Softbank Corporation

Hapsmobile Inc.

Yoshichika Ota

Kenji Hoshino

Naoki Hasegawa

Takafumi Fujii

Atsushi Nagate

Mitsukuni Konishi

Yuta Nakamoto

Takashi Hirakawa

Shoichi Sudo

Sachiko Takeuchi

HoYu Lin

Kazuki Matsuura

Koji Tashiro

In an upper-airspace staying type communication relay apparatus that performs an MU-MIMO radio communication with plural terminal apparatuses located in a cell, it is intended to improve the communication quality of the entire cell and enhance the system capacity, while suppressing an increase in overhead in the terminal apparatus and the communication relay apparatus even if the number of terminal apparatuses located in the cell increases. The communication relay apparatus receives an uplink signal from each of plural terminal apparatuses via an array antenna, estimates angle information indicating a direction of the terminal apparatus for each of the plural terminal apparatuses, selects a terminal apparatus to be assigned to each of plural radio resources used for a downlink based on the estimation result of the angle information, calculates a downlink beamforming weight based on the estimation result of the angle information, and transmits a downlink signal to the terminal apparatus via the array antenna based on the beamforming weight corresponding to the terminal apparatus and the radio resources assigned to the terminal apparatus.

Massive MIMO for HAPS based on angle information on user apparatus

Provided is a two-dimensional phased array antenna having a simple configuration capable of reducing the number of control systems and the number of control input ports for phase control of antenna elements. The phased array antenna comprises a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction, a plurality of frequency mixers for respectively supplying transmission signals with a predetermined transmission frequency (f) to the plurality of antenna elements, and means for generating a plurality of first mixing signals having a predetermined first phase difference (Δφ) between the antenna elements adjacent to each other in the first direction and a plurality of second mixing signals having a predetermined second phase difference (Δφ) between the antenna elements adjacent to each other in the second direction, based on three frequency-controllable input signals with respective frequencies different from each other, and supplying the plurality of first mixing signals and the plurality of second mixing signals to the plurality of frequency mixers.

Phased array antenna, transmission apparatus, radio-power transmission system and radio communication system

Provided is a system comprising a base station and a terminal apparatus that communicate with each other by selectively using plural radio resources, which is capable of supplying a power to the terminal apparatus using a communication-unused radio resource between the base station and the terminal apparatus. The base station generates a transmission signal including a dummy signal for wireless power transfer using a communication-unused radio resource that is not used for communication among plural radio resources, and transmits the generated transmission signal to the terminal apparatus. The terminal apparatus receives the transmission signal including the dummy signal transmitted from the base station, and outputs an electric power of the reception signal as a reception power. A battery may be charged using the reception power.

System, base station, terminal apparatus, method and program for performing communication and wireless power transfer

Provided is a wireless-power transfer apparatus capable of efficiently supplying a predetermined power for each of plural terminal apparatuses. A wireless-power transfer apparatus comprises a radio processing section for transmitting a signal for wireless power transfer to each of the plural terminal apparatuses via plural beams, by a beamforming for forming the plural beams against the plural terminal apparatuses simultaneously or at staggered times, an information acquisition section for acquiring terminal information including location information of a current location of a terminal apparatus for each of plural terminal apparatuses, and a control section for controlling the beamforming so that a signal for wireless power transfer is received at a predetermined reception power in each of plural terminal apparatuses, based on terminal information of each of plural terminal apparatuses.

Wireless-power transfer apparatus, wireless-power transfer system, method and program

A system and a method for suppressing a deterioration of communication quality due to frequent occurrence of handovers at cell boundaries of a plurality of cells formed by a plurality of radio relay apparatuses that can move in an upper airspace, are provided. In the system, each of the plurality of radio relay apparatuses for performing a radio communication with a terminal apparatus comprises a radio relay station which is movably provided by flying in an upper airspace, forms a cell toward the ground or the sea, and performs a radio communication with a terminal apparatus located in the cell. Each of the plurality of radio relay apparatuses flies in cooperation with each other so as to maintain a positional relationship between the radio relay apparatuses by an autonomous control or external control.

HAPS cooperative flight system

A radio relay apparatus, which can monitor a status of a radio relay apparatus for realizing a three-dimensional network, without providing a dedicated line, is provided. The radio relay apparatus can fly and move in an upper airspace, and comprises a first antenna for transmitting and receiving a radio signal of a feeder link to and from a gateway station on a communication network side provided on the ground or on the sea, a second antenna for transmitting and receiving a radio signal of a service link to and from a terminal apparatus, a relay processing section for relaying the radio signal of the feeder link and the radio signal of the service link, which is provided between the first antenna and the second antenna, an information acquisition section for acquiring monitoring information on the status of the radio relay apparatus, and an information communication section for transmitting the monitoring information to the gateway station via the feeder link.

Monitoring of radio relay apparatus using feeder link

Provided is an aerial-floating type communication relay apparatus capable of reducing a size and suppressing a movement of a cell footprint. The communication relay apparatus comprises an array antenna that has plural antenna elements forming a cell for performing a radio communication of a service link with a terminal apparatus, an information acquisition section that acquires information on at least one of a position and an attitude of the communication relay apparatus, and a control section that controls phases and amplitudes of plural transmission/reception signals transmitted/received via each of the plural antenna elements of the array antenna so as to fix the position of the cell footprint, based on the information on at least one of the position and the attitude of the communication relay apparatus.

Service link antenna configuration and beam forming control in HAPS

In a mobile communication system using a mobile-type radio relay apparatus that forms a plurality of cells toward the ground or the sea while moving in an upper airspace, a deterioration in communication quality, which is caused by a Doppler shift of a reception signal due to a relative movement of a radio relay apparatus with respect to a terminal apparatus of each of a plurality of cells or a feeder station on the ground or on the sea, is suppressed. The communication system comprises a mobile-type radio relay apparatus that is disposed movably by flying in an upper airspace, forms a plurality of cells from an antenna at a predetermined altitude toward the ground or the sea, and performs a radio communication with a terminal apparatus located in each of the plurality of cells. The communication system comprises an estimation section for estimating a Doppler shift in at least one of a radio communication of a service link between the terminal apparatus located in the cell and the radio relay apparatus and a radio communication of a feeder link between the radio relay apparatus and a feeder station on the ground or on the sea, and a correction section for correcting a frequency of the at least one radio communication based on an estimation result of the Doppler shift.

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Tokyo, Japan

Yoshichika Ota