U.S. patent application number 14/444162 was filed with the patent office on 2014-11-13 for multi-hop wireless communication system and relay method and relay station therein.
The applicant listed for this patent is Siemens Aktiengesellschaft. Invention is credited to Xinglin Wang, Yi Sheng Xue.
Application Number | 20140334377 14/444162 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41479646 |
Filed Date | 2014-11-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140334377 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Xinglin ; et
al. |
November 13, 2014 |
Multi-Hop Wireless Communication System and Relay Method and Relay
Station Therein
Abstract
A relay station, which is originally deployed in the multi-hop
wireless communication system and used for relaying the
communication between a base station and a mobile station, is
referred to as an ordinary relay station, and a relay station is
referred to as an aid relay station. The aid relay station can
decide whether to provide aid to the ordinary relay station, and
can be invisible to the base station and the mobile station,
namely, the aid relay station will not generate signaling between
itself and the base station or the mobile station, and therefore
the aid relay station, when being implemented, will not generate
extra signaling overheads in the multi-hop wireless communication
system; and at the same time, when the relay quality of an aided
relay station is poor, it can be improved by the aid relay station,
thereby improving the system performance of the multi-hop wireless
communication system.
Inventors: |
Wang; Xinglin; (Beijing,
CN) ; Xue; Yi Sheng; (Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft |
Munchen |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
41479646 |
Appl. No.: |
14/444162 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13120016 |
Apr 20, 2011 |
8798528 |
|
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14444162 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/315 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 7/2606 20130101;
H04W 72/04 20130101; H04B 7/155 20130101; H04W 16/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/315 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20060101
H04W072/04; H04B 7/155 20060101 H04B007/155 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 26, 2008 |
CN |
200810166914.X |
Sep 15, 2009 |
EP |
PCT/EP2009/061963 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A relay method in a multi-hop wireless communication system
including a a base station, a mobile station, a first relay
station, and a second relay station, the method comprising: at
least one of: said second relay station acquiring downlink wireless
resource allocation information between said base station and said
first relay station and between said first relay station and said
mobile station, and said second relay station acquiring uplink
wireless resource allocation information between said mobile
station and said first relay station and between said first relay
station and said base station; and at least one of: (a) said second
relay station: determining to aid the downlink relay of said first
relay station, and using the downlink wireless resource allocation
information acquired by said second relay station to receive relay
data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and
forward said received relay data to said mobile station; and (b)
said second relay station: determining to aid the uplink relay of
said first relay station; and using the uplink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by said second relay station to
receive relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay
station, and forward said received relay data to said base
station.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein said second relay station
acquires at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation
information and said uplink wireless resource allocation
information by receiving broadcast messages from said base
station.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein said second relay station
acquires at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation
information and said uplink wireless resource allocation
information by receiving a public control signaling sent by said
base station.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein: said second relay station
acquires at least one of the downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said first relay station
and the uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said first relay station and said base station by receiving
broadcast messages of said base station; and said second relay
station acquires at least one of the downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said first relay station and said
mobile station and the uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said mobile station and said first relay
station by receiving public control signaling sent by said first
relay station.
25. The method of claim 21, comprising at least one of: said second
relay station determining that a current downlink transmission rate
configuration of said mobile station is lower than a first
threshold value defined by the downlink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by said second relay station, and
determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station
based on said determination; and said second relay station
determining that a current uplink transmission rate configuration
of said mobile station is lower than a second threshold value
defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the
uplink relay of said first relay station based on said
determination.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one of said first
threshold value and said second threshold value is set by a system
configuration, and is dynamically adjustable based on differences
in time and geographical regions.
27. The method of claim 21, comprising at least one of: said second
relay station determining that a number of times a downlink
automatic retransmission is requested between said first relay
station and said mobile station exceeds a first threshold defined
by the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired
by said second relay station, and determining to aid the downlink
relay of said first relay station based on said determination; and
said second relay station determining that a number of times an
uplink automatic retransmission is requested between said mobile
station and said first relay station exceeds a second threshold
defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the
uplink relay of said first relay station based on said
determination.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of said first
threshold and said second threshold is set by a system
configuration and is dynamically adjusted based on differences in
time and geographical regions.
29. The method of claim 21, wherein: the step of said second relay
station determining to aid the downlink of said first relay station
comprises: said second relay station determining whether it
correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said
first relay station and whether said first relay station correctly
receives the relay data from sent base station, and if said second
relay station determines that both the first and second relay
station correctly receive the relay data from the base station,
said second relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said
base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station;
and the step of said second relay station determining to aid the
uplink of said first relay station comprises: said second relay
station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data
sent by said mobile station to said first relay station and whether
said first relay station correctly receives the relay data from
sent mobile station, and if said second relay station determines
that both the first and second relay station correctly receive the
relay data from the mobile station, said second relay station
forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to said
first relay station, to said base station.
30. The method of claim 21, wherein: the step of said second relay
station determining to aid the downlink of said first relay station
comprises said second relay station determining whether it
correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said
first relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by
said base station to said first relay station, to said mobile
station; and the step of said second relay station determining to
aid the uplink of said first relay station comprises said second
relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay
data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and
if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to
said first relay station, to said base station.
31. An aid relay station of a multi-hop wireless communication
system including a base station, a mobile station, the aid relay
station, and a first relay station, wherein said aid relay station
is configured to perform at least one of: acquiring downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said first relay station and between said first relay station
and said mobile station, and acquiring uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said mobile station and said first
relay station and between said first relay station and said base
station; and wherein said aid relay station is further configured
to perform at least one of: (a) aiding a downlink of relay data by:
determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station,
and using the downlink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said aid relay station to, receive relay data sent by
said base station to said first relay station, and forward said
received relay data to said mobile station; and (b) aiding an
uplink of relay data by: determining to aid the uplink relay of
said first relay station; and using the uplink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by said aid relay station to
receive relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay
station, and forward said received relay data to said base
station.
32. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein said aid relay
station is configured to acquire at least one of said downlink
wireless resource allocation information and said uplink wireless
resource allocation information by receiving broadcast messages of
said base station.
33. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein said aid relay
station is configured to: acquire at least one of said downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said first relay station and the uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said first relay station and said
base station by receiving broadcast messages of said base station;
and acquire at least one of said downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said first relay station and said
mobile station and the uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said mobile station and said first relay
station by receiving public control signaling sent by said first
relay station.
34. The aid relay station of claim 31, said aid relay station is
configured to perform at least one of the following: determining
that a current downlink transmission rate configuration of said
mobile station is lower than a first threshold value defined by the
downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said
aid relay station, and determining to aid the downlink relay of
said first relay station based on said determination; and
determining that a current uplink transmission rate configuration
of said mobile station is lower than a second threshold value
defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the
uplink relay of said first relay station based on said
determination.
35. The aid relay station of claim 31, said aid relay station is
configured to perform at least one of the following: determining
that a number of times a downlink automatic retransmission is
requested between said first relay station and said mobile station
exceeds a first threshold defined by the downlink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by said aid relay station, and
determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station
based on said determination; and determining that a number of times
an uplink automatic retransmission is requested between said mobile
station and said first relay station exceeds a second threshold
defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the
uplink relay of said first relay station based on said
determination.
36. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein: determining by said
aid relay station to aid the downlink of said first relay station
comprises: said aid relay station determining whether it correctly
receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first
relay station and whether said first relay station correctly
receives the relay data from sent base station, and if said aid
relay station determines that both the first and aid relay station
correctly receive the relay data from the base station, said aid
relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said base station
to said first relay station, to said mobile station; and
determining by said aid relay station to aid the uplink of said
first relay station comprises: said aid relay station determining
whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile
station to said first relay station and whether said first relay
station correctly receives the relay data from sent mobile station,
and if said aid relay station determines that both the first and
aid relay station correctly receive the relay data from the mobile
station, said aid relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by
said mobile station to said first relay station, to said base
station.
37. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein: determining by said
aid relay station to aid the downlink of said first relay station
comprises said aid relay station determining whether it correctly
receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first
relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said
base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station;
and determining by said aid relay station to aid the uplink of said
first relay station comprises said aid relay station determining
whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile
station to said first relay station, and if so, forwarding the
relay data, sent by said mobile station to said first relay
station, to said base station.
38. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein said aid relay
station and said first relay station are located in the same
cell.
39. The aid relay station of claim 31, wherein said aid relay
station and said first relay station are located in different
cells.
40. A multi-hop wireless communication system, comprising: a base
station, a mobile station, a first relay statio, and a second relay
station, wherein said second relay station is configured to perform
at least one of: acquiring downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said first relay station
and between said first relay station and said mobile station, and
acquiring uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said mobile station and said first relay station and between said
first relay station and said base station; and wherein said second
relay station is further configured to perform at least one of: (a)
aiding a downlink of relay data by: determining to aid the downlink
relay of said first relay station, and using the downlink wireless
resource allocation information acquired by said second relay
station to, receive relay data sent by said base station to said
first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said
mobile station; and (b) aiding an uplink of relay data by:
determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station;
and using the uplink wireless resource allocation information
acquired by said second relay station to receive relay data sent by
said mobile station to said first relay station, and forward said
received relay data to said base station.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 13/120,016 filed on Mar. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,798,528,
which is a U.S. National Stage Application of International
Application No. PCT/EP2009/061963 filed Sep. 15, 2009, which
designates the United States of America, and claims priority to
Chinese Application No. 200810166914.X filed Sep. 26, 2008. The
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to wireless communication
technology and, in particular, to a multi-hop wireless
communication system and a relay method and a relay station in the
system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Currently, multi-hop wireless communication technology is
one of the research and development hot spots in the field of
wireless communication technology, and the multi-hop wireless
communication systems represent a development trend for future
wireless communication systems. For example, the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has established a Relay
Task Group, to engage in the introduction of the concept of a relay
station in a wireless communication system that is based on the
standards of IEEE 802.16 series.
[0004] A strong advantage of the multi-hop wireless communication
system is the adoption of relay stations. By the adoption of relay
stations, the coverage of a base station in a conventional wireless
cellular communication system can be significantly extended, and at
the same time, a more flexible path selection can be provided for
the communication between a base station and mobile stations. In
this way, in a region where the coverage of abase station of a
conventional cell is poor, or when the communication link between a
base station and a mobile station is affected by shadow fading, by
using a relay station to relay the communication between the base
station and mobile station so as to change an originally single and
fixed "single-hop" link between the base station and the mobile
station into a "multi-hop" link that can be selected flexibly, the
performance of the wireless cellular communication system can be
improved significantly. Theoretically speaking, it can be simply
considered that, when the number of relay stations in a multi-hop
wireless communication system increases, the performance of this
system will be greatly improved, as there are more communication
paths for selection.
[0005] However, when the number of relay stations in the multi-hop
wireless communication system increases continuously, a problem
occurs at the same time in which the system overheads for managing
these relay stations also increase continuously. In a multi-hop
wireless communication system where the relay stations are managed
in a centralized manner, both the communication link between a base
station and a relay station and the communication link between a
relay station and a mobile station need to be managed by the base
station, and with the continuous increase in the number of relay
stations, the signaling overheads for the link management in the
base station will increase significantly, especially in the case of
supporting the cooperative relay, the increase of the signaling
overheads will be very significant.
[0006] For this reason, the concept of a distributed network is
proposed in the multi-hop wireless communication system. The
difference between this distributed network and the centralized
management mentioned above is that, on the basis of the concept of
a distributed network, a base station only manages the
communication link between itself and the relay stations, while the
communication link between a relay station and a mobile station is
managed by the relay station itself. Although the distributed link
management can reduce a part of signaling overheads for the link
management by the base station, the base station still has to
manage the communication link between itself and the relay
stations, and therefore, when the number of relay stations
increases, the increase of signaling overheads for the link
management is inevitable.
SUMMARY
[0007] In view of the situation, according to various embodiments,
a relay method in a multi-hop wireless communication system, and a
multi-hop wireless communication system and a relay station using
the method can be provided, thereby reducing the signaling
overheads for managing the relay stations in the multi-hop wireless
communication system.
According to an embodiment, a relay method in a multi-hop wireless
communication system, wherein a base station communicates with a
mobile station via a relay station 1; may comprise:
[0008] acquiring by a relay station 2 downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said base station and said relay
station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said mobile station,
and/or uplink wireless resource allocation information between said
mobile station and said relay station 1 and between said relay
station 1 and said base station;
[0009] wherein when said relay station 2 decides to aid the
downlink relay of said relay station 1, according to the downlink
wireless resource allocation information acquired by it, said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data received by it, and sent by said
base station to said relay station 1, to said mobile station by
using the downlink wireless resource allocated between said relay
station 1 and said mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2
decides to aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1, according
to the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by
it, said relay station 2 forwards the relay data received by it,
and sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said
base station by using the uplink wireless resource allocated
between said relay station 1 and said base station.
According to a further embodiment, said relay station 2 may acquire
said downlink wireless resource allocation information and/or said
uplink wireless resource allocation information by receiving the
broadcast messages of said base station. According to a further
embodiment, said relay station 2 may acquire said downlink wireless
resource allocation information and/or said uplink wireless
resource allocation information by receiving a public control
signaling sent by said base station. According to a further
embodiment, said relay station 2 may acquire the downlink wireless
resource allocation information between said base station and said
relay station 1 and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said relay station 1 and said base station by
receiving the broadcast messages of said base station; and, said
relay station 2 acquires the downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said relay station 1 and said mobile station
and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said mobile station and said relay station 1 by receiving the
public control signaling sent by said relay station 1. According to
a further embodiment, when said relay station 2 confirms that, at
this moment, the downlink transmission rate configuration of said
mobile station is lower than a set threshold value 1 by said
downlink wireless resource allocation information between said
relay station 1 and said mobile station acquired by it, said relay
station 2 may decide to aid the downlink relay of said relay
station 1; and/or when said relay station 2 confirms that, at this
moment, the uplink transmission rate configuration of said mobile
station is lower than a set threshold value 2 by said uplink
wireless resource allocation information between said mobile
station and said relay station 1 acquired by it, said relay station
2 may decide to aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1.
According to a further embodiment, said threshold value 1 and/or
said threshold value 2 can be set by a system configuration, and
can be dynamically adjusted according to the differences in time
and geographical regions. According to a further embodiment, when
said relay station 2 confirms that the number of times a downlink
automatic retransmission is requested between said relay station 1
and said mobile station exceeds a set threshold 1, said relay
station 2 may decide to aid the downlink relay of said relay
station 1; and/or when said relay station 2 confirms that the
number of times an uplink automatic retransmission is requested
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 exceeds a set
threshold 2, said relay station 2 may decide to aid the uplink
relay of said relay station 1 . According to a further embodiment,
said threshold 1 and/or said threshold 2 maybe set by the system
configuration, and can be dynamically adjusted according to the
differences in time and geographical regions. According to a
further embodiment, when said relay station 2 decides to aid the
downlink of said relay station 1, said relay station 2 judges
whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said base
station to said relay station 1 and whether said relay station 1
correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to it,
and if both of them receive correctly, said relay station 2 may
forward the relay data, sent by said base station to said relay
station 1, to said mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2
decides to aid the uplink of said relay station 1, said relay
station 2 judges whether it correctly receives the relay data sent
by said mobile station to said relay station 1 and whether said
relay station 1 correctly receives the relay data sent by said
mobile station to said relay station 1, and if both of them receive
correctly, said relay station 2 may forward the relay data, sent by
said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base station.
According to a further embodiment, when said relay station 2
decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station 1, said
relay station 2 judges whether it correctly receives the relay data
sent by said base station to said relay station 1, and if it
receives correctly, said relay station 2 may forward the relay
data, sent by said base station to said relay station 1, to said
mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2 decides to aid the
uplink relay of said relay station 1, said relay station 2 judges
whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile
station to said relay station 1, and if it receives rightly, said
relay station 2 may forward the relay data, sent by said mobile
station to said relay station 1, to said base station. According to
another embodiment, a multi-hop wireless communication system, may
comprise a base station, a mobile station and a relay station 1,
with said base station communicating with said mobile station via
said relay station 1; and a relay station 2; said relay station 2
is used for acquiring the downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said relay station 1 and
between said relay station 1 and said mobile station, and/or the
uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile
station and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1
and said base station; and when said relay station 2 decides to aid
the downlink relay of said relay station 1, according to the
downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by it,
said relay station 2 forwards the relay data, received by it and
sent by said base station to said relay station 1, to said mobile
station by using the downlink wireless resource allocated between
said relay station 1 and said mobile station; and/or when said
relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink relay of said relay
station 1, according to the uplink wireless resource allocation
information acquired by it, said relay station 2 forwards the relay
data, received by it and sent by said mobile station to said relay
station 1, to said base station by using the uplink wireless
resource allocated between said relay station 1 and said base
station.
[0010] According to yet another embodiment, in an aid relay station
in a multi-hop wireless communication system, wherein said system
comprises a base station, a mobile station and an ordinary relay
station, and said base station communicates with said mobile
station via said ordinary relay station; said aid relay station is
used for acquiring the downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said ordinary relay
station and between said ordinary relay station and said mobile
station, and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information
between said mobile station and said ordinary relay station and
between said ordinary relay station and said base station; and when
said aid relay station decides to aid the downlink relay of said
ordinary relay station, according to the downlink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by it, said aid relay station
forwards the relay data, received by it and sent by said base
station to said ordinary relay station, to said mobile station by
using the downlink wireless resource allocated between said
ordinary relay station and said mobile station; and/or when said
aid relay station decides to aid the uplink relay of said ordinary
relay station, according to the uplink wireless resource allocation
information acquired by it, said aid relay station forwards the
relay data, received by it and sent by said mobile station to said
ordinary relay station, to said base station by using the uplink
wireless resource allocated between said ordinary relay station and
said base station.
[0011] According to a further embodiment of the aid relay station,
said aid relay station may acquire the downlink wireless resource
allocation information and/or said uplink wireless resource
allocation information by receiving the broadcast messages of said
base station. According to a further embodiment of the aid relay
station, said aid relay station may acquire the downlink wireless
resource allocation information between said base station and said
ordinary relay station and/or uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said ordinary relay station and said base
station by receiving the broadcast messages of said base station;
and said aid relay station acquires the downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said ordinary relay station and said
mobile station and/or uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said mobile station and said ordinary relay
station by receiving the public control signaling sent by said
ordinary relay station. According to a further embodiment of the
aid relay station, when said aid relay station confirms that at
this moment, said downlink transmission rate configuration is lower
than a set threshold value 1 by said downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said ordinary relay station and said
mobile station acquired by it, said aid relay station may decide to
aid the downlink relay of said ordinary relay station; and/or when
said aid relay station confirms that at this moment, the uplink
transmission rate configuration is lower than a set threshold value
2 by the uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said mobile station and said ordinary relay station acquired by it,
said aid relay station may decide to aid the uplink relay of said
ordinary relay station. According to a further embodiment of the
aid relay station, when said aid relay station confirms that when
the number of times the downlink automatic retransmission requested
between said ordinary relay station and said mobile station is
greater than a set threshold 1, said aid relay station may decide
to aid the downlink relay of said ordinary relay station; and/or
when said aid relay station confirms that the number of times the
uplink automatic retransmission is requested between said mobile
station and said ordinary relay station is greater than a set
threshold 2, said aid relay station may decide to aid the uplink
relay of said ordinary relay station. According to a further
embodiment of the aid relay station, when said aid relay station
decides to aid the downlink relay of said ordinary relay station,
said aid relay station may judge whether it correctly receives the
relay data sent by said base station to said ordinary relay station
and whether said ordinary relay station correctly receives the
relay data sent by said base station to it, and if both of them
receive correctly, said aid relay station forwards the relay data,
sent by said base station to said ordinary relay station, to said
mobile station; and/or when said aid relay station decides to aid
the uplink of said ordinary relay station, said aid relay station
may judge whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said
mobile station to said ordinary relay station and whether said
ordinary relay station correctly receives the relay data sent by
said mobile station to it, and if both of them receive correctly,
said aid relay station forwards the relay data, sent by said mobile
station to said ordinary relay station, to said base station.
According to a further embodiment of the aid relay station, when
said aid relay station decides to aid the downlink relay of said
ordinary relay station, said aid relay station judges whether it
correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said
ordinary relay station, and if it receives correctly, said aid
relay station may forward the relay data, sent by said base station
to said ordinary relay station, to said mobile station; and/or when
said aid relay station decides to aid the uplink relay of said
ordinary relay station, said aid relay station judges whether it
correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to
said ordinary relay station, and if it receives correctly, said aid
relay station may forward the relay data, sent by said mobile
station to said ordinary relay station, to said base station.
According to a further embodiment of the aid relay station, said
aid relay station and said ordinary relay station can be located in
the same cell. According to a further embodiment of the aid relay
station, said aid relay station and said ordinary relay station can
be located in different cells.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The objects and features of the present invention will be
further described in detail hereinbelow in conjunction with
particular embodiments and accompanying drawings, and these
particular embodiments are merely illustrative, and not
limiting.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method according to various
embodiments; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a system
according to various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] According to various embodiments, : in a relay method in a
multi-hop wireless communication system, a base station
communicates with a mobile station via a relay station 1; a relay
station 2 acquires downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said relay station 1 and
between said relay station 1 and said mobile station, and/or uplink
wireless resource allocation information between said mobile
station and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1
and said base station; when said relay station 2 decides to aid the
downlink relay of said relay station 1, according to the downlink
wireless resource allocation information acquired by it, said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data, received by it and sent by said
base station to said relay station 1, to said mobile station by
using the downlink wireless resource allocated between said relay
station 1 and said mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2
decides to aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1, according
to the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by
it, said relay station 2 forwards the received relay data, received
by it and sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, to
said base station by using the uplink wireless resource allocated
between said relay station 1 and said base station.
[0016] According to various embodiments, said relay station 2
acquires said downlink wireless resource allocation information
and/or said uplink wireless resource allocation information by
receiving the broadcast messages of said base station.
[0017] According to various embodiments, wherein said relay station
2 acquires said downlink wireless resource allocation information
and/or said uplink wireless resource allocation information by
receiving a public control signaling sent by said base station.
[0018] According to various embodiments, wherein said relay station
2 acquires the downlink wireless resource allocation information
between said base station and said relay station 1 and/or the
uplink wireless resource allocation information between said relay
station 1 and said base station by receiving the broadcast messages
of said base station; and said relay station 2 acquires the
downlink wireless resource allocation information between said
relay station 1 and said mobile station and/or the uplink wireless
resource allocation information between said mobile station and
said relay station 1 by receiving the public control signaling sent
by said relay station 1.
[0019] According to various embodiments, wherein when said relay
station 2 confirms that at this moment, the downlink transmission
rate configuration of said mobile station is lower than a set
threshold value 1 by said downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said relay station 1 and said mobile station
acquired by it, said relay station 2 decides to aid the downlink
relay of said relay station 1; and/or when said relay station 2
confirms that, at this moment, the uplink transmission rate
configuration of said mobile station is lower than a set threshold
value 2 by said uplink wireless resource allocation information
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 acquired by
it, said relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink relay of said
relay station 1.
[0020] According to various embodiments, wherein said threshold
value 1 and/or said threshold value 2 are set by a system
configuration, and can be dynamically adjusted according to the
differences in time and geographical regions.
[0021] According to various embodiments, wherein when said relay
station confirms that the number of times the downlink automatic
retransmission is requested between said relay station 1 and said
mobile station exceeds a set threshold 1, said relay station 2
decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station 1; and/or
when said relay station 2 confirms that the number of times the
uplink automatic retransmission requested between said mobile
station and said relay station 1 exceeds a set threshold 2, said
relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink relay of said relay
station 1.
[0022] According to various embodiments, wherein said threshold 1
and/or said threshold 2 are set by the system configuration, and
can be dynamically adjusted according to the differences in time
and geographical regions.
[0023] According to various embodiments, wherein when said relay
station 2 decides to aid the downlink of said relay station 1, said
relay station 2 judges whether it correctly receives the relay data
sent by said base station to said relay station 1 and whether said
relay station 1 correctly receives the relay data sent by said base
station to it, and if both of them receive correctly, said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data, sent by said base station to
said relay station 1, to said mobile station; and/or when said
relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink of said relay station 1,
said relay station 2 judges whether it correctly receives the relay
data sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1 and
whether said relay station 1 correctly receives the relay data sent
by said mobile station to said relay station 1, and if both of them
receive correctly, said relay station 2 forwards the relay data,
sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base
station.
[0024] According to various embodiments, wherein when said relay
station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station
1, said relay station 2 judges whether it correctly receives the
relay data sent by said base station to said relay station 1, and
if it receives correctly, then said relay station 2 forwards the
relay data, sent by said base station to said relay station 1, to
said mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2 decides to
aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1, said relay station 2
judges whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said
mobile station to said relay station 1, and if it receives
correctly, said relay station 2 forwards the relay data, sent by
said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base
station.
[0025] A multi-hop wireless communication system comprising a base
station, a mobile station, a relay station 1 and a relay station 2;
said base station communicates with the mobile station via said
relay station 1; said relay station 2 is used for acquiring the
downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base
station and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1
and said mobile station, and/or the uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said mobile station and said relay
station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said base station;
and when said relay station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay of
said relay station 1, according to the downlink wireless resource
allocation information acquired by it, said relay station 2
forwards the relay data, received by it and sent by said base
station to said relay station 1, to said mobile station by using
the downlink wireless resource allocated between said relay station
1 and said mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2 decides
to aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1, according to the
uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by it,
said relay station 2 forwards the relay data received by it and
sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base
station by using the uplink wireless resource allocated between
said relay station 1 and said base station.
[0026] An aid relay station in a multi-hop wireless communication
system, wherein said system comprises a base station, a mobile
station, and an ordinary relay station, with said base station
communicating with said mobile station via said ordinary relay
station; said aid relay station is used for acquiring the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said ordinary relay station and between said ordinary relay
station and said mobile station, and/or the uplink wireless
resource allocation information between said mobile station and
said ordinary relay station and between said ordinary relay station
and said base station; and when said aid relay station decides to
aid the downlink relay of said ordinary relay station, according to
the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by
it, said aid relay station forwards the relay data, received by it
and sent by said base station to said ordinary relay station, to
said mobile station by using the downlink wireless resource
allocated between said ordinary relay station and said mobile
station; and/or when said aid relay station decides to aid the
uplink relay of said ordinary relay station, according to the
uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by it,
said aid relay station forwards the relay data, received by it and
sent by said mobile station to said ordinary relay station, to said
base station by using the uplink wireless resource allocated
between said ordinary relay station and said base station.
[0027] By way of the technical concept of an aid relay station
according to various embodiments, the aid relay station can decide
by itself whether to provide the aid to a relay station which
relays the communication between a base station and a mobile
station, and the aid relay station can be invisible to the base
station and the mobile station, and therefore, when implemented,
the extra signaling overheads will not be generated in the
multi-hop wireless communication system; at the same time, when the
relay quality of an aided relay station is poor, it can be improved
effectively with the aid of the aid relay station, thereby
improving the system performance of the multi-hop wireless
communication system.
[0028] In order to reduce the signaling overheads for managing the
relay stations in a multi-hop wireless communication system, so
that when the number of relay stations increases, the signaling
overheads occurred thereby in the multi-hop wireless communication
system will not increase excessively, leading to negative effects
on the performance of the system, the concept of an aid relay
station is proposed in various embodiments. The aid relay station
according to various embodiments is not a relay station which is
originally deployed in the multi-hop wireless communication system
and used for relaying the communication between a base station and
a mobile station, instead the aid relay station can decide by
itself whether to provide aid for a relay station which relays the
communication between a base station and a mobile station, and the
aid relay station can be invisible to the base station and the
mobile station, namely, the aid relay station will not generate any
signaling between itself and the base station or the mobile
station, and therefore, the aid relay station, when being
implemented, will not generate extra signaling overheads in the
multi-hop wireless communication system; and, at the same time,
when the relay quality of an aided relay station is poor, it can be
improved effectively with the aid of the aid relay station, thereby
improving the system performance of the multi-hop wireless
communication system.
[0029] Based on the above technical concept according to various
embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the relay method in the multi-hop
wireless communication system proposed by various embodiments
comprises the following steps: a base station communicates with a
mobile station via a relay station 1; a relay station 2 acquires
downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base
station and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1
and said mobile station, and/or uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said mobile station and said relay station 1
and between said relay station 1 and said base station; when said
relay station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay
station 1, according to the downlink wireless resource allocation
information acquired by it, said relay station 2 forwards the relay
data, received by it and sent by said base station to said relay
station 1, to said mobile station by using the downlink wireless
resource allocated between said relay station 1 and said mobile
station; and/or when said relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink
relay of said relay station 1, according to the uplink wireless
resource allocation information acquired by it, said relay station
2 forwards the relay data, received by it and sent by said mobile
station to said relay station 1, to said base station by using the
uplink wireless resource allocated between said relay station 1 and
said base station.
[0030] In order to distinguish from the aid relay station according
to various embodiments, in this patent application, a relay
station, which is originally deployed in the multi-hop wireless
communication system and used for relaying the communication
between abase station and mobile stations, is referred to as an
ordinary relay station. That is to say, in the method according to
various embodiments, the relay station 1 is an ordinary relay
station and the relay station 2 is an aid relay station.
[0031] The method according to various embodiments can be
implemented very easily in a multi-hop wireless communication
system adopting centralized management of the ordinary relay
stations. In such a system, both of the communication links between
a base station and an ordinary relay station and between the
ordinary relay station and a mobile station need to be managed by
the base station, and the base station will allocate the wireless
resources to the communication link between it and the ordinary
relay station and the communication link between the ordinary relay
station and the mobile station, and broadcast the wireless resource
information. In this way, according to various embodiments, said
relay station 2 can acquire the downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said base station and said relay
station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said mobile station,
and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said mobile station and said relay station 1 and between said relay
station 1 and said mobile station, by receiving the broadcast
messages of said base station.
[0032] In the multi-hop wireless communication system adopting
centralized management of the ordinary relay stations, the base
station can also transmit the wireless resource allocation
information by public control signaling. In this way, according to
various embodiments, said relay station 2 can also acquire the
downlink wireless resource allocation information and/or the uplink
wireless resource allocation information by receiving the public
control signaling sent by said base station.
[0033] According to various embodiments, the method can also be
implemented very easily in a multi-hop wireless communication
system adopting the concept of a distributed network. In such a
system, a base station only manages the communication link between
itself and an ordinary relay station, while the communication link
between the ordinary relay station and a mobile station is managed
by the ordinary relay station itself; in this case, the ordinary
relay station is a relay station similar to a base station, and the
ordinary relay station can allocate the wireless resource to the
link between itself and the mobile station like a base station, and
transmit the wireless resource allocation information by the public
control signaling or broadcast messages. In this way, according to
various embodiments, said relay station 2 can acquire the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said relay station 1 and/or the uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said relay station 1 and said base
station by receiving the broadcast messages of said base station;
or, it can acquire the downlink wireless resource allocation
information between said base station and said relay station 1
and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information between
said relay station 1 and said base station by receiving the public
control signaling sent by said base station. At the same time, said
relay station 2 can acquire the downlink wireless resource
allocation information between said relay station 1 and said mobile
station and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 by receiving
the broadcast messages of said relay station 1; or, it can acquire
the downlink wireless resource allocation information between said
relay station 1 and said mobile station and/or the uplink wireless
resource allocation information between said mobile station and
said relay station 1 by receiving the public control signaling sent
by said relay station 1.
[0034] The aid relay station according to various embodiments, when
judging whether to provide the aid, can decide whether to provide
the aid to the ordinary relay stations, which ordinary relay
stations should be provided with the aid, and whether the downlink
relay or the uplink relay of ordinary relay stations is to be
provided with the aid, according to its own processing capability
and the quality of the links. Preferably, the parameters can be set
by the system configuration, and then, the aid relay station
according to various embodiments can decide whether to provide the
aid according to said parameters. For example, in implementing the
method according to various embodiments, when said relay station 2
confirms that at this moment, said downlink transmission rate
configuration is lower than a set threshold value 1 by the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said relay station
1 and said mobile station acquired by itself, said relay station 2
decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station 1; and/or
when said relay station 2 confirms that, at this moment, said
uplink transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is
lower than a set threshold value 2 by said uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said mobile station and said relay
station 1 acquired by itself, said relay station 2 decides to aid
the uplink relay of said relay station 1. As another example, when
said relay station 2 confirms that the number of times of the
downlink automatic retransmission request between said relay
station 1 and said mobile station exceeds a set threshold 1, said
relay station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay
station 1; and/or when said relay station 2 confirms that the
number of times the uplink automatic retransmission is requested
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 exceeds a set
threshold 2, said relay station 2 decides to aid the uplink relay
of said relay station 1.
[0035] In a wireless communication system, the communication
traffic distribution often changes with time and location. For
example, the communication traffic in some peak periods such as
holidays is greater than that in normal times, and the
communication traffic in some districts, such as central business
districts, airports and stadiums, is greater than that in other
districts . Thus, in a multi-hop wireless communication system, the
processing capability of an ordinary relay station required at
different times may fluctuate, thus causing the processing
capability of the ordinary relay station to be insufficient in busy
hours while surplus in idle hours. Alternatively, in different
districts of a multi-hop wireless communication system, the
processing capability required by different ordinary relay stations
may be different, thereby causing the processing capability of one
ordinary relay station to be insufficient while that of another one
surplus. Therefore, when said parameters are set by the system
configuration according to the communication traffic distribution
in the multi-hop wireless communication system, it can make the
setting of said parameters match with it, and said parameters can
be dynamically adjusted according to the changes in the
communication traffic at different times and in different
districts. Thus, with the aid of the aid relay station according to
various embodiments, the link adaptation can be realized in a
better way, thereby further improving the performance of the
multi-hop wireless communication system, without generating extra
signaling overheads in the multi-hop wireless communication
system.
[0036] The method according to various embodiments will be
described in detail hereinbelow in conjunction with three
particular embodiments. In embodiment one, said relay station 2
aids the downlink relay of said relay station 1, and the steps
thereof are as follows:
[0037] Step 101: said relay station 2 acquires the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said
mobile station by receiving the broadcast messages of said base
station;
[0038] Step 102: when said relay station 2 confirms that the number
of times the downlink automatic retransmission requested between
said relay station 1 and said mobile station exceeds the set
threshold 1, said relay station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay
of said relay station 1; wherein, said threshold 1 is set by the
system configuration;
[0039] Step 103: said relay station 2, according to the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said relay station 1 acquired by itself, receives the relay
data sent by said base station to said relay station 1;
[0040] Step 104: said relay station 2 judges whether it correctly
receives the relay data sent by said base station to said relay
station 1 and whether said relay station 1 correctly receives the
relay data sent by said base station to it; wherein, whether said
relay station 1 correctly receives the relay data sent by said base
station to it can be judged by the information "acknowledge (ACK)"
or "not acknowledge (NACK)" sent by said relay station 1 to said
base station; and
[0041] Step 105: if both of them receive correctly, said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data received by itself and sent by
said base station to said relay station 1, to said mobile station
by using the downlink wireless resource allocated between said
relay station 1 and said mobile station; otherwise, said relay
station 2 discards said relay data received by it.
[0042] In embodiment two, said relay station 2 aids the uplink
relay of said relay station 1, and the steps thereof are as
follows:
[0043] Step 201: said relay station 2 acquires the uplink wireless
resource allocation information between said mobile station and
said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said base
station by receiving the broadcast messages of said base
station;
[0044] Step 202: when said relay station 2 confirms that the number
of times there is an uplink ARQ between said mobile station and
said relay station 1 exceeds the set threshold 2, said relay
station 2 decides to aid the uplink relay of said relay station 1;
wherein, said threshold 2 is set by the system configuration;
[0045] Step 203: said relay station 2, according to the uplink
wireless resource allocation information between said mobile
station and said relay station 1 acquired by itself, receives the
relay data sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1;
[0046] Step 204: said relay station 2 judges whether it correctly
receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said relay
station 1, and whether said relay station 1 correctly receives the
relay data sent by said mobile station to it; wherein, whether said
relay station 1 correctly receives the relay data sent by said
mobile station to it can be judged by the information "acknowledge
(ACK)" or "not acknowledge (NACK) " sent by said relay station 1 to
said mobile station; and
[0047] Step 205: if both of them receive correctly, said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data, received by itself and sent by
said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base station
by using the uplink wireless resource allocated between said relay
station 1 and said base station; otherwise, said relay station 2
discards said relay data received by it.
[0048] In embodiment three, said relay station 2 aids the downlink
relay and the uplink relay of said relay station 1, and the steps
thereof are as follows:
[0049] Step 301: said relay station 2 acquires the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said relay station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said
mobile station, and the uplink wireless resource allocation
information between said mobile station and said relay station 1
and between said relay station 1 and said base station, by
receiving the broadcast messages of said base station;
[0050] Step 302: when said relay station 2 confirms that, at this
moment, the downlink transmission rate configuration of said mobile
station is lower than a set threshold value 1 by the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said relay station
1 and said mobile station acquired by itself, said relay station 2
decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station 1; when
said relay station 2 confirms that, at this moment, the uplink
transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is lower
than a set threshold value 2 by the uplink wireless resource
allocation information between said mobile station and said relay
station 1 acquired by itself, said relay station 2 decides to aid
the uplink relay of said relay station 1; wherein, said threshold
value 1 and threshold value 2 are set by the system
configuration;
[0051] Step 303: said relay station 2, according to the downlink
wireless resource allocation information between said base station
and said relay station 1 acquired by itself, receives the relay
data sent by said base station to said relay station 1, and
according to the uplink wireless resource allocation information
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 acquired by
itself, receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said
relay station 1;
[0052] Step 304: said relay station 2 judges whether it correctly
receives the relay data sent by said base station to said relay
station 1 and the relay data sent by said mobile station to said
relay station 1; and
[0053] Step 305: if said relay station 2 correctly receives the
relay data sent by said base station to said relay station 1, it
forwards the relay data, sent by said base station to said relay
station 1, to said mobile station by using the downlink wireless
resource allocated between said relay station 1 and said mobile
station, otherwise, said relay station 2 discards the said relay
data received by itself and sent by said base station to said relay
station 1; if said relay station 2 correctly receives the relay
data sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, it
forwards the relay data, received by itself and sent by said mobile
station to said relay station 1, to said base station by using the
uplink wireless resource allocated between said relay station 1 and
said base station, otherwise, said relay station 2 discards the
received relay data received by itself and sent by said mobile
station to said relay station 1.
[0054] In the above three particular embodiments, before said relay
station 2 forwards the relay data, received by itself and sent to
said relay station 1, to said base station and/or said mobile
station, it further judges whether it receives said relay data
correctly, and forwards the relay data to said base station and/or
said mobile station only when it receives correctly, such that this
can further improve the relay quality of said relay station 2,
thereby making the aid of said relay station 2 to said relay
station 1 more effective.
[0055] The method according to various embodiments is described in
detail above. Based on the technical concept according to various
embodiments, there is further proposes a multi-hop wireless
communication system and an aid relay station, for implementing the
method. A schematic structural diagram of a system according to
various embodiments is shown in FIG. 2, wherein it comprises abase
station, a mobile station, a relay station 1 and a relay station 2.
Said base station communicates with said mobile station via said
relay station 1, namely, said relay station 1 is an ordinary relay
station. Said relay station 2 is an aid relay station according to
various embodiments and is used for acquiring the downlink wireless
resource allocation information between said base station and said
relay station 1 and between said relay station 1 and said mobile
station, and/or the uplink wireless resource allocation information
between said mobile station and said relay station 1 and between
said relay station 1 and said base station; and, when said relay
station 2 decides to aid the downlink relay of said relay station
1, according to the downlink wireless resource allocation
information acquired by itself, said relay station 2 forwards the
relay data, received by itself and sent by said base station to
said relay station 1, to said mobile station by using the downlink
wireless resource allocated between said relay station 1 and said
mobile station; and/or when said relay station 2 decides to aid the
uplink relay of said relay station 1, according to the uplink
wireless resource allocation information acquired by itself, said
relay station 2 forwards the relay data, received by itself and
sent by said mobile station to said relay station 1, to said base
station by using the uplink wireless resource allocated between
said relay station 1 and said base station.
[0056] A detailed description and particular embodiments of the
multi-hop wireless communication system and the aid relay station
can be found in the related content in the above description of the
method, and will not be described here redundantly.
[0057] Furthermore, based on the technical concept of various
embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art
that the present invention is not limited to a "two-hop" link such
as "a base station--an ordinary relay station--a mobile station"
when being implemented, and is also not limited to the case where
an aid relay station and an ordinary relay station are in the same
cell; instead, in terms of the aid relay station, as long as the
downlink wireless resource allocation information between an
ordinary relay station and its previous hop and between the
ordinary relay station and its next hop and/or the uplink wireless
resource allocation information between the ordinary relay station
and its previous hop and between the ordinary relay station and its
next hop can be acquired by an aid relay station, and the relay
data to be forwarded by the ordinary relay station to its previous
hop or next hop can be received by the aid relay station, the aid
relay station can decide by itself whether to aid the uplink relay
and/or downlink relay of the ordinary relay station.
[0058] The series of detailed descriptions set forth above is
merely a specific description targeting the possible embodiments,
and is not intended to limit the protective scope of the present
invention, and any equivalent embodiment or alternative, without
departing from the technical spirit of the present invention,
should be covered in the protective scope of the present
invention.
* * * * *