|Publication number||US7023826 B2|
|Application number||US 09/883,294|
|Publication date||Apr 4, 2006|
|Filing date||Jun 19, 2001|
|Priority date||Jun 20, 2000|
|Also published as||DE60137129D1, EP1302041A1, EP1302041B1, US20010053136, WO2001099366A1|
|Publication number||09883294, 883294, US 7023826 B2, US 7023826B2, US-B2-7023826, US7023826 B2, US7023826B2|
|Inventors||Sten Sj÷berg, Ulf Hansson|
|Original Assignee||Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (13), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (36), Classifications (5), Legal Events (4)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This invention relates to a device which permits a narrow-band device, for example a hand-held computer, to communicate with a central unit in a multi-carrier system in an energy-efficient way.
Some modem digital telecommunication systems are multi-carrier systems where a number of carrier waves at different frequencies are used to transit information within the same time slot. A typical multi-carrier system comprises a central unit that handles the communication with and between a number of subscribers within a particular area. Such systems can also be used in, for example, office environments, in so-called LAN-systems (Local Area Network).
The multi-carrier technique demands a relatively high power supply for transmission because the amplifiers that are used in such systems have a low efficiency rating. Many types of equipment used for wireless communication in office environments, for example, portable computers and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) have power sources with extremely limited capacity, which means that it is difficult to use such equipment in multi-carrier systems. But it is still desirable to use, for example, portable computers and PDAs for wireless communication in systems where the multi-carrier technique is used.
The present invention makes it possible for equipment with a limited power supply to be incorporated in a multi-carrier system. A central unit for a multi-carrier system includes equipment for receiving a signal with multiple carrier waves, and equipment for receiving a signal with one carrier wave (single-carrier). The one carrier wave is one of the carrier waves is included in the multi-carrier system.
Because single carrier frequency transmission can be carried out in a more energy-efficient way than multi-carrier transmission, equipment that cannot communicate with the central unit in a multi-carrier system on account of limitations in its power supply can nonetheless transmit to the central unit transmission on a single frequency. The reception of multi-carrier signals does not require as much power as transmission, which means that equipment units with limited power can receive transmissions from the central unit in a multi-carrier system in the same way as other equipment units in the system. The fact that single-carrier units in the system transmit on one of the carrier waves that is already included in the multi-carrier system for which the central unit is designed means that the modifications that need to be made to a central unit to function according to the invention are small.
In addition to being provided with equipment for the reception of signals on a single carrier wave, the central unit may be equipped with a scheduler for scheduling transmissions from a single-carrier unit in interaction with this unit. The interaction with the single-carrier equipment for the scheduling of its transmissions may be carried out by modifying existing data frames used for scheduling communication within the multi-carrier system in which the central unit is incorporated. Single-carrier equipment is also provided that is equipped with means for scheduling its own transmissions to the central unit in interaction with a central unit in a multi-carrier system, preferably a central unit according to the invention.
In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail, utilizing examples of preferred embodiments and with reference to the attached figures, in which:
The invention can be used in a large number of different types of system that use different types of multi-carrier modulation. But for purposes of illustration, the following description is in the non-limiting context of a Hiperlan/2 system which uses OFDM modulation, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex. OFDM in Hiperlan/2 and IEEE 802.11a uses 48 different carrier waves for the transmission of data, as shown in
Within the Hiperlan/2 systems there are one or more central units, e.g., Access Points (AP), each of which handles the communication with and between a number of subscribers, mobile terminals (MT), within a particular area. The area's APs tell each MT when the MT can receive data from the AP and when it can transmit data to the AP. All communication in the Hiperlan/2 system is structured in time using MAC frames, Medium Access Control.
1. MT sends a request to AP regarding being able to transmit data. This takes place in RACH, Random Access Channel.
2. AP sends out a signal that tells MT that its request regarding being able to transmit data has been received by AP. This is carried out in RFCH, Random Access Feedback Channel, in a later frame.
3. If the request is accepted by AP, AP tells MT when MT can transmit data to AP. This information concerning the allocated transmission slot is sent out in FCCH, Frame Control Channel, in another later frame.
4. MT transmits data to AP at the allocated time. This is carried out in DU, Data Uplink.
In addition to the parts described above, the MAC frame also comprises DD, Data Downlink, in other words data from AP to MT, and BCCH, Broadcast Control Channel.
Both the central unit and the single-carrier unit(s) include a scheduler for scheduling the transmissions from the single-carrier unit to the central unit in interaction with each other. The central unit communicates with “ordinary” multi-carrier units in the multi-carrier system using the system's MAC frames and with the single-carrier units using modified MAC frames. Single-carrier units also communicate with the central unit using the modified MAC frames, as will also be described below. An example central unit is shown in
The single-carrier units send their request regarding transmission (RACH 2) on the central frequency, the “zero carrier wave”, but transmit their data on one of the pilot tones. This means that the single-carrier units can transmit to and receive from the AP at the same time as the “ordinary” multi-carrier units. In order for the single-carrier units to transmit data to the AP on the pilot tones, the multi-carrier units should avoid using the same pilot tones at the same time. This can be arranged in various ways, e.g., by changing the standard or by the AP scheduling transmission of the respective units. Preferably, not all single-carrier units send requests regarding transmission at the start of RACH 2. This can be achieved, for example, by any technique that spreads out the transmission requests in time, like “slotted ALOHA.”
In order for the single-carrier units in the system to know when they can transmit their requests regarding transmission, they must know when RACH 2 commences in the relevant MAC frame. This information is suitably entered in each frame's FCCH, but can also be entered in the frame's BCCH. Each unit in the system has a “MAC-id”, which the central unit in the system uses to identify information to and from the different units. If the information concerning the start time for RACH 2 is entered in FCCH, the information can suitably be entered as a separate MAC-id. This MAC-id does not correspond to any physical entity, but is a MAC-id that the single-carrier units listen for in order to obtain information from the central unit, for example concerning the start and stop times for RACH 2. Concerning the stop time for RACH 2, which coincides with the stop time for RACH 1, this can also be calculated by the single-carrier units based on the stall time of the current frame, as all the MAC frames have the same duration. As shown in
Concerning the stop time for RACH 2, which coincides with the stop time for RACH 1, this can also be calculated by the single-carrier units, based on the start time of the current frame, as all the MAC frames have one and the same duration.
As mentioned above, there are different frequencies on which the single-carrier units can transmit data to the central unit. In FCCH for example, the central unit sends information to every single-carrier unit regarding which frequency that particular unit is to transmit data on at the time it has been granted permission to transmit, i.e., a “Resource Grant”. The information regarding which transmission frequency a particular unit has been allocated can be sent out in a number of ways in FCCH, for example, by using unused bits in FCCH in order to discuss this explicitly with the units, or by the unit's MAC-id being taken modulo N, where N is a predetermined number, for example the number of free frequencies that are available for transmission, in which case N will be equal to the number four in the Hiperlan/2 system.
In order for the central unit to receive both multi-carrier signals and single-carrier signals at the same time, the central units is modified in comparison to traditional central units in multi-carrier systems. In one example of carrying out this modification, the central unit's existing receiver, (the part(s) that handle(s) the conversion of the signal), is not changed. However, a supplementary signal-processing function is introduced to separate the signals that arrive from the single-carrier units from the signals that arrive from the multi-carrier units. This supplementary signal-processing function can be implemented in a large number of ways familiar to experts in the field, and is not an essential part of the present invention, for which reason it is not described here in greater detail.
This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but can be varied freely within the scope of the following patent claims. Examples of variants within the scope of the invention are that the narrow-band units do not transmit or receive on a single frequency. Transmission and/or reception can be carried out in principle via any subset of the frequencies that are available in the system.
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|International Classification||H04L5/02, H04Q7/24|
|Jun 19, 2001||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL), SWEDEN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SJOBERG, STEN;HANSSON, ULF;REEL/FRAME:011913/0653
Effective date: 20010608
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