JP2003347985A - Radio base station apparatus and power saving method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio base station apparatus and a power saving method thereof applicable to IMT-2000 radio interfaces (CDMA/FDD mode, CDMA multicarrier mode, CDMA multi TDD mode, FDD single carrier mode, and FDD FDMA/TDMA mode) and to conventional radio interfaces and capable of saving power without the need for monitoring a traffic amount at all times. <P>SOLUTION: A number of terminal estimate section 10 estimates the number of mobile terminals present in a service area on the basis of the number of registered positions by the mobile terminals, the number of access request messages from the mobile terminals, or the number of arrived notice messages to the mobile terminals, and a control section 20 turns off a power supply of an unnecessary signal processing section 30 on the basis of the number of estimated mobile terminals. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a radio base station apparatus and a power saving method thereof, and more particularly to a radio base station apparatus for communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals and a power saving method thereof. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for multimedia, higher communication speed, and lower communication cost in information communication, and the development and commercial use of a third-generation mobile communication system that realizes high-speed multimedia services. Have been.

In this mobile communication system, power saving of a radio base station apparatus in which the number of mobile terminals per station is increasing is becoming more and more important in order to reduce communication costs.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 22 shows a conventional radio base station apparatus 101, which includes a control unit 20a for transmitting and receiving a signal 70a to and from a network 60a, and a transmission and reception signal 71a_1 to 71a_1 to 71a_1 to 70a. Signal processing unit 30a_ that transmits and receives 71a_5 respectively
1 to 30a_5 (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to by reference numeral 30a),
Transmission / reception signals 7 transmitted / received to / from these signal processing units 30a
The transmission / reception unit 40a transmits / receives 2a_1 to 72a_5 to / from a mobile terminal (not shown) via the antenna 50a.

[0004] In operation, the control unit 20a
The signal processing units 30a_1 to 30a_5 are controlled by transmitting and receiving the control signals 81a_1 to 81a_5, and the transmitting and receiving unit 40a is controlled by the control signal 82a. The mobile terminal that has accessed the wireless base station device 101, the network 60a via the wireless base station device 101,
It transmits and receives control signals (for example, control messages) and data signals (for example, traffic signals such as audio signals, image signals, and packet data).

At this time, the radio base station apparatus 101 has turned on the power of all the signal processing units 30a irrespective of the number of mobile terminals accessing its own apparatus. That is, the radio base station apparatus 101 always supplies power to all resources corresponding to the maximum number of mobile terminals that can be processed, regardless of the number of resources (signal processing unit 30a) necessary for communication.

This means that as the number of terminals that can be processed per radio base station apparatus 101 increases, wasteful power consumption increases.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, a communication slot control method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-276170 discloses a method of controlling a plurality of transceivers of a time-division multiple access wireless communication system by using the above system. A distribution switch capable of arbitrarily distributing communication slot signals, a control unit for collectively controlling the carrier frequencies of the plurality of transceivers, the communication slots used, and the operation of the distribution switch, and a power supply for supplying power to these components In a centralized base station composed of
The control unit assigns the use priority to the transceivers so that the used communication channels are sequentially filled from the communication slots of the high-priority transceivers and used, and if there is an empty communication slot with a small traffic volume, the The vacant communication slot is concentrated on the downstream transceiver, and the power supply of the unused transceiver is cut off by the power supply control means while the transceiver is not used.

However, this method is applicable to a time-division multiple access wireless communication system, but has been standardized and developed as a system that realizes high-speed data communication and that allows the same mobile terminal to be commonly used worldwide. For example, CDMA / FDD without time division multiplexing, DS-C
DMA / FDD etc. or frequency division multiple access (FDMA: Frequequent
Not applicable to ncy Division Multiple Access).

In addition, this method secures resources necessary for maintaining the traffic volume (ie, the number of communication slots or the state of the used line), ie, a transceiver, and cuts off the power supply of the unused transceiver. The power consumption is reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor the traffic volume and control the power supply.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a radio base station apparatus for communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals and a power saving method therefor.
00 Applicable to wireless interfaces (CDMA / FDD DS mode, CDMA multi-carrier mode, CDMA multi-TDD mode, FDD single carrier mode, and FDD FDMA / TDMA mode) and conventional wireless interfaces, and constantly monitors traffic volume It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to reduce power consumption without any problem.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a radio base station apparatus according to the present invention includes a signal processing unit for processing a signal transmitted / received to / from a mobile terminal, and a mobile station located in a service area of the apparatus. A terminal number estimating unit for estimating the number of terminals, and a control unit for turning on a power of a signal processing unit necessary for processing transmission / reception signals with the estimated number of mobile terminals and turning off a power of other signal processing units (Claim 1, additional note 1).

FIG. 1 shows the principle of a radio base station apparatus according to the present invention. This radio base station apparatus differs from the conventional radio base station apparatus shown in FIG. It is provided with a terminal number estimating unit 10 for estimating the number of existing mobile terminals. The terminal number estimating unit 10 estimates the number of mobile terminals located in the service area of the own device,
Turns on the power of the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_4 and turns off the power of the other signal processing units 30_5, which are necessary for processing the transmission / reception signals with the estimated number of mobile terminals. Hereinafter, the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_5 may be collectively referred to by the reference numeral 30.

As a result, it is possible to realize power saving in the radio base station apparatus 100. Further, in the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, the terminal number estimating unit sets the number of mobile terminals registered on the network side as the mobile terminal existing in the service area of the own device as the estimated number. Is possible (claim 2, supplementary note 2).

That is, the terminal number estimating unit 10 determines the number of mobile terminals registered on the network side as being in the service area of the own device, for example, in response to an inquiry to the position registering unit, or The number of mobile terminals registered and known by the autonomous notification from the unit is the number of mobile terminals located in the service area of the own device.

[0015] This makes it possible to easily estimate the number of mobile terminals located in the service area. Further, in the present invention, in the above present invention, the terminal number estimating unit,
The number of mobile terminals located in the service area can be estimated based on the number of access request messages received from the mobile terminals within a predetermined time (claim 3, appendix 3).

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, the access request message can be a RACH in a wideband code division multiple access system (Supplementary Note 4). That is, for example, the terminal number estimating unit is configured to use a wideband code division multiple access system (W-CDMA).
ccess), received from the mobile terminal within a predetermined time
Let the number of RACHs (Randam Access Channel) be the number of the mobile terminals located in the service area.

Further, in the present invention according to the above-mentioned present invention, the terminal number estimating unit can set the number of incoming call notification messages transmitted to the mobile terminal to the number of the mobile terminals located in the service area. 4, Appendix 5). Further, in the present invention, in the above-described present invention, the number of the incoming notification messages can be set to PICH in a wideband code division multiple access system (Supplementary Note 6).

That is, the terminal number estimating unit is, for example, a W-CDMA
In the PICH (Paging Indicator) transmitted to the mobile terminal
Channel) number is the number of the mobile terminals existing in the service area. Also, in the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, the terminal number estimating unit is located in the service area with a larger number among the number of access request messages received from the mobile terminal and the number of incoming notification messages transmitted to the mobile terminal. The number of mobile terminals can be used (Appendix 7).

In the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, the number-of-terminals estimating unit can use the number obtained by multiplying the estimated number of mobile terminals by a predetermined coefficient as the estimated number of mobile terminals (Supplementary Note 8) ). This makes it possible to correct the number of mobile terminals estimated by the number-of-terminals estimating unit, and to correct the estimation error or the number of signal processing units for turning on the power.

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, a timer for designating a time is further provided, and the number-of-terminals estimating unit estimates the time-to-mobile-terminal estimation based on the number of mobile terminals estimated in a predetermined time. It is possible to create a number table and determine the number of mobile terminals at each time based on the table (Appendix 9).

That is, the terminal number estimating unit estimates the number of mobile terminals existing in the service area of the own device at a predetermined time, and creates a time-to-mobile terminal estimated number table. Thereafter, the control unit terminal number estimation unit notifies the control unit of the estimated number of mobile terminals corresponding to a predetermined time based on the table. The control unit turns on the power of the signal processing unit necessary for processing the notified number of transmission / reception signals of the mobile terminals, and turns off the power of the other signal processing units.

Thus, the terminal number estimating unit only once
A time schedule table (time vs. estimated number of mobile terminals) of the estimated number of mobile terminals such as one day or one week may be created, and thereafter, the number of mobile terminals may be designated to the control unit based on this table. There is no need to estimate the number.

In the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, each signal processing unit may process a signal of a single mobile terminal, respectively (Supplementary Note 10). That is, one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. FIG. 2 shows an example of the principle operation in this case.
In steps S100 to S102, the terminal number estimating unit 10 estimates the number of mobile terminals located in the service area of the own device (that is, the number of signal processing units), for example, “4”.

In steps S103 to S108, the control unit 20
Turns off the power of, for example, the signal processing units 30_2 and 30_5 that are not communicating, and turns on the power of the signal processing unit 30_2 in order to set the number of signal processing units with power on to “4”.
Further, in the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, each control unit selects the signal processing unit of the estimated number of mobile terminals according to a preset priority of the signal processing unit, and selects the signal processing unit which is not selected. The processing of the mobile terminal in communication can be transferred to the signal processing unit that is not performing communication processing among the selected signal processing units (Supplementary Note 11).

That is, for example, the signal processing units 30_1 and 30_
The priority of selection is set in advance in the order of 2, ..., 30_5. For example, when the estimated number of mobile terminals = “4”, the control unit 20 selects the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_4 according to the priority order,
It is possible to transfer the processing of the mobile terminal communicating with the non-selected signal processing unit 30_5 to the signal processing unit 30_2 of the selected signal processing unit 30 that is not performing communication processing.

In the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, each signal processing unit may process signals of a plurality of mobile terminals (Supplementary Note 12). That is, one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 is in charge of, for example, processing of 100 mobile terminals. In FIG. 1, the number of mobile terminals that can access the radio base station apparatus is a maximum. There are 500 units.

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned present invention, the control unit is configured such that the number of mobile terminals processed by one of the signal processing units is less than the number of mobile terminals that can be processed. At some point, the signal processing of the mobile terminal that is being processed by another signal processing unit can be transferred to the one signal processing unit (Supplementary Note 13).

FIG. 3 shows one signal processing unit in FIG.
30 shows the principle operation when 30 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. In steps S110 to S112, the terminal number estimating unit 10 estimates, for example, “234” as the number of mobile terminals existing in the service area of the own device.

The control unit 20 performs steps S113, S114, S117-
According to S119, the three signal processing units 30_1 to 30_3 required to process the signals of the 234 mobile terminals are added to the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_3.
_4 and 30_5 are performed by the signal processing unit 30
_1 to 30_3 (packed), then the signal processing units 30_4, 30_5
Turn off the power to save power.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a power saving method of a radio base station apparatus for communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals according to the present invention is a method for estimating the number of mobile terminals located in a service area of the own apparatus. And a second step of turning on the power of the signal processing unit necessary for processing the transmission / reception signals with the estimated number of mobile terminals and turning off the power of the other signal processing units. This is characterized in that (claim 5, supplementary note 14).

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments (1) to (6) of a configuration of a radio base station apparatus using a power saving method for a radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
Will be described below. Embodiment (1) FIG. 4 shows a configuration embodiment of a radio base station apparatus 100a according to the present invention.
(1) is shown. This radio base station apparatus 100a differs from the conventional radio base station apparatus 101 shown in FIG. 22 in that the terminal number estimation unit 11 is connected to the control unit 20. Also,
A location registration unit 61, which is not shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows an operation example (1) of the configuration embodiment (1).
The operation example (1) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 4 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. The basic operation of the operation example (1) is the same as the principle operation example (1) shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the operation example (1) will be described in more detail.

Step S200 : The terminal number estimating unit 11 sends a message to the position registering unit 61 via the control unit 20 to inquire about the number of mobile terminals registered in the service area of the wireless base station device 100a and whose position has been registered. For example, transmission is performed at regular time intervals. On the other hand, the position registration unit 61 includes the terminal number estimation unit 11
To the number of registered mobile terminals.

The location registration unit 61 may autonomously and periodically notify the terminal number estimation unit 11 of the number of location registrations of mobile terminals (estimated number of mobile terminals). Step S201 : Terminal number counter (not shown in FIG. 4)
To “0”. Step S202 : The terminal counter is incremented by one.

Loop of steps S203 to S205 and S202 : The control unit 20 turns off the power of the signal processing unit 30 that is not being processed. This operation is repeated for the maximum number of mobile terminals that can access the wireless base station device 100a (that is, the number (N) of the signal processing units 30). Step S206 : The control unit 20 turns on the power of the signal processing unit 30 so that the number of all signal processing units 30 whose power is on becomes the estimated number of mobile terminals (the number of registered locations). Thereby, the necessary number of signal processing units 30 are secured and the radio base station apparatus 100a
Power saving.

Instead of the above steps S201 to S206, for example, the priority of selection is set in advance in the order of the signal processing units 30_1, 30_2,..., 30_5, and the control unit 20 When "3", the signal processing unit according to the priority order
Select 30_1 to 30_3 and select the signal processing unit 30_5 that is not selected
Then, after the process of the mobile terminal that is communicating is transferred to, for example, the signal processing unit 30_2 that is selected but not performing the communication process, the power of the signal processing units 30_4 and 30_5 may be turned off.

FIG. 6 shows an operation example (2) of the embodiment (1).
The operation example (2) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 4 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. The basic operation of the operation example (2) is the same as the principle operation example (2) shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail.

Step S210 : Similarly to the operation example (1), the terminal number estimating unit 11 sends the location registration unit 61
The number of mobile terminals (estimated number of mobile terminals) that are located in the service area 0a and whose position is registered is notified. Step S211 : If the estimated number of mobile terminals is 400 or more, the terminal number estimating unit 11 ends the processing without doing anything. At this time, it is assumed that the power of all the signal processing units 30 is turned on.

Steps S212 to S214 : The estimated number of mobile terminals is 30
If the number is equal to or larger than 0, the terminal number estimating unit 11 controls the communication unit of the mobile terminal to shift (pack) the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_4.
Ask 20. The control unit 20 turns off the power of the signal processing unit 30_5 after transferring the processing of the mobile terminal, which is being subjected to the communication processing by the signal processing unit 30_5, to the signal processing units 30_1 to 30_4.

Steps S215 to S217 : Similarly, when the estimated number of mobile terminals is 200 or more, the control unit 20 sets the signal processing units 30_4, 3
The processing of the mobile terminal that is being subjected to communication processing in 0_5 is performed by the signal processing unit 3
After moving to 0_1 to 30_3, the power of the signal processing units 30_4 and 30_5 is turned off. Steps S218 to S220 : Similarly, when the estimated number of mobile terminals is 100 or more, the control unit 20 shifts the processing of the mobile terminals that are being subjected to the communication processing by the signal processing units 30_3 to 30_5 to the signal processing units 30_1 and 30_2. Then, the power of the signal processing units 30_3 to 30_5 is turned off.

Steps S218, S221, S222 : Similarly, if the estimated number of mobile terminals is less than 100, the control unit 20
After transferring the processing of the mobile terminal, which has been performing communication processing in 0_2 to 30_5, to the signal processing unit 30_1, the power of the signal processing units 30_2 to 30_5 is turned off. As a result, power saving of the wireless base station device 100a becomes possible.

Embodiment (2) FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the configuration of a radio base station apparatus 100b according to the present invention.
(2) is shown, and the device 100b is a wireless base station device that is particularly compatible with W-CDMA. The difference between this radio base station apparatus 100b and the radio base station apparatus 100a shown in FIG. 5 is that instead of the terminal number estimation section 11 for estimating the number of mobile terminals based on the notification from the position registration section 61, the RACH detection section 17 is used. The terminal number estimating unit 12 estimates the number of terminals located in the service area based on the access request message of the RACH channel detected in the above.

FIG. 8 shows an operation example (1) of the embodiment (2).
This operation example (1) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 7 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. Hereinafter, the operation example (1) will be described in more detail. Step S300: The terminal number estimation unit 12 starts a terminal number estimation timer (not shown in FIG. 7).

Loop of steps S310 to S303 : RACH detection unit
17 until the terminal count estimation timer times out,
The generated RACH channels (access request messages) are counted. The set time of the timer is set so that the number of access request messages generated during the set time is approximately equal to the number of mobile terminals located in the service area.

Steps S304 to S309 : Similar to steps S201 to S206 of the operation example (1) of the configuration example (1) shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 20 controls the power supply of only the signal processing unit 30 that is not performing communication processing. Then, the power of the signal processing unit 30 is turned on so that the number of all signal processing units 30 whose power is on is equal to the estimated number of mobile terminals (the number of generated RACH channels).

FIG. 9 shows an operation example (2) of the embodiment (2).
This operation example (2) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 7 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail. Steps S310 to S313: Similar to steps S300 to S303 in FIG. 8, the RACH detection unit 17 counts the generated RACH channels (access request messages) until the terminal number estimation timer times out.

Steps S314 to S325 : The terminal number estimating section 12
The number of mobile terminals is estimated based on the number of access request messages notified from the RACH detection unit 17, and the embodiment shown in FIG.
As in steps S211 to S222 of the operation example (2) of (1), unnecessary signal processing units 30 are turned off based on the estimated number of mobile terminals.

Embodiment (3) FIG. 10 shows a configuration embodiment of a radio base station apparatus 100c according to the present invention.
This shows (3), and this device 100c is a wireless base station device compatible with W-CDMA, as in the configuration example (2).

The difference between this radio base station apparatus 100c and the radio base station apparatus 100b shown in FIG. 7 is that the PICH detection section 18 detects the PICH instead of the RACH detection section 17 detecting the RACH channel.
The number of terminals estimating unit 13 estimates the number of terminals located in the service area based on the CH channel, that is, the number of incoming notification messages transmitted to the mobile terminals.

FIG. 11 shows an operation example (1) of the configuration embodiment (3).
This operation example (1) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 10 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. The operation example (1) will be described below. Steps S400 to S403 : The terminal number estimating unit 13 starts a terminal number estimating timer (not shown in the figure), and the PICH detecting unit 18 causes the PICH generated until the terminal number estimating timer times out. Count channels (incoming notification messages).

Steps S404 to S409 : The same as steps S201 to S206 in the operation example (1) of the configuration embodiment (1). FIG.
FIG. 10 shows an operation example (2) in the configuration embodiment (3), and this operation example (2) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 10 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. ing. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail.

Steps S410 to S413 : Step S400 in FIG.
The PICH detection unit 18 counts the detected PICH channels (incoming notification messages) until the terminal count estimation timer times out. Steps S414 to S425 : The terminal number estimating section 13 is set to the PICH detecting section 18
The number of mobile terminals is estimated on the basis of the incoming notification message notified from the user, and is unnecessary based on the estimated number of mobile terminals, similarly to steps S211 to S222 of the operation example (2) of the configuration example (1) shown in FIG. The power of the signal processing unit 30 is turned off.

Embodiment (4) FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the configuration of a radio base station apparatus 100d according to the present invention.
This shows (4), and this device 100d is a wireless base station device compatible with W-CDMA, as in the configuration example (3).

This radio base station apparatus 100d is similar to that shown in FIGS.
The points different from the configuration examples (2) and (3) shown in
Instead of estimating the number of mobile terminals being located based on the number of RACH channels and the number of PICH channels detected by the RACH detection unit 17 and the PICH detection unit 18, the number of RACH channels and PICH detected by the RACH detection unit 17 and the PICH detection unit 18 are used. The number of terminals estimating unit 14 estimates the number of terminals located in the service area based on the larger number of the channels.

FIG. 14 shows an operation example (1) of the embodiment (4).
This operation example (1) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 13 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. The operation example (1) will be described below. Steps S500 to S503 : The terminal number estimation unit 14 starts a terminal number estimation timer (not shown in FIG. 7), and the RACH detection unit 17 and the PICH detection unit 18 each time out the terminal number estimation timer. During this period, the detected RACH channel (access request message) and PICH channel (incoming notification message) are counted.

The terminal number estimating unit 14 calculates the number of RACH channels and PI
The number of mobile terminals is estimated based on the larger number of CH channels. Steps S504 to S509 : Similar to steps S201 to S206 of the operation example (1) of the configuration example (1) shown in FIG. 5, the power of the signal processing unit 30 that is not performing communication processing is turned off and then turned on. The power of the signal processing unit 30 that is off is turned on so that the total number of the signal processing units 30 is equal to the estimated number of mobile terminals.

FIG. 15 shows an operation example (2) of the configuration embodiment (4).
This operation example (2) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 13 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail. Steps S510 to S513 : The same as steps S500 to S503 in FIG. 14, and the RACH detected by the RACH detection unit 17 and the PICH detection unit 18
The number of mobile terminals is estimated based on the larger one of the channel and the PICH channel.

Steps S514 to S525 : Similar to steps S212 to S222 in the operation example (2) of the embodiment (1), the unnecessary signal processing unit 30 is turned off based on the estimated number of mobile terminals. Embodiment (5) FIG. 16 is a configuration embodiment of a radio base station apparatus 100e according to the present invention.
(5) is shown, and this embodiment (5) is a configuration embodiment (1) to
(4) shows an embodiment which can be applied commonly.

That is, when estimating the number of mobile terminals located in the service area, the terminal number estimating unit 15 of the configuration example (5), when estimating the mobile terminal number estimated in the configuration examples (1) to (4), The number obtained by multiplying the number by a predetermined coefficient is set as the estimated number of mobile terminals. Thereby, the terminal number estimating unit 15 can correct the estimated number of mobile terminals to a more appropriate value.

FIG. 17 shows an operation example (1) of the configuration embodiment (5).
The operation example (1) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 16 is in charge of processing of one mobile terminal. The number-of-terminals estimating unit 15 shown in the figure includes the number-of-terminals estimating units 11, 12 and
13 and 14, and the components required when each of the configuration embodiments (1) to (4) are applied (for example, the RACH detection unit 17 when the configuration embodiment (2) is applied) are convenient. Has been omitted.

An operation example (1) will be described below. Steps S600 to S602 : The terminal number estimation unit 15 starts a terminal number estimation timer (not shown in the figure) and estimates the number of mobile terminals located in the service area. Step S603 : The number-of-terminals estimating unit 15 calculates the "estimated number of mobile terminals".
Is multiplied by a certain “coefficient”, and is set as a new estimated number of mobile terminals.

Steps S604 to S609 : Similar to steps S201 to S206 in the operation example (1) of the configuration example (1) shown in FIG. 5, after the power of the signal processing unit 30 not in communication processing is turned off, The total number of the signal processing units 30 whose power is on is the same as the estimated number of mobile terminals. FIG. 18 shows an operation example (2) of the configuration example (5).
This operation example (2) shows a case where one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 16 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail.

Steps S610 to S613 : Step S600 in FIG.
Similarly to S603, after estimating the number of mobile terminals, the terminal number estimating unit 15 multiplies the "estimated number of mobile terminals" by a constant "coefficient" as a new estimated number of mobile terminals. Steps S614 to S625 : Similar to steps S212 to S222 in the operation example (2) of the configuration embodiment (1), the unnecessary signal processing unit 30 is turned off based on the estimated number of mobile terminals.

Embodiment (6) FIG. 19 shows a configuration embodiment of a radio base station apparatus 100f according to the present invention.
(6) is shown, and this embodiment (6) is a configuration embodiment (1) to
Applicable to (5). The number-of-terminals estimating unit 16 shown in the figure corresponds to the number-of-terminals estimating units 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 shown in the configuration examples (1) to (5), respectively. Components required when applying (1) to (5) are omitted for convenience.

The difference of this apparatus 100f from the embodiment (1) to (5) is that the terminal number estimating section 16 connected to the control section 20 and the terminal number estimating section 16 estimate the terminal number (designation). That is, the timer 19 is connected. At predetermined time intervals, the terminal number estimating unit 16 determines the maximum estimated number of mobile terminals (required The number of signal processing units is estimated, and this is notified to the timer 19. The timer 19 stores the maximum estimated number of mobile terminals in the “time” versus “estimated number of mobile terminals (or“ time ”versus“ number of signal processing units ”)” table.

The above operation is performed by the terminal number estimation unit 16 or the timer 19
Creates a "" time "vs." estimated number of mobile terminals "" time schedule table for one day (or one week), for example, repeatedly for one day (or one week). Thereafter, the timer 19
Based on the "time vs. estimated number of mobile terminals" table,
The mobile station estimation unit 16 is notified of the estimated number of mobile terminals at predetermined time intervals. The terminal number estimation unit 16 instructs the control unit 20 to turn on the power of the required number of signal processing units.

According to this, the number-of-terminals estimating section 16 can set the number of signal processing sections based on the once estimated “time” vs. “estimated number of mobile terminals”. Need not be estimated. Note that "time"
The "number of estimated mobile terminals" table may be held by the terminal number estimating unit 16, and the timer 19 may notify the terminal number estimating unit 16 of only the time.

FIG. 20 shows an operation example (1) in the embodiment (6). In this operation example (1), one signal processing unit 30 shown in FIG. 19 performs processing of one mobile terminal. It shows the case where you are in charge. The operation example (1) will be described below. Note that timer 1
It is assumed that the “time” vs. “estimated number of mobile terminals” table has already been created in 9.

Steps S700 and S701 : The timer 19 (set timer) reads the estimated number of mobile terminals from the "time" vs. "estimated number of mobile terminals" table at regular time intervals and notifies the terminal number estimation unit 16 of this. I do. Step S702 : The terminal number estimating unit 16 specifies the number of signal processing units 30 (the estimated number of mobile terminals) to be secured for the control unit 20.

Steps S703 to S708 : The control unit 20 performs steps S201 to S206 of the operation example (1) of the embodiment (1) shown in FIG.
Similarly to the above, the signal processing unit 30 for the estimated number of mobile terminals is secured (power is turned on). FIG. 21 shows an operation example in the configuration example (6).
(2). In the operation example (2), the operation shown in FIG.
A case where one signal processing unit 30 is in charge of processing of 100 mobile terminals is shown. Hereinafter, the operation example (2) will be described in more detail. It is assumed that the “time” vs. “estimated number of mobile terminals” table has already been created in the timer 19 as in the operation example (1).

Steps S710 to S712 : Operation example shown in FIG.
As in steps S700 to S702 of (1), the terminal number estimation unit 16
The control unit 20 calculates the estimated number of mobile terminals notified from the timer 19.
Notify. Steps S713 to S724 : Similar to steps S211 to S222 of the operation example (2) of the configuration example (1) shown in FIG. 6, the unnecessary signal processing unit 30 is turned off based on the estimated number of mobile terminals. (Supplementary Note 1) A signal processing unit that processes a transmission / reception signal with a mobile terminal, a terminal number estimation unit that estimates the number of mobile terminals located in the service area of the own device, and a transmission / reception signal with the estimated number of mobile terminals And a control unit for turning on the power of the signal processing unit necessary for processing the power and turning off the power of the other signal processing units. (Supplementary Note 2) In the above Supplementary Note 1, the terminal number estimation unit may include:
A radio base station apparatus characterized in that the number of mobile terminals whose positions are registered on the network side is used as the estimated number as mobile terminals existing in the service area of the own apparatus. (Supplementary Note 3) In the above Supplementary Note 1, the terminal number estimation unit may include:
A radio base station apparatus for estimating the number of mobile terminals located in a service area based on the number of access request messages received from mobile terminals within a predetermined time. (Supplementary note 4) The radio base station apparatus according to supplementary note 3, wherein the access request message is a RACH in a wideband code division multiple access system. (Supplementary Note 5) In the above Supplementary Note 1, the terminal number estimation unit may include:
A radio base station apparatus wherein the number of incoming notification messages transmitted to mobile terminals is the number of mobile terminals located in a service area. (Supplementary note 6) The wireless base station apparatus according to supplementary note 5, wherein the number of the incoming notification messages is PICH in a wideband code division multiple access system. (Supplementary Note 7) In the above Supplementary Note 1, the terminal number estimation unit may include:
A radio base station apparatus characterized in that the larger one of the number of access request messages received from a mobile terminal and the number of incoming notification messages transmitted to the mobile terminal is the number of mobile terminals residing in a service area. (Supplementary Note 8) In the above Supplementary Note 1, the terminal number estimation unit may include:
A radio base station apparatus characterized in that a number obtained by multiplying the estimated number of mobile terminals by a predetermined coefficient is used as the estimated number of mobile terminals. (Supplementary note 9) In the above supplementary note 1, further comprising a timer for designating a time, the terminal number estimating unit creates a time-to-mobile terminal estimated number table based on the number of mobile terminals estimated at a predetermined time. And determining the number of mobile terminals at each time based on the table. (Supplementary Note 10) In the above Supplementary Note 1, each signal processing unit may
Radio base station apparatuses, each processing a signal of a single mobile terminal. (Supplementary Note 11) In the above Supplementary Note 10, each of the control units selects the signal processing unit of the estimated number of mobile terminals in accordance with a preset priority of the signal processing unit, and the unselected signal processing unit is communicating. A wireless base station apparatus, wherein the processing of the mobile terminal is transferred to a signal processing unit of the selected signal processing unit that is not performing communication processing. (Supplementary Note 12) In the above Supplementary Note 1, each signal processing unit may
A radio base station apparatus processing signals of a plurality of mobile terminals. (Supplementary note 13) In the above supplementary note 11, when the number of mobile terminals being processed by one of the signal processing units is less than the number of mobile terminals that can be processed, The signal processing of the mobile terminal being processed by the signal processing unit
A radio base station apparatus characterized in that the signal is transferred to two signal processing units. (Supplementary Note 14) In the power saving method for a radio base station apparatus communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals, a first step of estimating the number of mobile terminals existing in a service area of the own apparatus, Powering on a signal processing unit necessary for processing the transmission / reception signal of the second base station and turning off power of another signal processing unit. Method.

[0072]

As described above, according to the radio base station apparatus and the power saving method thereof according to the present invention, the terminal number estimating unit determines the number of mobile terminals located in the service area by, for example, the mobile terminal. Estimating based on the number of location registrations, the number of access request messages from mobile terminals, or the number of incoming notification messages to mobile terminals, and the control unit turns off unnecessary signal processing units based on the estimated number of mobile terminals. Accordingly, it is possible to save the power of the wireless base station device without constantly monitoring the traffic amount.

Therefore, the radio base station apparatus and the power saving method according to the present invention provide an IMT-2000 radio interface (CDMA / FDD DS) for performing location registration or exchanging an access request message or an incoming call notification message with a mobile terminal. Mode, CDMA multi-carrier mode, CDMA multi-TDD mode, FDD single carrier mode, and FDD FDMA / TDMA mode) and conventional wireless interfaces.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration principle of a wireless base station device using a power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a principle operation example (1) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a principle operation example (2) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example (1) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation example (1) of a configuration example (1) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention;
FIG.

FIG. 6 shows an operation example (2) of the configuration example (1) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example (2) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation example (1) of a configuration example (2) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 9 shows an operation example (2) of the configuration example (2) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example (3) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an operation example of a configuration example (3) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (1).

FIG. 12 is an operation example of a configuration example (3) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (2).

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example (4) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows an operation example of the configuration example (4) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (1).

FIG. 15 shows an operation example of the configuration example (4) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (2).

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration example (5) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows an operation example of the configuration example (5) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (1).

FIG. 18 is an operation example of a configuration example (5) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (2).

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example (6) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method for a wireless base station device according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows an operation example of the configuration example (6) of the radio base station apparatus using the power saving method of the radio base station apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (1).

FIG. 21 is an operation example of a configuration example (6) of a wireless base station device using the power saving method of the wireless base station device according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing (2).

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional wireless base station device.

[Explanation of symbols]

100, 101, 100a to 100f Radio base station apparatus 10 to 16 Terminal number estimation unit 15a Coefficient 17 RACH detection unit 18 PICH detection unit 19 Timer 20, 20a Control unit 30, 30a, 30_1 to 30_5, 30a_1 to 30a_5 Signal processing unit 40 , 40a transmitting / receiving unit 50, 50a antenna 60, 60a network 61 location registering unit 70, 70a, 80, 80a, 83-92 signals 71_1-71_5, 71a_1-71a_5, 72_1-72_5, 72a_1-72a_5
Transmission and reception signals 81, 81a, 81_1 to 81_5, 81a_1 to 81a_5, 82, 82a In the control signal diagrams, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Mamoru Machida             4-1-1 Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Location No. 1 Inside Fujitsu Limited F term (reference) 5K067 AA43 DD24 DD27 DD51 EE02                       EE10 EE23 FF17 GG02 JJ64                       KK17

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A signal processing unit for processing a transmission / reception signal to / from a mobile terminal; a terminal number estimation unit for estimating the number of mobile terminals located in a service area of the own device; A radio base station apparatus comprising: a control unit that turns on a power of a signal processing unit necessary for processing a signal and turns off a power of another signal processing unit. 2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the number-of-terminals estimating unit uses the number of mobile terminals registered on the network side as mobile terminals existing in the service area of the own device as the estimated number. Wireless base station device. 3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the terminal number estimating unit estimates the number of the mobile terminals located in the service area based on the number of access request messages received from the mobile terminals within a predetermined time. Wireless base station device. 4. The radio base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number-of-terminals estimating unit sets the number of incoming notification messages transmitted to the mobile terminals as the number of the mobile terminals residing in a service area. 5. A power saving method for a radio base station apparatus communicating with a plurality of mobile terminals, comprising: a first step of estimating the number of mobile terminals located in a service area of the own apparatus; A second step of turning on a power of a signal processing unit necessary for processing a transmission / reception signal with respect to the other and turning off a power of another signal processing unit. Power method.