JP2007116730A - Wireless communication system, base station device, and wireless communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve fast communication through an up line while reducing transmission electric power of a wireless terminal, and also to provide a wireless communication system reduced in system cost. <P>SOLUTION: The wireless communication system has a main base station 1 and decentralized base stations 2A and 2B installed in fixed positions in the cover area 11 of the main base station 1, and the main base station 1 directly receives transmitted signals from wireless terminals 3A and 3B present in the cover area 11 through a down line and performs transmission to the decentralized base station 2A through an up link via an array antenna forming an antenna beam 13 directed to the decentralized base station 2A present in a position closest to the object wireless terminal 3A, and the wireless communication system selects one of a reception path for directly receiving a transmitted signal from the wireless terminal 3B and a reception path for receiving the transmitted signal from the wireless terminal 3A through the decentralized base station 2A according to reception states of the wireless terminals 3A and 3B with respect to transmission from the main base station 1 and decentralized base stations 2A and 2B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio communication method and system, and a base station apparatus suitable for the system.

  In a wireless communication system such as a mobile communication system, a wireless LAN (local area network), or a PAN (personal area network), a base station (also referred to as a wireless access point) and a wireless terminal existing in the coverage area of the base station And wireless communication is performed. A communication line from the base station to the wireless terminal is called a downlink (or downlink), and a communication line from the wireless terminal to the base station is called an uplink (or uplink).

  In such a wireless communication system, various proposals for increasing the communication speed have been made. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses optimizing system operation in accordance with radio wave conditions in the area by increasing the coverage area of the base station on the uplink and reducing it on the downlink. Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose wireless communication systems that realize high-speed downlink. Patent Document 4 discloses that when the transmission power is insufficient, the service area is expanded by relaying and amplifying signals on the uplink and downlink using a radio repeater.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-175891

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-331115

JP-A-8-244700

JP-A-10-224284

In the conventional technology described above, only a low-speed line is basically used for the uplink of a wireless communication system, so it is difficult to perform data transmission on the uplink, that is, data upload at high speed.
On the other hand, in a general vertically symmetric high-speed wireless communication system in which the uplink and downlink transmission rates are the same, it is necessary to increase the transmission power from the wireless terminal. Therefore, when the wireless terminal is battery-powered, if the transmission power is large, it is difficult to ensure a sufficient communication duration.

If the distance between the wireless terminal and the base station is always short, a high-speed downlink can be realized while suppressing the transmission power of the wireless terminal. However, for this purpose, it is necessary to increase the laying density of the base station, and the cost of the entire wireless communication system Becomes higher.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to realize high-speed communication on the uplink while reducing the transmission power of the wireless terminal in the wireless communication system, and to reduce the system cost.

  In order to solve the above problems, a wireless communication system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first base station having a specific cover area and at least one second base station arranged in the cover area. Then, the first base station obtains a reception state report signal indicating the reception state of the second base station with respect to transmission from a specific wireless terminal existing in the coverage area, and directly receives the transmission signal from the wireless terminal One of at least one second reception path for receiving the transmission signal from the first reception path and the wireless terminal via the second base station is selected according to the reception status report signal. The first base station includes an array antenna that forms an antenna beam directed toward the second base station located closest to the wireless terminal among the plurality of second base stations.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a base station apparatus provided in one base station having a specific cover area for communicating with a wireless terminal, the first receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal; A second receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from at least one other base station provided in the cover area, and a first receiving means from the first receiving means in accordance with the receiving state of the other base station for transmission from the wireless terminal. There is provided a base station apparatus comprising selection means for selecting one of an output signal and an output signal from a second reception means.

  A wireless communication system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first base station having a specific coverage area and at least one second base station arranged in the coverage area. In the downlink from the first base station to the wireless terminal existing in the coverage area, the transmission signal from the wireless terminal is directly received, and in the uplink from the wireless terminal to the first base station, the first base station and The transmission signal from the wireless terminal is received directly or via the second base station according to the reception state of the wireless terminal with respect to the transmission from the second base station.

  A wireless communication system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a first base station having a specific cover area and a plurality of second base stations arranged in the cover area. Means for acquiring a reception state report signal indicating a reception state of the second base station for transmission from a specific wireless terminal existing in the coverage area, a first reception path for directly receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal, and Selection means for selecting one of at least one second reception path for receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal via at least one second base station according to the reception status report signal;

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, in a wireless communication system that performs communication between a base station having a specific cover area and a first wireless terminal existing in the cover area, In the downlink to the terminal, the transmission signal from the first wireless terminal is directly received, and in the uplink from the first wireless terminal to the base station, the reception state of the first wireless terminal with respect to transmission from the base station depends on The transmission signal from the first wireless terminal is received directly or via at least one second wireless terminal present in the coverage area.

  A wireless communication method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first base station, at least one second base station arranged in the coverage area of the first base station, and a wireless terminal existing in the coverage area. In response to an access from a wireless terminal for forming an uplink to a first base station, a second base station is inquired about a reception state for transmission from the wireless terminal in a communication method in a wireless communication system having In response to the inquiry, the first reception path for directly receiving the transmission signal from the wireless terminal and the transmission signal from the wireless terminal to form an uplink according to the reception state reported from the second base station Is selected from at least one second reception path through which the signal is received via the second base station. Further, when the second reception path is selected, transmission power control for reducing the transmission power of the wireless terminal may be performed as compared with the case where the first reception path is selected.

  According to the present invention, the uplink communication speed can be increased and the transmission power of the wireless terminal is reduced, so that the communication duration of the terminal can be increased, and further, the interference between terminals can be reduced, thereby reducing the cell. Design becomes easy. In general, since a plurality of second base stations laid down may have a simple configuration, the system cost is reduced.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes one main base station 1 that is a first base station and a plurality of distributed base stations that are second base stations. It has base stations 2A and 2B. The main base station 1 has an area where radio communication is possible, that is, a cover area 11. In the cover area 11 of the main base station 1, distributed base stations 2A and 2B are installed.

  The distributed base stations 2A and 2B are connected to the main base station 1 by, for example, a wired line using a metal cable, an optical line using an optical fiber, or a wireless line. The distributed base stations 2A and 2B have different cover areas 12A and 12B, respectively, as areas capable of wireless communication. The cover areas 12A and 12B of the distributed base stations 2A and 2B may partially overlap as shown in FIG.

  Within the cover area 11 of the main base station 1, there are wireless terminals 3A and 3B. The wireless terminals 3A and 3B are, for example, a portable terminal such as a cellular phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) in a cellular system, or a wireless adapter such as a wireless LAN card. The wireless terminals 3A and 3B perform wireless communication with the main base station 1. Thereby, the wireless terminals 3A and 3B can communicate with other terminals 5 connected to the end of the backbone network 4 connected to the main base station 1.

Communication between the main base station 1 and the wireless terminals 3A and 3B is directly transmitted on the downlink from the main base station 1 to the wireless terminals 3A and 3B, that is, directly transmitted from the main base station 1 to the wireless terminals 3A and 3B by radio. Is done.
On the other hand, on the uplink from the wireless terminals 3A and 3B to the main base station 1, the main base station 1 and the wireless terminals 3A and 3B perform wireless communication through different paths depending on the position of the wireless terminal in the cover area 11. That is, in the uplink, direct transmission is performed wirelessly to the main base station 1 from, for example, the radio terminal 3B existing in the vicinity of the main base station 1. For example, the wireless terminal 3A located at a position far from the main base station 1 transmits to the main base station 1 via, for example, the distributed base station 2B located nearby.

  Although one main base station 1 is used in FIG. 1, the present invention is also effective for a radio communication system having a plurality of main base stations such as a cellular system. In that case, a plurality of base stations may be arranged such that their respective cover areas partially overlap each other. In FIG. 1, a plurality of distributed base stations 2A and 2B are laid as the second base station in the cover area 11 of one main base station 1, but one second base station is laid. It doesn't matter.

<About the main base station>
Next, a specific configuration example of the main base station 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
A data signal transmitted from the backbone network 4 shown in FIG. 1 to the main base station 1 is subjected to required processing by the data processing unit 101 in accordance with control from the controller 100. The processed data signal output from the data processing unit 101 is modulated by the digital modulator 102. The transmission digital signal output from the digital modulator 102 is converted into an analog signal by the high frequency unit 103 and also converted to a frequency in an RF (Radio Frequency) band. An output signal from the high-frequency unit 103 is amplified to a required level by the power amplifier 104 and is supplied to the antenna 106 through the transmission / reception switch 105 to be radiated as a radio wave. The radio wave radiated from the antenna 106 is received by the wireless terminal 3A or 3B shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, the radio wave received by the antenna 106 is input to the low noise amplifier 107 via the transmission / reception switch 105, where it is amplified to a required level. The output signal from the low noise amplifier 107 is converted from the RF band to an IF (intermediate-frequency) band or a BB (baseband) band frequency by the high frequency unit 108 and also converted to a digital signal. The received digital signal output from the high frequency unit 108 is demodulated by the digital demodulator 109 and input to the selector 110.

  Signals are also transmitted to the main base station 1 from the distributed base stations 2A or 2B shown in FIG. A signal transmitted from the distributed base station is amplified to a required level by, for example, the amplifier 111, converted to an intermediate frequency by the intermediate frequency unit 112, converted to a digital signal, and input to the selector 110.

  The selector 110 is controlled by the controller 100 and selects either a signal directly transmitted from the wireless terminal or a signal transmitted from the wireless terminal via the distributed base station in order to select a reception path on the uplink. Select. Specifically, the selector 110 selects either the output signal from the demodulator 109 or the output signal from the intermediate frequency unit 112. The signal selected by the selector 110 is transferred to the backbone network 4 shown in FIG.

  When receiving an uplink access signal from a radio terminal, the controller 100 has a function of inquiring reception status to the distributed base station in order to select an uplink reception path, and from the radio terminal of the main base station 1 itself. The selector 110 is controlled on the basis of the reception status and the reception status reported from the distributed base station. That is, a reception status inquiry signal is output from the controller 100 when an uplink is selected. The reception state inquiry signal is converted into an intermediate frequency signal by, for example, the intermediate frequency unit 113, further amplified by the amplifier 114, and then transmitted to the distributed base station.

A reception status report signal is transmitted from the distributed base station in response to the reception status inquiry signal from the main base station 1. The received reception status report signal is input to the controller 100 via the amplifier 111 and the intermediate frequency unit 112.
In FIG. 2, the transmission / reception circuit between the main base station 1 and the distributed base station is shown for only one channel. However, as shown in FIG. When the distributed base stations 2A and 2B are laid, a transmission / reception circuit is provided between each of the distributed base stations 2A and 2B. In this case, the controller 100 compares the reception status signal of the main base station 1 itself with the reception status report signal transmitted from each distributed base station so as to form an uplink communication path with the best reception status. The selector 110 is controlled.

<About distributed base stations>
Next, the distributed base stations 2A and 2B shown in FIG. 1 will be specifically described. FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration example of one distributed base station 2.
A signal transmitted from the wireless terminal 3A or 3B shown in FIG. 1 to the distributed base station 2 shown in FIG. A reception signal output from the antenna 201 is input to the low noise amplifier 203 via the filter 202.

  A reception signal strength measuring device 209 is connected to the low noise amplifier 203. The received signal strength measuring unit 209 measures the received signal strength, that is, the received electric field strength of the antenna 201. Thereby, it is possible to know the reception state of the signal from the wireless terminal 3A or 3B, in other words, the reception quality. The output signal from the low noise amplifier 203 is converted into an IF band signal by the intermediate frequency unit 204, and further amplified by the amplifier 205, and then transmitted to the main base station 1 shown in FIG. The

  Further, a reception state inquiry signal is transmitted to the distributed base station 2 of FIG. 3 from the main base station 1 shown in FIG. The reception state inquiry signal is amplified by the amplifier 206, further converted into an IF band signal by the intermediate frequency unit 204, for example, and then input to the controller 208.

  When the controller 208 receives the reception state inquiry signal, the controller 208 outputs the measurement result of the reception signal strength measuring unit 209 as a reception state report signal. The reception status report signal output from the controller 208 is input to the intermediate frequency unit 204 via the adder 210 and transmitted to the main base station 1 via the amplifier 205.

  In the above description, the communication between the main base station 1 shown in FIG. 2 and the distributed base station shown in FIG. 3 is performed in the IF band. May be. Further, as will be described later, communication between the main base station 1 and the distributed base station may be performed via an optical line.

<About wireless terminals>
Next, the wireless terminals 3A and 3B will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration example of one wireless terminal 3.
In the wireless terminal 3 in FIG. 4, the antenna 301 receives a signal from the main base station 1 shown in FIG. 1. A reception signal output from the antenna 301 is input to the low noise amplifier 303 via the switch 302. The received signal amplified by the low noise amplifier 303 is converted into a BB band signal, for example, by the high frequency unit 304 and converted into a digital signal, and then demodulated by the digital demodulator 305 to generate a received digital BB signal. . The received digital BB signal is input to the baseband processing unit 306, and the original data is decoded. The decoded data is output by an output unit 307 such as a speaker or a display.

  On the other hand, a data signal input by an input unit 308 such as a microphone or a keyboard is input to a baseband processing unit 306, where a transmission digital BB signal is generated. The transmission digital BB signal is modulated by the digital modulator 309. The modulated signal is converted into an RF band signal by the high-frequency unit 310, converted into an analog signal, and then amplified to a required level by the power amplifier 311. An output signal from the power amplifier 311 is radiated as a radio wave by being supplied to the antenna 301 via the switch 302. The radio wave radiated from the antenna 301 is received by either the main base station 1 or the distributed base stations 2A and 2B shown in FIG.

  The power amplifier 311 has a variable gain, and the gain is controlled by the controller 312. A transmission power control signal transmitted from the main base station 1 is input to the controller 311 via the antenna 301, the switch 302, the low noise amplifier 303, the high frequency unit 304, the digital demodulator 305, and the baseband processing unit 306. The controller 311 controls the transmission power of the wireless terminal 3 by controlling the gain of the power amplifier 312 according to this transmission power control signal.

<Operation of wireless communication system>
Next, a specific operation example of the wireless communication system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows an example of the arrangement of the three distributed base stations 2A, 2B, 2C and the wireless terminal 3 in the cover area 11 of the main base station 1. FIG. 6 shows a procedure for selecting an uplink path in the arrangement as shown in FIG.

  First, for example, when uploading data, that is, when transmitting data to the base station 1 side, the wireless terminal 3 makes a request for uplink access to the main base station 1 (step S1). The uplink access request signal from the wireless terminal 3 is transmitted from the controller 312 in FIG. 4 to the main base station 1 via the power amplifier 311, the switch 302 and the antenna 301, for example.

  The uplink access request signal transmitted to the main base station 1 shown in FIG. 2 is received by the antenna 106 and sent to the controller 100 via the transmission / reception switch 105, the low noise amplifier 107, the intermediate frequency unit 108, and the digital demodulator 109. Communicated. The main base station 1 that has received the uplink access request in this manner receives reception statuses from the controller 100 to the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C existing in the cover area 11 via the intermediate frequency unit 113 and the amplifier 114 via the wired line. An inquiry signal is transmitted (step S2).

  Reception state inquiry signals received by the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C are transmitted to the controller 208 via the amplifier 206 and the intermediate frequency unit 207 in FIG. When the controller 208 receives the reception state inquiry signal, the controller 208 outputs the measurement result of the reception signal strength measuring device 209 as a reception state report signal. The reception status report signal is transmitted to the main base station 1 by a wired line through the adder 210, the intermediate frequency unit 204, and the amplifier 205 (step S3).

  In the main base station 1 shown in FIG. 2, reception status report signals from the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, 2C are transmitted to the controller 100 via the amplifier 111 and the intermediate frequency unit 112. The controller 100 compares the reception status signal of the main base station 1 itself with the reception status report signals from the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C, and based on this, the uplink path with the best reception status is formed. The selector 110 is controlled. In the example of FIG. 5, since the distributed base station 2B is closest to the wireless terminal 3, the reception state from the wireless terminal 3 is the best. Therefore, in the main base station 1, the controller 100 generates a reception instruction signal for the distributed base station 2B, and transmits the reception instruction signal to the distributed base station 2B via the intermediate frequency unit 113 and the amplifier 114 via a wired line (step S4). .

  Accordingly, in the main base station 1, a transmission power control signal for the wireless terminal 3 is generated by the data processing unit 101 according to an instruction from the controller 100, and the digital modulator 102, the high frequency unit 103, the power amplifier 104, and the transmission / reception switch 105. A transmission power control signal is transmitted from the antenna 106 to the wireless terminal 3 via step S5 (step S5).

  In the wireless terminal 3 shown in FIG. 4, the transmission power control signal from the main base station 1 is received by the antenna 301, and passes through the switch 302, the low noise amplifier 303, the high frequency unit 304, the digital demodulator 305, and the baseband processing unit 306. Is transmitted to the controller 312. The controller 312 controls the transmission power of the wireless terminal 3 by controlling the gain of the power amplifier 311 according to the transmission power control signal.

  Here, in the downlink, direct transmission is performed from the main base station 1 to the radio terminal 3 (step S6). In this case, since the main base station 1 basically has no limitation on transmission power, it can transmit to the wireless terminal 3 with sufficient transmission power. Therefore, even when the wireless terminal 3 is far from the main base station 1, the wireless terminal 3 can receive a signal from the main base station 1 with a sufficient received electric field strength.

  On the other hand, when transmitting directly from the wireless terminal 3 to the main base station 1 on the uplink, the wireless terminal 3 needs to transmit with relatively large transmission power. In particular, when the wireless terminal 3 exists at a position far from the main base station 1, the wireless terminal 3 requires a large transmission power. On the other hand, when transmission is performed from the wireless terminal 3 to the main base station 1 via the nearby distributed base station 2B, the transmission power of the wireless terminal 3 may be relatively small. Therefore, in step S5, a transmission power control signal is transmitted so that the transmission power is reduced by a predetermined amount compared to the case of direct transmission from the wireless terminal 3 to the main base station 1.

  The reception instruction signal received by the distributed base station 2B is sent to the controller 208 via the amplifier 206 and the intermediate frequency unit 207 in FIG. Based on this, the distributed base station 2B receives a signal transmitted from the wireless terminal 3 through the wireless line by the antenna 201, and passes through the filter 202, the low noise amplifier 203, the adder 210, the intermediate frequency unit 204, and the amplifier 204. Then, the data is transferred to the main base station 1 through a wired line (step S7).

  In this way, transmission is always performed directly from the main base station 1 to the radio terminal 3 in the downlink, but from the radio terminal 3 to the main base station 1 and the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C from the radio terminal 3 in the uplink. Transmission is performed toward a better reception state. In addition, when there are a plurality of distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C in the cover area 11 of the same main base station 1 as in this example, the wireless base station 3 becomes the distributed base station 2B with the best reception state. Transmission is performed, and a signal transmitted from the wireless terminal 3 is transferred from the distributed base station 2B to the main base station 1.

Therefore, according to the wireless communication system of the present embodiment, since the power consumption of the wireless terminal 3 is reduced, the communication duration can be secured even when the wireless terminal 3 is battery-driven, and not only the downlink but also the uplink But high-speed wireless transmission can be realized.
OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) is known as a digital modulation scheme for realizing high-speed wireless communication. For example, high-speed wireless communication can be performed by using an OFDM modulator for the digital modulator 309 and an OFDM demodulator for the digital demodulator 305 in the wireless terminal 3 shown in FIG. While the OFDM scheme can transmit a large number of bits within one symbol, the modulated signal (OFDM signal) has a wide dynamic range, and therefore a linear power amplifier must be used for transmission. Linear power amplifiers are less efficient and consume more power than non-linear power amplifiers.

  When the wireless terminal 3 is battery-driven, it is necessary to reduce power consumption as much as possible in order to ensure a practical communication duration. For this purpose, it is most effective to reduce the power consumed by the power amplifier 311 in the wireless terminal 3 shown in FIG. 4, and therefore it is desirable to reduce the transmission power. According to the present embodiment, in the uplink, the radio terminal 3 needs to transmit to the nearest base station among the main base station 1 and the distributed base stations 2A, 2B, and 2C, so that the transmission power of the radio terminal 3 is minimized. It is possible to realize high-speed wireless communication while suppressing the noise.

  Furthermore, according to this embodiment, instead of laying a large number of base stations (corresponding to the main base station in this embodiment) corresponding to the uplink and downlink in the same area, only the uplink is supported. Since a simple distributed base station may be installed in the cover area of the main base station, the cost of the entire wireless communication system can be reduced.

<About distributed base stations>
Next, another specific example of the distributed base station will be described with reference to FIG. The distributed base station 2 shown in FIG. 7 is realized by using ROF (Radio On Fiber), and the intermediate frequency unit 204 of the transmission system in FIG. 3 is an optical-electrical converter 211 and the amplifier 205 is an optical amplifier 212, respectively. Has been replaced. Further, the intermediate frequency unit 207 of the receiving system in FIG. 3 is replaced with the electro-optical converter 214, and the amplifier 206 is replaced with the optical amplifier 213. Further, the distributed base station 2 in FIG. 7 and the main base station 1 are connected by an optical line using an optical fiber.

  A signal from the wireless terminal received by the antenna 201 is input to the optical-electrical converter 211 via the filter 202, the low-noise amplifier 203, and the adder 210, where it is converted into an optical signal. The optical signal is amplified by the optical amplifier 212 and then transmitted to the main base station 1 through the optical line.

  On the other hand, the signal transmitted from the main base station 1 through the optical line is amplified by the optical amplifier 213, converted back to an electrical signal by the optical-electrical converter 214, and then input to the controller 208. The operation of the controller 208 is the same as that in FIG. Needless to say, even if the distributed base station and the main base station are connected by an optical line in this way, the same effect as in the previous case can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows a wireless communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the main base station 1 uses the array antenna to form a transmission beam pattern 13 that faces the distributed base station 2A that communicates with the wireless terminal 3. As a result, the communication capacity of the downlink can be increased and the communication quality can be improved.

  In FIG. 9, the array antenna with which the main base station 1 in this embodiment is equipped is shown. A plurality of antenna elements 141, 142,..., 14N are arranged in an arbitrary shape, for example, a straight line. .., 14N are supplied with transmission signals via variable gain amplifiers 121, 122,..., 12N and variable phase shifters 131, 132,. In such an array antenna, the gains of the variable gain amplifiers 121, 122,..., 12N and the phase shift amounts of the variable phase shifters 131, 132,. It is well known that the antenna directivity, that is, the transmission beam pattern can be changed by changing the set.

  In this embodiment, memories (ROMs) 151, 152,..., 15M are prepared that store and hold groups of complex weighting coefficients that can form a transmission beam pattern 13 directed toward the distributed base station. One of the complex weight coefficient groups is selected by the selector 160, and is supplied to the variable gain amplifiers 121, 122,..., 12N and the variable phase shifters 131, 132,. An array antenna that selects and sets a complex weight coefficient group prepared in advance is also called a switched array.

  In the radio communication system shown in FIG. 8, the main base station 1 naturally knows the positions of the distributed base stations 2A and 2B installed in the cover area 11, and communicates with the radio terminal 3 on the uplink. The position of the distributed base station 2A can also be easily recognized. Using such position information, the selector 160 selects a complex weight coefficient group corresponding to the position of the distributed base station 2A communicating with the wireless terminal 3. Thereby, the transmission beam pattern 13 can be formed in the direction of the distributed base station 2A.

  A technique for directing an antenna beam toward a wireless terminal using a so-called adaptive array antenna or phased array antenna for a base station of a wireless communication system is already known. In such a system, in order to acquire position information of a wireless terminal and accurately direct an antenna beam in the direction of the wireless terminal, it is necessary to perform very complicated weight control as the wireless terminal moves, The system cost of the station was raised.

  On the other hand, in the wireless communication system of the present embodiment, the position information of the wireless terminal 3 is not acquired and the transmission beam pattern is directed in the direction, but the wireless base station is a wireless base station that is laid out at a known fixed position. The beam pattern 13 is directed toward the distributed base station 2A communicating with the terminal 3. As a result, transmission from the main base station 1 to the wireless terminal 3 can be efficiently performed as a result. In this case, the array antenna may be of a switched array type as shown in FIG. 9, and the setting of the beam pattern 13 can be realized by switching between fixed or semi-fixed complex weight coefficient groups prepared in advance. The system cost of the main base station 1 can be drastically reduced as compared with the case of using.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the transmission beam pattern 13 is transmitted from the main base station 1 to the distributed base station 2A that communicates with the wireless terminal 3 using the known position information of the distributed base station used for the uplink. In this way, it is possible to increase the downlink communication capacity and improve the communication quality while suppressing an increase in system cost.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 10 shows a wireless communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and a plurality of distributed base stations 6A and 6B having a multi-hop communication function are laid in the cover area 11 of the main base station 1. According to the present embodiment, in the downlink, the radio terminals 3A and 3B communicate directly with the main base station 1 as in the previous embodiments. On the other hand, in the uplink, a wireless terminal (terminal 3B in the example of FIG. 10) located in the vicinity of the main base station 1 communicates directly with the main base station 1 and is distant from the main base station 1 ( In the example of FIG. 10, the terminal 3A) communicates with the main base station 1 via a plurality of distributed base stations 6A and 6B by multi-hop communication.

  FIG. 11 shows a specific example of the distributed base station 6 having a multi-hop communication function in the present embodiment. The antenna 221 receives a signal transmitted by radio from the main base station 1 or another distributed base station. For example, a signal transmitted from the main base station 1 is received by the antenna 221 in the distributed base station 6A shown in FIG. 10, and a signal transmitted from the distributed base station 6A is received by the antenna 221 in the distributed base station 6B.

  The received signal output from the antenna 221 is input to the high frequency unit 224 via the filter 322 and the low noise amplifier 223, and is converted into a digital signal and converted to an RF band frequency by the high frequency unit 224. The output signal from the high frequency unit 224 is demodulated by the digital demodulator 225 and then modulated again by the digital modulator 226 to a signal different from the output signal from the high frequency unit 224. The output signal from the digital modulator 226 is amplified to a required level by the power amplifier 227 and is supplied to the antenna 227 to be radiated as a radio wave.

  A radio wave radiated from the antenna 227 is received by the main base station 1 or another distributed base station. For example, radio waves radiated from the antenna 227 are received by the distributed base station 6B in the distributed base station 6A shown in FIG. 10 and received by the main base station 1 in the distributed base station 6B.

  Thus, by providing the distributed base stations 6A and 6B used in the uplink with a multi-hop communication function, high-speed wireless communication up to the main base station 1 can be realized even if the transmission power of the wireless terminals 3A and 3B is limited. The communication capacity of both the uplink and the downlink can be increased and high quality communication can be performed.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 12 shows a wireless communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the wireless terminals 3A, 3B, and 3C have a multi-hop communication function. In this embodiment, a distributed base station is not necessary. According to the present embodiment, the wireless terminals 3A, 3B, and 3C communicate directly with the main base station 1 in the downlink as in the previous embodiments.

  On the other hand, in the uplink, a wireless terminal (terminal 3C in the example of FIG. 12) located in the vicinity of the main base station 1 communicates directly with the main base station 1 and is distant from the main base station 1 ( In the example of FIG. 12, the terminal 3A) communicates with the main base station 1 via at least one other wireless terminal (3B in the example of FIG. 12) by multi-hop communication.

  As described above, by providing the wireless terminals 3A, 3B, and 3C with the multi-hop communication function for the uplink, the main base station can be used even if the transmission power of the wireless terminals 3A, 3B, and 3C is limited as in the third embodiment. High-speed wireless communication up to the station 1 can be realized, and the communication capacity of both the uplink and downlink can be increased and high-quality communication can be performed.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  Specifically, for example, either or both of the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment may be combined with the first embodiment or the second embodiment, or the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment may be combined. You may implement combining embodiment.

  The present invention can be applied to a mobile communication system, a wireless LAN, or a wireless communication system such as PAN.

The figure which shows the typical structure of the radio | wireless communications system according to the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Block diagram showing a specific example of the main base station in FIG. Block diagram showing a specific example of the distributed base station in FIG. Block diagram showing a specific example of the wireless terminal in FIG. Schematic diagram for explaining a specific operation example of the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment The figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of the radio | wireless communications system according to 1st Embodiment. Block diagram showing another specific example of the distributed base station in FIG. The figure which shows the typical structure of the radio | wireless communications system according to the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the switched array antenna with which the main base station shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. The figure which shows the typical structure of the radio | wireless communications system according to the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Block diagram showing a specific example of the distributed base station in FIG. The figure which shows the typical structure of the radio | wireless communications system according to the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main base station, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C ... Distributed base station, 3, 3A, 3B ... Wireless terminal, 4 ... Core network, 5 ... Other terminals, 6A, 6B ... Distributed base with multi-hop communication function Station, 11 ... first cover area, 12A, 12B ... second cover area, 13 ... beam pattern.

Claims (10)

A first base station having a specific cover area and a plurality of second base stations installed at fixed positions in the cover area;
The first base station forms an antenna beam that faces the direction of the second base station that is closest to a specific wireless terminal that is present in the cover area among the plurality of second base stations. Means for transmitting to the second base station located closest to the wireless terminal via the array antenna, and the second base station for transmission from the wireless terminal. A means for obtaining a reception status report signal indicating a reception status, a first reception path for directly receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal, and a transmission signal from the wireless terminal are received via the second base station. A wireless communication system comprising: selection means for selecting any one of at least one second reception path according to the reception status report signal.   2. The second base station includes receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal, and transmitting means for amplifying an output signal from the receiving means and transmitting the amplified signal to the first base station. The wireless communication system described.   The first base station further includes first receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal and at least one second receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the second base station. The selecting means is configured to select an output signal from the first receiving means and the second receiving means to select one of the first receiving path and the at least one second receiving path. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein one of the output signals is selected according to the reception status report signal.   The second receiving means receives transmission signals from a plurality of the second base stations, and the selecting means outputs an output signal from the first receiving means and the plurality of second signals according to the reception status report signal. 4. The wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein any one of a plurality of output signals from the two receiving means is selected.   The array antenna has storage means for storing a plurality of complex weight coefficient groups respectively corresponding to positions of the plurality of second base stations, and among the plurality of complex weight coefficient groups stored in the storage means, The radio communication system according to claim 1, wherein the antenna beam is formed using one complex weight coefficient group corresponding to a second base station existing closest to the radio terminal. In a base station apparatus provided in one base station having a specific cover area for communicating with a wireless terminal,
A transmission unit including an array antenna facing a direction of at least one other base station installed at a fixed position in the cover area, and transmitting to the other base station via the array antenna;
First receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal;
Second receiving means for receiving a transmission signal from the other base station;
Selecting means for selecting one of the output signal from the first receiving means and the output signal from the second receiving means in accordance with the reception state of the other base station with respect to the transmission from the wireless terminal; Base station equipment. A first base station having a specific coverage area and at least one second base station installed at a fixed position in the coverage area;
The first base station directly receives a transmission signal from the wireless terminal in a downlink from the first base station to a wireless terminal existing in the coverage area, and receives the first base station from the wireless terminal. In the uplink to the station, the transmission signal from the wireless terminal is transmitted directly or via the second base station according to the reception state of the wireless terminal with respect to transmission from the first base station and the second base station. An array antenna that receives and further forms an antenna beam directed toward a second base station that is closest to the wireless terminal, the first being located closest to the wireless terminal via the array antenna. A wireless communication system configured to transmit to two base stations. A first base station having a specific cover area and a plurality of second base stations installed at fixed positions in the cover area;
The first base station forms an antenna beam that faces the direction of the second base station that is closest to a specific wireless terminal that is present in the cover area among the plurality of second base stations. Means for transmitting to the second base station located closest to the wireless terminal via the array antenna, and the second base station for transmission from the wireless terminal. Means for acquiring a reception status report signal indicating a reception status; a first reception path for directly receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal; and a transmission signal from the wireless terminal via the plurality of second base stations sequentially And a selection unit that selects any one of at least one second reception path to be received according to the reception status report signal. In a communication method in a radio communication system having a first base station, a plurality of second base stations installed at fixed positions in a cover area of the first base station, and radio terminals existing in the cover area ,
An antenna beam is formed from the first base station toward the second base station that is closest to a specific wireless terminal existing in the coverage area among the plurality of second base stations. Transmitting to a second base station that includes an array antenna and is located closest to the wireless terminal via the array antenna;
In response to access from the wireless terminal to form an uplink to the first base station, inquiring of the second base station about the reception status for transmission from the wireless terminal;
In response to the inquiry reported from the second base station, a first reception path for directly receiving a transmission signal from the wireless terminal to form the uplink, and the wireless terminal And a selection step of selecting any one of at least one second reception path for receiving the transmission signal via the second base station.   The transmission power control step of further reducing the transmission power of the radio terminal when the second reception path is selected in the selection step as compared with the case where the first reception path is selected. Item 10. A wireless communication method according to Item 9.

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