TWI552637B - Base station and communicetion method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Base station and its communication method

The disclosure relates to a wireless communication technology, and in particular to a base station that can be used for licensed and unlicensed frequency bands and a communication method thereof.

In the Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication system, which is one of the next generation cellular system technologies, the LTE version 10 can employ a carrier aggregation operation, which divides the system bandwidth into a plurality of component carriers (CCs). ). For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an LTE wireless communication system bandwidth being divided into multiple component carriers. Referring to FIG. 1, the bandwidth of the LTE wireless communication system with 100 MHz is divided into five 20 MHz component carriers (ie, carriers 101 to 105). Each component carrier may be referred to as a primary component carrier (PCC) or a secondary component carrier (SCC) for the user equipment. An LTE Release 10 compatible user equipment may be assigned a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers to provide a higher bit rate.

However, with the rapid growth of wireless network traffic, wireless network traffic between 2010 and 2020 is expected to increase 1000 times. In order to meet the huge wireless network traffic, operators of LTE wireless communication systems are seeking to move from the crowded licensed band towards the use of unlicensed bands to soothe the use of more frequency bands. Huge network traffic. Unlicensed bands may include bands for the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band, television white space (TVWS), and license-free requirements. The LTE wireless communication system needs to deploy the relevant configuration of the LTE wireless network in the unlicensed frequency band to provide new functions.

However, when communicating in an unlicensed band or a domain of a shared spectrum, there may be other communication devices that also want to use an unlicensed band or a shared spectrum. These communication devices may belong to the same or different radio access technologies. In addition, in an unlicensed band, the communication device of the LTE wireless communication system may not be able to transmit or receive freely at any given time due to limitations associated with spectrum sharing, which is a problem in conventional cellular LTE wireless communication systems. It does not exist. Because the transmitting and receiving operations of the communication devices of the LTE wireless communication system are usually arranged.

In other words, in the case of considering the use of an unlicensed band, how to make the communication device of the LTE wireless communication system coexist with other communication devices using the unlicensed band while using the unlicensed band, is a person skilled in the art. One of the topics of concern.

The disclosure proposes a base station and a communication method thereof. The base station may configure the first signal conforming to another communication protocol in an idle transmission resource of the second signal of the communication protocol itself or an idle transmission resource around the second signal to be in another communication Communication within the unlicensed band used by the agreement.

The present disclosure provides a base station suitable for a first wireless communication protocol. This base station includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver transmits and receives wireless signals through the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the unlicensed frequency band is adopted by the second wireless communication protocol. The first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies. The processor is coupled to the transceiver. The processor configures the first signal that meets the second wireless communication protocol in an idle transmission resource that matches the second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or an idle transmission resource around the second signal, and the first signal and the first signal The second signal is sent by the transceiver to the unlicensed frequency band to maintain the transmission resources of the base station in the unlicensed frequency band, and the licensed frequency band is selectively or simultaneously used by the first wireless communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal, and Authorized frequency band.

The present disclosure provides a communication method suitable for a base station employing a first wireless communication protocol. Transmitting and receiving wireless signals by the transceiver through the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band adopted by the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the unlicensed frequency band is adopted by the second wireless communication protocol, and the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol are used. Different wireless access technologies. Configuring the first signal conforming to the second wireless communication protocol to be in an idle transmission resource conforming to the second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or the second message The number is in an idle transmission resource. The first signal and the second signal are sent to the unlicensed band by the transceiver. The first signal and the second signal are used to maintain the transmission resources of the base station on the unlicensed frequency band. Thereafter, the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band are selectively or simultaneously used through the first wireless communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal.

The present disclosure provides a base station suitable for use in a first wireless communication protocol. The first wireless communication protocol includes a base station and at least one second base station. The base station includes a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver transmits and receives wireless signals through the unlicensed frequency band and receives signals corresponding to the at least one second base station. The processor is coupled to the transceiver. The processor calculates the priority according to the signal of the at least one second base station and sorts the priority list to obtain the priority of the base station among the unlicensed frequency bands. The processor preferentially uses the radio resource having a higher priority than the at least one second base station according to the priority list.

The present disclosure provides a communication method suitable for a base station employing a first wireless communication protocol. The first wireless communication protocol includes a base station and at least one second base station. First, the transceiver transmits and receives the wireless signal through the unlicensed frequency band, and receives the signal corresponding to the at least one second base station. Next, the priority is calculated according to the signals of the at least one second base station and the priority list is sorted to obtain the priority of the base station among the unlicensed frequency bands. Thereafter, the radio resource having a higher priority than the at least one second base station is preferentially used according to the priority list.

The disclosure provides a communication method suitable for a user equipment. First, the signal of the base station connected to the user equipment is received. Next, follow this signal to get the right The priority of the wireless communication system should be given, and the reserved radio resources of the base station should be known according to the priority. Thereafter, when the radio resource is not reserved by the base station, the user equipment does not receive a message from the base station to save power.

Based on the above, the base station and the communication method thereof are applicable to the base station of the first wireless communication protocol, and the signal corresponding to the second wireless communication protocol can be transmitted through the idle transmission resource of the first wireless communication protocol to transmit The licensed band used by the first wireless protocol and the unlicensed band used by the second wireless protocol to send and receive wireless signals. In addition, the base station between different operators can also obtain a priority list and reserve radio resources according to the signal by transmitting a signal about the reserved radio resource. In this way, base stations between different operators using unlicensed bands can use radio resources according to the priority list without competing for radio resources. In addition, the user equipment according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can determine whether to receive the message according to the signal of the connected base station regarding the reservation of the wireless resource, thereby achieving the effect of saving power.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

101, 102, 103, 104, 105‧‧‧ carrier

200, 310, 320, 312, 314, 910, 920, 1210, 1220‧‧‧ base stations

212, 912‧‧‧ transceiver

214, 914‧‧‧ processor

300‧‧‧Wireless communication network

322‧‧‧WiFi wireless access point

410, 610‧‧‧802.11 beacon signal

420, 520‧‧‧ found reference signal

421, 521‧‧‧cell-specific reference signals

422, 522‧‧‧ primary component carrier

423, 523‧‧‧Subcomponent carrier

424, 524‧‧‧ channel status information reference signal

430, 530‧‧‧ physical downlink control channel

510, 710‧‧‧802.11 physical layer header signal

720‧‧‧Reservation signal

900, 1200‧‧‧Unlicensed bands

1100, 1211, 1221‧‧‧ signals

1212, 1222‧‧ ‧ priority list

A, B‧‧‧ operator

D‧‧‧Information

S810, S820, S830, S840, S1010, S1020, S1030‧‧

SF#0, SF#1, SF#2, SF#3, SF#4, SF#5, SF#6, SF#7, SF#8, SF#9‧‧‧ subframe

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that an LTE wireless communication system bandwidth is divided into a plurality of component carriers.

2 is a schematic diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of coexistence of an LTE wireless network using an unlicensed frequency band and a WiFi wireless communication system in an unlicensed frequency band according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 beacon signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in a discovery reference signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 beacon signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in a physical downlink control channel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 entity layer header signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in a discovery reference signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 entity layer header signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in a physical downlink control channel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 beacon signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in an LTE time division duplex according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 entity layer header signal conforming to a WiFi protocol in a gap of an appointment signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a communication method of a base station employing a first wireless communication protocol in an unlicensed frequency band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the use of an unlicensed band communication by a base station suitable for an LTE communication protocol according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a method of communication between the base stations of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a sub-frame transmitted by a base station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a base station sharing an unlicensed frequency according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Schematic diagram of the segment.

The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, wherever possible, the same reference numerals in the drawings

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a base station 200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The base station 200 includes a transceiver 212 and a processor 214. The base station 200 is adapted to a first wireless communication protocol, such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) protocol, or a cellular wireless One of the access networks, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The processor 214 is coupled to the receiver 212. The processor 214 performs the wireless communication function of the base station 200. The transceiver 212 can send and receive wireless signals through the licensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol and the unlicensed frequency band used by the second wireless communication protocol, where the second wireless communication protocol is a wireless local area network protocol conforming to the 802.11 standard, and A wireless communication protocol and a second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the transceiver 212 may have a first wireless communication protocol and a second wireless communication protocol wireless communication transceiver function, or may be a communication transceiver having a first wireless communication protocol and a communication with a second wireless communication protocol. The devices are formed in cooperation with each other. The processor 214 can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microprocessor Or other corresponding hardware to achieve.

In this embodiment, the LTE communication protocol and the WiFi communication protocol are respectively used as the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In this case, the base station 200 may be a combination of an Evolved Node B (eNB) of the LTE protocol and an access point (AP) of the WiFi protocol.

It should be noted that there are two methods for deploying an LTE communication protocol in an unlicensed frequency band: a stand-alone solution and a carrier aggregation scheme. In the carrier aggregation scheme, the LTE wireless network can use the unlicensed frequency band as a secondary component carrier and is assisted by the control of the licensed frequency band of the LTE wireless network. In an independent solution, the LTE wireless network can be implemented separately without the assistance of a licensed frequency band, but the issues of coexistence with unlicensed bands must be considered. LTE wireless networks should consider the use of unlicensed bands in unlicensed bands and issues of coexistence with WiFi protocols.

The WiFi protocol generally uses a carrier form called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) mechanism in the unlicensed band. The CSMA/CD mechanism uses a carrier sense channel, and when it is determined that the sensed channel state is "idle", the device of the WiFi wireless communication system transmits a signal to avoid collision. The use of the carrier sense channel as "idle" or "busy" is defined based on the clear channel assessment (CCA) function defined by the WiFi protocol. For example, the idle channel evaluation function can detect the ability to detect busy media. The amount is higher than the energy threshold, or it is detected that the identifiable signal energy is higher than the energy threshold. The energy threshold can be limited by the WiFi protocol, the regulations of the standardization organization, or the law.

To save power, the WiFi wireless communication system uses a carrier sense multiple access/collision detection mechanism with virtual carrier sensing. Virtual Carrier Sense (VCS) is a logical abstraction concept used to reduce the frequency of physical carrier sensing to save power. The header signal of the MAC layer contains an interval field that specifies the transmission time required for the signal, during which the medium is in a busy state. The base station listening on the wireless medium reads the interval field and sets the network configuration vector, wherein the network configuration vector is an indicator of the base station, indicating how long the access medium has to be delayed. The header signal of the physical layer is also included in the Legacy Signal Field (L-SIG) field for the transmission rate and data length information of the virtual carrier sensing mechanism.

In addition, the access point of the WiFi wireless communication system uses a mechanism called Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) to meet the radar detection and uniform channel in some laws and regulations in the 5GHz band. Extended demand. The access point of the WiFi protocol with dynamic frequency selection automatically selects the frequency channel to avoid co-channel operation with the radar system and is based at least on the interference level, the received power level, the report of the idle channel evaluation, and whether there is a radar One of the access points of the system or other WiFi wireless communication system to provide uniform utilization of available channels. The access point of the WiFi protocol with dynamic frequency selection is periodically transmitted according to the access point of other WiFi wireless communication systems. Beacon to identify the access point of other WiFi wireless communication systems. Beacon signals contain system information such as timestamps, beacon intervals, capability information, and more.

Next, in order to enable the LTE wireless network to use the unlicensed frequency band and coexist with the WiFi wireless communication system, the processor 214 configures the first signal conforming to the WiFi communication protocol in an idle transmission resource conforming to the second signal of the LTE communication protocol. Or an idle transmission resource around the second signal, and the first signal and the second signal are sent by the transceiver 212 to the unlicensed frequency band used by the WiFi protocol to maintain the transmission resources of the base station on the unlicensed frequency band. The base station 200 selectively or simultaneously uses the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band through the LTE communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal.

In detail, the second signal transmitted by the LTE wireless network in the unlicensed band conforming to the LTE protocol is a data, control signal or reference signal of the wireless network, such as a Discovery Reference Signal and a physical downlink. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a resource block of a downlink to uplink, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The LTE wireless network transmits at least one first communication signal conforming to the WiFi protocol in an idle transmission resource of the second signal or an idle transmission resource around the second signal, which may be a system frame, or a general data frame or a signal. The system frame is, for example, an RTS/CTS signal or an 802.11 beacon signal. The general data frame or signal is, for example, an 802.11 physical layer header signal, which is not limited by the present invention.

In this way, the base station 200 suitable for the LTE communication protocol transmits the first signal and the second signal transmitted in the unlicensed frequency band, and is based on the foregoing WiFi communication protocol. The cooperation mechanism (ie, the virtual carrier sensing mechanism of the WiFi wireless communication system and the dynamic frequency selection mechanism) can avoid using the same channel as the device of the WiFi wireless communication system and maintain the transmission resources of the base station on the unlicensed frequency band. The base station 200 selectively or simultaneously uses the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band through the LTE communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal.

For example, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of coexistence of an LTE wireless network using an unlicensed frequency band and a WiFi wireless communication system in an unlicensed frequency band according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3, the wireless communication network 300 includes two macro base stations (Macro eNBs), and base stations 310 and 320. Within the coverage of the giant base station 310 are two small cell base stations, base stations 312, 314, which use the same unlicensed channel (it should be noted that one unlicensed band contains at least one unauthorized channel). Within the coverage of the giant base station 320, there is a new WiFi wireless access point 322 that can search for available unauthorized channels in accordance with the virtual carrier sensing and dynamic frequency selection mechanisms of the WiFi wireless communication system. In addition, the base stations 310, 312, and 314 belong to the first operator A, and the base station 320 and the WiFi wireless access point 322 belong to the second operator B. It is worth noting that the interference and resource management between the base stations 312 and 314 can be handled by the operation, management and maintenance system of the first operator A, so that there can be a backhaul network between the base stations 310, 312 and 314. Road (backhaul). Control of user equipment served by base stations 312 and 314 can be assisted by base station 310.

However, there is no backhaul network between the base station 314 and the WiFi wireless access point 322. In order to avoid the use of the WiFi wireless access point 322 with the base stations 312 and 314 For the same unlicensed channel, the base stations 312 and 314 can be configured with a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Discover the gap of the Discovery Reference Signal (ie, idle transmission resources), or the LTE Time-Division Duplex (TDD) gap to transmit the system frame of the WiFi protocol, the general data frame, or Signal.

It is worth noting that the base stations 312 and 314 can transmit the system frame of the WiFi protocol (ie, the RTS/CTS signal or the 802.11 beacon signal), so that the 802.11 wireless access point 322 does not respond to the dynamic frequency selection. Channels of base stations 312 and 314 are used. For example, FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the 802.11 beacon signal 410 conforming to the WiFi protocol in the discovery reference signal 420 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 beacon signal 410 conforming to the WiFi protocol in the physical downlink control channel 430 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4A, the LTE version 12 discovery reference signal 420 is a reference signal for cell discovery, synchronization, and measurement, and includes a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) and a primary component carrier (PCC). 422, a secondary component carrier (SCC) 423, and a configurable channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) 424 occupying discontinuous symbols, respectively. Therefore, when the LTE protocol is transmitting the discovery reference signal 420, there are many unused symbols and resources in the subframe. European Telecommunications Standards Association (European Telecommunication Standards Institute, ETSI) standard definition of the channel bandwidth is the bandwidth of the power containing 99% of the signal, and the occupied channel bandwidth should be between 80% and 100% of the declared channel bandwidth . The LTE version 12 discovery reference signal 420 needs to enhance the bandwidth requirement of the occupied channel. Therefore, the base stations 312 and 314 can configure the 802.11 beacon signal 410 conforming to the WiFi protocol to be configured in the idle transmission resource of the discovery reference signal 420. The resource of the sub-frame of the discovery reference signal 420 is used, as shown in FIG. 4A. Therefore, similarly, the base stations 312 and 314 can also configure the 802.11 beacon signal 410 conforming to the WiFi protocol in the idle transmission resource of the physical downlink control channel 430, as shown in FIG. 4B.

In addition, FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of the 802.11 entity layer header signal 510 conforming to the WiFi protocol in the discovery reference signal 520 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 entity layer header signal 510 conforming to the WiFi protocol in the physical downlink control channel 530 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment, the base stations 312 and 314 can also configure the 802.11 physical layer header signal 510 in the idle transmission resource of the discovery reference signal 520 or the physical downlink control channel 530 to fully utilize the resources of the subframe. The discovery reference signal 520 shown in FIG. 5A may also include a cell-specific reference signal 521, a primary component carrier 522, a secondary component carrier 523, and a configurable channel state information reference signal 524, which is not limited by the disclosure.

It should be noted that the 802.11 entity layer header signal 510 may include a legacy short training field (L-STF) conforming to the entity layer header signal of the WiFi protocol, and a legacy long training field (Legacy Long Training). Field, L-LTF) and Legacy Signal Field (L-SIG), and 802.11 physical layer header signal 510 includes at least channel reservation message, automatic gain control (AGC) setting, and time and frequency. One of the synchronization messages causes the WiFi wireless access point 322 to not use the channels of the base stations 312 and 314 first in response to virtual carrier sensing.

Similarly, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 also utilize an idle transmission resource of the LTE protocol to transmit an 802.11 beacon signal or a physical layer header signal conforming to the WiFi protocol. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 beacon signal 610 conforming to a WiFi protocol in an LTE time division duplex according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted that FIG. 6 is an effect of transmitting the 802.11 beacon signal 610 of the WiFi protocol by using the idle resource of the downlink of the resource block to the uplink to achieve the effect of fully utilizing the resources of the subframe. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an 802.11 entity layer header signal 710 conforming to the WiFi protocol in a gap of an appointment signal 720 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. If the LTE system used is an LTE time-division duplex system, the base stations 312 and 314 can configure the gaps of the special subframe or the UL subframe.

Even if the WiFi wireless access point 322 still wants to use the channels of the base stations 312 and 314, the WiFi protocol frame can be configured for the interval field or the quiet period of the resource reservation (eg, the 802.11h function). The frame may contain at least one special basic service set identification (BSSID) (for example, 111...11), a special type value (for example, a reservation value of Type=11), and a WiFi communication protocol. Subtype values of the frame structure (for example, reserved values 0110-0111 and 1101-111 of Type=00) to indicate LTE small cells using unlicensed bands The base station may indicate some information for coexistence between the WiFi wireless communication system and the LTE base station, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Therefore, the frame of the WiFi protocol can have an 802.11h measurement report. The 802.11h measurement report can be a basic 802.11h function measurement report to report other Basic Service Sets (BSS). The 802.11h measurement report can be an idle channel evaluation function report for an 802.11h function to report a bad channel condition. The 802.11h measurement report can be an 802.11h function received power indicator report to report poor received power quality. The 802.11h measurement report may indicate an LTE small cell base station using an unlicensed channel or indicate some information for coexistence between the 802.11 wireless access point and the LTE base station. This disclosure does not limit the 802.11h measurement report.

In this way, the system frame, the general data frame or the signal including the WiFi protocol can be used to maintain the transmission resources of the base station in the unlicensed frequency band, so that the base station can pass the LTE communication protocol and the system frame of the WiFi protocol, The general data frame or signal can selectively or simultaneously use the licensed band and the unlicensed band.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, the disclosure shows a flow chart of a communication method of a base station using a first wireless communication protocol in an unlicensed frequency band. Please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a communication method of a base station using a first wireless communication protocol in an unlicensed frequency band according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In step 810, the base station transmits and receives wireless signals through the transceiver through the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the unlicensed frequency band is adopted by the second wireless communication protocol. And the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies. In step 820, the processor of the base station configures the first signal conforming to the second wireless communication protocol in an idle transmission resource that conforms to the second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or an idle transmission resource around the second signal. . In step 830, the base station sends the first signal and the second signal to the unlicensed frequency band by using the transceiver, where the first signal and the second signal are used to maintain the transmission resources of the base station on the unlicensed frequency band. In step 840, the base station selectively or simultaneously uses the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band through the first wireless communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal.

Briefly, the base station and the wireless communication technology proposed by the embodiment can transmit the signal conforming to the second wireless communication protocol through the idle transmission resource of the first wireless communication protocol, and use the virtual carrier sensing of the second wireless communication protocol. A cooperative mechanism such as dynamic frequency selection prevents the devices of the second wireless protocol from using the same channel. In this way, the base station can transmit and receive wireless signals through the licensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol and the unlicensed frequency band used by the second wireless communication protocol, thereby selectively or simultaneously using the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band.

On the other hand, when the base stations belonging to the LTE communication protocol between different operators want to use the unlicensed frequency bands, the interference between the base stations and the mechanism for sharing the channels can be explained by the following embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a base station suitable for an LTE communication protocol using an unlicensed frequency band 900 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment, the unlicensed band 900 includes base stations 910, 920. In the disclosed embodiment, the base station 910, The implementation of the 920 is similar, so the base station 910 will be used as an example to introduce its characteristics. The base station 910 is applicable to the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is one of a long term evolution technology protocol, a global interoperability microwave access protocol, and a cellular wireless access network, but is not limited thereto.

Base station 910 includes a transceiver 912 and a processor 914. The processor 914 is coupled to the receiver 912. The processor 914 performs the wireless communication function of the base station 910. The transceiver 912 can send and receive wireless signals through an unlicensed frequency band. It should be noted, however, that the unlicensed frequency band is used by the second wireless communication protocol, and the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies. Therefore, the second wireless communication protocol is, for example, a wireless local area network protocol conforming to the 802.11 standard, but the disclosure does not limit this.

In this embodiment, the LTE communication protocol and the WiFi communication protocol are respectively used as the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In this case, the base station 910 is also similar to the above embodiment, and is equivalent to the combination of the evolved Node B of the LTE protocol and the access point of the WiFi protocol.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a method of communication between the base stations 910 and 920 of FIG. The method proposed in this embodiment can be implemented by the base stations 910 and 920 of FIG. 9, and the following steps, that is, the components in the base station 910, describe the steps of the communication method between the base stations 910 and 920 disclosed herein.

In step S1010, the base station 910 transmits and receives a wireless signal through the unlicensed frequency band through the transceiver 912, and receives a signal corresponding to at least one second base station. The base station 910 can transmit and receive through the unlicensed frequency band through the transceiver 912. In addition to the wireless signal, a signal transmitted by the base station 920 regarding the reserved wireless resource may also be received. It should be noted that the base station 910 can also receive signals from other base stations regarding reservation of radio resources. The disclosure is not limited thereto. However, in order to facilitate the description of the spirit of the embodiment, the base station 920 is used as an example to illustrate the base. Communication method between stations.

In this embodiment, the subframe transmitted by the base station 910 may reserve a part or a last symbol to enable the base station 920 to transmit a signal regarding the reserved radio resource. Please refer to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a subframe transmitted by a base station 910 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The sub-frames SF#0~SF#9 transmitted by the base station 910 include the transmitted data D, and may also carry a signal 1100 as related information about the radio resources reserved by itself. The signal 1100 indicates the unreserved radio resource, the reserved radio resource, and the reserved signal to the other base station to transmit the reserved signal by the number 0, 1, and 2, respectively. After receiving the subframes SF#0~SF#9 transmitted by the base station 910, the base station 920 decodes and analyzes the reserved or unreserved radio resources of the base station 910 to find the timing of the signal that can transmit the reservation. Since the base station 920 can decode the value of the signal 1100 of the base station 910 in the subframe SF#3 or SF#8 is 2 (that is, the signal indicating that the reservation has been reserved but the last symbol is reserved for transmitting the reservation to other base stations) Therefore, the base station 920 can transmit its reserved signal during the last symbol of the subframe SF#3 or SF#8. It should be noted that the base stations belonging to the LTE communication protocol between the same operators can use the same sub-frame to transmit signals by multiplexing or combining multiple reserved signals into combined signals. In addition, if the signal is a periodic signal, then the message The number also contains cycle length information.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the signal transmitted by each base station regarding the reserved radio resource may also be configured in an idle transmission resource conforming to the signal of the LTE protocol or an idle transmission resource surrounding the signal conforming to the LTE protocol, The signals of the LTE communication protocol are, for example, a Discovery Reference Signal, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a resource block downlink to uplink idle resource, or other reference signals, such as 4 to 7 are shown, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the signal about the reserved radio resource includes at least a priority list, a cell identifier (cell identifier), a device identification code, an operator identification code, a signal number, a time information, a frequency information, or a random number. One. Since the communication device of the LTE wireless communication system cannot be freely transmitted or received at any given time in the unlicensed frequency band, the base station 910 needs to share the signal schedule for the reserved wireless resource according to the base station 920 to share with the base station 920. A channel within an unlicensed band.

In step S1020, the base station 910 calculates the priority and sorts the priority list according to the signals of the at least one second base station to obtain the priority of the base station among the unlicensed frequency bands. In step S1030, the base station 910 preferentially uses the radio resource having a higher priority than the at least one second base station according to the priority list.

In this embodiment, the processor 914 of the base station 910 further calculates the priority according to the signal transmitted by the base station 920 regarding the reserved radio resource, and sorts the priority. List. The base station 910 may include a priority list, a cell identifier, a device identifier, a carrier identifier, a signal number, a time information, a frequency information, or a random number included in the signal regarding the reserved wireless resource. When the information is calculated, the disclosure does not limit the way in which the priority is calculated. Thereafter, after the base station 910 obtains the priority list among the unlicensed frequency bands, the radio resources having higher priority than the base station 920 can be preferentially used according to the priority list. In addition, base station 910 can also reserve radio resources to base station 920 in an unlicensed frequency band in accordance with priority. It should be noted that the base station 910 can reserve radio resources to the base station 920 by exchanging messages or other actions, and the disclosure does not limit this.

For example, FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a base station sharing an unlicensed frequency band according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 12, the unlicensed frequency band 1200 includes two small cell base stations, base stations 1210 and 1220. The base station 1210 belongs to the first operator A, and the base station 1220 belongs to the second operator B. There is no backhaul network between base stations 1210 and 1220. At this time, the base station 1210 is using the channel in the unlicensed band, and the base station 1220 is the newly added base station, and the base station 1220 wants to use the same channel in the unlicensed band as the base station 1210. After receiving and decoding the signal 1211 of the base station 1210 regarding the reserved radio resource, the base station 1220 transmits the signal 1221 in the subframe SF#3 to reserve the same channel in the unlicensed frequency band as the base station 1210. After receiving the signal 1221 of the base station 1220, the base station 1210 decodes and calculates the priority to sort the latest priority list 1212. In this way, the base station 1210 will be used preferentially according to the latest priority list 1212. The priority list 1222 of the station 1220 has a higher priority radio resource, and at the same time, can reserve radio resources to the base station 1220 according to the priority.

It should be noted that, since the priority order of the priority list 1212 and 1222 of the present embodiment is from small to large, the smaller the number is, the corresponding base station has higher priority, but the disclosure is not Limited to this. Referring to FIG. 12, since the priority list 1222 of the base station 1220 is smaller in priority order of the subframes SF#5, SF#6, SF#7, and SF#8 than the priority list 1212 of the base station 1210, The base station 1220 has a higher priority for the subframes SF#5, SF#6, SF#7, and SF#8 than the base station 1210, prompting the base station 1210 to first use the base station 1220 in the unlicensed frequency band. The radio resources of the subframes SF#5, SF#6, SF#7, and SF#8, or the use of beamforming or other power control to use the radio resources, the disclosure does not limit.

In addition, with regard to the random backoff window mechanism in the unlicensed band, the contention-based mechanism will usually rely on the backoff window to resolve the contention conflict in the random access process. However, in the disclosed embodiment, the contention mechanism may be replaced by the priority list 1212, 1222 between the base stations 1210, 1220. Therefore, in this embodiment, if the base station 1210 has a higher priority radio resource than the base station 1220 (for example, the subframes SF#0, SF#1, SF#2, SF#3, SF#) 4), the base station 1210 uses a shorter back window for the higher priority wireless resources or does not use the back window, and the base station 1220 uses a longer back window to continuously detect whether the base station 1210 uses the wireless. Resources. In other words, if the base station 1210 has lower priority radio resources than the base station 1220 (for example, the sub-information Blocks SF#5, SF#6, SF#7, SF#8), the base station 1210 uses a longer back window for the radio resources with lower priority to continuously detect whether the base station 1220 uses the radio resource. The base station 1220 uses a shorter back window or does not use a back window, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

In short, the base station proposed in the embodiment can transmit a signal about reserved radio resources in an unlicensed frequency band, so that the base station can obtain a priority list according to the signal and reserve radio resources. In this way, base stations between different operators using unlicensed bands can use radio resources according to the priority list without competing for radio resources.

It is to be noted that the user equipment attached to one of the base stations 910, 920, 1210, and 1220 of the foregoing embodiment can receive the connection in an embodiment of the communication method applicable to the user equipment. The base station has a signal for reservation of the wireless resource, in order to obtain the priority of the connected base station corresponding to the wireless communication system according to the signal, and to know the reserved wireless resource of the connected base station according to the priority. When the reserved radio resource is not the base station of the connection, the user equipment will not receive a message from the connected base station to save power. In addition, when the base station of the user equipment receives the connection, the user equipment may calculate and transmit a signal containing at least one priority list of the adjacent base station according to the signal to the connection. Base station.

In summary, in the base station and the communication method thereof, the base station can transmit and receive wireless signals through the licensed frequency band used in the first wireless communication protocol and the unlicensed frequency band used in the second wireless communication protocol. Second wireless communication Cooperative mechanisms such as virtual carrier sensing or dynamic frequency selection of the protocol prevent the devices of the second wireless protocol from using the same channel. In addition, the base station between different operators can also obtain a priority list and reserve radio resources according to the signal by transmitting a signal about the reserved radio resource. In this way, the base station can not only selectively or simultaneously use the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band, but the base station between different operators using the unlicensed frequency band can use the wireless resource according to the priority list without competing for the wireless resource. . In addition, the user equipment of the present disclosure can further determine whether to receive a message according to a signal that the connected base station has a reservation for the wireless resource, thereby achieving the effect of saving power.

The present disclosure has been disclosed in the above embodiments, but it is not intended to limit the disclosure, and any person skilled in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The scope of protection of this disclosure is subject to the definition of the scope of the appended claims.

S810, S820, S830, S840‧‧‧ steps

Claims (24)

A base station is adapted to a first wireless communication protocol, the base station includes: a transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals through a licensed frequency band and an unlicensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol, wherein the unlicensed frequency band is one a second wireless communication protocol, and the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies; and a processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is compliant with the first a first signal of the second wireless communication protocol is configured in an idle transmission resource that matches a second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or an idle transmission resource around the second signal, and the first signal is associated with the first signal The second signal is sent to the unlicensed frequency band by the transceiver to maintain the transmission resource of the base station in the unlicensed frequency band, and the first wireless communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal are selectively or Simultaneously using the licensed frequency band and the unlicensed frequency band, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is a Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol One of the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) protocols and other cellular radio access networks, and the second signal is a Discovery Reference Signal and a physical downlink control channel. (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH), downlink to uplink resource block or other reference signal. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless wireless communication protocol is a wireless local area network protocol conforming to the 802.11 standard. For example, the base station described in claim 2, wherein the first signal is an 802.11 beacon signal or an 802.11 physical layer header signal. The base station of claim 3, wherein the 802.11 physical layer header signal includes at least one of a channel reservation message, an automatic gain control setting, and a time and frequency synchronization message. A communication method is suitable for a base station using a first wireless communication protocol, the communication method comprising: transmitting and receiving a wireless signal through a licensed frequency band and an unlicensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol by a transceiver The unlicensed frequency band is used by a second wireless communication protocol, and the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol use different wireless access technologies; a first signal that conforms to the second wireless communication protocol Configuring in an idle transmission resource that matches a second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or an idle transmission resource around the second signal; sending the first signal and the second signal to the second signal by using the transceiver The unlicensed frequency band, wherein the first signal and the second signal are used to maintain transmission resources of the base station in the unlicensed frequency band; and are selectively selected by the first wireless communication protocol and the first signal and the second signal Use the licensed band and the unlicensed band at the same time or at the same time, The first wireless communication protocol is one of a long term evolution technology agreement, a global interoperability microwave access protocol, and other cellular wireless access networks, and the second signal is a discovery reference signal, a physical downlink control channel, The resource block downlink to an idle resource or other reference signal of the uplink. The communication method according to claim 5, wherein the second wireless wireless communication protocol is a wireless local area network protocol conforming to the 802.11 standard. The communication method of claim 6, wherein the first signal is an 802.11 beacon signal or an 802.11 physical layer header signal. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the 802.11 physical layer header signal includes at least one of a channel reservation message, an automatic gain control setting, and a time and frequency synchronization message. A base station is applicable to a first wireless communication protocol, wherein the first wireless communication protocol comprises the base station and at least one second base station, wherein the first base station comprises: a transceiver, through an unlicensed frequency band Transmitting and receiving a wireless signal, and receiving a signal corresponding to the at least one second base station; and a processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor calculates the priority according to the signal of the at least one second base station and sorts the first a priority list for obtaining a priority of the base station in the unlicensed frequency band, and the processor preferentially uses the radio resource having a higher priority than the at least one second base station according to the priority list, The signal of the at least one second base station is configured in or around the discovery reference signal, the physical downlink control channel, the resource block downlink to uplink, or other reference signals that comply with the first wireless communication protocol. In an idle transmission resource. The base station of claim 9, wherein the processor further reserves the radio resource to the at least one second base station in the unlicensed frequency band according to the priority. The base station of claim 9, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is one of a long term evolution technology agreement, a global interoperability microwave access protocol, and other cellular radio access networks. The base station according to claim 9 , wherein the signal includes at least a priority list, a cell identifier (cell identifier), a device identifier, an operator identification code, a system frame number, time information, One of the frequency information or random number. The base station according to claim 9, wherein the base station has a higher priority of the radio resource than the at least one second base station, and the base station is for the radio resource having a higher priority Using a shorter backoff window or not using a back window, and the at least one second base station uses a longer back window, the at least one second base station continuously detecting whether the base station uses the wireless Resources. For example, the base station described in claim 9 wherein the signal is a periodic signal and includes period length information. The base station of claim 9, wherein the first wireless communication protocol further reserves a last symbol of the partial subframe to enable the at least one second base station to transmit the signal. A communication method is suitable for using a base station of a first wireless communication protocol, wherein the first wireless communication protocol comprises the base station and at least one second base station, and the communication method comprises: transmitting, by using a transceiver The unlicensed frequency band transmits and receives the wireless signal, and receives the signal corresponding to the at least one second base station; calculates the priority according to the signal of the at least one second base station and sorts a priority list to obtain the base station in the unauthorized a priority among the frequency bands; and preferentially using, according to the priority list, the wireless resource having a higher priority than the at least one second base station, the signal of the at least one second base station is configured to comply with the first A radio communication protocol discovery reference signal, a physical downlink control channel, a resource block downlink to uplink or other idle transmission resource in or around the reference signal. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises: subscribing to the at least one second base station the radio resource in the unlicensed frequency band according to the priority. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is one of a long term evolution technology agreement, a global interoperability microwave access protocol, and other cellular wireless access networks. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein the signal includes at least a priority list, a honeycomb identification code, a device identification code, an operator identification code, a system frame number, time information, frequency information, or a random number. One. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the base station has a higher priority of the radio resource than the at least one second base station, and the base station is for the radio resource having a higher priority. The shorter back window is used or the back window is not used, and the at least one second base station uses a longer back window, and the at least one second base station continuously detects whether the base station uses the wireless resource. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the signal is a periodic signal and includes period length information. The communication method of claim 16, wherein the first wireless communication protocol further reserves a last symbol of a portion of the subframe to transmit the signal. A communication method, which is suitable for a user equipment of a first wireless communication protocol, the method comprising: receiving a signal of a base station connected to the user equipment; obtaining a corresponding one in the wireless communication system according to the signal Priority, and according to the priority, the reserved radio resource of the base station is obtained; when the reserved radio resource is not the base station, the user equipment does not receive a message from the base station to save power, and the method further include: Configuring a first signal that meets a second wireless communication protocol in an idle transmission resource that matches a second signal of the first wireless communication protocol or an idle transmission resource around the second signal, where the user equipment Transmitting and receiving a wireless signal through a licensed frequency band and an unlicensed frequency band used by the first wireless communication protocol, the unlicensed frequency band being used by a second wireless communication protocol, and using the first wireless communication protocol and the second wireless communication protocol Different wireless access technologies; and transmitting the first signal and the second signal to the unlicensed frequency band by using the transceiver, wherein the first signal and the second signal are used to maintain the base station on the unlicensed frequency band Transmission resource, wherein the first wireless communication protocol is one of a long term evolution technology protocol, a global interoperability microwave access protocol, and other cellular wireless access networks, and the second signal is a discovery reference signal, an entity downlink The channel control channel, the resource block downlink to an idle resource of the uplink or other reference signals. The communication method according to claim 23, wherein the step of obtaining the priority corresponding to the wireless communication system according to the signal, and obtaining the reserved wireless resource of the base station according to the priority further comprises: : Calculating and transmitting a signal containing at least one priority list of the adjacent base station to the base station that is connected.