JP2003229783A - Wireless communication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication apparatus, based on a software wireless transceiver technique which can increase utilization efficiency in the resource of a signal processing device. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes a wireless signal transmitting/receiving device 2, a signal processing device 3 of a resource capable of redefining a signal processing function according to a predetermined software module for processing a signal necessary for transmission or reception, a memory device 5 for storing a plurality of software modules, corresponding to a plurality of signal processing functions to be defined in the resource of the signal processing device 3, and a controller 4 for controlling the signal processing device 3 and the memory device 5 to select first one of the software modules to be given to the resource on the basis of a communication quality and second one of the software modules to be released from the resource, and on the basis of it, to read out the first software module from the memory 5 and give it to the resource and to release the second module from the resource. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication device using software defined radio technology.

[0002]

[Prior art]

[0003]

A software-defined radio, which realizes a part of the functions of the radio by software and replaces it with a new system, is drawing attention. By using the software defined radio technology, it becomes possible for a single wireless communication device such as a mobile phone to support a new wireless communication system or service by replacing the software.

In such a software defined radio, in consideration of application to a portable terminal represented by a portable telephone, it is necessary to consider miniaturization and low power consumption. Therefore, the capacity of resources such as a memory mounted on the mobile terminal is limited. In a conventional mobile terminal, one wireless communication system occupies resources, and resources are assigned to respective processes in advance.

[0005]

In a mobile terminal based on software defined radio technology, a plurality of communication systems are supported. Therefore, if resources are fixedly allocated in advance like a conventional mobile terminal, resource utilization efficiency is increased. There is a problem of decreasing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication device capable of improving the utilization efficiency of resources of a signal processing device in software defined radio technology.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, a wireless communication apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a wireless transmission / reception device for transmitting / receiving a wireless signal and a signal processing function re-establishment according to a predetermined software module. A signal processing device including a definable resource, the resource being configured to perform signal processing of a predetermined function required for the transmission and reception, and a plurality of signal processings to be defined in the resource of the signal processing device. A storage device that stores a plurality of software modules corresponding to functions, and a first software module to be given to the resource and a second software module to be released from the resource are selected based on communication quality in the transmission and reception, Read the first software module from the storage device based on the selection. Said given resource, and includes a controller for controlling said signal processing device and the storage device so as to release said second software module from the resource out.

As described above, the communication quality, for example, the transmission / reception power and the BER (bit error rate) are monitored, and the appropriate software module is read into the resource of the signal processing device according to the situation, so that the resource of the signal processing device can be saved. It is possible to improve communication quality while using it efficiently.

A wireless communication device according to another aspect of the present invention is
A wireless transmission / reception device configured to transmit / receive a wireless signal and a signal processing function that can be redefined according to a predetermined software module, and steady signal processing and non-steady signal of a predetermined function required for the transmission / reception. A signal processing device having first and second resources for respectively performing processing, and a plurality of software modules corresponding to a plurality of signal processing functions to be defined in the first and second resources of the signal processing device are stored. The storage device and the first resource are activated when the signal processing required for the transmission and reception is steady signal processing, and the second resource is activated when the signal processing is non-steady signal processing. Software modules required for the first and second resources are read from the storage device, and the read software modules are read as the first software module. And to provide the second resource,
And a controller for controlling the signal processing device and the storage device.

In a radio communication apparatus in which a plurality of processors of a signal processing device are in charge of respective processes such as a transmission system, a reception system and a synchronization system, it is necessary to manage the resources of each system. When designing a wireless communication device, each system is designed assuming non-steady processing such as handoff, in addition to steady processing such as reception of a broadcast channel. When the non-stationary process actually occurs, resources for the process are allocated. According to the present invention, each system such as the transmission system and the reception system does not independently manage the non-steady-state process, but has a dedicated resource in charge of the non-steady-state process to collectively manage the resource related to the non-steady-state process. It is possible to manage each resource easily.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This wireless communication device has an antenna 1, a wireless transmission / reception device 2, a signal processing device 3, a resource controller 4, a storage device 5, a system controller 6, and an input / output device unit 7.

The radio transmitting / receiving device 2 receives an RF (high frequency) signal from a base station (not shown) via the antenna 1 and also transmits an RF signal to the base station. That is, the reception signal from the antenna 1 is transmitted to the wireless transmission / reception device 2
The signal is converted into a digital received IF (intermediate frequency) signal by and is supplied to the signal processing device 3. The digital transmission IF signal generated by the signal processing device 3 is converted into a transmission RF signal by the wireless transmission / reception device 2 and supplied to the antenna 1.

The signal processing device 3 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU or a DSP (digital signal processor) which performs signal processing by software, or P
LD (Programmable Logic Device) or FP
It is configured by a processor including programmable hardware such as GA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

Taking the case where the signal processing device 3 is a processor such as a DSP, the processor has a storage area such as a RAM area into which an execution program is read, and the storage area is used for signal processing. Signal processing is executed by loading a software module group that constitutes a program. The software module mentioned here is a file of a compiled execution format, and each signal processing function is made into a software module.

The resources of the signal processing device 3 are controlled by the resource controller 4. With this control, it is possible to quickly respond to changes in the functions and specifications of the mobile radio communication device due to changes in usage conditions, and thereby easily realize handover control due to movement between different radio communication systems. Specifically, the resource controller 4 controls the software of the signal processing device 3 to change the resources, the change of the logic circuit configuration method, or both, so that the function of the mobile radio communication apparatus is desired. Is changed to. In this way, the resource of the signal processing device 3 is adaptively controlled by the resource controller 4, so that the limited resource is effectively used.

The storage device 5 stores programs and data files. In particular, as the program, a software module group for which the specifications of the signal processing device 3 are assumed is stored. As a result, a module group required when the mobile radio communication device switches to another mode, for example, a mode for receiving another channel, can be read from the storage device 5 and passed to the signal processing device 3.

The storage device 5 includes a resource controller 4,
Alternatively, a necessary program or data is read / written under the control of the system controller 6 that controls the entire interior of the mobile radio communication device. The program read from the storage device 5 is written in the signal processing device 3. As the storage device 5, a small hard disk drive device or a semiconductor memory such as FRAM is used.

The input / output device unit 7 connected to the system controller 6 includes various input / output devices that control the interface with the user of the wireless communication device, such as a microphone for voice input, a speaker for voice output, and a keyboard. And display. The keyboard is used for dial keys, function key operations, text input and editing operations. The display displays incoming call information, contents, menus, and the like. The input / output device unit 7 further has an MPEG interface for performing moving image compression / expansion processing and a USB interface for performing serial input / output with an external device. These components of the input / output device unit 7 are connected by an internal bus, and the internal bus is connected to the system controller 6.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing in detail the configurations of the signal processing device 3, the resource controller 4 and the storage device 5 in FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment. Signal processing device 3
Are two processors 30 as resources in this example.
1, 302. Each of the processors 301 and 302 has a storage area (for example,
The signal processing is executed by including the RAM areas 311 and 312, respectively, and reading the software module group forming the program for performing the signal processing into the storage areas 311 and 312 as described above. In the example of FIG. 2, a transmission module group for base station A is loaded in the storage area 311 of the processor 301, and a reception module group for base station A is loaded in the storage area 312 of the processor 302.

The resource controller 4 has a source management table 401, a resource manager 402, a resource rewriting processing section 403, a download buffer 404 and a module selecting section 405. The resource management table 401 stores information on the storage location of modules that can be executed by the signal processing device 3. The resource manager 402 mainly controls (a) the order in which the resources are replaced, (b) the determination as to whether or not the resources should be replaced, and (c) the timing of the replacement.

The resource rewriting processing unit 403 reads a module from the storage device 5 according to an instruction from the resource manager 201, and rewrites the module for the processor 301 or 302 of the signal processing device 3. In the example of FIG. 2, the storage device 5 includes an equalizer module 501, a handoff processing module 502, and a Turbo Log-MAP module 5 as a software module group.
03 is stored.

The module selection unit 405 monitors the communication quality (transmission / reception power, BER, etc.) of the wireless communication device obtained from the signal processing device 3 or from the wireless transmission / reception device 2 via the signal processing device 3, and Select the module to be loaded into the signal processing device 3 according to. The selection result of the module is given to the resource rewriting processing unit 403, and the resource rewriting processing unit 403 rewrites the module based on the selection result.

The download buffer 404 is provided to temporarily store a module downloaded from the outside. If there is a required software module in the storage device 4, the resource controller 4 reads it into the signal processing device 3 as an execution file of the processor which is the signal processing device 3. However, if there is a required software module in the storage device 5, For example, the resource controller 4 issues a download request, acquires the module, and stores it in the download buffer 404.

The download request is issued to, for example, a base station having the area where the wireless communication device is currently located as a service area. The base station transfers the received download request to a network (not shown). The network transmits the requested module to the wireless communication device that has issued the download request via the base station.

By exchanging the programs held in the storage area of the processor which is the signal processing device 3 in this way, the necessary signal processing function is defined in the signal processing device 3. As a program, necessary modules are included only when necessary. As a result, it is possible to suppress wasteful use of resources, that is, unnecessary occupancy of memory resources due to resident modules that are not normally required to reside in the storage area of the processor. Therefore,
It is possible to cope with roaming and handoff between different wireless communication systems while effectively utilizing resources with limited capacity.

Next, the operation of the radio communication apparatus according to this embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. now,
It is assumed that the wireless communication device is communicating with the base station A (step S1). In order to communicate with the base station A, the transmitting module group for the base station A for transmitting information to the base station A is loaded into the storage area 311 of the processor 301, and
The receiving module group for the base station A for receiving the information from is loaded into the storage area 312 of the processor 302 for communication. During this communication, the module selection unit 40
5 measures communication quality (transmission / reception power, BER, etc.) (step S2). By comparing the measured communication quality with, for example, a predetermined threshold value, it is determined whether or not the quality has deteriorated (step S3).

Here, if it is determined in step S3 that the communication quality measured in step S2 has deteriorated due to the effects of shadowing or fading, the module selection unit 405 determines the degree of the deterioration and the current resource usage. Accordingly, it is determined whether to load a new module or release a currently used module.

According to the example of FIG. 2, when the communication quality deteriorates, the module selection unit 405 signals the Turbo Log-MAP module (second software module) 503 which is a module of the turbo decoding algorithm in the storage device 5. Turbo MA, which is a module of the turbo decoding algorithm currently used by the processor 302, selected to be loaded into the processor 302 of the processing device 3.
Make a decision to release the X Log-MAP module (first software module). Turbo Log-MAP is T
It is a higher quality turbo decoding algorithm, though it requires more processing than urbo MAX-Log-MAP.

In this way, the module to be newly loaded (Turbo Log-MAP module in this example) and the module to be released (Turb in this example) on the processor 302 of the signal processing device 3 selected by the module selection unit 405.
Information of the MAX-Log-MAP module) is transmitted to the resource rewriting processing unit 403 as a module rewriting request (step S4).

Upon receiving this resource rewriting request, the resource rewriting processing unit 403 determines whether or not the module can be rewritten (step S5). in this case,
The Tu currently used by the processor 302 as described above.
Turbo L is better quality than rbo MAX Log-MAP module
Since the og-MA module 503 is stored in the storage device 5, it is determined that rewriting is possible. As a result, the module rewrite processing unit 403 performs the procedure of rewriting the module for the processor 302, that is, reading the Turbo Log-MAP module 503 for the processor 302 and releasing the Turbo MAX-Log-MAP module from the processor 302 (step S6). ).

In step S5, Turbo Log-
Even if the MA module is not stored in the storage device 5, if the Turbo Log-MA module can be downloaded from the outside, the module rewrite processing unit 40
3 determines that the module for the processor 302 can be rewritten. In that case, in step S6, for example, the module manager 201 sets Turbo Lo
A g-MA module download request may be issued, the g-MA module may be acquired, stored in the download buffer 404, and then loaded into the processor 302.

The resource rewriting request from the module selection unit 405 may be sent to the resource manager 402 instead of to the resource rewriting processing unit 403. In that case, the resource manager 402 determines whether the module can be rewritten, and controls the resource rewriting processing unit 403 based on the judgment.

The above series of processing is continuously performed until it is determined in step S7 that the communication is completed. In this way, by appropriately rewriting the module for the resource of the signal processing device 3 according to the communication quality,
It is possible to maintain a high quality communication state.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configurations of the signal processing device 3, the resource controller 4, and the storage device 5 in FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the signal processing device 3 is the same processor 301, 302 (first resource) as before.
In addition to this, the processor 303 for non-steady-state processing (second resource) is provided. The processors 301 and 302 are main processors that perform steady signal processing during transmission / reception, whereas the added non-steady-state processor 303 is non-steady-state during transmission / reception such as soft handoff processing described later. This is a processor that specializes in signal processing.

The resource controller 4 is basically shown in FIG.
Although the configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 4, the resource selection unit 405 shown in FIG. 2 is omitted because it is not essential in FIG. The contents of the storage device 5 may be basically the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 2, but in the present embodiment, for the sake of explanation, the handoff processing module 502 and STTD (Space Time blockcod) are used.
ing based Transmit Diversity) module 504, compression transmission module 505, and compression reception module 506.
Shows an example in which is stored. Where STTD,
Receiving compressed transmission and compression, 3GPP (3 ^rd Generation P
It is a non-stationary process used in the case of the system based on the artnership Project). For STTD, compressed transmission and compressed reception, 3GPP TS25.211, TS2
It is described in 5.214.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. now,
It is assumed that the wireless communication device is communicating with the base station A. In order to communicate with the base station A, the base station A transmission module group for transmitting information to the base station A is loaded into the storage area 311 of the processor 301, and the base for receiving information from the base station A is also used. The receiving module group for station A is the processor
No. 02 storage area 312 is loaded for communication.

Here, when the wireless communication device is communicating within the cover area of the base station A and the communication is terminated within this cover area, the non-steady-state processing processor 303 does not operate. On the other hand, when the wireless communication device moves from the coverage area of base station A to the coverage area of base station B during communication, soft handoff processing is required. When non-steady signal processing such as soft handoff processing occurs, the resource controller 4 activates the non-steady processing processor 303.

The processor 303 for non-steady-state processing checks, for example, a free channel in the base station B or the received power of an incoming radio wave via the wireless transmission / reception device 2 so that the wireless communication device can cover the coverage area of the base station A. Determines whether or not it is possible to move to the coverage area of the base station B, and informs the resource manager 402 of the determination result. When it is determined that the wireless communication device can move from the coverage area of the base station A to the coverage area of the base station B, the resource manager 402 grasps the resource usage status of the non-steady processing processor 303 from the resource management table 401. As a result, if the resource has a free space enough to load the handoff processing module 502, the resource manager 402 loads the handoff processing module 502 from the storage device 5 into the unsteady processing processor 302.

On the other hand, for example, when the base station A gives an instruction to the wireless communication device to support the uplink compressed mode (a mode in which transmission information is compressed by some method to make a time during which it is not transmitted), the wireless communication is performed. The apparatus reads a module (compressed transmission module) 505 required for transmission in the compressed mode from the storage device 5 into the unsteady processing processor 303 of the signal processing device 3.

When each system (resource) of the signal processing device 3 processes unsteady processing, the resource manager 4
For 02, a method of managing the resources of the receiving system for the soft handoff process and managing the resources of the transmitting system for the uplink compressed mode is adopted. Such resource management is generally burdensome. On the other hand, when the non-steady-state processing is processed by the non-steady-state processing processor 302 which is a dedicated resource different from the steady-state processing as in the present embodiment, the control target of the resource manager 402 can be narrowed down, and the resource management load can be reduced. Can be reduced.

Further, since the soft handoff processing and the compressed mode processing do not occur at the same time, the resource can be reduced by managing the signal processing device 3 collectively as compared with the case where the signal processing device 3 has separate resources for the transmission system and the reception system. .

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wireless communication apparatus capable of improving the utilization efficiency of the resources of the signal processing device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of a signal processing device, a resource controller, and a storage device according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the wireless communication device according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signal processing device, a resource controller, and a storage device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... antenna 2 ... Wireless transmitting / receiving device 3 ... Signal processing device 4 ... Resource controller 5 ... Storage device 6 ... System controller 7 ... I / O device unit 301, 302 ... Processor 303 ... Processor for transient processing 401 ... Resource management table 402 ... Resource manager 403 ... Rewriting processing unit 404 ... Download buffer 405 ... Module selection unit

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takeshi Tomizawa             1st Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Inside the Toshiba Research and Development Center (72) Inventor Takashi Wakutsu             1st Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Inside the Toshiba Research and Development Center F-term (reference) 5K011 DA26 JA01 KA03 LA02                 5K067 AA21 BB04 BB21 DD11 DD51                       EE02 HH22 KK13 KK15

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A wireless transmission / reception device for transmitting / receiving a wireless signal, and a resource capable of redefining a signal processing function according to a predetermined software module, the resource performing signal processing of a predetermined function required for the transmission / reception. A signal processing device, a storage device that stores a plurality of software modules corresponding to a plurality of signal processing functions to be defined in the resource of the signal processing device, and should be given to the resource based on communication quality in the transmission and reception. Selecting a first software module and a second software module to be released from the resource, based on the selection, reading the first software module from the storage device and giving it to the resource; and the second software. To release the module from the resource No. processing wireless communication apparatus comprising a controller for controlling the device and a storage device. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first software module corresponds to a relatively low communication quality, and the second software module corresponds to a relatively high communication quality. 3. A resource manager that manages a rewriting order of software modules in the resource, a judgment as to whether or not to perform the rewriting, and a timing at which the rewriting is performed, and a resource manager that manages the resource based on the communication quality. First to give
A software module and a module selection unit that selects a second software module to be released from the resource, and the first or second software module from the storage device based on an instruction from the resource manager or the module selection unit. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rewrite processing unit that reads out the module and gives the read module to the resource to rewrite the software module in the resource. 4. The resource controller is configured to manage a rewriting order of software modules in the resource, a judgment as to whether or not the rewriting is performed, and a timing of performing the rewriting, and a resource manager downloaded from the outside. A download buffer storing at least one software module, and a first buffer to be provided to the resource based on the communication quality.
And a module selection unit for selecting a second software module to be released from the resource, and the first unit from at least one of the storage device and the download buffer based on an instruction from the resource manager or the module selection unit. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rewrite processing unit that reads out a second software module and gives the read module to the resource to rewrite the software module in the resource. 5. A wireless transmission / reception device for transmitting / receiving a wireless signal, and a signal processing function redefinable according to a predetermined software module, wherein steady signal processing and non-stationary processing of a predetermined function necessary for the transmission / reception are performed. And a plurality of software modules corresponding to a plurality of signal processing functions to be defined in the first and second resources of the signal processing device, respectively. A storage device that stores the signal, and activates the first resource when the signal processing required for the transmission and reception is steady signal processing, and activates the second resource when non-stationary signal processing. , A software module required for the first and second resources is read from the storage device, and the read software module is forwarded. To give the first and second resource, the radio communication apparatus comprising a controller for controlling said signal processing device and a storage device. 6. The resource manager is configured to manage a rewrite order of software modules in the resource, a judgment as to whether or not to perform the rewrite, and a timing to perform the rewrite, and a resource manager. 6. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: a rewrite processing unit that reads out the software module from the storage device based on an instruction of, and gives the read module to the first or second resource to rewrite the software module in the resource. Communication device. 7. The controller is downloaded from the outside with a resource manager configured to manage the rewriting order of the software modules in the resource, the judgment as to whether or not to rewrite, and the timing to perform the rewriting. A download buffer configured to buffer at least one software module, and based on an instruction from the resource manager, the software module is read from at least one of the storage device and the download buffer, and the read module is read. The wireless communication device according to claim 5, further comprising a rewriting processing unit that gives the first or second resource and rewrites a software module in the resource.