Multi-Hop Wireless Communication System and Relay Method and Relay Station Therein

Abstract

A relay station, which is originally deployed in the multi-hop wireless communication system and used for relaying the communication between a base station and a mobile station, is referred to as an ordinary relay station, and a relay station is referred to as an aid relay station. The aid relay station can decide whether to provide aid to the ordinary relay station, and can be invisible to the base station and the mobile station, namely, the aid relay station will not generate signaling between itself and the base station or the mobile station, and therefore the aid relay station, when being implemented, will not generate extra signaling overheads in the multi-hop wireless communication system; and at the same time, when the relay quality of an aided relay station is poor, it can be improved by the aid relay station, thereby improving the system performance of the multi-hop wireless communication system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A relay method in a multi-hop wireless communication system including a a base station, a mobile station, a first relay station, and a second relay station, the method comprising:
 at least one of:
 said second relay station acquiring downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said mobile station, and 
 said second relay station acquiring uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said base station; and 
   at least one of:
 (a) said second relay station:
 determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station, and 
 using the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station to receive relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said mobile station; and 
 
 (b) said second relay station:
 determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station; and 
 using the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station to receive relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said base station. 
 
   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said second relay station acquires at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation information and said uplink wireless resource allocation information by receiving broadcast messages from said base station. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said second relay station acquires at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation information and said uplink wireless resource allocation information by receiving a public control signaling sent by said base station. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein:
 said second relay station acquires at least one of the downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base station and said first relay station and the uplink wireless resource allocation information between said first relay station and said base station by receiving broadcast messages of said base station; and   said second relay station acquires at least one of the downlink wireless resource allocation information between said first relay station and said mobile station and the uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile station and said first relay station by receiving public control signaling sent by said first relay station.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , comprising at least one of:
 said second relay station determining that a current downlink transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is lower than a first threshold value defined by the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station based on said determination; and   said second relay station determining that a current uplink transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is lower than a second threshold value defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station based on said determination.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein at least one of said first threshold value and said second threshold value is set by a system configuration, and is dynamically adjustable based on differences in time and geographical regions. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , comprising at least one of:
 said second relay station determining that a number of times a downlink automatic retransmission is requested between said first relay station and said mobile station exceeds a first threshold defined by the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station based on said determination; and   said second relay station determining that a number of times an uplink automatic retransmission is requested between said mobile station and said first relay station exceeds a second threshold defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station, and determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station based on said determination.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein at least one of said first threshold and said second threshold is set by a system configuration and is dynamically adjusted based on differences in time and geographical regions. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the step of said second relay station determining to aid the downlink of said first relay station comprises:
 said second relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station and whether said first relay station correctly receives the relay data from sent base station, and 
 if said second relay station determines that both the first and second relay station correctly receive the relay data from the base station, said second relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station; and 
   the step of said second relay station determining to aid the uplink of said first relay station comprises:
 said second relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station and whether said first relay station correctly receives the relay data from sent mobile station, and 
 if said second relay station determines that both the first and second relay station correctly receive the relay data from the mobile station, said second relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, to said base station. 
   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the step of said second relay station determining to aid the downlink of said first relay station comprises said second relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station; and   the step of said second relay station determining to aid the uplink of said first relay station comprises said second relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, to said base station.   
     
     
         31 . An aid relay station of a multi-hop wireless communication system including a base station, a mobile station, the aid relay station, and a first relay station,
 wherein said aid relay station is configured to perform at least one of:
 acquiring downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said mobile station, and 
 acquiring uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said base station; and 
   wherein said aid relay station is further configured to perform at least one of:
 (a) aiding a downlink of relay data by:
 determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station, and 
 using the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station to, receive relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said mobile station; and 
 
 (b) aiding an uplink of relay data by:
 determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station; and 
 using the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station to receive relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said base station. 
 
   
     
     
         32 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein said aid relay station is configured to acquire at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation information and said uplink wireless resource allocation information by receiving broadcast messages of said base station. 
     
     
         33 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein said aid relay station is configured to:
 acquire at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base station and said first relay station and the uplink wireless resource allocation information between said first relay station and said base station by receiving broadcast messages of said base station; and   acquire at least one of said downlink wireless resource allocation information between said first relay station and said mobile station and the uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile station and said first relay station by receiving public control signaling sent by said first relay station.   
     
     
         34 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , said aid relay station is configured to perform at least one of the following:
 determining that a current downlink transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is lower than a first threshold value defined by the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station based on said determination; and   determining that a current uplink transmission rate configuration of said mobile station is lower than a second threshold value defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station based on said determination.   
     
     
         35 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , said aid relay station is configured to perform at least one of the following:
 determining that a number of times a downlink automatic retransmission is requested between said first relay station and said mobile station exceeds a first threshold defined by the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station based on said determination; and   determining that a number of times an uplink automatic retransmission is requested between said mobile station and said first relay station exceeds a second threshold defined by the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said aid relay station, and determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station based on said determination.   
     
     
         36 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein:
 determining by said aid relay station to aid the downlink of said first relay station comprises:
 said aid relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station and whether said first relay station correctly receives the relay data from sent base station, and 
 if said aid relay station determines that both the first and aid relay station correctly receive the relay data from the base station, said aid relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station; and 
   determining by said aid relay station to aid the uplink of said first relay station comprises:
 said aid relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station and whether said first relay station correctly receives the relay data from sent mobile station, and 
 if said aid relay station determines that both the first and aid relay station correctly receive the relay data from the mobile station, said aid relay station forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, to said base station. 
   
     
     
         37 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein:
 determining by said aid relay station to aid the downlink of said first relay station comprises said aid relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said base station to said first relay station, to said mobile station; and   determining by said aid relay station to aid the uplink of said first relay station comprises said aid relay station determining whether it correctly receives the relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and if so, forwarding the relay data, sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, to said base station.   
     
     
         38 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein said aid relay station and said first relay station are located in the same cell. 
     
     
         39 . The aid relay station of  claim 31 , wherein said aid relay station and said first relay station are located in different cells. 
     
     
         40 . A multi-hop wireless communication system, comprising:
 a base station,   a mobile station,   a first relay statio, and   a second relay station,   wherein said second relay station is configured to perform at least one of:
 acquiring downlink wireless resource allocation information between said base station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said mobile station, and 
 acquiring uplink wireless resource allocation information between said mobile station and said first relay station and between said first relay station and said base station; and 
   wherein said second relay station is further configured to perform at least one of:
 (a) aiding a downlink of relay data by:
 determining to aid the downlink relay of said first relay station, and 
 using the downlink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station to, receive relay data sent by said base station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said mobile station; and 
 
 (b) aiding an uplink of relay data by:
 determining to aid the uplink relay of said first relay station; and 
 using the uplink wireless resource allocation information acquired by said second relay station to receive relay data sent by said mobile station to said first relay station, and forward said received relay data to said base station.