Mobile communications system, base station, mobile station, threshold setting method and storage medium having program recorded therein

A mobile communications system can easily set the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode depending on a link condition. A selection control unit compares the reception quality of a common pilot signal detected by a mobile station with a plurality of thresholds stored in a threshold table, determines a modulation-coding mode to be selected, and outputs the determination result as a switch instruction. A threshold variable control unit variably controls the threshold level indicating the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode based on the contents of the reception error notification from the mobile station.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile communications system, a base station, a mobile station, a threshold setting method therefor, and a storage medium having program of the method recorded therein, and more specifically to a method for setting a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes in a system in which an HS-PDSCH (High Speed-Physical Downlink Shared Channel) is used.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, in a mobile terminal (mobile station) such as a portable telephone unit or the like, multimedia technology has been introduced to process still pictures having a large volume of data, short-time moving pictures, etc., and a large capacity and high speed data transmission method is required correspondingly.

As the large capacity and high speed data transmission method, a PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) system and an HS-PDSCH system, etc. in which only a downlink (from a base station to a mobile station) transmission rate is increased have been suggested.

In a mobile communications system for transmitting data from a base station to a mobile station using the above mentioned HS-PDSCH, any of a plurality of modulation-coding modes can be selected. Each of the modulation-coding modes is a combination of any of a plurality of modulation modes such as the QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) for transmitting two bits (four values) in one modulating process, the 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for transmitting four bits (sixteen values) in one modulating process, the 64QAM (64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for transmitting six bits (sixty-four values) in one modulating process, etc. and any of a plurality of coding modes such as the ¾ rate error correction code having the redundancy of the ratio of 4/3 of a total number of bits to information bits with a check bit added, the ½ rate error correction code having the redundancy of the ratio of 2/1 of a total number of bits to information bits, etc.

A method for selecting any of the above mentioned modulation-coding modes can be a conventional method of selecting a modulation-coding mode depending on the reception quality of a common pilot signal after determining as a prefixed threshold the range of the reception quality [Ec/Io (energy per chip/interference wave power per unit frequency)] of the common pilot signal of a CPICH (Common Pilot Channel) which is transmitted from a base station to a mobile station.

In this case, the mobile station notifies the base station of a measurement result of the reception quality of the common pilot signal from the base station. The base station compares the reception quality of the common pilot signal obtained from the mobile station with the threshold, thereby selecting a modulation-coding mode depending on the reception quality.

Another method for selecting any of the modulation-coding modes can be a method of selecting a modulation-coding mode corresponding to the transmission power of an individual signal by determining as a prefixed threshold the range of the transmission power of the individual signal of a DPCH (Dedicated Physical Channel) of the downlink from the base station to the mobile station. In this case, the high-speed closed loop transmission power control is performed such that predetermined reception quality can be obtained in the mobile station for the downlink individual signal.

The TR (Technical Report) 25.848 V4.0.0 (March in 2001) of the 3GPP (third generation partnership project) describes the modulation-coding mode as the AMC (Adaptive Modulation and Coding). Prefixed values are set through simulation for the range of the reception quality of the common pilot signal, and the range of the transmission power of the individual signal.

In the above mentioned conventional mobile communications system, there is the problem that it is difficult to set the optimum range (threshold) of the reception quality of a common pilot signal corresponding to each modulation-coding mode when a modulation-coding mode is selected depending on the reception quality of a common pilot signal.

Although the same reception quality of a common pilot signal is set, the performance of a terminal can be different. Therefore, the reception error rate of a packet can also be different. As a result, there is also the problem that each terminal has a different optimum value for the threshold of the reception quality of a common pilot signal corresponding to each modulation-coding mode of each terminal.

The factor of determining the link condition can be a propagation loss, a multi-path environment (the number of paths and the size of each path), noise power (interference wave power and heat noise power), the moving speed of a mobile station, etc. Therefore, although the same reception quality of a common pilot signal is set, there can be any of the above mentioned different factors. As a result, a different optimum mode can be set for the HS-PDSCH depending on the multi-path environment and the moving speed of a mobile station. The optimum mode refers to the mode having the highest data transmission rate in the modes satisfying the target communications quality (block error rate, etc.).

On the other hand, in the case of the method of selecting a modulation-coding mode corresponding to the transmission power of an individual signal, there is no feedback delay due to the report of the reception quality of the above mentioned common pilot signal from a mobile station to a base station. Therefore, there is no influence of a feedback delay.

However, there is also the problem in this method that it is difficult to set the optimum range (threshold) of the transmission power of the individual signal corresponding to each modulation-coding mode. Furthermore, in this method, if a mobile station is located at the cell boundary, and soft handover is performed to set the dedicated physical channel for a plurality of base stations, then there can be a larger error from the actual downlink link quality on the assumption of the downlink link quality with the transmission power of the individual signal because no soft handover is performed in the data transmission using the above mentioned HS-PDSCH, but data is transmitted from one base station only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed to solve the above mentioned problems, and aims at providing a mobile communications system capable of easily setting the optimum threshold used in selecting a modulation-coding mode depending on the link condition, a base station, a mobile station, a threshold setting method used therefor, and a storage medium having program of the method recorded therein.

A mobile communications system according to the present invention can select any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes used for data transmission of a unit of block between a base station controlled by a base station control device and a mobile station, and includes: measurement means for measuring link quality in the data transmission; selection means for selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes depending on the link quality measured by the measurement means; detection means for detecting the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission; and variable control means for variably controlling a threshold used in selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes by the selection means based on the detection result by the detection means.

A base station according to the present invention is controlled by a base station control device, performs the data transmission of data divided into blocks with a mobile station by using any one of the plurality of modulation-coding modes, and includes: selection means for selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes depending on link quality in the data transmission; and variable control means for variably controlling a threshold for use in selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes by the selection means based on the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission detected by the mobile station.

A mobile station according to the present invention to which abase station controlled by a base station control device performs the data transmission of data divided into blocks by using any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes, includes: measurement means for measuring link quality in the data transmission; detection means for detecting the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission; selection means for selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes depending on the link quality measured by the measurement means; and variable control means for variably controlling a threshold used by the selection means selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes based on the detection result by the detection means.

A threshold setting method according to the present invention is a threshold setting method of a mobile communications system capable of selecting any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes used for data transmission of a unit of block between a base station controlled by a base station control device and a mobile station, and includes: a step of measuring link quality in the data transmission; a step of selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes depending on the measured link quality; a step of detecting the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission; and a step of variably controlling a threshold used in selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes based on the detection result.

A storage medium according to the present invention is a storage medium having recorded therein a program of a threshold setting method of a base station in a mobile communications system capable of selecting any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes used for data transmission of a unit of block between the base station controlled by a base station control device and a mobile station, and the program causes a computer to execute processing for selecting one mode from the transmission/reception modes depending on the measure result of link quality in the data transmission and processing for variably controlling a threshold used in selecting one mode from the transmission/reception modes based on the detection result of the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission.

That is, the mobile communications system according to the present invention capable of selecting any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes switches the modulation-coding modes depending on the link quality of the radio link, and the level (threshold level) at which the modulation-coding mode is switched is controlled based on the occurrence of a reception error of each data block transmitted from the base station to the mobile station.

In the practical explanation, when the base station transmits an information block to the mobile station in the mobile communications system according to the present invention, the mobile station receives the information block. If there is a reception error for the information block, then the mobile station notifies the base station that the reception of the information block has failed.

The base station variably controls the threshold used for switching modulation-coding modes based on the occurrence of the reception error of the information block. That is, when the information block is successfully received, the threshold level indicating the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode is lowered by a predetermined value PdowndB. When the reception error of the information block occurs once or a predetermined number of times, the above mentioned threshold level is raised by a predetermined value PupdB.

The method for estimating the link quality can be, as described above, a method of using a measurement result of the reception quality of a common pilot signal reported from the mobile station, and a method of using a measurement result of transmission power of a downlink individual signal of a DPCH (Dedicated Physical Channel) for which a high-speed closed loop transmission power control is performed.

The values for use in raising/lowering the threshold level are defined as Pdown<Pup. Furthermore, the values for use in raising/lowering the threshold level are determined depending on a target block error rate. In this case, assuming that the target block error rate is 1/N, the expression of (N−1) Pdown=Pupis set. For example, if the target block error rate is 10%, Pdownis 0.1, and Pupis 0.9.

On the other hand, the method of raising/lowering the threshold level can also be a method of simultaneously raising/lowering all thresholds corresponding to the modulation-coding modes, and a method of independently raising/lowering each of the thresholds.

In the method of simultaneously raising/lowering the thresholds, when the threshold level indicating the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode is lowered, all other threshold levels are lowered, and when the threshold level is raised, all other threshold levels are raised.

In the method of independently raising/lowering each of the thresholds, only the threshold level indicating the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode is raised/lowered. In this case, when an information block is successfully received, the upper limit threshold level is lowered by a predetermined value PdowndB, and when an information block is not successfully received a predetermined number of times, the lower limit threshold level is raised by a predetermined value PupdB.

As described above, when a threshold level is raised/lowered, the upper limit threshold level is not to be raised after the upper limit threshold level has raised up to a predetermined level when the modulation-coding mode at a minimum transmission rate is selected, and the lower limit threshold level is not to be lowered after the lower limit threshold level has lowered down to a predetermined level when the modulation-coding mode at a maximum transmission rate is selected.

Otherwise, when the difference between the threshold indicating the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode and the current link quality is equal to or larger than a predetermined value Pmax, the threshold level is not to be raised/lowered.

However, when the method of independently raising/lowering each threshold is used, in addition to the process in the above mentioned method, the following processes are performed. That is, if it occurs by lowering the upper limit threshold level when the difference between the upper limit threshold level and the lower limit threshold level becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined value, then the lower limit threshold level is lowered. On the other hand, if it occurs by raising the lower limit threshold level, then the upper limit threshold level is raised.

As described above, by variably controlling a threshold depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of an error of an information block, a threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes depending on the link condition can be set. Therefore, the optimum threshold for use in selecting the modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

On the other hand, in another mobile communications system according to the present invention, the threshold level is raised/lowered depending on whether a block error rate in a predetermined measurement period is higher or lower than a target block error rate. In this case, if the block error rate in the predetermined measurement period is higher than the target block error rate, then the threshold level is raised by a predetermined value PupdB, and if the block error rate in the predetermined measurement period is lower than the target block error rate, then the threshold level is lowered by a predetermined value PdowndB.

Thus, since the threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes depending on the link condition can be set, the optimum threshold for use in selecting the modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

It is also possible to raise a threshold when occurrence of a reception error is detected n times (n indicates an integer equal to or larger than 1), and lower the threshold when occurrence of a reception error is not detected m times (m indicates an integer expressed by n<m) continuously.

On the other hand, in another mobile communications system according to the present invention, when data transmitted and divided into blocks cannot be correctly received, it is retransmitted N times at maximum until it can be correctly received. In this system, the detection information about the presence/absence of a reception error on the retransmitted data is also used in controlling the threshold.

In this case, the size of a step of decreasing the threshold is set based on the number i of times of the retransmission, and the ratio ΔBR(=BR1/BR2) of the transmission rate BR1in the current modulation-coding mode to the transmission rate BR2in the modulation-coding mode one level lower than the current modulation-coding mode. That is, in case of (i+1)<ΔBR, since there is a strong possibility that transmission can be completed faster by using the current modulation-coding mode even by performing the retransmission, the size of the step of changing a threshold is set to a positive value, thereby raising the probability of selecting the current modulation-coding mode or higher.

On the other hand, in case of (i+1)>ΔBR, since there is a strong possibility that transmission can be completed faster by using the modulation-coding mode one level lower than the current mode, the size of a step of changing a threshold is set to a negative value, thereby raising the probability of selecting the mode lower by one than the current modulation-coding mode. Therefore, it is possible to set the optimum threshold to perform higher transmission with the retransmission taken into account.

In contrast, in another mobile communications system according to the present invention, the size of a step of controlling a threshold is set by the difference ΔQ (=Q−TH) between the current reception quality Q and the controlled threshold TH. That is, the larger the difference between the actual reception quality and the controlled threshold is, the faster convergence to the optimum threshold can be performed by a larger absolute value of the step size.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention are described below by referring to the attached drawings.FIG. 1is a block diagram of the configuration of the mobile communications system according to an embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 1, the mobile communications system according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a base station1, a mobile station2, and a base station control device [for example, an RNC (Radio Network Controller)]3.

The base station1divides the data of the HS-PDSCH (High Speed-Physical Downlink Shared Channel) into data blocks and transmits the data blocks to the mobile station2. Each block is assigned a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) code (error detection code). Upon receipt of the data block of the HS-PDSCH, the mobile station2determines the presence/absence of a reception error of each data block using the CRC code, and notifies the base station1of the determination result.

In the above mentioned mobile communications system, any of the modulation-coding modes can be selected. Each of the modulation-coding modes [64QAM with R=3/4, 16QAM with R=3/4, QPSK with R=1/2 (described in TR25.848 V4.0.0 of 3GPP (March in 2001))] is a combination of any of a plurality of modulation modes such as the QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) for transmitting two bits (four values) in one modulating process, the 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for transmitting four bits (sixteen values) in one modulating process, the 64QAM (64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for transmitting six bits (sixty-four values) in one modulating process, etc. and any of a plurality of coding modes such as the 3/4 rate error correction code having the redundancy of the ratio of 4/3 of a total number of bits to information bits with a check bit added, the 1/2 rate error correction code having the redundancy of the ratio of 2/1 of a total number of bits to information bits, etc. The above mentioned modulation-coding modes are normally switched based on the determination of the base station1, but can also be switched by the mobile station2issuing an instruction to the base station1through the DPCH (Dedicated Physical Channel) of the uplink (UL).

When the base station1determines the switch of the modulation-coding modes, a notification is transmitted from the base station1to the mobile station2using the DPCH of the downlink (DL). After the notification of the switch of the modes, the modulation-coding modes are switched at a predetermined timing.

FIG. 2is a block diagram of the configuration of the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 2, the base station1comprises an antenna11, a duplexer (DUP)12, a reception unit13, a user information-control information separation unit14, a modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15, a control unit16, a modulation-coding unit17, a combination unit18, a transmission unit19, and a storage medium20. Since a call control portion, a voice input/output portion, and a display portion of the base station1can be obtained from the conventional technology, their configurations and operations are omitted here.

The reception unit13transmits the signal [DPCH (UL), etc.] received through the antenna11and the duplexer12to the user information-control information separation unit14. The user information-control information separation unit14separates the signal received from the reception unit13into user information (a voice signal, an image signal, etc.) and control information, transmits the user information to the above mentioned call control portion, voice output portion, and display portion, and the control information to the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15and the control unit16.

The modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15monitors a reception error notification from a mobile station not shown inFIG. 2by executing the program stored in the storage medium20, variably controls the threshold depending on the monitor result, determines which modulation-coding mode is to be selected depending on the current link quality using the threshold, and transmits a switch instruction for switching to the modulation-coding mode to the control unit16and modulation-coding unit17.

The modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15sets in advance the value of the variable control of the threshold depending on a target block error rate. When the threshold is variably controlled, the value used in lowering the threshold level is set to Pdownwhile the value used in raising the threshold level is set to Pup. These values are expressed by Pdown<Pup. In this case, if the target block error rate is 1/N, then the expression ‘(N−1)Pdown=Pup’ is set. For example, if the target block error rate is 10% and Pdownis 0.1, then Pupis 0.9.

The control unit16generates various control signals based on the control information from the user information-control information separation unit14and the externally input information (for example, control information from a base station control device not shown inFIG. 2, etc.), and outputs the signals to control the respective portions in the base station1by executing the program stored on the storage medium20. The storage medium20stores the program executed by each portion of the base station1including the control unit16.

Furthermore, when the modulation-coding unit17switches the modes at a switch instruction from the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15, the control unit16generates control information including the mode switch information, and transmits it to the combination unit18.

The modulation-coding unit17comprises a QPSK modulation-coding circuit171, a 16QAM modulation-coding circuit172, and a 64QAM modulation-coding circuit173. The modulation-coding mode of the QPSK modulation-coding circuit171is the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2. The modulation-coding mode of the 16QAM modulation-coding circuit172is the above mentioned 16QAM with R=3/4. The modulation-coding mode of the 64QAM modulation-coding circuit173is the above mentioned 64QAM with R=3/4.

In response to the switch instruction from the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15, the modulation-coding unit17switches to any of the QPSK modulation-coding circuit171, the 16QAM modulation-coding circuit172, and the 64QAM modulation-coding circuit173, modulates and codes the user information using the switched-to circuit, and transmits the result as the data of HS-PDSCH to the combination unit18.

The combination unit18combines the control information including the mode switch information from the control unit16, the data of the HS-PDSCH from the modulation-coding unit17, the input signals from the call control portion, the voice input portion, etc. of the base station1, and issues the resultant signals as the DPCH (DL) and the HS-PDSCH from the antenna11through the transmission unit19and the duplexer12.

FIG. 3is a block diagram of the configuration of the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 3, the mobile station2comprises an antenna21, a duplexer (DUP)22, a reception unit23, a user information-control information separation unit24, a control unit25, a demodulation-decoding unit26, an error detection unit27, a reception quality measurement unit28, a combination unit29, a transmission unit30, and a storage medium31. Since a call control portion, a voice input/output portion, and a display portion of the mobile station2can be obtained from the conventional technology, their configurations and operations are omitted here.

The reception unit23transmits the signal {CPICH (Common Pilot Channel), DPCH, HS-PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)} received through the antenna21and the duplexer22to the user information-control information separation unit24.

The user information-control information separation unit24separates the received signal from the reception unit23into user information (a voice signal, an image signal, etc.) and control information, transmits the user information to the demodulation-decoding unit26, and the call control portion, voice output portion, and display portion of the mobile station2, and transmits the control information to the control unit25.

The control unit25generates various control signals based on the control information from the user information-control information separation unit24and an external input information (for example, user information from a ten-key and the voice input portion), outputs the generated signals to control each unit in the mobile station2by executing the program stored on the storage medium31, generates the control information to the base station1, and transmits the information to the combination unit29. The storage medium31stores the program executed by each unit of the mobile station2including the control unit25.

The demodulation-decoding unit26comprises a QPSK demodulation-decoding circuit261, a 16QAM demodulation-decoding circuit262, and a 64QAM demodulation-decoding circuit263, switches to any of the QPSK demodulation-decoding circuit261, the 16QAM demodulation-decoding circuit262, and the 64QAM demodulation-decoding circuit263in response to a switch instruction from the control unit25, demodulates and decodes the user information from the user information-control information separation unit24by using the switched-to circuit, and outputs the data of the HS-PDSCH to the error detection unit27and each unit in the mobile station2.

The error detection unit27determines the presence/absence of a reception error in each data block of the HS-PDSCH decoded by the demodulation-decoding unit26using the CRC code added to each data block, and outputs the determination result to the combination unit29. The reception quality measurement unit28measures the reception quality [Ec/Io (energy per chip/interference wave power per unit frequency)] of the common pilot signal from the user information-control information separation unit24, and outputs the measurement result to the combination unit29.

The combination unit29combines the control information from the control unit25, the determination result from the error detection unit27, the measurement result from the reception quality measurement unit28, an external input signal from the call control portion, the voice input portion of the mobile station2, etc., and issues the result as the DPCH (UL) from the antenna21through the transmission unit30and the duplexer22.

FIG. 4is a block diagram of the configuration of the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15shown inFIG. 2. InFIG. 4, the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15comprises a selection control unit15a, a threshold table15b, and a threshold variable control unit15c.

The selection control unit15acompares the measurement result of the reception quality of the common pilot signal (CPICH) from the reception quality measurement unit28of the mobile station2separated by the user information-control information separation unit14with a plurality of thresholds stored in the threshold table15b, determines which modulation-coding mode is to be selected, and outputs the determined contents as a switch instruction. In this case, the selection control unit15aspecifies ‘no change’ if the selected modulation-coding mode is the same as in the previous process.

The threshold variable control unit15cvariably controls a plurality of thresholds stored in the threshold table15bbased on the contents of the reception error notification from the error detection unit27of the mobile station2separated by the user information-control information separation unit14. That is, the threshold variable control unit15clowers the threshold level of the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode by a predetermined value of PdowndB when the information block is successfully received at the mobile station2, and raises the above mentioned threshold level by a predetermined value of PupdB when the information block is not successfully received a predetermined number of times. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15csimultaneously raises and lowers all thresholds corresponding to the modulation-coding modes.

FIG. 5shows the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit15cshown inFIG. 4.FIG. 6is a flowchart of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit15cshown inFIG. 4. The variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit15cis described below by referring toFIGS. 4 to 6. In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding mode by MCS (Modulation and Coding Set) #1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4.

Upon receipt of the reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit15ccomputes (in step S3shown inFIG. 6) the difference between the reception quality of the common pilot signal measured by the reception quality measurement unit28of the mobile station2and the upper limit threshold (for example, the upper limit threshold T1of the modulation-coding mode MCS#1) of the currently used modulation-coding mode when the currently used modulation-coding mode is the mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S2shown inFIG. 6) if the determination result of the transmission block is an ‘error’ (step S1shown inFIG. 6).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P2(step S4shown inFIG. 6), the threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pup(step S5shown inFIG. 6), thereby returning control to step S1. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P2(step S4shown inFIG. 6), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not raise the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S1.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not the mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S2shown inFIG. 6), the threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pup(step S5shown inFIG. 6), thereby returning control to step S1.

On the other hand, if the determination result of the transmission block is not an ‘error’ (step S1shown inFIG. 6), then the threshold variable control unit15ccomputes (in step S7shown inFIG. 6) the difference between the reception quality measured by the reception quality measurement unit28of the mobile station2and the lower limit threshold T2of the currently used modulation-coding mode when the currently used modulation-coding mode is the mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S6shown inFIG. 6).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P1(step S8shown inFIG. 6), the threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pdown(step S9shown inFIG. 6), thereby returning control to step S1. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P1(step S8shown inFIG. 6), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S1.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not the mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S6shown inFIG. 6), the threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pdown(step S9shown inFIG. 6), thereby returning control to step S1. All thresholds T1and T2are raised or lowered such that they can be spaced by a predetermined value of P0as shown inFIG. 5.

FIG. 7is a flowchart showing another example of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit15cshown inFIG. 4. The variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit15cis described below by referring toFIGS. 4 and 7.

Upon receipt of a reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pup(step S14shown inFIG. 7) if the determination result of the transmission block is an ‘error’ (step S11shown inFIG. 7), and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S12shown inFIG. 7), or if, although the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S12shown inFIG. 7), the upper limit threshold of the mode is lower than a predetermined value (step S13shown inFIG. 7), thereby returning control to step S11.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S12shown inFIG. 7), and the upper limit threshold is equal to or larger than the predetermined value (step S13shown inFIG. 7), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not raise the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S11.

On the other hand, the threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pdown(step S17shown inFIG. 7) if the determination result of the transmission block is not an ‘error’ (step S11shown inFIG. 7), and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S15shown inFIG. 7), or if, although the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S15shown inFIG. 7), the lower limit threshold of the mode is higher than a predetermined value (step S16shown inFIG. 7), thereby returning control to step S11.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S15shown inFIG. 7), and the lower limit threshold of the mode at the maximum transmission rate is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value (step S16shown inFIG. 7), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S11.

Thus, since the base station1variably controls the thresholds T1and T2depending on the presence/absence of error occurrence of an information block, the modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3can be switched depending on the change of the link quality (the reception quality of a common pilot signal (CPICH) according to the present embodiment).

Furthermore, since the base station1variably controls all thresholds T1and T2simultaneously, the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is lowered if acceptable link quality can be obtained for the currently used modulation-coding mode MCS#1, MCS#2, MCS#3although the change of the link quality is small, thereby successfully transferring to a modulation-coding mode one level higher than the currently used mode. As a result, a modulation-coding mode at the highest possible speed can be constantly selected.

Furthermore, when a determination error occurs in a block, the modulation-coding mode one level lower than the currently used mode can be immediately entered because Pupis larger than Pdown. Therefore, although the link quality is lowered, continuous block errors can be prevented, thereby enhancing the throughput of the system.

In addition, since the width (Pdownand Pup) of the variable control of the threshold is set based on the target block error rate in the base station1, the target block error rate can be attained.

Therefore, since a threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes can beset depending on the link condition according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

According to the present embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. In this case, an optional mode can be set as a mode at the minimum transmission rate or the maximum transmission rate.

Furthermore, the variable control of a threshold can also be set at an instruction of the mobile station2. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15cfor variably controlling a threshold depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of a reception error of an information block is provided in the mobile station2, and an instruction to raise/lower the threshold level is to be transmitted from the mobile station2to the base station1.

It is also possible to raise a threshold when the reception error occurs n times (n is an integer equal to or larger than 1), and lower it when no reception error occurs continuously m times (m is an integer, and n<m).

FIG. 8is a block diagram of the configuration of the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 8, the second embodiment of the present invention is configured by providing a block error rate measurement unit15dfor the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15shown inFIG. 4. That is, the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15comprises the selection control unit15a, the threshold table15b, the threshold variable control unit15c, and the block error rate measurement unit15d.

The block error rate measurement unit15dmeasures the reception error rate of information blocks in a preset time based on the contents of the reception error notification from the mobile station2separated by the user information-control information separation unit14, and transmits the reception error rate to the threshold variable control unit15c.

The threshold variable control unit15cvariably controls a plurality of thresholds stored in the threshold table15bbased on the reception error rate from the block error rate measurement unit15d. That is, the threshold variable control unit15craises the threshold level by a predetermined value of PupdB if the block error rate in the predetermined measurement period is higher than a target block error rate, and lowers the threshold level by a predetermined value of PdowndB if the block error rate in the predetermined measurement period is lower than the target block error rate. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15csimultaneously raises/lowers all thresholds corresponding to the modulation-coding modes.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the second embodiment according to the present invention is configured as in the mobile communications system shown inFIG. 1, and has the same configurations of the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2and the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 3. Therefore, the descriptions of them are omitted here.

FIG. 9shows the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15shown inFIG. 8.FIG. 10is a flowchart of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15shown inFIG. 8. The variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15is described below by referring toFIGS. 8 to 10. In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding mode by MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4.

At a predetermined time (step S21shown inFIG. 10), the block error rate measurement unit15dof the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15computes the reception error rate of information blocks in the predetermined time (step S22shown inFIG. 10).

If the reception error rate computed by the block error rate measurement unit15dis equal to or larger than a predetermined value (step S23shown inFIG. 10), then the threshold variable control unit15ccomputes the difference between the reception quality measured by the reception quality measurement unit28of the mobile station2and the upper limit threshold T1of the currently used modulation-coding mode (step S25shown inFIG. 10) when the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S24shown inFIG. 10).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P2(step S26shown inFIG. 10), the threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pup(step S27shown inFIG. 10), thereby returning control to step S21. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P2(step S26shown inFIG. 10), then the thresholds T1and T2are not raised any more, thereby returning control to step S21.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not the mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S24shown inFIG. 10), the threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pup(step S27shown inFIG. 10), thereby returning control to step S21.

On the other hand, if the reception error rate computed by the block error rate measurement unit15dis smaller than a predetermined value (step S23shown inFIG. 10), then the threshold variable control unit15ccomputes (in step S29shown inFIG. 10) the difference between the reception quality measured by the reception quality measurement unit28of the mobile station2and the lower limit threshold T2of the currently used modulation-coding mode when the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S28shown inFIG. 10).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P1(step S30shown inFIG. 10), the threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pdown(step S31shown inFIG. 10), thereby returning control to step S21. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P1(step S30shown inFIG. 10), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S21.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not the mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S28shown inFIG. 10), the threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pdown(step S31shown inFIG. 10), thereby returning control to step S21. All thresholds T1and T2are raised or lowered such that they can be spaced by a predetermined value of P0as shown inFIG. 9. Additionally, assuming that the value when the threshold level is lowered is Pdownand the value when the threshold level is raised is Pup, the values are expressed by Pdown=Pup.

FIG. 11is a flowchart showing another example of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15shown inFIG. 8. Another example of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15is described below by referring toFIGS. 8 and 11.

At a predetermined time (step S41shown inFIG. 11), the block error rate measurement unit15dof the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15computes the reception error rate of information blocks in the predetermined time (step S42shown inFIG. 11).

The threshold variable control unit15craises all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pup(step S46shown inFIG. 11) when the reception error rate computed by the block error rate measurement unit15dis equal to or larger than a predetermined value (NTr≦N) (step S43shown inFIG. 11), and if the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S44shown inFIG. 11), or if, although the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S44shown inFIG. 11), the upper limit threshold of the mode is lower than a predetermined value (step S45shown inFIG. 11), thereby returning control to step S41.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S44shown inFIG. 11), and the upper limit threshold of the mode is equal to or larger than a predetermined value (step S45shown inFIG. 11), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not raise the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S41.

The threshold variable control unit15clowers all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pdown(step S49shown inFIG. 11) when the reception error rate computed by the block error rate measurement unit15dis smaller than a predetermined value (NTr>N) (step S43shown inFIG. 11), and if the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S47shown inFIG. 11), or if, although the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S47shown inFIG. 11), the lower limit threshold of the mode is higher than a predetermined value (step S48shown inFIG. 11), thereby returning control to step S41.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S47shown inFIG. 11), and the lower limit threshold of the mode is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (step S48shown inFIG. 11), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S41.

Thus, since the base station1variably controls the thresholds T1and T2depending on the reception error rate, the modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3can be switched depending on the change of the link quality (the reception quality of a common pilot signal (CPICH) according to the second embodiment). Therefore, the target block error rate can be satisfied, and the highest possible modulation-coding mode can be constantly selected.

According to the second embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. In this case, an optional mode can be set as a mode at the minimum transmission rate or the maximum transmission rate.

Furthermore, the variable control of a threshold can also be set at an instruction of the mobile station2. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15cfor variably controlling a threshold depending on the reception error rate of information blocks is provided in the mobile station2, and an instruction to raise/lower the threshold level is to be transmitted from the mobile station2to the base station1.

FIG. 12is a block diagram of the configuration of the base station according to the third embodiment of the present invention InFIG. 12, the third embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2except that a modulation-coding mode switch selection unit41having the function of measuring transmission power of an individual signal of a DPCH(DL) from the duplexer12is provided for a base station4, and the same component is assigned the same reference numeral. The operation of the same component is the same as according to the first embodiment.

The modulation-coding mode switch selection unit41measures the transmission power of the individual signal transmitted from the base station4to the mobile station2, determines which modulation-coding mode is to be selected based on the measurement result, and transmits a switch instruction into the modulation-coding mode to the control unit16and the modulation-coding unit17.

FIG. 13is a block diagram of the configuration of the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit41shown inFIG. 12. InFIG. 13, the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit41comprises a selection control unit41a, a threshold table41b, a threshold variable control unit41c, and a transmission power detection unit41d.

The transmission power detection unit41dmeasures the transmission power of the individual signal to the mobile station2, and notifies the selection control unit41aand the threshold variable control unit41cof the measurement result. The selection control unit41acompares the measurement result of the transmission power detection unit41dwith a plurality of thresholds stored in the threshold table41b, determines which modulation-coding mode is to be selected, and outputs the determined contents as a switch instruction. In this case, the selection control unit41aspecifies ‘no change’ if the selected modulation-coding mode is the same as in the previous process.

The threshold variable control unit41cvariably controls a plurality of thresholds stored in the threshold table41bbased on the contents of the reception error notification from the mobile station2separated by the user information-control information separation unit14. That is, the threshold variable control unit41clowers the threshold level of the range of the link quality corresponding to the currently used modulation-coding mode by a predetermined value of PdowndB when the information block is successfully received at the mobile staion2, and raises the above mentioned threshold level by a predetermined value of PupdB when the information block is not successfully received a predetermined number of times. In this case, the threshold variable control unit41csimultaneously raises and lowers all thresholds corresponding to the modulation-coding modes.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the third embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the mobile communications system shown inFIG. 1, and the same configuration as the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 3. Therefore, the explanation of them is omitted here.

FIG. 14shows the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit41cshown inFIG. 13.FIG. 15is a flowchart of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit41cshown inFIG. 13. The operation of the variable control of the threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes by the threshold variable control unit41cis described below by referring toFIGS. 13 to 15. In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding mode by MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4.

Upon receipt of the reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit41ccomputes (in step S53shown inFIG. 15) the difference between the transmission power which is the transmission power of the individual signal transmitted to the mobile station2and which is detected by the transmission power detection unit41dand the upper limit threshold (for example, the upper limit threshold T1of the modulation-coding mode MCS#1) of the currently used modulation-coding mode when the currently used modulation-coding mode is the mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S52shown inFIG. 15) if the determination result of the transmission block is an ‘error’ (step S51shown inFIG. 15).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P2(step S54shown inFIG. 15), the threshold variable control unit41craises all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pup(step S55shown inFIG. 15), thereby returning control to step S51. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P2(step S54shown inFIG. 15), then the threshold variable control unit41cdoes not raise thresholds T1and T2anymore, thereby returning control to step S51.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not the mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S52shown inFIG. 15), the threshold variable control unit41craises all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pup(step S55shown inFIG. 15), thereby returning control to step S51.

On the other hand, if the determination result of the transmission block is not an ‘error’ (step S51shown inFIG. 15), then the threshold variable control unit41ccomputes (in step S57shown inFIG. 15) the difference between the transmission power of the individual signal detected by the transmission power detection unit41dand transmitted to the mobile station2and the lower limit threshold (for example, the lower limit threshold T2of the modulation-coding mode MCS#3) of the currently used modulation-coding mode when the currently used modulation-coding mode is the mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S56shown inFIG. 15).

If the arithmetic result is smaller than a predetermined value of P1(step S58shown inFIG. 15), the threshold variable control unit41clowers all thresholds T1and T2by a predetermined step Pdown(step S59shown inFIG. 15), thereby returning control to step S51. If the arithmetic result is equal to or larger than the predetermined value of P1(step S58shown inFIG. 15), then the threshold variable control unit41cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, thereby returning control to step S51.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S56shown inFIG. 15), the threshold variable control unit41clowers all thresholds T1and T2by the predetermined step Pdown(step S59shown inFIG. 15), thereby returning control to step S51. All thresholds T1and T2are raised or lowered such that they can be spaced by a predetermined value of P0as shown inFIG. 14.

Therefore, since a threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes can be set depending on the link condition according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

If the transmission power of an individual signal (DPCH) is used in estimating the link quality, a larger difference from the actual link quality is output. However, according to the third embodiment, a threshold fluctuates by the difference from the actual link quality. Therefor, the difference generates no mis-selection of a modulation-coding mode, thereby quickly switching the modulation-coding mode depending on the link condition.

Furthermore, when a determination error occurs in a data block, the modulation-coding mode one level lower than the currently used mode can be immediately entered because Pupis larger than Pdown. Therefore, although the link quality is lowered, continuous block errors can be prevented, thereby enhancing the throughput of the system.

According to the third embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. In this case, an optional mode can be set as a mode at the minimum transmission rate or the maximum transmission rate.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the third embodiment can perform the same control as the variable control of a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes shown inFIG. 7, and can also perform the control using the block error rate according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

It is also possible to raise a threshold when occurrence of a reception error is detected n times (n indicates an integer equal to or larger than 1), and lower the threshold when occurrence of a reception error is not detected m times (m indicates an integer expressed by n<m) continuously.

FIG. 16shows the variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 17is a flowchart of variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The variable control of a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes in the threshold variable control unit according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is described below by referring toFIGS. 16 and 17. In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding mode by MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the fourth embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the mobile communications system shown inFIG. 1, and has the same configurations as the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2, the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 3, and the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 4. Therefore, the explanation of them is omitted here.

Upon receipt of a reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit15cof the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15raises the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode (for example, the lower limit threshold T1of the modulation-coding mode MCS#2) by a predetermined step Pup(step S63shown inFIG. 17) if the determination result of a transmission block is an ‘error’ (step S61shown inFIG. 17), and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S62shown inFIG. 17).

At this time, the threshold variable control unit15craises the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the predetermined step Pup(step S65shown inFIG. 17) if the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold (upper limit threshold T2) of the currently used modulation-coding mode is equal to or lower than the minimum difference (T12minshown inFIG. 16) (step S64shown inFIG. 17), thereby returning control to step S61.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S62shown inFIG. 17), or the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is higher than the minimum difference (step S64shown inFIG. 17), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not raise the threshold T1, T2any more, returning control to step S61.

On the other hand, if the determination result is not an ‘error’ (step S61shown inFIG. 17) and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S66shown inFIG. 17), then the threshold variable control unit15clowers the upper limit threshold (for example, the upper limit threshold T2of the modulation-coding mode MCS#2) of the currently used modulation-coding mode by a predetermined step Pdown(step S67shown inFIG. 17).

Also in this case, the threshold variable control unit15clowers the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the predetermined step Pdown(step S69shown inFIG. 17) if the difference between the lower limit threshold (lower limit threshold T1) and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is equal to or lower than the minimum difference (T12minshown inFIG. 16) (step S68shown inFIG. 17), thereby returning control to step S61.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S66shown inFIG. 17), or the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is higher than the minimum difference (step S68shown inFIG. 17), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the threshold T1, T2any more, returning control to step S61.

Thus, since the thresholds T1and T2are variably controlled depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of an error of an information block, the modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3can be switched depending on the change of the link quality (the reception quality of a common pilot signal (CPICH) according to the fourth embodiment).

Since each of the thresholds T1and T2is variably controlled independently, the optimum modulation-coding mode can be quickly selected after a change of the link condition.

In addition, since the width (Pdownand Pup) of the variable control of the threshold is set based on the target block error rate in the base station1, the target block error rate can be attained.

Therefore, since a threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes can be set depending on the link condition according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

According to the fourth embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. Furthermore, the variable control of a threshold can also be set at an instruction of the mobile station2. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15cfor variably controlling a threshold depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of a reception error of an information block is provided in the mobile station2, and an instruction to raise/lower the threshold level is to be transmitted from the mobile station2to the base station1.

Furthermore, although the reception quality of a common pilot signal is used for measuring the link quality according to the fourth embodiment, the value based on the transmission power of an individual signal controlled by the high-speed closed loop transmission power control can also be used as link quality as in the third embodiment of the present invention.

It is also possible to raise a threshold when the reception error occurs n times (n is an integer equal to or larger than 1), and lower it when no reception error occurs continuously m times (m is an integer, and n<m).

FIG. 18shows the variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 19is a flowchart of the variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The variable control of a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes in the threshold variable control unit according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is described below by referring toFIGS. 18 and 19.

In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding mode by MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4. The information bit rates for transmission in the respective modulation-coding modes are 1200 kbps, 500 kbps, and 150 kbps.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the fifth embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the mobile communications system shown inFIG. 1, and has the same configurations as the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2, the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 3, and the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 4. Therefore, the explanation of them is omitted here.

Upon receipt of a reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit15cof the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15counts the transmission frequency RT (the number of times of the transmission of a transmission block) until it is determined that the transmission block has been correctly transmitted or until the transmission frequency RT reaches a predetermined maximum retransmission frequency (step S71shown inFIG. 19).

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S72shown inFIG. 19), then the lower limit threshold (for example, the lower limit threshold T1of the modulation-coding mode MCS#2) of the currently used modulation-coding mode in determining the modulation-coding mode for transmission of the next block is lowered by a corresponding value [step size S(RT) corresponding to the transmission frequency RT] in the step size table (step S73shown inFIG. 19).

At this time, the value of the step size table is set smaller with a higher transmission frequency RT. In addition, assuming that the ratio of the information bit rate BR1in the currently used modulation-coding mode to the information bit rate BR2in the modulation-coding mode one level lower than the currently used mode is ΔBR=BR1/BR2, the step size corresponding to the RT whose transmission frequency RT is expressed by RT>ΔBR is set to a negative value. That is, in this case, the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is raised by an absolute value of the corresponding step size.

With the above mentioned control, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes can be quickly set depending on the link condition. Therefore, the optimum threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes can be easily set depending on the link condition.

Furthermore, according to the fifth embodiment, the optimum threshold can be set such that a high-speed transmission can be realized including a block retransmission time by controlling the threshold depending on the transmission frequency until a block can be successfully received at the mobile station2and the information bit rate change ratio obtained by lowering the modulation-coding mode level by one.

According to the fifth embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. Furthermore, the variable control of a threshold can also be set at an instruction of the mobile station2. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15cfor variably controlling a threshold depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of a reception error of an information block is provided in the mobile station2, and an instruction to raise/lower the threshold level is to be transmitted from the mobile station2to the base station1.

Furthermore, although the reception quality of a common pilot signal (CPICH) is used for measuring the link quality according to the fifth embodiment, the value based on the transmission power of an individual signal (DPCH) controlled by the high-speed closed loop transmission power control can also be used as link quality as in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20shows the variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.FIGS. 21 and 22are flowcharts of the variable control of a threshold in the threshold variable control unit according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The variable control of a threshold for use in switching modulation-coding modes in the threshold variable control unit according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention is described below by referring toFIGS. 20 to 22.

In the following explanation, the threshold is represented by T1and T2, the modulation-coding modes by MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3. These modulation-coding modes MCS#1, MCS#2, and MCS#3respectively correspond to the above mentioned QPSK with R=1/2, 16QAM with R=3/4, and 64QAM with R=3/4.

Although not shown in the attached drawings, the sixth embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration as the mobile communications system shown inFIG. 1, and has the same configurations as the base station1according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 2, the mobile station2according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 3, and the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 4. Therefore, the explanation of them is omitted here.

Upon receipt of a reception error notification from the mobile station2, the threshold variable control unit15cof the modulation-coding mode switch selection unit15computes the provisional step size ΔP′upfrom the difference ΔPupbetween the link quality and the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the following equation {circle around (1)} (step S83shown inFIG. 21) if the determination result of a transmission block is an ‘error’ (step S81shown inFIG. 21), and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S82shown in FIG.21).
ΔP′up=k*ΔPup{circle around (1)}

where k indicates a predetermined constant.

If the computed ΔP′upis smaller than a predetermined minimum step size ΔPumin(step S84shown inFIG. 21), then the lower limit threshold is raised by ΔP=ΔP′umin(step S85shown inFIG. 21). If the computed ΔP′upis larger than the predetermined minimum step size ΔPumin(step S84shown inFIG. 21), then the lower limit threshold is raised by ΔP=ΔP′up(step S86shown inFIG. 21).

Assuming that a predetermined minimum increase step size is Umin, the difference between the current link quality and the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is ΔQ, and the coefficient from 0 to 1 is r2, then the step size in the above mentioned control can be computed by the following equation {circle around (2)}.
ΔUp=max [Umin, r2·ΔQ]{circle around (2)}

In this case, the steps S83and S84are expressed by one equation. In steps S85and S86, the lower limit threshold is raised by the value of ΔUp obtained by the equation {circle around (2)}.

At this time, the threshold variable control unit15craises the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the predetermined step ΔP (=ΔUp) (step S88shown inFIG. 21) if the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is equal to or lower than the minimum difference (a predetermined value of ΔPTH) (step S87shown inFIG. 21), thereby returning control to step S61.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the minimum transmission rate (step S82shown inFIG. 21), or the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is higher than the minimum difference (step S87shown inFIG. 21), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not raise the thresholds T1and T2any more, returning control to step S81.

On the other hand, the threshold variable control unit15ccomputes the provisional step size ΔP′downfrom the difference ΔPdownbetween the link quality and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the following equation {circle around (3)} (step S90shown inFIG. 22) if the determination result of a transmission block is not an ‘error’ (step S81shown inFIG. 21), and the currently used modulation-coding mode is not a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S89shown in FIG.22).
ΔP′down=k*ΔPdown{circle around (3)}

where k indicates a predetermined constant.

If the computed ΔP′downis smaller than a predetermined minimum step size ΔPdmin(step S91shown inFIG. 22), then the upper limit threshold is lowered by ΔP=ΔP′dmin(step S92shown inFIG. 22). If the computed ΔP′downis larger than the predetermined minimum step size ΔPdmin(step S91shown inFIG. 22), then the upper limit threshold is lowered by ΔP=ΔPdmin(step S93shown inFIG. 22).

Assuming that a predetermined minimum decrease step size is Dmin, the difference between the current link quality and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is ΔQ, and the coefficient from 0 to 1 is r1, then the step size in the above mentioned control can be computed by the following equation {circle around (4)}.
ΔDown=max [Dmin, r1·ΔQ]{circle around (4)}

In this case, the steps S90and S91are expressed by one equation. In steps S92and S93, the upper limit threshold is lowered by the value of ΔDown obtained by the equation {circle around (4)}.

At this time, the threshold variable control unit15clowers the lower limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode by the predetermined step ΔP (=ΔDown)(step S95shown inFIG. 22) if the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is equal to or lower than the minimum difference (a predetermined value of ΔPTH)(step S94shown inFIG. 22), thereby returning control to step S81.

If the currently used modulation-coding mode is a mode at the maximum transmission rate (step S89shown inFIG. 22), or the difference between the lower limit threshold and the upper limit threshold of the currently used modulation-coding mode is higher than the minimum difference (step S94shown inFIG. 22), then the threshold variable control unit15cdoes not lower the thresholds T1and T2any more, returning control to step S81.

Thus, since the base station1variably controls the thresholds T1and T2depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of an error in an information block, the optimum modulation-coding mode can be selected depending on the change of the link condition.

In addition, the larger the difference between the current link quality and the threshold, the larger the step size in changing the threshold. Therefore, the optimum modulation-coding mode can be selected more quickly after the link condition changes.

Therefore, since a threshold for use in quickly switching modulation-coding modes can be set depending on the link condition according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

According to the sixth embodiment, there are three modulation-coding modes. However, the number is not limited to three. That is, there also can be four or more modulation-coding modes. Furthermore, the variable control of a threshold can also be set at an instruction of the mobile station2. In this case, the threshold variable control unit15cfor variably controlling a threshold depending on the presence/absence of the occurrence of a reception error of an information block is provided in the mobile station2, and an instruction to raise/lower the threshold level is to be transmitted from the mobile station2to the base station1.

Furthermore, although the reception quality of a common pilot signal (CPICH) is used for measuring the link quality according to the sixth embodiment, the value based on the transmission power of an individual signal (DPCH) controlled by the high-speed closed loop transmission power control can also be used as link quality as in the third embodiment of the present invention.

It is also possible to raise a threshold when the reception error occurs n times (n is an integer equal to or larger than 1), and lower it when no reception error occurs continuously m times (m is an integer, and n<m).

As described above, the mobile communications system according to the present invention can select any one of a plurality of modulation-coding modes used for data transmission of a unit of block between a base station controlled by a base station control device and a mobile station, and includes: measurement means for measuring link quality in the data transmission; selection means for selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes depending on the link quality measured by the measurement means; detection means for detecting the occurrence of a reception error of each block in the data transmission; and variable control means for variably controlling a threshold used in selecting one mode from the modulation-coding modes by the selection means based on the detection result by the detection means. Therefore, the optimum threshold for use in selecting a modulation-coding mode can be easily set depending on the link condition.

Furthermore, the mobile communications system according to the present invention has the effect of setting a threshold such that a high-speed transmission can be realized including a retransmitting time by using a detection result of a reception error of retransmitted data.

In addition, the mobile communications system according to the present invention has the effect of more quickly setting the optimum threshold after the link condition has changed by changing the step size depending on the difference between the current link quality and the threshold.