
In the first embodiment, in each of a plurality of relay stations 3 that perform non-regenerative relay, a delay time and a phase rotation amount are provided to a plurality of relay signals so that the plurality of the relay signals arrive at the terminal station 4 at the same time and in the same phase. By this means, an SNR is improved as a result of the relay signals being synthesized in the same phase at the terminal station 4. Further, in the first embodiment, high-accuracy phase synchronization is desired among the base station 2, the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4, and thus, for example, a higher effect can be obtained in a frequency band equal to or less than 1 GHz.
In the first embodiment, whether or not to perform non-regenerative relay is determined in accordance with whether or not each relay station 3 can cause the relay signal to arrive at the terminal station 4 within ΔR from the head of the slot. The relay station 3 that is not able to cause the relay signal to arrive at the terminal station 4 at the same time as other relay stations 3 does not perform non-regenerative relay. By this means, a relay signal other than the relay signals that have the same phase at the timing of ΔR from the head of the slot does not reach the terminal station 4, so that a greater SNR can be obtained.
In the first embodiment, the relay station 3 itself calculates a delay time and a phase rotation amount to be provided to a relay signal so that a plurality of relay signals arrive at the reception station at the same time and in the same phase. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the relay station 3 itself determines whether or not to execute non-regenerative relay depending on whether or not a relay signal is able to arrive at the terminal station 4 within the delay time ΔR from the head of the slot. In the second embodiment, a device other than the relay station 3 performs these processes. In the second embodiment, explanations common to the first embodiment are omitted.
As in the first embodiment, the system configuration according to the second embodiment is either the communication system 100A illustrated in
Also in the second embodiment, the control device 1B first executes the processing from OP101 to OP104 in
In OP501, the control device 1B transmit, to each relay station 3, instructions to measure radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3 and the base station 2 and a request for information regarding a FIR filter in the relay station 3. The information regarding the FIR filter is, for example, the number of taps of the FIR filter, and a delay time per tap.
In OP502, the control device 1B receives, from each relay station 3, a measurement result of the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3, and the information regarding the FIR filter in the relay station 3. In OP502, the control device 1B acquires, as the measurement result of the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3, the propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i), the delay spread σ_(BS→R, i), and the phase rotation amount θ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3. In OP502, the control device 1B acquires, as the information regarding the FIR filter, the number of taps of the FIR filter N_(D, i) and the delay time τ_(D) per tap.
The processing from OP503 to OP510 is executed for each relay station 3 selected as a relay station by the control device 1B. Hereinafter, the relay station targeted for the processing from OP503 to OP510 is referred to as relay station #i.
The processing from OP503 to OP506 is processing of determining whether or not to cause the relay station #i to perform non-regenerative relay of the transmission signal of the radio frame. In OP503, the control device 1B calculates a processing delay τ_(R, i) at the relay station #i. The processing delay τ_(R, i) is obtained by multiplying the number of taps of the FIR filter—1 (N_(D, i)−1) by a delay time τ_(D) per tap.
In OP504, the control device 1B calculates a minimum value τ_(min, i) of a timing at which the relay signal arrives at the terminal station 4 based on the above expression (5).
In OP505, the control device 1B determines whether or not τ_(min, i) is equal to or less than ΔR. In the case where τ_(min, i) is equal to or less than ΔR(OP505:YES), it indicates that the relay signal by the relay station #i can arrive at the terminal station 4 by ΔR, and thus, the control device 1B determines that relay processing of the transmission signal of the radio frame is executed by the relay station #i. In this case, the processing proceeds to OP507 in
In the case where T (min, i) is greater than ΔR(OP505:NO), it indicates that the relay signal transmitted from the relay station #i is not able to arrive at the terminal station 4 by ΔR, and thus, the control device 1B determines that the relay processing of the transmission signal of the radio frame is not executed by the relay station #i. In OP506, the control device 1B notifies the relay station #i of non-implementation of non-regenerative relay through the control channel. After that, the processing illustrated in
The processing illustrated in
In OP508, the control device 1B receives, from the relay station #i, the coupled matrix H_(SI, i) in self interference between transmission and reception, the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312, and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311.
In OP509, the control device 1B calculates a delay time of the delayer Dφ and the weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) to cancel the phase rotation amount θi to be applied to the relay signal, in the FIR filter of the relay station #i. The delay time of the delayer Dφ is acquired as a value obtained by subtracting the processing delay τ_(R, i) from the delay time φi provided to the signal at the FIR filter. The delay time φi to be provided to the signal at the FIR filter is acquired from the delay time ΔR, the propagation delay τ_(UE→R, i) between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4, the propagation delay τ_(BS→R, i) between the base station 2 and the relay station 3, and the delay spread σ_(BS→R, i) using the above-described expression (3). The weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) is acquired using the above expression (6).
In OP510, the control device 1B notifies the relay station #i of the delay time of the delayer 14 and weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) calculated in OP509. After that, the process illustrated in
S111 to S151 are similar to S11 to S51 in
In S153, the relay station 3-i measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3-i on the basis of the reference signal attached to the signal that is transmitted from the base station 2 in S152. In S154, the relay station 3-i transmits the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3-i, and the information regarding the FIR filter (the number of taps of the FIR filter (N_(D, i), a delay time τ_(D) per tap) to the control device 1B. The control device 1B receives, from the relay device 3-i, the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2 and the relay station 3-i and the information regarding the FIR filter (
In S155, the control device 1B calculates the minimum value τ_(min, i) of the timing at which the relay signal arrives at the terminal station 4 (
In S161 in
In S162, the reference signal is transmitted and received between the relay station 3-i and the base station 2. In S163, the relay station 3-i measures the coupled matrix H_(SI, i) on the basis of the reference signal transmitted to and received from the base station 2 in S162. In S164, the relay station 3-i obtains the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312 and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311 with reference to the look-up table held by the control circuit 32. In S165, the relay station 3-i transmits, to the control device 1B, the coupled matrix H_(SI, i), the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312, and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311, and the control device 1B receives these (
In S171, the control device 1B calculates, for the relay station 3-i, a delay time of the delayer Dq and the weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) (
In S173, the relay station 3-i sets, to the FIR Filter, the delay time of the delayer Dφ and the weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) received from the control device 1B. Note, the relay station 3-i determines and sets each weight w_(i, L) (L=1, . . . , N_(D, i)) from the tap T1 to the tap TN_(D, i) of the FIR filter for suppressing self interference on the basis of the matrix H_(SI, i).
In S181, the base station 2 transmits the data signal to the terminal station 4. In S182, the relay station 3-i receives the data signal addressed to the terminal station 4 and performs non-regenerative relay. In S183, the relay station 3-i transmits the data signal to the terminal station 4.
From the above, as a device other than the relay station 3-i, the control device 1B can execute determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3. Note that the processes illustrated in
Other than the control device 1B, the base station 2 or the terminal station 4 may execute the determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and the calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3. The base station 2 or the terminal station 4 may execute, for example, the similar processing to the control device 1B illustrated in
In S201, a connection request is transmitted from the terminal station 4. The connection request is received at the base station 2C that manages a cell in which the terminal station 4 is located and transferred from the base station 2C to the control device 1. In S202, the control device 1 notify the base station 2C of reception of the connection request from the terminal station 4 and information regarding a plurality of the relay station 3-i relaying signal to the terminal station 4. In this time, the control device 1 may also notify the base station 2C of τ_(R) as well.
In S211, the base station 2C transmits, to the relay station 3-i, an instruction to measure radio propagation characteristics to the terminal station 4 (
In S221, the terminal station 4 transmits the reference signal with a predetermined period. In S231, the base station 2C receives the reference signal from the terminal station 4, and measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2C and the terminal station 4 using the reference signal.
In S241, the relay station 3-i receives the reference signal from the terminal station 4 and measures the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3-i and the terminal station 4 using the reference signal. In S242, the relay station 3-i transmits the measured radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3-i and the terminal station 4 to the base station 2C. The base station 2C receives the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3-i and the terminal station 4 (
In S251, the base station 2C calculates the delay time ΔR using the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2C and the terminal station 4 and the radio propagation characteristics between the relay station 3-i and the terminal station 4 (
In S253, the relay station 3-i measures the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2C and the relay station 3-i on the basis of the reference signal attached to the signal received from the base station 2C in S252. In S254, the relay station 3-i transmits the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2C and the relay station 3-i, and the information regarding the FIR filter (the number of taps of the FIR filter (N_(D, i), a delay time τ_(D) per tap) to the base station 2C. The base station 2C receives, from the relay device 3-i, the radio propagation characteristics between the base station 2C and the relay station 3-i and the information regarding the FIR filter (
In S255, the base station 2C calculates the minimum value τ (min, i) of the timing at which the relay signal arrives at the terminal station 4 (
In S261 in
In S262, the reference signal is transmitted and received between the relay station 3-i and the base station 2C. In S263, the relay station 3-i measures the coupled matrix H_(SI, i) on the basis of the reference signal transmitted to and received from the base station 2C in S262. In S264, the relay station 3-i obtains the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312 and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311 with reference to the look-up table held by the control circuit 32. In S265, the relay station 3-i transmits, to the base station 2C, the coupled matrix H_(SI, i), the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312, and the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311, and the base station 2C receives these (
In S271, the base station 2C calculates, for the relay station 3-i, a delay time of the delayer Dq and the weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) (
In S273, the relay station 3-i sets, to the FIR Filter, the delay time of the delayer Dq and the weight w_(i, N_(D, i+1)) received from the base station 2C. Note, the relay station 3-i determines and sets each weight w_(i, L) (L=1, . . . , N_(D, i)) from the tap T1 to the tap TN_(D, i) of the FIR filter for suppressing self interference on the basis of the matrix H_(SI, i). After that, the relay station 3-i performs non-regenerative relay of the data signal from the base station 2C in the similar way to S181 to S183 in
From
In case where the terminal station 4 executes the determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and the calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3, the terminal station 4 may acquire, after transmitting a connection request, from the control device 1, information regarding the base station 2 and the relay station 3, for example. After this, the terminal station 4 may execute the similar processing to the base station 2C after S211 in
Alternatively, a part or all of the control device 1, the base station 2, and the terminal station 4 cooperate to execute the determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and the calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3. For example, the control device 1 may calculate the delay time ΔR, and the base station 2 or the terminal station 4 may execute the determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and the calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3. For example, the control device 1 may calculate the delay time ΔR, and the base station 2 may execute the determination of whether or not the relay station 3 executes non-regenerative relaying, and the terminal station 4 may execute the calculation of the delay time and the phase rotation amount provided to the relay signal in the relay station 3.
<Modifications>
While in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, non-regenerative relay in a downlink direction has been described, the same can apply to non-regenerative relay in an uplink direction. In the case of the uplink direction, the transmission station becomes the terminal station 4, and the reception station becomes the base station 2.
A plurality of groups may be created with the plurality of relay stations 3, and the arrival timing ΔR of the relay signals at the terminal station 4 may be set for each group so that the relay signals arrive at the terminal station 4 in the same phase at timings different for each group.
While in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, description has been provided assuming that the relay station 3 includes one antenna, the relay station 3 may include a plurality of antennas. In the case where the relay station 3 includes a plurality of antennas, the relay station 3 determines whether or not non-regenerative relay can be performed for each antenna. Further, in the case where one radio unit is connected to one antenna, the relay station 3 acquires a delay time and a phase rotation amount to be provided to the relay signal for each antenna.
While in the first embodiment, each relay station 3 calculates a delay time and a phase rotation amount to be provided to the relay signal, the control device 1 may calculate these for each relay station 3 and notify each relay station 3. In this case, the control device 1 is notified of the phase rotation amount θ_(RX, i) of the receiver 312, the phase rotation amount θ_(TX, i) of the transmitter 311 and the propagation delay between the relay station 3 and the terminal station 4 from each relay station 3.
The embodiments described above are examples, and the present disclosure may be changed and carried out as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. The processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined to the extent that no technical conflict exists.
A process which is described to be performed by one device may be performed among a plurality of devices. Processes described to be performed by different devices may be performed by one device. Each function to be implemented by a hardware component (server component) in a computer system may be flexibly changed.
The present disclosure may also be implemented by supplying a computer program for implementing a function described in the embodiment above to a computer, and by reading and executing the program by at least one processor of the computer. Such a computer program may be provided to a computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium which is connectable to a system bus of a computer, or may be provided to a computer through a network. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be any type of disk such as a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, and any type of medium which is suitable for storing electronic instructions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-127979 | Aug 2022 | JP | national |
| 2022-155391 | Sep 2022 | JP | national |
