Cell-Specific Pilot Signal Phase Control for Mobile Station Complexity

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Solution Overview

Problem

In cellular systems, the integration of unicast and MBMS sub-frames in radio frames leads to a phase shift of cell-specific scramble codes, complicating cell search processing and increasing detection complexity in mobile stations, especially during initial cell search when guard interval information is unavailable.

Innovation Solution

A method where the base station controls the phase difference of cell-specific pilot signals across sub-frames to maintain consistency, ensuring no phase shift occurs, thereby simplifying correlation detection and improving cell search processing without increasing the mobile station's complexity or configuration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If unicast and MBMS sub-frames are integrated in radio frames, then system functionality and data transmission capability are improved, but phase shift of cell-specific scramble codes occurs complicating cell search processing

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem functionalityVSAvoidcell search processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes the parameter of pilot signal transmission by introducing phase compensation mechanisms. Specifically, it modifies the transmission parameters of cell-specific pilot signals to account for and counteract the phase shifts introduced by MBMS sub-frame integration, thereby maintaining consistent phase relationships across different sub-frame types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention implements feedback by having the mobile station detect and measure phase shifts in received pilot signals, then report this information back to the base station. The base station uses this feedback to adjust and compensate for phase shifts in subsequent transmissions, creating a closed-loop system that maintains synchronization accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If phase compensation is implemented to maintain pilot signal consistency, then cell search detection probability is improved, but base station processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection probabilityVSAvoidbase station processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and pre-compensating for expected phase shifts before pilot signal transmission. The base station anticipates phase changes due to MBMS sub-frame patterns and applies compensatory phase adjustments in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time phase correction during cell search operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If pilot signal transmission is maintained across all sub-frames, then cell search capability is preserved, but resource element allocation efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecell search capabilityVSAvoidresource element allocation efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies local quality by differentiating pilot signal transmission strategies between different sub-frame types. Instead of uniform pilot transmission across all sub-frames, it optimizes pilot signal presence and characteristics specifically for unicast sub-frames where cell search is relevant, while reducing or eliminating redundant pilot transmissions in MBMS sub-frames where cell search is not performed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2139250B1Pilot signal transmitting method, and base station, mobile station and cellular system to which that method is applied
Publication Date: 2016.08.24 FUJITSU LTD
  • EP2139250B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2139250B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2139250B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A pilot signal transmitting method, which achieves an appropriate cell search without increasing in scale or complicating the mobile station structure, is provided along with a base station, a mobile station and a cellular system to which that method is applied. In a cell-specific pilot signal transmitting method for use in a mobile communication system that comprises a base station and a mobile station wireless communicating with the base station in the cell of a wireless communication area formed by the base station and that can mix and then transmit unicast data and broadcast/multicast data as downstream data from the base station to the mobile station, the difference between the start phase of a cell-specific pilot signal transmitted in a subframe in which the base station transmits the unicast data and the start phase of a cell-specific pilot signal transmitted in the next subframe is equal to the difference between the start phase of a cell-specific pilot signal transmitted in a subframe in which the base station transmits the broadcast/multicast data and the start phase of a cell-specific pilot signal transmitted in the next subframe.