Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
  • H04W88/02—Terminal devices
  • H04W88/04—Terminal devices adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W76/00—Connection management
  • H04W76/10—Connection setup
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W92/00—Interfaces specially adapted for wireless communication networks
  • H04W92/04—Interfaces between hierarchically different network devices
  • H04W92/10—Interfaces between hierarchically different network devices between terminal device and access point, i.e. wireless air interface
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W92/00—Interfaces specially adapted for wireless communication networks
  • H04W92/16—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices
  • H04W92/18—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices between terminal devices

Definitions

• the present invention relates to data communication systems.
• the invention relates to all mobile radio systems where the mobile terminals (MTs) use a Short Link Radio (SLR) to communicate with other mobile terminals, computers, printers, and the like.
• SLR Short Link Radio
• the invention proposes a method and system for improving the system throughput or quality of service (QoS) or both by connecting several mobile terminals together using the SLR.
• QoS quality of service
• Some applications in wireless data communications require high bit rates over the air interface.
• This requires a mobile terminal that has large processing power and a large amount of memory to process high data rates.
• voice, text messaging, and the like the requirements are often the opposite.
• the mobile terminal should be inexpensive and simple. The requirements can be contradictory and may depend on the field of application.
• Land-mobile radio devices are well-known. Such devices typically include wireless communication circuitry that enables a wireless link to be established between the radio device and a geographically fixed base station.
• the base station serves as a relay that enables the radio device to established communication links not only with other land-mobile radio devices, but also with land-based telephone and other communication equipment .
• a recent development in land-based radio devices is a proposal for the further inclusion of Short Link Radio circuitry, such as BLUETOOTHTM.
• This additional circuitry enables wireless data connections to be established between one mobile terminal and other mobile terminals, computers, printers and the like without the need for an intermediary device, such as a base station. It is reasonable to expect a large number of cellular communication devices to include. SLRs in the near future, because of the low implementation cost of SLRs in cellular devices and the range of new services emerging .
• the invention overcomes the prior art limitations by using a mobile terminal having a SLR to connect to other mobile terminals having SLRs over a SLR link to, for example, increase the throughput, the QoS, or both of the system.
• the mobile terminals establish a SLR link between a master (or first) MT and a slave (or second) MT.
• master MT and first MT are interchangeable, as are the terms slave MT and second MT.
• master MT and slave MT will generally be used in the following description.
• both mobile terminals receive data transmitted from a base station intended for the master MT.
• the data could be redundant data.
• the data from the base station could be split and part transmitted directly to the master MT and part to the slave MT.
• the slave MT then retransmits the data received by the slave MT to the master MT via said SLR link.
• the data received by both the master MT and slave MT is combined and made available to the master MT.
• the slave MT can be used to forward the master MT's data to a base station.
• only the slave MT receives data transmitted from a base station intended for the master MT.
• Fig. 1 illustrates a system configuration of the current invention during a searching phase
• Fig. 2 illustrates establishing a SLR link between a master MT and a slave MT
• Fig. 3 illustrates signaling and data transfer over a SLR link between a master MT and a slave MT, data transmission between a base station and the slave MT, and data transmission between the base station and the master MT;
• Fig. 4 illustrates a system configuration of the current invention with a cooperative link for increasing diversity gain
• Fig. 5 illustrates another example of system cooperation in which throughput is increased according to the invention
• Fig. 6 illustrates how the invention can be implemented on a mobile terminal
• Fig. 7 shows flowchart for a method according to the invention.
• the invention provides a method and system for improving the user throughput and/or other Quality of Service parameters in a cellular system, by directly connecting a plurality of mobile terminals together by means of Short Link Radio (SLR) circuitry.
• SLR Short Link Radio
• the operation of the mobile terminals with respect to a base station in the cellular system is coordinated to benefit one of the mobile terminals.
• a mobile terminal ' (MT) here called master (or first)
• BS base station
• the master MT starts to search for other mobile terminals, here called slave (or second) MTs , that are willing to share their resources with the master MT. This search is performed by using the SLR of the master MT.
• the SLR may, for example, operate in accordance with BLUETOOTHTM technology standards. If a slave mobile terminal is found, information from the master MT is transmitted over the SLR to the slave MT that enables the link between the slave MT and the base station to be established. After the link is established the slave MT is able to receive data transmitted from the base station and which is intended for the master mobile terminal . The data received by the slave MT is then processed and relayed, via the SLR link, to the master MT, which combines and process the data.
• the advantages of connecting the master MT and slave MT together via the SLR-link are twofold. First, a diversity gain can be obtained as a result of the physical separation between the master MT and slave MT. Second, the processing of received data can be distributed on more than one receiver. The result in both cases above is that the user experiences a higher throughput and/or better QoS .
• a master mobile terminal (MT) 10 is connected to a base station (BS) 20 via a wireless connection 101 (e.g., a radio link in a cellular telephone system) and data is transferred between the base station 20 and the master MT 10, by transceiver 12.
• the master MT starts to scan the surroundings by- using SLR 11 to find other mobile terminals 30 and 40 willing and able to cooperate. If the master MT 10 finds mobile terminals 30 and 40, that are willing and able to cooperate, the master MT starts transmitting signaling information through the SLR 11. Because of the role they play in this scenario, the mobile terminals 30 and 40 are herein denoted as "slave MTs . " It will be recognized, however, that there need not be any inherent physical distinction between the slave MTs 30 and 40 and the master MT 10.
• the signaling information is necessary to establish a link for the slave MTs 30 and 40 to transmit and receive data intended for the master MT 10 to and from the base station 20.
• the master MT 10 can use SLR 11 to directly communicate with slave MTs 30 and 40, via their SLRs 31 and 41, respectively. Additionally, slave MTs 30 and 40 have transceivers 32 and 42, respectively for communicating with base station 20.
• Fig. 2 shows the establishment of a SLR link between the master MT 10 and the slave MT 30.
• Initialization includes providing the slave MT 30 with signaling information, such as the carrier frequency to transmit and receive on, which time slot/slots to use, and the like, that it will need to communicate with the base station 20 on behalf of the master MT 10.
• the signaling information comprises: the carrier frequency to transmit and receive on; which time slot/slots to use; and necessary master MT identification information.
• the master MT 10 uses the SLR link 50 to supply the signaling information to the slave MT 30.
• the slave MT 30 starts to receive data from and transmit data to the base station 20, via transceiver 32, when it has received necessary data from the master MT 10 over the SLR link 50 using SLRs 31 and 11, respectively.
• the slave MT 30 may pre- process the received data to comply with the chosen diversity method and then transmit the pre-processed data to the master MT 10 over the SLR link 50, or the slave MT 30 may simply relay the data to the master MT 10 without further processing.
• Fig. 3 illustrates cooperation between master MT 10 and slave MT 30.
• Data transmitted from the base station 20, intended for the master MT 10 is received by the slave MT 30 using transceiver 32.
• the slave MT 30 then simply relays the data to the master MT 10, over the SLR link 50, using SLRs 31 and 11, respectively.
• the master MT 10 can, but is not required to, simultaneously receive data from the base station 20 via transceiver 12.
• the data from the base station 20 transmitted over the cellular connection is divided between the master MT 10 and slave MT 30.
• all data transmitted from the base station directed to the master MT 10 will be received by the master MT 10 by concatenating the data received directly from the base station 20 with data received indirectly via the slave MT 30.
• This configuration allows for an increased throughput to the master MT. Additional slave MTs could be used to further increase the throughput to master MT 10.
• the configuration illustrated in Fig. 3 is also useful for diversity combining as described below in regard to Fig. 4.
• the control signaling between base station 20 and slave MT 30 in Fig. 3 is actually control signaling intended for the master MT 10 since the base station does not know about the slave, i.e., all necessary control signaling goes through the master MT 10.
• the base station 20 knows about the slave MT 30, i.e., the Master MT tells the base station 20 about the slave MT 30, the base station 20 optimizes the throughput or diversity gain based on its knowledge of the slave MT 30.
• the base station 20 optimizes the throughput or diversity gain based on its knowledge of the slave MT 30.
• the cooperation between mobile terminals is based on diversity.
• the master MT 10 and the slave MT 30 receive and/or transmit identical information from/to the base station 20.
• the information is thus propagated through different signal paths and/or radio channels due to the physical separation between the master MT 10 and the slave MT 30.
• the reception is done in a way which is known in the art, for example GSM receivers.
• the slave MT 30 receives the radio-signal and down converts it to a baseband signal in the front-end receiver (Fe Rx) 35.
• the baseband signal is then fed to the SLR 31, via a control unit (CU) 34 that optionally performs certain baseband pre-processing, and retransmitted via SLR link 50 to the master MT 10.
• CU control unit
• the necessary signal processing, to receive, convert, and retransmit the data by the slave MT 30, is performed by the slave MT 30 using digital signal processor (DSP) 36 and other components integrated into the slave mobile terminal 30, as is known in the art.
• DSP digital signal processor
• the master MT 10 receives the data using SLR 11, feeds it via the control unit 14 to a DSP 16 which combines the data received from the slave MT 30 with the data received by the master MT 10 itself from the base station 20 via the master's Fe Rx 15.
• the data can then be used by an application 18, converted to voice, and the like.
• the base station 20 is not affected by this diversity arrangement. Therefore, it is not necessary for the base station 20 to know that more than one mobile terminal is involved in receiving data intended for the master MT 10.
• the combination of signals in the master MT 10 results in a diversity gain that can be substantial even for a limited number of slave MTs.
• Any kind of known diversity combining technique can be used, such as maximum-ratio combining.
• the SLR link 50 is used to distribute the data processing of the received information among several mobile terminals.
• the master MT 10 can be made responsible for reception and decoding of the data received in some of the time slots (denoted TS A)
• the slave MT 30 can be made responsible for reception and decoding of data received in other time slots (denoted TS B) .
• the invention is not limited to TDMA systems and can be adapted to other systems such as CDMA, FDMA and the like.
• different access codes are used instead of different time slots.
• the slave MT 30 does all low- layer processing, such as down-conversion to baseband in the front-end receiver 35 and detection, decoding and the like.
• the decoded data is delivered over the SLR link 50 to the master MT 10, which then does the higher layer processing.
• the nature of the higher layer processing depends on which application 18 is run on the master MT 10. This procedure results in higher throughput for the master MT 10. There is no need for the base station 20 to be aware that the signals are being received by different mobile terminals because all control signaling goes through the master MT 10.
• the master MT 10 negotiates with the base station 20 how much system resources can be allocated, and the slave MT 30 does not take any part in that negotiation. It is then up to the master MT 10 and the slave MT 30 to share the traffic load between them to maximize the throughput.
• the coordination between the master MT 10 and slave MT 30 is conducted via the SLR link 50.
• security can be improved by allowing a master MT to use a slave MT ' s radio and data-interface only if the slave MT is open for access by the mobile terminals of other users.
• a master MT to use a slave MT ' s radio and data-interface only if the slave MT is open for access by the mobile terminals of other users.
• Fig. 6 an example of such a service is shown.
• the slave MT's menu system is a menu, as displayed on display 310, wherein the user can choose whether the terminal is "open" to other users or not. If the user wants to use this option he or she chooses "YES" by activating the YES key 301, otherwise "NO” by activating the NO key 302 on keypad 305.
• choosing "YES” causes the mobile terminal 300 to allow other mobile terminals to use the mobile terminal 300 as a slave MT. In some embodiments, choosing "YES” may also put the user's mobile terminal 300 into a state that permits it to take advantage of other open mobile terminals (not shown) . Alternatively, the option of whether to have an "open” or “locked” mobile terminal can be decided by the system operator or hardwired by the mobile terminal manufacturer. Referring to Fig. 7, a flowchart for an exemplary method of the invention is shown. The method in the master (or first) MT starts by searching for potential slave (or second) MTs, in step 700.
• the master MT establishes a first link to a base station and a second link to a slave MT (e.g., as found in step 700), in steps 710 and 720, respectively.
• a decision is made in the potential slave MT as to whether it is available to be a slave MT. This decision can be made by a user of the potential slave MT, for example, via a menu selection or pre-configured in potential slave MT. If the potential slave MT is open for access, then the slave MT cooperates in establishing the second link with the master MT in step 715.
• the second link between the master MT and the slave MT is a SLR link.
• the slave MT can additionally establish its own link (referred to herein as a "third link") to the base station, in step 725.
• the master MT uses the second link to inform the slave MT of all necessary parameters for effectively utilizing the first link that was established between the master MT and the base station.
• the slave MT may also receive the data transmitted from the base station, without establishing another link.
• One skilled in the art will recognize there may be many additional combinations when multiple slave MT ' s are present, such as each slave MT having independent links, some slave MTs having independent links and others just receiving data without establishing a link to the base station, and the like.
• the slave MT transmits data, derived from the data that the slave MT has received from the base station, to the master MT.
• the master MT receives data via the second link from the slave MT.
• the data received from the slave MT is combined with the data that the master MT receives directly from the base station, in step 740.
• the data could be redundant data that is combined in the master MT for the purpose of achieving diversity gain.
• the data from the base station intended for the master MT could be split and part received by the master MT and part received by slave MT.
• the data received by the slave MT is forwarded to the master MT and is combined with the data directly received by the master MT to form the complete message transmitted from the base station.
• the data is supplied to an application in the master MT.
• a mechanism for authentication between master and slave mobile terminals should be provided. Otherwise, a slave mobile terminal may route data to a fake master, and security is breached.
• a crypto-mechanism above the protocol-levels involved in the slave MT's data-processing mentioned above facilitates a secure link between the slave MT and the terminating application in the master MT.
• the data linked from the base station to the master MT via the slave MT can then be regarded as securely relayed although some data-processing is done in the slave MT.
• the master MT only receives and the one or more slave MTs only transmit; the one or more slave MTs only receive and the master MT only transmits; and the one or more slave MTs receive and transmit while the master MT processes data.
• a computer equipped with a SLR connects to the master MT by using the SLR link.
• the computer or the master MT searches for slave MTs that permit SLR-access.
• the slave MTs do all reception and transmission while the computer does the high layer processing. Data received from the slave MT or the master MT or both could be provided to applications residing in the computer.
• a handover between two different mobile terminals during a call is accomplished using SLRs.
• SLRs For example, suppose the master MT is the mobile terminal that handles the call before handover. The master MT may then initiate a handover to a slave MT by transmitting the necessary information, such as carrier frequency, time slot, spreading code, identification information, and the like to the slave MT over the SLR link. The master MT then controls the actual handover via the SLR link. When the handover is completed, the master MT disables the SLR connection to the slave MT. The slave MT then handles all transmission to/from the base station using the master MT's identity. This reduces the system (i.e., network) signaling during a handover by using the SLR link.
• system i.e., network
• Still another feature of the SLR link between the master MT and slave MTs allows data (i.e., calls) to be distributed to users of the slave MTs, for example to establish multi-part calls (i.e., conference calls).
• data i.e., calls
• a call received by the master MT may be distributed to the slave MTs via the SLR link.
• the users of the slave MTs could then relay their response data (i.e., the users' voices) to the master MT via the SLR link.
• the master MT then combines the response data from the slave MTs along with the master's response data and transmits the combined response data to the base station.
• the master MT may not directly receive/transmit any data from/to the base station but could instead delegate that to one or more slave MTs to obtain diversity or increased throughput as described above . Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=24830499

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (52)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2001
  • 2001-10-30 EP EP01993090A patent/EP1330899A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-10-30 WO PCT/EP2001/012533 patent/WO2002037771A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2001-10-30 AU AU2002215981A patent/AU2002215981A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events