JP2000101580A - Radio communication equipment and communication method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption by setting a transmission speed slow in the case of detecting that a data amount to be transmitted is reduced and supplying power required for the communication of its speed. SOLUTION: A control part 205 monitors a transmission data amount transmitted by a data interface 207 and monitors the transmission speed of data communicated at present. In the state, where or not transmission data to be transmitted are present is discriminated, and in the case that the transmission data are present, communication is continued. On the other hand, in the case that no transmission data are present, whether or not the transmission speed of the data at present is an allowable minimum transmission speed is discriminated, and in the case that it is not the minimum transmission speed, it is reported to a base station that the transmission speed is to be slowed. Then, the transmission speed of the data is lowered to the allowable minimum transmission speed in the system and simultaneously, the power supplied in a power supply part 208 is changed to the power corresponding to the slow transmission speed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio communication device and a communication method therefor, and more particularly, to a radio communication device and a communication system thereof which can perform digital data communication and can communicate at a plurality of transmission speeds. About the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a radio communication apparatus constituting a communication system capable of performing digital data communication and communicating at a plurality of transmission speeds, for example, in a mobile terminal, the transmission speed from the mobile terminal to the base station and the base station The transmission rate from the station to the mobile terminal was the same.

[0003]

Therefore, even when the amount of one communication data is significantly smaller than the amount of the other communication, communication is performed by a system with a high transmission speed. "0" was sent as the contents of the message. Therefore, power was consumed unnecessarily.

In particular, CDMA (Code-Division Multiple A), which has recently been proposed as a new system for mobile communication systems, has been proposed.
In the ccess) method, a wireless line with a high communication speed requires better wireless line quality than a wireless line with a low communication speed, so if communication is performed at a high communication speed, communication will be performed at a low communication speed. In comparison with the case, the power must be increased, and the one with a smaller communication data amount consumes power unnecessarily.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a radio communication apparatus and a communication method thereof capable of reducing power consumption.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication apparatus comprising a communication system capable of communicating at a plurality of transmission rates.
Detection means for detecting the amount of data to be transmitted, setting means for setting the data transmission speed, power supply means for supplying power required for the communication, and a reduction in the amount of data to be transmitted by the detection means Control that the setting means controls the transmission rate to be slower and that the power supply means controls to supply power required for communication at the slower set transmission rate. Means.

In the wireless communication apparatus according to the second aspect, when the detecting means detects that there is no data to be transmitted, the control means is allowed in the communication system. The setting means is controlled so as to set the lowest transmission rate, and the power supply means is controlled so as to supply power required for communication at the lowest transmission rate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the setting means individually sets a transmission speed at the time of transmitting and receiving the data.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the wireless communication apparatus is at least one of a terminal and a base station.

A communication method for a wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein in the communication method for a wireless communication apparatus constituting a communication system capable of communicating at a plurality of transmission speeds, a detecting step of detecting an amount of data to be transmitted; A setting step of setting the transmission rate of the power, a power supply step of supplying power required for the communication, and, when it is detected that the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced in the detection step, the transmission step in the setting step A control step of controlling the speed to be set to be low and a control step of controlling to supply power required for communication at the transmission rate set at the low speed in the power supply step.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method of the wireless communication apparatus according to the fifth aspect, when it is detected that there is no data to be transmitted in the detecting step, the control is performed. Controlling the setting step to set the transmission rate to the slowest transmission rate allowed in the communication system and controlling the power supply step to supply power required for communication at the slowest transmission rate. And

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wireless communication system using a wireless communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

This wireless communication system includes a mobile terminal 101 used by each user, a communication carrier equipment 109, an ISDN 105, an ATM 106, and a LAN 1 as a communication network.
07.

The telecommunications carrier equipment 109 includes base stations 102 and 103 managed by the telecommunications carrier and a radio control device 104 connected to these base stations.
The mobile station 101 communicates with the mobile terminal 101 in the area by wirelessly transmitting and receiving uplink data and downlink data. The wireless control device 104 includes an ISDN 105 and an ATM 106 as a communication network.
And the LAN 107, and controls communication between these communication networks and the mobile terminal 101.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the mobile terminal 101.

The mobile terminal 101 includes a radio unit 201 for transmitting and receiving radio waves, a baseband processing unit 202 for modulating and demodulating signals, and a decomposition / transmission unit for transmission / reception data in units of frames.
A frame disassembly / assembly unit 203 for assembling, a communication application 204, and a control unit 2 for controlling wireless communication
A setting information storage unit 206 for storing various setting values (for example, a maximum transmission output value and a communication speed) and constants for various calculations; a data interface 207 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication application 204; And a power supply unit 208 for supplying power to the above units.

Radio section 201 and baseband processing section 20
2. The baseband processing unit 202 and the frame disassembly / assembly unit 203, the communication application 204, and the data interface 207 transmit and receive data, respectively. The control unit 205 controls the wireless unit 201, the baseband processing unit 202, the frame disassembly / assembly unit 203, the setting information storage unit 206, the data interface 207, and the power supply unit 208, respectively. The control unit 205 can set the data transmission speed based on the setting value stored in the setting information storage unit 206.
Respectively stores transmission speeds at the time of transmission and at the time of reception.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process in which the control unit 205 changes the communication speed in the communication state.

First, in the communication state, the control unit 205 monitors the amount of transmission data transmitted by the data interface 207 and also monitors the transmission speed of the data currently being communicated (step S301). In this state, it is determined whether or not there is transmission data to be sent (step S3).
02) If there is transmission data, the process returns to step S301 to continue the communication. If there is no transmission data, it is determined whether the current data transmission speed is the lowest transmission speed allowable in the present system. Is determined (step S303).

If the result of determination in step S303 is that the transmission rate is the slowest, the control is terminated. If the transmission rate is not the slowest, for example, the base station 102 is notified that the transmission rate is to be reduced. (Step S30)
4) Reduce the data transmission rate to the slowest transmission rate allowed in this system and
The power supplied in step 8 is changed to the power corresponding to the low transmission rate (step S305), and the control ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
If there is no transmission data to be sent, the data transmission rate is reduced to the slowest transmission rate allowable in the present system, and at the same time, the power supplied by the power supply unit 208 is changed to the power corresponding to the slow transmission rate. (Step S30
5) Power consumption can be reduced, and when power is supplied by a battery, there is an effect of saving the battery.

(2) Second Embodiment The configuration of a wireless communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the configuration of the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in a control method in which the control unit 205 changes the communication speed in a communication state.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process in which the control unit 205 changes the communication speed in the communication state.

First, in the communication state, the control unit 205 monitors the amount of transmission data transmitted by the data interface 207 and monitors the transmission speed of the data currently being communicated (step S401). In this state, it is determined whether the amount of transmission data to be transmitted has decreased (step S402). If the amount of transmission data has not decreased, communication is continued (step 403) and step S40.
On the other hand, when the transmission data amount decreases, it is determined whether the data transmission speed in the data interface 207 is lower by at least one level than the data transmission speed of the wireless section currently stored in the setting information storage unit 206. A determination is made (step S404). Each level of the data transmission speed is stored in the setting information storage unit 206 in advance.

If the result of determination in step S404 is that it is not slower by one level or more, the process proceeds to step S403 and communication is continued. It is determined whether or not the data transmission speed of the wireless section stored in 206 is lower than the data transmission speed by two levels or more (step S405).

If the result of the determination in step S405 is that the transmission speed is lower by two levels or more, the data transmission speed of the wireless section currently stored in the setting information storage unit 206 is changed to a transmission speed lower by one level (step S406). S404
Return to By this loop, data interface 2
07 is the data transmission speed in the current setting information storage unit 20.
6 compared with the data transmission rate of the wireless section stored in 6
Even when the transmission speed is lower than the level, the transmission speed can be lowered one level at a time, and an appropriate transmission speed can be handled.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S405,
If the transmission rate is not slower than the level, for example, the base station 102 is notified that the transmission rate is to be reduced (step S40)
7) Change the data transmission rate of the wireless section currently stored in the setting information storage unit 206 to a transmission rate one level lower, and change the power supplied by the power supply unit 208 to power corresponding to the lower transmission rate. Change (step S40)
8), the control ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
It is determined how much the data transmission speed in the data interface 207 is lower than the data transmission speed of the wireless section currently stored in the setting information storage unit 206 (steps S404 and S405), and based on the result of this determination. In step S406, the data transmission rate of the wireless section currently stored in the setting information storage unit 206 is changed to a transmission rate that is one level or lower.
(Step S408) At the same time, the power supplied by the power supply unit 208 is changed to the power corresponding to the low transmission rate (Step S408), so that power consumption can be reduced, and power is supplied by the battery. in case of,
It has the effect of saving battery.

In the first and second embodiments, the case where there is transmission data on the mobile terminal 101 side or a case where there is a change in the transmission amount has been described. Even in the case where the amount fluctuates, the same effect as the present invention can be obtained by providing the above-described configuration in FIG. 2 on the base station 102 side.

In general, in data communication, the amount of data is often unbalanced between transmission and reception. For example, when downloading data from the host computer to the terminal,
On the terminal side, since data to be transmitted is about a control command, applying the present invention in this case enables significant battery saving.

[0032]

As described above, according to the wireless communication device of the first aspect and the communication method of the wireless communication device of the fifth aspect, when it is detected that the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced,
Since the transmission speed is controlled to be set to be low and the power required for communication at the transmission speed set to be low is controlled, power consumption can be reduced.

According to the wireless communication device of the second aspect and the communication method of the wireless communication device of the sixth aspect, when it is detected that there is no data to be transmitted, the transmission rate is set to the slowest transmission rate allowed in the communication system. Since the power is controlled to be set and the power required for the communication at the lowest transmission rate is controlled, power consumption can be further reduced.

According to the wireless communication apparatus of the third aspect, in the wireless communication apparatus of the first or second aspect, the setting means individually sets the transmission speed at the time of data transmission and at the time of reception. Since the power supply means is controlled so as to supply power required for communication at a transmission rate set in detail, power consumption can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wireless communication system using a wireless communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of a mobile terminal 101.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process in which a control unit changes a communication speed in a communication state.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process in which a control unit 205 changes a communication speed in a communication state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 mobile terminal 201 radio unit 202 baseband processing unit 203 frame disassembly / assembly unit 204 communication application 205 control unit (detection unit, setting unit, control unit) 206 setting information storage unit (setting unit) 207 data interface (detection unit) 208 power Supply unit (power supply means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a wireless communication apparatus constituting a communication system capable of communicating at a plurality of transmission speeds, a detection unit for detecting an amount of data to be transmitted, a setting unit for setting a transmission speed of the data, Power supply means for supplying necessary power, and when the detection means detects that the amount of data to be transmitted has decreased, the setting means controls the transmission speed to be set to a low value and the power supply Control means for controlling the means to supply power required for communication at the slower set transmission rate. 2. When the detecting means detects that there is no data to be transmitted, the control means controls the setting means so as to set the lowest transmission rate allowed in the communication system. 2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit is controlled so as to supply power required for the communication at the lowest transmission rate. 3. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit individually sets a transmission speed of the data when transmitting and a transmission speed when receiving the data. 4. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is at least one of a terminal and a base station.
The wireless communication device according to claim 1. 5. A communication method for a wireless communication device constituting a communication system capable of communicating at a plurality of transmission rates, a detecting step of detecting an amount of data to be transmitted, and a setting step of setting a transmission rate of the data. The power supply step of supplying power required for the communication, and when it is detected that the amount of data to be transmitted is reduced in the detection step, control is performed so that the transmission speed is set to be slow by the setting hand. And a control step of controlling the power supply step to supply power required for communication at the slower set transmission rate in the power supply step. 6. When the detection step detects that there is no data to be transmitted, the control step controls the setting step to set the transmission rate to the slowest transmission rate allowed in the communication system. The communication method for a wireless communication device according to claim 5, wherein the power supply step is controlled so as to supply power required for the communication at the lowest transmission rate.