Apparatus and method for configuring frame structure in relay wireless communication system

An operation method for a Relay Station (RS) in a relay wireless communication system, the method comprising:

• identifying a signal delay time with an upper node;
• determining a length of a Cyclic Prefix (CP) of one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol to be used by the RS that is less than a length of a CP of one OFDM symbol used by the upper node;
• determining a transmission/reception operation transition time through a negotiation with the upper node;
• determining an overhead caused by a transmission/reception operation transition using a length of an access zone dependent on the determined CP length;
• and
• performing communication considering the overhead.

A Relay Station (RS) apparatus in a relay wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

• a timing controller configured to determine an overhead caused by a transmission/reception operation transition time determined through a negotiation with an upper node, and providing a timing signal dependent on the overhead;
• a transmission unit configured to generate a frame according to a frame configuration scheme and transmit the frame through an antenna when transitioning to a transmit mode by the timing signal;
• and
• a reception unit configured to detecting and identifying a corresponding subframe in a frame received through the antenna when transitioning to a receive mode by the timing signal,
• wherein the timing controller provides the timing signal for a start time point of an Uplink (UL) subframe of the RS set earlier than a start time point of a UL subframe of an upper node with consideration of an idle time, and
• wherein the idle time represents an interval existing between a Downlink (DL) subframe of the RS and the UL subframe of the RS for synchronization between a frame of the upper node and a frame of the RS.