US 8,804,598 B2Granted

Method and system using relays with aggregated spectrum

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorsJianglei Ma, Hang Zhang, Ming Jia, Wen Tong, Hua Xu, Peiying Zhu

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Abstract

International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Advanced technology, also known as 4th Generation (4G) targets to support up to 100 MHz BW. LTE currently supports single carrier bandwidths of up to 20 MHz. The present application describes a multi-carrier approach in which some embodiments of the invention provide a simple solution of aggregating multiple single carrier bandwidths to obtain a wider bandwidth (>20 MHz). Such an approach may extend Long Term Evolution (LTE) bandwidth to greater than that provided by a single carrier, yet maintain full backward compatibility with technologies that predate 4G technology and utilize smaller, single carrier bandwidths. More generally, embodiments of the invention can apply to other communication standards than only LTE.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

for a communication link between a base station and at least one relay station with which the base station is communicating, allocating a first frequency sub-band;
for a communication link between the base station and a first subset of one or more mobile stations with which the base station is communicating, allocating a second frequency sub-band;
for a communication link between the at least one relay station and a second subset of one or more mobile stations with which the at least one relay station is communicating, allocating a third frequency sub-band;
the at least one relay station performing at least one of:
receiving signals on the first frequency sub-band and transmitting signals on the third frequency sub-band simultaneously;
and
transmitting the signals on the first frequency sub-band and receiving the signals on the third frequency sub-band simultaneously;
wherein the first, second and third frequency sub-bands are non-overlapping sub-bands that when aggregated together collectively provide increased bandwidth;
and
applying transmission power distribution control to reduce interference between transmissions and receptions of the relay station, wherein the applying transmission power distribution control comprises transmitting the signals on the first or third frequency sub-bands using a narrow band signal instead of a wide band signal, the narrow band signal having a higher peak power than the peak power of the wide band signal, to reduce to the size of a guard band between the transmissions and receptions of the relay station.

7 more elements

A relay station comprising:

at least one antenna;
transmit circuitry coupled to the at least one antenna configured to transmit a signal;
receive circuitry coupled to the at least one antenna configured to receive a signal;
relay circuitry configured to:
for a communication link between a base station with which the relay station is communicating and the relay station, allocate a first frequency sub-band;
for a communication link between the relay station and a set of one or more mobile stations with which the relay station is communicating, allocate a second frequency sub-band;
the relay station configured to perform at least one of:
receive signals on the first frequency sub-band and transmit the signals on the second frequency sub-band simultaneously;
and
transmit the signals on the first frequency sub-band and receive the signals on the second frequency sub-band simultaneously;
the relay station further configured to:
a) i) allocate the first frequency sub-band as a dedicated sub-band;
and
ii) allocate the second frequency sub-band as a dedicated sub-band;
b) dynamically assign at least one of the first and second frequency sub-bands to a different sub-band than the dedicated first or second frequency sub-band, respectively;
c) change a size of the sub-band of at least one of the first or second frequency sub-bands;
and
d) change a number of carriers included in at least one of the first and second carriers;
wherein the first and second frequency sub-bands are non-overlapping sub-bands that when aggregated together collectively provide increased bandwidth in conjunction with a third frequency sub-band for a communication link between the base station and a second set of one or more mobile stations with which the base station is communicating.

16 more elements

A base station comprising:

at least one antenna;
transmit circuitry coupled to the at least one antenna configured to transmit a signal;
receive circuitry coupled to the at least one antenna configured to receive a signal;
base station circuitry configured to:
for a communication link between the base station and at least one relay station with which the at least one relay station is communicating, allocate a first frequency sub-band;
for a communication link between the base station and a first subset of one or more mobile stations with which the base station is communicating, allocate a second frequency sub-band;
for a communication link between the at least one relay station and a second subset of one or more mobile stations with which the at least one relay station is communicating, allocate a third frequency sub-band;
the base station configured to:
a) i) allocate the first frequency sub-band as a dedicated sub-band;
and
ii) allocate the third frequency sub-band as a dedicated sub-band;
b) dynamically assign at least one of the first and third sub-bands to a different sub-band than the dedicated first or third sub-band, respectively;
c) change a size of the sub-band of at least one of the first, second and third sub-bands;
d) change a number of carriers included in at least one of the first, second and third carriers;
and
e) notify the relay station regarding the location of the allocated first, second and third sub-bands;
wherein the first, second and third frequency sub-bands are non-overlapping sub-bands that when aggregated together collectively provide increased bandwidth.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/996,189Filed 12 Jun 2009 · us provisional application
Priority: 12 Jun 2008
Published: US 2011/0158156 A130 Jun 2011
Granted: 12 Aug 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification22 codes

H04L 5/0039
Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation: frequency-contiguous, i.e. with no allocation of frequencies for one user or terminal between the…
A61K 9/2081
Tablets comprising drug-containing microparticles in a substantial amount of supporting matrix; Multiparticulate tablets: with microcapsules or…
A61K 9/209
Layered tablets, e.g. bilayer tablets; Tablets of the type inert core-active coat: containing drug in at least two layers or in the core and in at…
A61K 31/455
Non condensed pyridines; Hydrogenated derivatives thereof: nicotinic acids, e.g. niacin; Derivatives thereof, e.g. esters, amides