JP2003101476A - Radio mobile machine, reception level measurement method and reception level measurement program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio mobile machine which can efficiently measure a reception level, a reception level measurement method and a reception level measurement program. SOLUTION: The radio mobile machine 20 is provided with a reception level measurement means 22 which repetitively measures the reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from peripheral base stations 12 and 13 and a holding means 24 holding the next measurement of the reception level by the reception level measurement means 22 until prescribed time elapses from previous measurement. In the radio mobile machine 20, the holding means 24 holds the repetitive measurement of the reception level of the peripheral base station by the reception level measurement means 22 until prescribed time elapses from previous measurement. Since the reception level is not measured until prescribed time elapses, the unnecessary measurement of the reception level can be omitted and the reception level can efficiently be measured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless mobile device for measuring a reception level of a peripheral base station signal, a reception level measuring method and a reception level measuring program. It should be noted that the wireless mobile device includes various portable terminals, that is, a mobile phone, a mobile terminal, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a wireless mobile device, based on a peripheral base station signal from a base station (peripheral base station) located in the vicinity of the wireless mobile device, the reception level (that is, reception (Radio field strength) is being measured. As shown in FIG. 9, this reception level measurement is executed in an empty slot 93 in a communication frame 92 composed of a plurality of slots 91 and a slot addressed to another station. However, in the wireless mobile device, if there is no other station in the acquired channel,
Even if it exists, it is not transmitting or receiving data,
Moreover, when data addressed to its own wireless mobile device is continuously received, there is no empty slot 83 for measuring the reception level, and the unmeasured time of the reception level continues. Therefore, a permissible timer (for example, 15 seconds) is provided that performs processing for forcibly measuring the reception level when the reception level is not measured for a certain period of time. this is,
This is the maximum allowable value of the reception level in the unmeasured state, and this allowance timer guarantees the same level of reliability in reception level monitoring as during standby.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional wireless mobile device has the following problems. In other words, as the performance of the device improves, the time required to measure all the specified reception levels becomes less than 1 second, and unless continuous data reception is performed, all slots are data destined for the mobile device of its own. Since it is not possible to fill up, the above-mentioned allowable timer almost never times out in reality. As a result, the reception level was measured in a short period (for example, 0.2 seconds), and although the reliability of the reception level monitoring was improved, unnecessary measurement was repeated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless mobile device, a receiving level measuring method and a receiving level measuring program capable of efficiently measuring the receiving level. To do.

[0005]

A wireless mobile device according to the present invention comprises a reception level measuring means for repeatedly measuring a reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station, and a reception level measuring means for measuring the reception level by the reception level measuring means. It is characterized by comprising a holding means for holding the next measurement until a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous measurement.

In this wireless mobile device, the repetitive measurement of the reception level of the peripheral base station by the reception level measuring means is suspended by the suspending means until a fixed time has elapsed since the last measurement. Therefore, the measurement of the reception level is
Since it does not occur until at least a certain time has passed,
It is possible to omit unnecessary reception level measurement.

Further, each slot received has the type information of the slot, and it is necessary to receive the corresponding slot of the frame next to the frame containing the slot based on the type information of the slot. The power supply for stopping the power supply to the reception level measurement means at the reception timing of the slot for which it is determined that it is not necessary to receive within the period when the measurement is suspended by the suspension means It is preferable to further comprise stop means. In this case, based on the type information of each slot, it is the reception timing of the slot judged by the judging means that the reception of the corresponding slot of the next frame is unnecessary, and the timing is held by the holding means. If it is within the period, the power supply stopping means stops the power supply to the reception level measuring means. Therefore, when the power supply to the reception level measuring means is unnecessary, the power supply stopping means stops the power supply to the reception level measuring means, so that the power saving of the wireless mobile device can be achieved. Become.

A reception level measuring method according to the present invention is a reception level measuring method in which a wireless mobile device repeatedly measures a reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station by a reception level measuring means, The measurement by the reception level measuring means is characterized in that the next measurement is suspended until a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous measurement.

In this reception level measuring method, the repeated measurement of the reception level of the peripheral base station by the reception level measuring means is suspended until a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous measurement. Therefore, the measurement of the reception level is not performed until at least a fixed time elapses, and therefore unnecessary measurement of the reception level can be omitted.

Further, each slot received has the type information of the slot, and it is necessary to receive the corresponding slot of the frame next to the frame including the slot based on the type information of the slot. A determination step for determining whether or not it is necessary, and a power supply stop step for stopping power supply to the reception level measuring means at the reception timing of the slot determined not to be received within the period during which the measurement is suspended. Is preferably provided. In this case, it is the reception timing of the slot determined to be unnecessary for the reception of the corresponding slot of the next frame based on the type information of each slot, and the timing is within the period when the measurement is suspended. In this case, the power supply to the reception level measuring means is stopped. Therefore, when the power supply to the reception level measuring means is unnecessary, the power supply to the reception level measuring means is stopped, so that it is possible to save the power of the wireless mobile device.

A reception level measuring program according to the present invention is a reception level measuring program which is executed by a computer provided in a wireless mobile device and repeatedly measures the reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station. The feature is that the next measurement is suspended until a certain time has passed since the previous measurement.

By executing the reception level measurement program using a computer, the repeated measurement of the reception level of the peripheral base station by the reception level measurement means is suspended until a fixed time has elapsed from the last measurement,
Since the measurement of the reception level is not performed until at least a fixed time has elapsed, unnecessary measurement of the reception level can be omitted.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of a wireless mobile device, a reception level measuring method and a reception level measuring program according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, prior to the description of the embodiment according to the present invention, the reception level measurement of a mobile phone as a wireless mobile device will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system 10 of a recent mobile phone has a small zone structure. The small zone configuration includes, for example, the base station 11 at the center, and the base stations 12 and 13 which are located at substantially equidistant positions from the base station 11 and which have a positional relationship of the vertices of a substantially regular hexagon. The base station configuration is as follows. A circular area (zone) 11A, 12 with a constant distance centered on each base station 11, 12, 13
Radio waves from each base station are delivered to A and 13A,
A radio wave of frequency F1 is output from the base station 11, a radio wave of frequency F2 is output from the base station 12, and a radio wave of frequency F3 is output from the base station 13.

In the base station 12 and the base station 13 having a substantially regular hexagonal positional relationship, the base station 13 is arranged at the apex position adjacent to the base station 12, and the base station 13 is located at the apex position adjacent thereto. The base stations 12 are arranged so that the base stations 12 and the base stations 13 are not adjacent to each other. In this way, three types of frequencies (F1, F2,
The base stations 11, 12, and 13 having F3) are sequentially arranged so as not to be adjacent to the base stations having the same frequency.
Further, the zone 11A centering on the base station 11 is a zone 12A centering on six surrounding base stations 12, 13,
By partially overlapping 13A, radio waves of any frequency can reach the peripheral area of zone 11A. Therefore, a wide area is covered by the small zone configuration, and radio waves of a plurality of different frequencies are delivered to the overlapping area (hatched portion in the figure) of the zones. Therefore, a mobile phone that receives radio waves of a plurality of different frequencies in the zone overlap region is configured to receive radio waves of a frequency having a higher received radio wave intensity (reception level) and perform more reliable wireless communication. There is.

Next, a wireless mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a mobile phone 20 which is a wireless mobile device according to the present embodiment. The mobile phone 20 has a transmitter 21 and a receiver (reception level measurement) as functional components. Means) 22, a power supply 23, a controller 24, a display / operation unit 25, a voice processing unit 26, a speaker unit 27, and a microphone unit 28. Hereinafter, each element will be described in detail.

The transmitter 21 transmits a signal from the mobile phone 20 to the base station 11 in the zone (for example, the zone 11A) in which the mobile phone 20 is located via the antenna 29. The receiving unit 22 receives the signal from the base station 11 (base station signal) and the signals from the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 (peripheral base station signals) via the antenna 29, and measures the reception level of the peripheral base station signals. For a predetermined period (for example, 0.
2 seconds). In addition, the receiving unit 22 includes the base stations 11,
When receiving the signals from 12 and 13, the reception frequency is switched to the frequency corresponding to each base station. Further, the power supply unit 23 supplies power to each component of the mobile phone 20.

The control unit 24 performs the necessary processing for the request and report from the constituent element of the mobile phone 20 on the constituent element. In addition, the control unit 24 repeats measurement of the receiving unit 22 based on a hold timer that holds the next measurement until a fixed time has elapsed from the previous measurement, and the slot reception information based on slot type information described later. / It has a judgment function for judging unnecessaryness and a power supply stop function for stopping power supply from the power supply unit 23 to the reception unit 22. The display operation unit 25 is a part of the input / output unit provided in the mobile phone 20, and is, for example, a display or a button key. Furthermore, the voice processing unit 26 performs voice processing of the speaker unit 27 and the microphone unit 28 during voice communication.

Next, a method of measuring the reception level in the above-mentioned receiving section 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

From the time point P1 when the reception level needs to be measured until the allowable timer T1 (for example, 15 second timer) times out (between P1 and P7).
If the reception level is not measured at 1, the reception level of the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 is forcibly measured from the time point P7. In addition, when the reception unit 22 completes the measurement of the reception levels of the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 from the time P1 until the hold timer T2 (for example, a 5-second timer) times out (between P1 and P3), the reception unit 22 holds the hold level. The reception level is not measured until the timer T2 times out, that is, from the measurement completion time point P2 to the time point P3. In this way, when the reception level measurement completion time T3 is shorter than the hold timer T2, the remaining time of the hold timer T2 (between P2 and P3)
In, the measurement of the reception level is suspended. On the other hand, when the reception level measurement completion time T3 is longer than the hold timer T2, the measurement is restarted from the time when the reception level measurement is completed. The time required to measure the reception level is, for example, T3 (between P1 and P2) T4 (P3 to P4).
Interval) and T5 (between P5 and P6), which differ for each measurement and are not constant.

The timing of measuring the reception level from the peripheral base station signals will be described below with reference to FIG.

As shown in the timing chart of FIG.
Communication frames A1 to A6 of base station signals from the base station 11
Each of the slots is composed of three slots # 0 to # 2. Since the signal reception from the base station 11 is performed by the time division multiplexing method, these three slots are arranged on the same frequency (F1). Each slot has a type (slot type): a slot addressed to itself (for example, slot L11, slot L20, etc.), a slot addressed to another station (for example, slot L12, slot L).
22), an idle slot (eg, slot L1)
0, slot L41, etc.). Hereinafter, the above-mentioned three types of slots will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, each slot may be able to determine the type of the corresponding slot of the frame next to the frame in which it belongs (own frame), depending on its slot type. That is, the mobile phone 20
In the slot addressed to your own station, which is the slot addressed to
"#N (n is a natural number)" is added to indicate that the corresponding slot from the next frame to the (n-1) th frame is a slot addressed to the own station. Further, the slot addressed to the other station, which is the slot addressed to the other mobile phone, is also attached with “#n” like the slot addressed to the own station, and the frame (n−1) ahead of the next frame is added. It is indicated that the corresponding slots up to are slots for other stations. Further, “I = n” is attached to an idle slot which is an empty slot, which indicates that the corresponding slot from the next frame to the frame n ahead is an idle slot.

The slot type information will be specifically described with reference to the time chart of FIG. For example, the slot L11 addressed to the own station of the frame A1 is the slot L1
Since the type information of 1 is “own station (head # 3)”, slots L21 and L31 which are the corresponding slots from the next frame A2 to the frame A3 which is two frames ahead of the own frame A1 are slots addressed to the own station. Is shown. Similarly, for example, slot L21, which is a slot addressed to another station, has type information “other station (head # 4)”, which is 3 from the next frame A2 to own frame A1.
The corresponding slots up to the frame A4, which is the frame destination, are the slot L22, the slot L32, and the slot L42, which are slots addressed to other stations. Further, for example, the idle slot L41 has type information “continuation (I =
1) ”, which indicates that the corresponding slot L51 of the next frame A5 is also an idle slot.

Therefore, there is a case where the control unit 24 can determine in advance from the above-mentioned type information that the corresponding slot of the frame after the next frame is not the slot addressed to the own station and the reception is not necessary. That is, it can be determined that the slot L22, the slot L32, the slot 42, the slot 51, and the like do not require reception. Therefore, the reception timing of these slots can be used for the reception level measurement of the peripheral base stations 12 and 13, and in the measurement suspension period, the power supply to the reception unit 22 is not necessary.

Next, a method of measuring the reception level of the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 using the mobile phone 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, at time P1 (see FIG. 3), the acceptance timer T1 of the reception level control unit 24 is started (S
10) After that, the hold timer T2 of the control unit 24 is started (S12). Then, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the two reception levels of the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 have both been measured (S14). If there is even one unmeasured reception level, the unmeasured reception level of the peripheral base station is measured at a timing other than the slot for the own station (S18) until the allowable timer T1 times out (S16). Performed by the reception unit 22 (reception level measurement step)
(S20).

On the other hand, when there is an unmeasured reception level,
When the allowance timer T1 times out, the mobile phone 20 transmits the RNR signal from the transmitter 21 to the base station 11 in order to forcibly measure the reception level (S2).
4). The RNR signal is a signal that notifies the base station 11 that it is in a state in which data cannot be received. This R
Upon receiving the NR signal, the base station 11 temporarily receives the mobile phone 2
Data transmission to 0 is interrupted. While the data transmission from the base station 11 to the mobile phone 20 is suspended, there is no slot addressed to itself in the communication frame, so that the reception level can be measured at any slot timing. Therefore, the reception level measurement of all the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 can be completed in a shorter time than usual (S24). After the measurement of the reception levels of all the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 is completed, the mobile phone 20 sets the transmission unit 21.
To transmit the RR signal to the base station 11 (S26). The RR signal is a signal for notifying the base station 11 that data transmission to the mobile phone 20 has become possible.

When the above-mentioned RR signal is transmitted to the base station 11 and there is no unmeasured reception level, that is, when the reception level measurement of all the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 is completed, the allowable timer T1. Is reset and restarted (S28). At this time, if the hold timer T2 has timed out (S30), the control unit 24 resets the reception levels of all the peripheral base stations 12 and 13 to a state in which the reception levels are not measured (S32), and the hold timer T2 starts again. Yes (S12).

On the other hand, if the hold timer T2 has not timed out (hold step) (S30), the hold timer T
Until the 2 times out, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the slot requires reception (determination step).
(S34), the power supply to the receiving unit 22 is temporarily stopped at the timing of the slot in which reception is unnecessary (power supply stop step) (S36). What is this unnecessary reception slot?
As shown in FIG. 7, the slot types are the corresponding slot of the next frame of the slot (n ≧ 2) addressed to another station and the corresponding slot of the next frame of the idle slot (n ≧ 1).
In this way, slots (n ≧ 2) and idle slots (n ≧ 1) addressed to other stations (hereinafter, these are referred to as “reception unnecessary notice slots”) are received within a period when the reception level measurement is suspended. In this case, at the reception timing of the corresponding slot of the next frame, the power supply unit 23 is controlled by the control unit 24.
The power supply from the receiver to the receiver 22 is stopped.

That is, as shown in FIG.
When the power is turned on, the reception unnecessary notice slot is received, and when it is determined that the corresponding slot of the next frame is other than the slot addressed to the own station, the power of the receiving unit 22 is turned off by the control unit 24. If it is determined that a slot other than the reception-unnecessary advance notice slot is received and the corresponding slot of the next frame is a slot requiring reception such as a slot addressed to the own station, the power supply of the reception unit 22 remains ON. .
On the other hand, when the reception unit 22 is powered off and the reception unnecessary notice slot is received and it is determined that the corresponding slot of the next frame is other than the slot addressed to the own station, the reception unit 22 is powered off. If the slot other than the reception unnecessary notice slot is received and it is determined that the corresponding slot of the next frame is a slot requiring reception such as a slot addressed to the own station, the power source of the reception unit 22 is the control unit 24. By O
Switched to N.

As described above, while the reception level measurement is suspended, the reception section 2 receives the timing of the slot in which reception is unnecessary.
By controlling the power supply of the second power source to be turned off, the power consumption of the receiving unit 22 can be reduced while ensuring the reliable reception of the slot addressed to the own station, and the power saving of the mobile phone 20 can be achieved. it can.

When the control section 24 can determine that the corresponding slot of the frame after the next frame is a slot other than the slot addressed to the own station (when the slots addressed to other stations are continuous), the slot reception is performed. The power supply to the receiver 22 can be stopped also at the timing of.

As described above, the control unit 24 controls the hold timer T
By including 2, since the reception level is not measured by the reception unit 22 until the hold timer T2 times out, unnecessary measurement of the reception level can be omitted.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, the receiving unit 22
Is not limited to the two peripheral base stations of the base station 12 and the base station 13, and the reception levels of three or more peripheral base stations may be measured. The determination function and the power supply stop function of the control unit 24 may be independent elements such as a determination unit and a power supply stop unit.

At the timing when the receiving operation is required in the control of the wireless communication, for example, the SW (synchronize word) detection timing (see FIG. 4), the receiving unit 2
It goes without saying that the power supply to 2 is not stopped.

[0039]

In the wireless mobile device and the receiving level measuring method according to the present invention, the repeated measuring of the receiving level of the peripheral base station by the receiving level measuring means is suspended until a certain time has elapsed from the previous measurement. Therefore, since the reception level is not measured at least until a certain period of time has elapsed, unnecessary reception level measurement can be omitted and the reception level can be measured efficiently.

When the reception level measuring program according to the present invention is executed by using a computer, the repeated measurement of the reception level of the peripheral base stations is suspended until a certain time has elapsed from the previous measurement, and the reception level Since the measurement is not performed until at least a certain time has timed out, unnecessary reception level measurement can be omitted and the reception level can be measured efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a small zone configuration in a communication system of a mobile phone.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a wireless mobile device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a time chart of reception level measurement according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a slot configuration in a communication frame according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a table illustrating slot types of slots according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a reception level measuring method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a table illustrating types of corresponding slots of a frame next to a slot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of controlling power supply to the receiving unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a communication frame according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Base station, 12, 13 ... Base station (neighboring base station), 2
0 ... Mobile phone (wireless mobile device), 21 ... Transmission unit, 22 ...
Receiving unit, 23 ... Power supply unit, 24 ... Control unit, A1 to A6 ... Frame, L10 to L12, L20 to L22, L30 to L
32, L40 to L42, L50 to L52, L60 to L6
2 ... slot.

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Naofumi Yoshinaga             2-11-1, Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Stock             Ceremony company NTT Docomo F-term (reference) 5K027 AA11 CC08 EE00                 5K067 AA44 BB03 BB04 CC04 DD44                       EE02 EE10 GG11 LL01 LL11

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A reception level measuring means for repeatedly measuring a reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station, and a measurement of the reception level by the reception level measuring means, wherein a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous measurement. A wireless mobile device, comprising: a holding unit that holds the next measurement until the following. 2. Each received slot has type information of the slot, and it is necessary to receive a corresponding slot of a frame next to a frame including the slot based on the type information of the slot. And a power supply to the reception level measurement means at a reception timing of a slot that is determined not to be received within a period in which the measurement is suspended by the suspension means. The wireless mobile device according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply stopping means for stopping. 3. A reception level measuring method in which a wireless mobile device repeatedly measures a reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station by a reception level measuring means, wherein the measurement by the reception level measuring means is performed. The receiving level measuring method is characterized in that the next measurement is suspended until a certain time has elapsed since the previous measurement. 4. Each slot received has type information of the slot, and based on the type information of the slot, it is necessary to receive the corresponding slot of the frame next to the frame including the slot. A determination step of determining whether or not there is a power supply for stopping the power supply to the reception level measuring means at the reception timing of the slot determined not to be received within the period in which the measurement is suspended. The receiving level measuring method according to claim 3, further comprising a stopping step. 5. A reception level measurement program, which is executed by a computer provided in a wireless mobile device and repeatedly measures a reception level of a peripheral base station signal transmitted from a peripheral base station, wherein a predetermined time has elapsed since the last measurement. A reception level measurement program that holds the next measurement until the time elapses.