Data transmission method, transmitter and receiver in coordinated communication system

This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2011/073590, filed on May 3, 2011, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201010252132.5, filed on Aug. 6, 2010, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data transmission method, a transmitter, and a receiver in a coordinated communication system.

Multiple input multiple output (Multiple Input Multiple Output, abbreviated to MIMO) is a critical technology in the 4th generation communication network.

In a MIMO system, a plurality of transmitters and receivers may use the same wireless resources to transmit data. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of data transmission in the prior art. The system includes transmitters S 1 and S 2 , and receivers D 1 and D 2 . The transmitter S 1 is paired with the receiver D 1 . To be specific, the transmitter S 1 transmits data to the receiver D 1 . The transmitter S 2 is paired with the receiver D 2 . To be specific, the transmitter S 2 transmits data to the receiver D 2 . The transmitter S 1 codes data x 1 and transmits the coded data to the receiver D 1 , and meanwhile the receiver D 2 is also capable of receiving the data x 1 . The transmitter S 2 codes data x 2 and transmits the coded data to the receiver D 2 , and meanwhile the receiver D 1 is also capable of receiving the data x 2 .

The data transmission method in the prior art has the following problems: The receiver D 2 is capable of receiving the data x 1 , but the data x 1 is not the data that needs to be transmitted to the receiver D 2 . Therefore, the data transmitted by the transmitter S 1 causes interference with the receiver D 2 . Similarly, the data transmitted by the transmitter S 1 may also cause interference with the receiver D 1 . To be specific, in the conventional MIMO system, the data transmitted by one transmitter may interfere with the data transmitted by another transmitter.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a data transmission method, a transmitter, and a receiver in a coordinated communication system, for solving the problem of interference during data transmission in a conventional MIMO system.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a data transmission method in a coordinated communication system, including:

precoding, by a first transmitter, its payload data by using a first precoding matrix to obtain first precoded data;

precoding, by the first transmitter, coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix to obtain second precoded data to cancel interference with the first precoded data at a receiver caused by data transmitted by one or more other transmitters, where the coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the one or more other transmitters; and

transmitting, by the first transmitter, the first precoded data and the second precoded data after the precoding to the receiver.

An embodiment of the present invention provides another data transmission method in a coordinated communication system, including:

receiving, by a receiver, data transmitted by a first transmitter, data transmitted by the first transmitter, where the data transmitted by the first transmitter includes first precoded data obtained by precoding payload data of the first transmitter by using a first precoding matrix and second precoded data obtained by precoding coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix, the second precoded data is used to cancel interference with the first precoded data at the receiver caused by data transmitted by another transmitter, and the coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the one or more other transmitters.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a transmitter in a coordinated communication system, including:

a first precoding module, configured to precode payload data of the transmitter by using a first precoding matrix to obtain first precoded data;

a second precoding module, configured to precode coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix to obtain second precoded data to cancel interference with the first precoded data at a receiver caused by data transmitted by one or more other transmitters, where the coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the one or more other transmitters; and

a transmitting module, configured to transmit the first precoded data and the second precoded data after the precoding to the receiver.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a receiver in a coordinated communication system, including:

a receiving module configured to receive data transmitted by a first transmitter, data transmitted by the first transmitter, where the data transmitted by the first transmitter includes first precoded data obtained by precoding payload data of the first transmitter by using a first precoding matrix and second precoded data obtained by precoding coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix, the second precoded data is used to cancel interference with the first precoded data at the receiver caused by data transmitted by another transmitter, and the coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the one or more other transmitters.

According to the data transmission method, transmitter, and receiver in the coordinated communication system provided in the embodiments of the present invention, during precoding, the first transmitter codes its payload data by using the first precoding matrix to obtain the first precoded data, and codes the coordinated data by using the second precoding matrix to obtain the second precoded data to cancel, by using different precoding matrices, the interference with the first precoded data at the receiver caused by the data transmitted by one or more other transmitters, thereby solving the problem of interference during data transmission in the prior art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of data transmission in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a data transmission method in a coordinated communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission method in a coordinated communication system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a MIMO system involving two users according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment illustrating a transmitter in a coordinated communication system according to the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment illustrating a receiver in a coordinated communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a data transmission method in a coordinated communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, including:

Step 101 : A first transmitter precodes its payload data by using a first precoding matrix to obtain first precoded data.

Step 102 : The first transmitter precodes coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix to obtain second precoded data to cancel interference with the first precoded data at a receiver caused by data transmitted by one or more other transmitters, where the coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data received by the first transmitter from the one or more other transmitters.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the coordinated data refers to the data transmitted by transmitters to each other for interference cancellation. The payload data refers to the data that actually needs to be transmitted by a transmitter to a receiver, and the payload data includes coordinated data of the transmitter and private data of the transmitter.

Coordinated data may be a subset of payload data of a transmitter. To be specific, the coordinated data may include a part of the payload data of the transmitter. The coordinated data may be obtained by randomly or arbitrarily selecting from the payload data of the transmitter. For each transmitter, the quantity of the coordinated data may be half of that of the payload data.

Step 103 : The first transmitter transmits the first precoded data and the second precoded data after the precoding to the receiver.

In step 102 , the product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by a transmission matrix of the first transmitter may be 0. The transmission matrix is a transmission matrix between the first transmitter and its target receiver. Certainly, it is an optimal case that the product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by the transmission matrix is 0. In practice, the product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by the transmission matrix may be enabled to be close to 0 or as small as possible if the system allows.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission method in a coordinated communication system according to the present invention. The system is a MIMO system involving two users, including a transmitter S 1 , a transmitter S 2 , a receiver D 1 , and a receiver D 2 . The transmitter S 1 is paired with the receiver D 1 . To be specific, the receiver D 1 is a target receiver of the transmitter S 1 . The transmitter S 2 is paired with the receiver D 2 . To be specific, the receiver D 2 is a target receiver of the transmitter S 2 . The number of antennas of each transmitter and each receiver is M.

The data of the transmitter S 1 is x 1 , where x 1 is represented by the following matrix:

The data transmitted by the transmitter includes a plurality of symbols, for example, x 1 1 , x 1 TQ , . . . , and x 1 TQ+L in formula (1). T is the number of symbol timeslots, and Q is the quantity of coordinated data transmitted between the transmitters in each symbol timeslot, that is, the number of data symbols (coordinated data) received in each symbol timeslot from another transmitter. In T symbol timeslots, the transmitter transmits

L = TQ + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

symbols to a receiver D 1 in total, where TQ corresponds to the data obtained after the coordinated data is precoded (that is, the second precoded data), and

T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

corresponds to the data (that is, the first precoded data) obtained after the payload data of the transmitter is precoded.

In formula (1), assume p 1 =[x 1 TQ+1 . . . x 1 L ]′, where [•]′ indicates a transpose operation, that is, p 1 is used as the private data of the transmitter S 1 . The private data of the transmitter S 1 includes

L p = T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

symbols. Assume c 1 =[x 1 1 . . . x 1 TQ ]′, that is, c 1 is used as the coordinated data of the transmitter S 1 . x 1 [t]=[(p 1 )′ (c 1 t )′]′ is defined, indicating the payload data transmitted from the transmitter S 1 to the receiver D 1 in the t th symbol timeslot. c 1 t =[x 1 tQ−(Q−1) x 1 tQ ]′ indicates Q coordinated symbols transmitted from the transmitter S 1 to the receiver D 1 in the t th symbol timeslot. There are

Q + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

symbols in x 1 [t] in total.

The data of the transmitter S 2 is x 2 , where x 2 is represented by the following matrix:

Assume p 2 =[ 2 TQ+1 . . . x 2 L ]′, that is, p 2 is used as the private data of the transmitter S 2 . Assume c 2 =[x 2 1 . . . x 2 TQ ]′, that is, c 2 is used as the coordinated data of the transmitter S 2 . x 2 [t]=[(p 2 )′ (c 2 t )′]′ is defined, indicating the payload data transmitted from the transmitter S 2 to the receiver D 2 in the t th symbol timeslot. c 2 t =[x 2 tQ−(Q−1) x 2 tQ ]′ indicates Q coordinated symbols transmitted from the transmitter S 2 to the receiver D 2 in the t th symbol timeslot. There are

Q + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

symbols in x 2 [t] in total.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the data transmitted by each transmitter includes two parts: One part is payload data and the other part is coordinated data transmitted by other transmitters. The coordinated data is a subset of the payload data transmitted by the other transmitters. For example, the coordinated data c 2 transmitted by the transmitter S 1 is a subset of the payload data of the transmitter S 2 , and the coordinated data c 1 transmitted by the transmitter S 2 is a subset of the payload data of the transmitter S 1 .

The transmitter S 1 transmits the coordinated data c 1 to the transmitter S 2 , and the transmitter S 2 transmits the coordinated data c 2 to the transmitter S 1 .

The transmitter S 1 separately precodes the payload data and the coordinated data that is received from the other transmitters. The precoding formula is as follows:

x 1 [t] indicates the data obtained after the data in the t th symbol timeslot is precoded. W 1 t =└w 1 tl . . . w 1 tL p ┘ is a precoding matrix of the private data p 1 in the t th symbol timeslot, where w 1 tl is a precoding element of the l th private symbol x 1 TQ+tl ; V 11 t =[v 11 tl . . . v 11 tQ ] is a precoding matrix of the coordinated data c 1 t , where v 11 t is a precoding element of the coordinated symbol x 11 tl in the coordinated data c 1 t of the transmitter S 1 . V 12 t =[v 12 tl . . . v 12 tQ ] is a precoding matrix of the coordinated data c 2 t , where v 12 t is a precoding element of the coordinated symbol x 12 tl in the coordinated data c 2 t transmitted by the transmitter S 2 .

The transmitter S 2 separately precodes the payload data and the coordinated data that is received from the other transmitters. The precoding formula is as follows:

x 2 [t] indicates the data obtained after the data in the t th symbol timeslot is precoded. W 2 t =[w 2 tl . . . w 2 tL p ] is a precoding matrix of the private data p 2 in the t th symbol timeslot, where w 2 tl is a precoding element of the l th private symbol x 2 TQ+tl ; V 21 t =[v 21 tl . . . v 22 tQ ] is a precoding matrix of the coordinated data c 1 t , where v 21 t is a precoding element of the coordinated symbol x 11 tl in the coordinated data c 1 t of the transmitter S 2 . V 22 t =[v 22 tl . . . v 22 tQ ] is a precoding matrix of coordinated data c 2 t of the transmitter S 2 , where v 22 t is a precoding element of the coordinated symbol x 22 tl in the coordinated data c 2 t .

After the precoding, the transmitters may transmit the precoded data to the receivers in MIMO mode.

A data transmission method in a coordinated communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes: receiving, by a receiver, data transmitted by a first transmitter, data transmitted by the first transmitter, where the data transmitted by the first transmitter includes first precoded data obtained by precoding payload data of the first transmitter by using a first precoding matrix and second precoded data obtained by precoding coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix, the second precoded data is used to cancel interference with the first precoded data at the receiver caused by data transmitted by another transmitter, and the coordinated data is the payload data received by the first transmitter from the another transmitter.

Specifically, in the second embodiment, the receiver may receive

TQ + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

data symbols in T symbol timeslots.

Based on the above embodiment, the method further includes cascading the data received in T symbol timeslots, cascading a channel matrix corresponding to each timeslot, and processing the received data according to a MIMO reception algorithm.

Specifically, the MIMO reception algorithm may include a zero-forcing (Zero-forcing, abbreviated to ZF) method, a minimum mean square error (Minimum Mean Square Error, abbreviated to MMSE) method, a maximum likelihood (Maximum Likelihood, abbreviated to ML) method, and a successive interference cancellation (Successive Interference Cancellation, abbreviated to SIC) method.

Referring to FIG. 3 , transmission matrices between each transmitter and each receives include H 11 , H 12 , H 21 and H 22 . A transmitter S 1 transmits data to a receiver D 1 based on the first transmission matrix H 11 , a transmitter S 2 transmits data to the receiver D 1 based on the second transmission matrix H 12 , the transmitter S 1 transmits data to a receiver D 2 based on the third transmission matrix H 21 , and the transmitter S 2 transmits data to the receiver D 2 based on the fourth transmission matrix H 22 .

In each symbol timeslot, the receiver D 1 receives, based on the first transmission matrix H 11 , the data transmitted by the transmitter S 1 , and receives, based on the second transmission matrix, the data transmitted by the transmitter S 2 . The data received by the receivers may be represented by formula (5), where the value of k may be 1 or 2, indicating the data received by the receiver D 1 and the data received by the receiver D 2 , respectively.

In formula (5), z[t] indicates a noise, H k =[H k1 H k2 ] indicates each transmission matrix, {tilde over (v)} i tl =[(v 1i tl )′ (v 2i tl )′]′ε C 2M×1 is a precoding element of the coordinated symbol x i tQ−q+1 , and {tilde over (V)} i t =[{tilde over (v)} i tl . . . {tilde over (v)} i tQ ]ε C 2M×Q is a precoding matrix of all the Q coordinated symbols of the transmitter i (the value of i may be 1 or 2); payload data indicates the payload data, interference indicates an interference item, and other similar parameter symbols have the same meanings as described above.

In the embodiment of the present invention, assume that {tilde over (V)} k t , ∀i and t satisfy the conditions (6), (7), and (8):

H k {tilde over (V)} i t =0, ∀i≠k   (6)

H k {tilde over (V)} k t ≠0, ∀k   (7)

rank( H k {tilde over (V)} k t )= Q, ∀k   (8)

In formula (8), rank(•) indicates the rank of the matrix, and ∀i indicates a random i.

Based on the above conditions, formula (5) may be evolved into:

By comparison between formula (5) and formula (9), it can be seen that one interference item is reduced in formula (9).

It can be seen from formula (9) that, after the receiver i receives the coordinated data transmitted by the transmitter k, the coordinated data transmitted by the transmitter k is cancelled. To be specific, the receiver does not process the coordinated data transmitted by the transmitter k. In this way, the interference with the receiver i caused by the data transmitted by the transmitter k is reduced.

As shown in formula (5), the receiver receives 2L p +Q data streams in total, and fails to parse the data streams in a single symbol timeslot. Therefore, the receiver D k (the value of k may be 1 or 2) jointly processes the symbols received in the T consecutive symbol timeslots.

According to the data transmission method in the coordinated communication system provided in the embodiment of the present invention, during precoding, the first transmitter codes the payload data of the transmitters by using the first precoding matrix, and codes the coordinated data received from other transmitters by using the second precoding matrix, where the product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by the transmission matrix between the first transmitter and the first receiver may be 0, and then transmits the precoded payload data and the precoded coordinated data based on the transmission matrix. The product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by the transmission matrix is 0. Therefore, the data received by the first receiver based on the transmission matrix does not include the coordinated data. To be specific, the first receiver does not receive a part of payload data transmitted by other transmitters, thereby reducing interference between the transmitters.

With the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the degree of freedom (indicating the maximum number of data streams in the system) of the MIMO system may be

2 ⁢ L p + 2 ⁢ TQ T = M + Q .

Compared with the MIMO system in the prior art, the embodiment of the present invention enhances the degree of freedom.

The following uses a specific example to describe the implementation process of the data transmission method in the MIMO system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a MOMO system involving two users according to an embodiment of the present invention, including a transmitter S 1 , a transmitter S 2 , a receiver D 1 , and a receiver D 2 . Each transmitter and each receiver include two antennas. The system is a 2×2 MIMO system.

The data transmitted by the transmitter S 1 is x 1 , which is represented by the following formula:

The target data transmitted by the transmitter S 2 is x 2 , which is represented by the following formula:

The coordinated data of the transmitter S 1 is c 1 , where c 1 =[x 1 1 x 1 2 ]′. The coordinated data c 1 needs to be transmitted to the transmitter S 2 . The private data of the transmitter S 1 is x 1 3 . The coordinated data of the transmitter S 2 is c 2 , where c 2 =[x 2 1 x 2 2 ]′. The coordinated data c 2 needs to be transmitted to the transmitter S 1 . The private data of the transmitter S 2 is x 2 3 .

In the system, the value of the number M of antennas is 2, the value of the total number T of symbol timeslots is 2, the value of the number Q of coordinated symbols interchanged within each symbol timeslot is 1, and the number L of symbols transmitted by each transmitter in every T symbol timeslots is

For the transmitter S k (the value of k is 1 or 2, indicating the transmitter S 1 and the transmitter S 2 , respectively), p k =x k 3 indicates the private data of the transmitter k, and c k =[x k 1 x k 2 ]′ indicates the coordinated data transmitted by the transmitter S k to another transmitter. Within the t th symbol timeslot, the payload data transmitted by the transmitter S k is

x k ⁡ [ t ] = [ ( p k ) ′ ( c k t ) ′ ] ′ = [ x k 3 x k t ] ,

where t={1, 2}. All types of data transmitted by the transmitter S k may be as shown in the following table:

The data received by the receiver D k is as follows:

Therefore, the following results are obtained:

w 1 1 and w 1 2 are precoded symbols of the private symbols of the private data of the transmitter S 1 , w 2 1 and w 2 2 are precoded symbols of the private symbols of the private data of the transmitter S 2 , {tilde over (v)} 1 1 and {tilde over (v)} 1 2 are precoded symbols of the coordinated data of the transmitter S 1 , {tilde over (v)} 2 1 and {tilde over (v)} 2 2 are precoded symbols of the coordinated data of the transmitter S 2 , z[t] indicates a noise, where t=1, 2, H is the corresponding transmission matrix, and H k =[H k1 H k2 ], and

V ~ k t = v ~ k t = [ v 1 ⁢ i t v 2 ⁢ i t ] ,

and the following conditions also need to be satisfied:

H 1 {tilde over (V)} 2 t =0, H 1 {tilde over (V)} 1 t ≠0, rank( H 1 {tilde over (V)} 1 t )=1;

H 2 {tilde over (V)} 1 t =0, H 2 {tilde over (V)} 2 t ≠0, rank( H 2 {tilde over (V)} 2 t )=1.

The data received by the receiver D 1 within two consecutive symbol timeslots is:

Subsequently, the receiver D 1 may use various detection algorithms to process the received data.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment illustrating a transmitter in a coordinated communication system according to the present invention. A transmitter 10 includes a first precoding module 11 , a second precoding module 12 , and a transmitting module 13 . The first precoding module 11 is configured to precode payload data of the transmitter by using a first precoding matrix to obtain first precoded data. The second precoding module 12 is configured to precode coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix to obtain second precoded data to cancel interference with the first precoded data at a receiver caused by data transmitted by another transmitter. The coordinated data includes at least a part of the payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the another transmitter. The transmitting module 13 is connected to the first precoding module 11 and the second precoding module 12 and configured to transmit the first precoded data and the second precoded data after the precoding to the receiver.

The transmitting module 13 may be specifically configured to transmit

TQ + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

data symbols to the receiver in T symbol timeslots.

The second precoding module 12 may be specifically configured to precode the coordinated data by using the second precoding matrix, where the product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by a transmission matrix of the transmitter is 0.

For specific working principles of each module in the transmitter according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 , refer to the description in the above method embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment illustrating a receiver in the coordinated communication system according to the present invention. A receiver 20 includes a receiving module 21 . The receiving module 21 is configured to receive data transmitted by a first transmitter, where the data transmitted by the first transmitter includes payload data precoded by using a first precoding matrix and second precoded data obtained by precoding coordinated data by using a second precoding matrix. The coordinated data includes at least a part of the second precoded data of payload data that is received by the first transmitter and transmitted by the another transmitter, to cancel interference with the first precoded data at the receiver caused by data transmitted by the another transmitter. The product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by a transmission matrix is 0. The transmission matrix is a transmission matrix between the first transmitter the first receiver. The first receiver is a target receiver of the first transmitter.

The receiving module 21 may be specifically configured to receive

TQ + T ⁡ ( M - Q ) 2

data symbols in T symbol timeslots.

The receiver illustrated in FIG. 6 may further include a processing module 22 . The processing module 22 is connected to the receiving module 21 . The processing module 22 is specifically configured to cascade the data received in the T symbol timeslots, cascade a channel matrix corresponding to each timeslot, and process the received data according to a MIMO reception algorithm. Specifically, the methods such as the ZF method, MMSE method, ML method, and SIC method may be used.

For working principles of each module in the receiver illustrated in FIG. 6 , refer to the description in the above method embodiments.

The transmitter and the receiver provided in the embodiments of the present invention may be apparatuses in a system for data transmission based on the MIMO technology. For example, if data is transmitted based on the MIMO mode between a user equipment (User Equipment, abbreviated to UE) and a base station, the transmitter may be the UE and the receiver may be the base station. Alternatively, the transmitter may be the base station and the receiver may be the UE.

According to the transmitter and the receiver in the coordinated communication system provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the precoding module precodes the payload data of each transmitter by using the first precoding matrix, and precodes the coordinated data received from another transmitter by using the second precoding matrix; and the transmitting module transmits the precoded payload data and the precoded coordinated data based on the transmission matrix. The product of the second precoding matrix multiplied by the transmission matrix is 0. Therefore, the data received by the receiver based on the transmission matrix does not include the coordinated data. To be specific, the receiver does not receive a part of payload data transmitted by another transmitter, thereby reducing interference between the transmitters.

Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that all or a part of the steps of the method embodiments may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. When the program is run, the steps of the method embodiments are performed. The storage medium may be any medium that is capable of storing program codes, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a CD-ROM.