Relay device and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10129890-B2
Application number	US-201715414665-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2017
Priority date	Aug 19, 2011
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A wireless communications system including a base station, a relay device, and a terminal device. The terminal device can transmit one or more first type access request messages to request uplink resources from the base station, and if no response to the first type access request messages is received from the base station, transmit a second type access request message. The base station is responsive to a first type access request message received from the terminal device to transmit an allocation of uplink resources to the terminal device. The relay device is responsive to a second type access request message received from the terminal device to transmit a relayed access request message to request the base station to allocate uplink resources to the terminal device. The base station is responsive to the relayed access request message to transmit an allocation of uplink resources to the terminal device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A relay device for wirelessly relaying data from a terminal device to a base station, the relay device comprising:
a receiver configured to receive, from a terminal device, a plurality of first Random Access Channel (RACH) preambles, which are selected from a first group of RACH preambles, and at least one second RACH preamble, which is selected from a second group of RACH preambles that is different from the first group of RACH preambles; and
a transmitter, responsive to the at least one second RACH preamble being received at the receiver from the terminal device to transmit a relayed access request message to the base station to request the base station to allocate uplink resources to the terminal device,
wherein the relay device is configured to determine an identifier for the terminal device based on a position of a time and frequency resource including the at least one second RACH preamble.

2. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein
the receiver is configured to receive uplink data transmitted by the terminal device on the allocated uplink resources; and
the relay device is configured to relay to the base station the uplink data received from the terminal device.

3. The relay device according to claim 2 , wherein
the allocation of uplink resources transmitted from the base station to the terminal device is a Random Access Response; and
the uplink data transmitted by the terminal device on the allocated uplink resources is a Message 3 .

4. The relay device according to claim 2 , wherein the uplink data comprises one or both of control information and data.

5. The relay device according to claim 2 , wherein the relay device is configured to:
measure a received signal power of the uplink data received from the terminal device; and
set power control information in the relayed uplink data for controlling a power level of a subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device.

6. The relay device according to claim 2 , wherein the relay device is configured to:
measure a propagation time delay between the terminal device and the relay device of the uplink data;
determine, based on the propagation time delay, a required timing advance offset for a subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device so that a receive time of the subsequent transmission at the relay device is synchronized with a receive time of transmissions from other terminal devices; and
specify said timing advance offset in the relayed uplink data.

7. The relay device according to claim 2 , wherein the relayed uplink data comprises an identification of the terminal device which transmitted the uplink data.

8. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein
the relay device is configured to include the identifier in the relayed access request message transmitted to the base station; and
the base station uses the identifier to transmit an allocation of uplink resources to the terminal device.

9. The relay device according to claim 8 , wherein
the plurality of first RACH preambles and the at least one second RACH preamble are transmitted on a random access channel; and
the relay device is configured to determine the identifier for the terminal device from a time and/or frequency resource within the random access channel including the at least one second RACH preamble.

10. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the relay device is configured to:
measure a received signal power of the at least one second RACH preamble received from the terminal device; and
set power control information in the relayed access request message for controlling a power level of a subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device on the allocated uplink resources.

11. The relay device according to claim 10 , wherein the power control information specifies a power offset from the received signal power of the at least one second RACH preamble.

12. The relay device according to claim 10 , wherein the allocation of uplink resources transmitted from the base station to the terminal device comprises the power control information for controlling the transmission power of the subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device.

13. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the relay device is configured to:
measure a propagation time delay between the terminal device and the relay device of the at least one second RACH preamble;
determine, based on the propagation time delay, a required timing advance offset for a subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device so that a receive time of the subsequent transmissions at the relay device is synchronized with a receive time of transmissions from other terminal devices; and
specify said timing advance offset in the relayed access request message.

14. The relay device according to claim 13 , wherein the allocation of uplink resources transmitted from the base station to the terminal device comprises the timing advance offset for controlling the timing of a subsequent transmission from the terminal device to the relay device.

15. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the relayed access request message comprises an identification of the terminal device which transmitted the message.

16. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein
the relay device is responsive to the at least one second RACH preamble received from the terminal device to request the base station to allocate uplink resources to the relay device to transmit the relayed access request message;
the base station is responsive to the request from the relay device to allocate uplink resources to the relay device; and
the relay device is configured to transmit the relayed access request message to the base station using the uplink resources allocated to the relay device by the base station.

17. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein
the relay device is responsive to the uplink data received from the terminal device to request the base station to allocate uplink resources to the relay device to transmit the relayed uplink data;
the base station is responsive to the request from the base station to allocate uplink resources to the relay device; and
the relay device is operable to transmit the relayed uplink data to the base station using the uplink resources allocated to the relay device by the base station.

18. A terminal device for wirelessly communicating data to a base station via a relay device, the terminal device comprising:
a transmitter configured to:
transmit one or more first Random Access Channel (RACH) preambles, which are selected from a first group of RACH preambles, to request uplink resources from the base station; and
if no response to the transmitted one or more first RACH preambles is received from the base station, transmit at least one second RACH preamble, which is selected from a second group of RACH preambles that is different from the first group of RACH preambles; and

a receiver configured to receive from the base station an allocation of uplink resources allocated at the base station in response to one of the one or more first RACH preambles or a relayed access request message transmitted to the base station by the relay device in response to the at least one second RACH preamble being received from the terminal device,
wherein a position of a time and frequency resource including the at least one second RACH preamble conveys an identifier of the terminal device.

19. The

Assignees

• Sca Ipla Holdings Inc

Inventors

• Speight Timothy James
• Piggin Paul William

Classifications

• H04W72/21

  in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network · CPC title

• H04B7/204

  Multiple access · CPC title

• H04W52/228

  using past power values or information · CPC title

• H04B7/15

  Active relay systems · CPC title

• H04W52/04

  Transmission power control [TPC] · CPC title