# US 9,439,176 B2 · System and method for virtual multi-point transceivers > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,439,176 B2 - Document ID: US9439176B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/177,019 - Filed: 2014-02-10 - Published: 2015-08-13 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2014-02-10 - Assignees: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Amine Maaref; Jianglei Ma - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9439176B2 ## CPC - H04W 72/20: Control channels or signalling for resource management - H04L 5/0035: {Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment} - H04W 4/08: User group management - H04W 76/14: Direct-mode setup - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A method embodiment includes compiling, by a network device, a cooperation candidate set (CCS) and determining a cooperation active set (CAS). The CCS includes a plurality of potential cooperating user equipment (CUEs) for selection to the CAS, and the plurality of potential CUEs is selected from a plurality of user equipment (UEs) in the network. The CAS is a set of CUEs selected from the CCS. A target user equipment (TUE) and the set of CUEs form a virtual multipoint transceiver. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for forming a virtual multipoint transceiver, the method comprising: transmitting, to a second network device, a cooperation candidate set (CCS), the CCS being for a target user equipment (TUE) and comprising a plurality of potential cooperating user equipment (CUEs), wherein the plurality of potential CUEs is from a plurality of user equipment (UEs) in a network; and receiving, from the second network device, a cooperation active set (CAS), the CAS being a set of CUEs from the plurality of potential CUEs in the CCS, wherein the TUE and the set of CUEs in the CAS form the virtual multipoint transceiver. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message to the plurality of UEs; and receiving replies to the CSR message from the plurality of UEs, wherein the CCS is in accordance with the replies to the CSR message, and wherein a first network device is the TUE. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the replies to the CSR message comprises receiving the replies over device-2-device (D2D) links between the plurality of the UEs and the TUE. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the CCS is in accordance with signal strengths of the replies to the CSR message, content of the replies to the CSR message, physical proximity each of the plurality of UEs in relation to the TUE, network associations of each of the plurality of UEs, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, further comprising, receiving, by the TUE, an instruction from a network controller to form the virtual multipoint transceiver. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the CCS is in accordance with location information of a plurality of UEs in the network, shadowing information of the plurality of UEs, pathloss information of the plurality of UEs, energy saving considerations, or a combination thereof, and wherein a first network device is a transmission point. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising, receiving a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message from the TUE. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, further comprising deciding to form the virtual multipoint transceiver in accordance with one or more channel quality measurements, retransmission times, retransmission frequency, or a combination thereof of the TUE. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating in the network between the virtual multipoint transceiver and one or more transmission points, wherein the set of CUEs and the TUE of the virtual multipoint transceiver cooperatively communicate with the one or more transmission points. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein communicating in the network between the virtual multipoint transceiver and the one or more transmission points comprises using a decode-and-forward (DF), an amplify-and-forward (AF), or a compress-and-forward (CF) relay protocol. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the virtual multipoint transceiver operates as a virtual receiver during downlink transmissions and as a virtual transmitter during uplink transmissions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the set of CUEs of the CAS help the TUE: receive downlink transmissions from the one or more transmission points; and transmit uplink transmissions to the one or more transmission points. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the CCS is in accordance with one or more transmission points associated with the TUE or the plurality of potential CUEs. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the CAS is in accordance with estimated availability of the plurality of potential CUEs, access link quality of the plurality of potential CUEs, device-2-device (D2D) link quality between the plurality of potential CUEs and the TUE, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the CAS is in accordance with signal strengths of replies to a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message, content of the replies to the CSR message, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the CAS is in accordance with estimated long-term end-to-end average capacity between a potential CUE and the TUE for each of the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to one or more potential transmission points in a serving set of each of the plurality of potential CUEs. ### Claim 17 A first network device comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to: transmit, to a second network device, a cooperation candidate set (CCS), the CCS being for a target user equipment (TUE) and comprising a plurality of potential cooperating user equipment (CUEs), wherein the plurality of potential CUEs is from a plurality of user equipment (UEs) in a network; and receive, from the second network device, a cooperation active set (CAS), the CAS being a set of CUEs from the plurality of potential CUEs in the CCS, wherein the TUE and the set of CUEs in the CAS form a virtual multipoint transceiver. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The first network device of claim 17, wherein the programming further comprises instructions to: transmit a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message to a plurality of user equipment (UEs); and receive replies to the CSR message from the plurality of UEs, wherein the CCS is in accordance with the replies to the CSR message, and wherein the first network device is the TUE. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The first network device of claim 18, wherein the CCS is in accordance with signal strengths of the replies to the CSR message, content of the replies to the CSR message, physical proximity each of the plurality of UEs to the TUE, network associations of each of the plurality of UEs, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The first network device of claim 17, wherein the CCS is in accordance with location information of a plurality UEs in the network, shadowing information of a plurality UEs in the network, pathloss information of a plurality UEs in the network, energy saving considerations, or a combination thereof, wherein the first network device is a transmission point. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The first network device of claim 20, wherein a virtual transmission point comprising the transmission point cooperatively communicates with the virtual multipoint transceiver. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The first network device of claim 17, wherein the first network device is a transmission point, and wherein the programming comprises further instructions to select the CAS from the CCS in accordance with estimated availability of the plurality of potential CUEs, access link quality of the plurality of potential CUEs, device-2-device (D2D) link quality between the plurality of potential CUEs and the TUE, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 23 (depends on 17) The first network device of claim 17, wherein the first network device is the TUE, and wherein the programming further comprises instructions to: transmit a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message to the plurality of potential CUEs; and receive replies to the CSR message, wherein the CAS is in accordance with the replies to the CSR message. ### Claim 24 (depends on 17) The first network device of claim 17, wherein the programming further comprises instructions to: estimate long-term end-to-end average capacity of each of the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to one or more potential transmission points in a serving set of each of the plurality of potential CUEs; and rank the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to the one or more transmission points in accordance with estimated long-term end-to-end average capacity, wherein the CAS is selected in accordance with the rank of the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to the one or more transmission points. ### Claim 25 A method for forming a virtual multipoint transceiver, the method comprising: compiling, by a first network device, a cooperating candidate set (CCS) comprising a plurality of potential cooperating user equipment (CUEs), wherein the plurality of potential CUEs operate in a half-duplex mode or in a full-duplex mode; compiling a cooperating active set (CAS) from the CCS, wherein the CAS is a set of CUEs selected from the CCS, and wherein a target user equipment (TUE) and the set of CUEs form the virtual multipoint transceiver; and estimating long-term end-to-end average capacity in accordance with one or more end-to-end average capacity metrics for the half-duplex mode, or estimating the long-term end-to-end average capacity in accordance with one or more end-to-end average capacity metrics for the full-duplex mode. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein the first network device is a transmission point, and wherein compiling the CAS comprises selecting the CAS in accordance with estimated availability of the plurality of potential CUEs, access link quality of the plurality of potential CUEs, device-2-device (D2D) link quality between the plurality of potential CUEs and the TUE, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein the first network device is the TUE, and wherein compiling the CAS comprises: transmitting a cooperation seeking request (CSR) message to the plurality of potential CUEs; receiving replies to the CSR message; and selecting the CAS in accordance with the replies to the CSR message. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The method of claim 27, wherein selecting the CAS is in accordance with signal strengths of the replies to the CSR message, content of the replies to the CSR message, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein compiling the CAS from the CCS comprises: estimating the long-term end-to-end average capacity between a potential CUE and the TUE for each of the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to one or more potential transmission points in a serving set of each of the plurality of potential CUEs; and ranking the plurality of potential CUEs in accordance with estimated long-term end-to-end average capacity. ### Claim 30 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein compiling the CAS from the CCS comprises: receiving rankings of the plurality of potential CUEs in accordance with long-term end-to-end average capacity of each of the plurality of potential CUEs with respect to one or more potential transmission points in a serving set of each of the plurality of potential CUEs; and selecting the CAS in accordance with the rankings. ### Claim 31 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, wherein compiling the CCS comprises receiving, from a second network device, the CCS. ### Claim 32 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, further comprising updating the CAS in accordance with one or more transmission points associated with the TUE or the plurality of potential CUEs.