Carrier Aggregation Across Multiple Base Stations

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Solution Overview

Problem

In carrier aggregation for LTE-A communication, the transmission rate is limited because component carriers that can be aggregated are restricted to those transmitted or received by a single base station device, preventing sufficient data throughput.

Innovation Solution

A wireless communication system that allows a mobile station device to simultaneously communicate with multiple base station devices using different frequency bands, enabling carrier aggregation even if only one component carrier is provided by a primary base station, by synchronizing transmission timing and using different frequency bands for uplink and downlink communications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If component carriers are restricted to those transmitted or received by a single base station device, then device complexity is reduced, but transmission rate deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebase station device complexityVSAvoidtransmission rate
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention divides the base station functionality into multiple independent base station devices, each capable of transmitting or receiving component carriers. This segmentation allows a mobile station to aggregate component carriers from multiple base stations, thereby increasing transmission rate without requiring any single base station to handle all carriers, thus maintaining manageable device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention extends carrier aggregation from a single-base-station dimension to a multi-base-station dimension. By allowing component carriers to be aggregated across different base station devices, the system adds a spatial dimension to carrier aggregation, enabling higher transmission rates while keeping individual base station complexity manageable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If PUCCH is transmitted using multiple CCs, then transmission capacity is improved, but current consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission capacityVSAvoidcurrent consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the PUCCH transmission function from multiple component carriers and consolidates it to a single component carrier. This extraction maintains the necessary control channel capacity while reducing the energy consumption associated with transmitting PUCCH across multiple carriers, thus resolving the contradiction between transmission capacity and current consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Productivity

If same contiguous frequency bands are used for multiple CCs, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but spurious signals are generated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth efficiencyVSAvoidspurious signals
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the frequency band allocation strategy across multiple base station devices. By allowing different base stations to use same or overlapping frequency bands for different component carriers, the system achieves efficient bandwidth utilization while avoiding spurious signal generation through proper coordination and separation at the receiver side.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2838300B1Radio communication system, radio communication method, mobile station apparatus, and base station apparatus
Publication Date: 2017.02.15 SHARP KK
  • EP2838300B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2838300B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2838300B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

A wireless communication system includes a first base station device, a second base station device, and a mobile station device configured to communicate with the first and second base station devices. The first base station device includes a request notifying unit configured to notify the mobile station device of a request for carrier aggregation. The mobile station device includes: a cell search unit configured to, upon receiving the request, perform cell search and thereby search the second base station device available for carrier aggregation; and a base station notifying unit configured to notify the first base station device of information indicating the second base station device detected by the cell search unit performing the cell search.