JP2010081307A - Repeater base station apparatus and isolation adjustment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a repeater base station apparatus for improving isolation between a transmission antenna and a reception antenna by correcting the orthogonality of polarized wave. <P>SOLUTION: The repeater base station apparatus including the reception-side antenna, the transmission-side antenna, and a repeater is provided with: an amplitude adjusting means for adjusting an amplitude; a phase adjusting means for adjusting a phase; and a correcting means for correcting the amplitude and phase so as to maximize the amount of isolation between the reception-side antenna and the transmission-side antenna. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a repeater base station apparatus and an isolation adjustment method that improve isolation between antennas in a direct repeater repeater apparatus or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a direct relay type repeater device that directly amplifies and relays radio waves from mobile phone base stations and mobile devices is known. The direct repeater type repeater device is lower in cost than installing a base station, and can quickly expand the area where radio waves reach and eliminate the dead area. The direct repeater repeater device needs to secure isolation between the transmission antenna and the reception antenna in order to avoid oscillation due to the radio wave radiated from the transmission antenna wrapping around the reception antenna. In order to ensure the isolation between the antennas, it is necessary to improve the front-back ratio of the antenna itself in addition to a sufficient separation between the transmission antenna and the reception antenna. In addition, it is possible to improve isolation by making the polarization between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna orthogonally polarized (vertical and horizontal polarization, right-handed circular polarization and left-handed circular polarization, etc.) It is. Furthermore, when the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are mainly back-to-back (azimuth angle θ = 180 degrees between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna) (see FIG. 6A), the polarization relationship between the transmitting and receiving antennas is orthogonally polarized. By doing so, it becomes possible to particularly improve the isolation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Nakano, Maeyama, Inoue, “Isolation characteristics of 800MHz band cellular repeater antenna”, IEICE General Conference March 2008

  However, when the azimuth angle θ of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna connected to the direct repeater repeater is small (less than 180 degrees), there is a problem that the isolation is deteriorated. This is because when the azimuth angle is small, the direct coupling component between the antennas includes not only simple coupling between the back lobes but also coupling by the main beam. This is because the characteristics are lost (see FIG. 6B).

  In addition, if there is a reflector around the transmission antenna, the radio wave radiated from the transmission antenna becomes a reflected wave and is input to the reception antenna, so that isolation is deteriorated. At this time, if the polarization of the transmission wave is preserved even if it becomes a reflected wave, if the polarization of the reception antenna is a relationship between the polarization of the transmission antenna and the orthogonal polarization, the reception antenna is difficult to receive the reflected wave. Isolation can be improved. However, since the reflection object generally generates cross polarization due to scattering, the polarization of the transmission wave is not completely preserved, and even if the relationship between the reception antenna and the transmission antenna is orthogonal polarization, it is orthogonal in the propagation path. There is a problem that the isolation is deteriorated and the isolation is deteriorated (see FIG. 6C).

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a repeater base station apparatus and an isolation adjustment method capable of improving isolation between a transmission antenna and a reception antenna by correcting orthogonality of polarization The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention is a repeater base station apparatus comprising a reception side antenna, a transmission side antenna, and a repeater device, comprising an amplitude adjustment means for adjusting amplitude and a phase adjustment means for adjusting phase, wherein the reception side The image processing apparatus further includes correction means for correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount of isolation between the antenna and the transmitting antenna is maximized.

  The present invention provides a measurement unit that measures an isolation amount between the reception-side antenna and the transmission-side antenna, and the amplitude adjustment unit so that the isolation amount measured by the measurement unit is maximized. And a control means for adjusting the phase adjusting means.

  The present invention is characterized in that the measurement means and the control means are detachable from the repeater base station apparatus.

  The present invention comprises a reception side antenna, a transmission side antenna, a repeater device, an amplitude adjustment unit that adjusts amplitude, and a phase adjustment unit that adjusts the phase. The reception side antenna and the transmission side antenna An isolation adjustment method in a repeater base station apparatus comprising correction means for correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount of isolation between them is maximized, between the reception antenna and the transmission antenna A measuring step for measuring the amount of isolation; and a control step for adjusting the amplitude adjusting unit and the phase adjusting unit so that the amount of isolation measured in the measuring step is maximized. .

  The present invention comprises a reception side antenna, a transmission side antenna, a repeater device, an amplitude adjustment unit that adjusts amplitude, and a phase adjustment unit that adjusts the phase. The reception side antenna and the transmission side antenna Measured by the correcting means for correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount of isolation between them is maximized, the measuring means for measuring the amount of isolation between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna, and the measuring means An isolation adjustment method in a repeater base station apparatus comprising the amplitude adjustment means and a control means for adjusting the phase adjustment means so that the isolation amount is maximized, wherein the control means The amplitude adjustment unit and the phase adjustment unit are adjusted at time intervals.

  According to the present invention, a repeater base station apparatus that includes a reception-side antenna, a transmission-side antenna, and a repeater apparatus includes a variable attenuator and a variable phase shifter, and is provided between the reception-side antenna and the transmission-side antenna. Since the correction means for correcting the orthogonality of the polarization by correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount of isolation is maximized, a polarization having the highest orthogonality with the polarization of the transmission antenna is generated in the receiving antenna. Therefore, the effect of improving the isolation can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, a repeater base station apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a donor antenna that performs transmission and reception with the base station 14. Reference numeral 3 denotes a service antenna that performs transmission and reception with the mobile station 15. Reference numeral 13 denotes a repeater device that simultaneously amplifies a signal received by the donor antenna 1 or the service antenna 3 and transmits it from the service antenna 3 or the donor antenna 1. The donor antenna 1 has two ports of orthogonal polarization, and these two ports are connected to a 3 dB directional coupler 2 (denoted as 90-HYB in the drawing). The service antenna 3 has two ports of orthogonal polarization, one port V is connected to a variable attenuator 51, and the other port H is connected to a variable attenuator 52 and a variable phase shifter 531. ing. The two variable attenuators 51 and 52 and the variable phase shifter 53 constitute the correction unit 5. The two variable attenuators 51 and 52 can correct the amplitude of the transmission / reception signal via the service antenna 3 by changing the attenuation amount by a control signal from the outside. The variable phase shifter 53 can correct the phase of the transmission / reception signal via the service antenna 3 by shifting the phase by a control signal from the outside. The output 3 dB directional coupler 4 of the variable attenuator 51 and the variable phase shifter 53 is connected.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a signal amplification unit that amplifies a signal received by the donor antenna 1 or the service antenna 3 and transmits the amplified signal from the service antenna 3 or the donor antenna 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes an isolation measuring unit that measures the amount of isolation, and is configured by a general measuring instrument such as a network analyzer. Reference numeral 8 outputs an isolation amount measurement instruction to the isolation measurement unit 7, inputs an isolation amount output from the isolation measurement unit 7 in response to the instruction, and inputs the input isolation amount. It is a control part which controls amendment part 5 based on. Reference numeral 9 denotes a storage unit that stores the amount of isolation input by the control unit 8. The control unit 8 obtains the attenuation amounts of the variable attenuator 51 and the variable attenuator 52 and the phase correction amount of the variable phase shifter 53 based on the isolation amount stored in the storage unit 9.

  Note that the control unit 8 and the storage unit 9 are configured by a computer device including a storage device, and output a correction amount for the correction unit 5, attenuation amounts of the variable attenuator 51 and the variable attenuator 52, and a variable phase shifter 53. After the phase correction amount is determined, the control unit 8, the storage unit 9, and the isolation measurement unit 7 may be removed from the repeater device 13. That is, the control unit 8, the storage unit 9, and the isolation measurement unit 7 may be configured to be detachable from the repeater device 13. By doing in this way, while being able to simplify the apparatus structure of the repeater base station apparatus actually installed, cost can be reduced.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 8 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the control unit 8 obtains the attenuation amounts of the variable attenuator 51 and the variable attenuator 52 and the phase correction amount of the variable phase shifter 53. In FIG. 2, the amount of attenuation given to the variable attenuator 52 is A1 [dB], the step amount is step (A1), the maximum value is MAX (A1), the amount of attenuation given to the variable attenuator 51 is A2 [dB], step. The amount is step (A2), the maximum value is MAX (A2), the phase amount given to the variable phase shifter 53 is p [deg], and the step amount is step (p). Further, the processing operation shown in FIG. 2 is executed by installing the donor antenna 1 and the service antenna 3 shown in FIG. 1 in a state where they are actually operated.

  First, the control unit 8 sets 0 as an initial value for each of the variables A1, A2, and p (step S1). Then, the control unit 8 outputs the set variables A1, A2, and p to the correction unit 5. In response, the variable attenuator 52 sets the attenuation amount to A1, the variable attenuator 51 sets the attenuation amount to A2, and the variable phase shifter 53 sets the phase amount to p.

  Next, the control unit 8 instructs the isolation measurement unit 7 to measure the isolation amount. In response to this, the isolation measuring unit 7 measures the isolation amount and outputs the measured isolation amount to the control unit 8. The control unit 8 associates the isolation amount output from the isolation measurement unit 7 with the values of the variables A1, A2, and p set at the present time and stores them in the storage unit 9 (step S2).

  Next, the control unit 8 determines whether or not p is equal to or greater than 360 (step S3). If not equal to or greater than 360, the control unit 8 adds the value of step (p) to the value of p to obtain a new value. As p (step S4), the process returns to step S2. And the control part 8 repeats the same process until the value of p becomes 360 or more.

  Next, the controller 8 determines whether or not the value of A2 is equal to or greater than the value of MAX (A2) when p is equal to or greater than 360 in step S3 (step S5). If the result of this determination is that the value of A2 is not equal to or greater than the value of MAX (A2), the value of step (A2) is added to the value of A2 to obtain a new A2, and p is set to 0 ( Step S6) and return to step S2. Then, the control unit 8 repeats the same process until the value of p becomes 360 or more, and further repeats the process until the value of A2 becomes MAX (A2).

  Next, when the value of A2 is equal to or greater than MAX (A2) in step S5, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the value of A1 is equal to or greater than the value of MAX (A1) (step S7). . If the result of this determination is that the value of A1 is not equal to or greater than the value of MAX (A1), the value of step (A1) is added to the value of A1 to obtain a new A1, and A2 and p are set to 0. (Step S8), the process returns to step S2. The control unit 8 repeats the same processing until the value of p reaches 360 or more, repeats the processing until the value of A2 becomes MAX (A2), and further performs processing until the value of A1 becomes MAX (A1). repeat. As a result, each value obtained by increasing the value of p by step (p) between 0 and 360, and each value obtained by increasing the value of A1 by step (A1) between 0 and MAX (A1). And the amount of isolation when the values of A2 are combined with each of the values obtained by incrementing step (A2) between 0 and MAX (A2) are stored in the storage unit 9.

  Next, at the time when the isolation amounts of all combinations are stored in the storage unit 9, the control unit 8 has the maximum isolation amount value among the isolation amount values stored in the storage unit 9 ( Attenuation amount A1 [dB] to be given to the variable attenuator 52 with good isolation), attenuation amount A2 [dB] to be given to the variable attenuator 51, and phase amount p [deg] to be given to the variable phase shifter 53 Is selected (step S9). Then, the control unit 8 outputs the selected attenuation amount A1 of the variable attenuator 52, attenuation amount A2 of the variable attenuator 51, and phase amount p of the variable phase shifter 53 to the correction unit 5. In response, the variable attenuator 52 sets the attenuation amount to A1, the variable attenuator 51 sets the attenuation amount to A2, and the variable phase shifter 53 sets the phase amount to p. As a result, the variable attenuator 52, the variable attenuator 51, and the variable phase shifter 53 are adjusted so that the isolation is good.

  In this way, while increasing the values of the variable attenuator 51, the variable attenuator 52, and the variable phase shifter 53 to a predetermined maximum value by a predetermined number of steps, the amount of isolation from the isolation measuring unit 7 is increased. Since the variable attenuator 51, the variable attenuator 52, and the variable phase shifter 53 are fixed with the combination value in which the isolation amount is maximized from the stored combinations of attenuation amount and phase amount, the polarization is changed. Is corrected, and the isolation between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can be made good.

  FIG. 5 shows an example in which the amount of isolation is measured by the adjustment control operation shown in FIG. In this example, the azimuth angle was 0 degree (in a state where the donor antenna 1 and the service antenna 3 face the same direction), and measurement was performed with or without a reflector in the main beam direction. The horizontal axis is the phase dial value of the variable phase shifter 53, and the phase of about 360 degrees rotates at the dial value 900. As shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to reduce the maximum amount of mutual coupling of 12 dB (the absolute value of the mutual coupling amount is the amount of isolation) by adjusting the phase amount when there is no reflecting plate (higher isolation). I understand that. In addition, when the reflector is present, the mutual coupling amount increases, but it can be understood that the mutual coupling can be reduced by a maximum of 12 dB by adjusting the phase amount in the same manner.

  Next, a modification of the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those of the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. The repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is different from the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in that the correction unit 5 is provided not on the service antenna 3 side but on the donor antenna 1 side. Since the adjustment control operation shown in FIG. 2 is the same even when the correction unit 5 is provided on the donor antenna 1 side, the description of the operation of the control unit 8 shown in FIG. 3 is omitted.

  As described above, in the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the values of the variable attenuator 51, the variable attenuator 52, and the variable phase shifter 53 are increased to a predetermined maximum value by a predetermined number of steps. The amount of isolation from the measurement unit 7 is stored, and a variable attenuator 51, a variable attenuator 52, and a variable phase shifter are used with the combination of the stored amounts of attenuation and phase that maximize the amount of isolation. Since 53 is fixed, the orthogonality of the polarization is corrected, and the isolation between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can be made good.

  In the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the correction unit 5 provided on the donor antenna 1 side, the correction unit 5 may also be provided on the service antenna 3 side.

  Next, another modification of the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the same parts as those of the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. The difference between the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 4 and the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is that the function of the repeater apparatus 13 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by digital signal processing. The repeater device 13 shown in FIG. 4 connects RF-digital conversion units 10 and 11 that perform RF-digital conversion between the donor antenna 1 and the service antenna 3 and the digital signal processing unit 12, respectively. In place of the devices 2 and 4, synthesizers 21 and 41 for synthesizing signals are provided. Then, a variable attenuator 54, a variable attenuator 55, and a variable phase unit 56 that realize functions equivalent to those of the variable attenuator 51, the variable attenuator 52, and the variable phase shifter 53 by digital processing are provided in the correction unit 5 and controlled. The unit 8 adjusts the attenuation amounts of the variable attenuation unit 54 and the variable attenuation unit 55 and the phase amount of the variable phase unit 56. Since the adjustment control operation shown in FIG. 2 is the same in the correction unit 5 shown in FIG. 4, the description of the operation of the control unit 8 shown in FIG. 4 is omitted.

  As described above, the repeater base station apparatus shown in FIG. 4 also increases the values of the variable attenuating unit 54, the variable attenuating unit 55, and the variable phase unit 56 up to a predetermined maximum value by a predetermined number of steps. The isolation amount from the measurement unit 7 is stored, and the variable attenuation unit 54, the variable attenuation unit 55, and the variable phase unit are used with the combination value that maximizes the isolation amount from the stored combinations of attenuation amount and phase amount. Since 56 is fixed, the orthogonality of the polarization is corrected, and the isolation between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can be made good.

  The series of control operations shown in FIG. 2 may be executed every time the execution time is set in advance. Alternatively, an execution time interval may be set in advance and executed at each set time interval. By doing in this way, even when the surrounding environment where the repeater base station apparatus is installed changes, the isolation between the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can be made good in the surrounding environment.

  Also, the 3 dB directional coupler 4 (90-HYB) connected to the service antenna 3 side shown in FIGS. Further, the donor antenna 1 is not a dual-port dual-polarization antenna, but may be dedicated to vertical polarization or dedicated to horizontal polarization, and the 3 dB directional coupler 2 (90-HYB) may not be connected.

  Further, the above description is a case where the elevation angle of the donor antenna 1 and the service antenna 3 is the same (the radiation direction in the vertical plane is the same) and the azimuth angle is reduced. Even if the angle is different, the isolation can be improved in the same manner.

  As described above, the repeater base station apparatus including the donor antenna 1, the service antenna 3, and the repeater apparatus 13 includes the variable attenuators 51 and 52 and the variable phase shifter 53. The donor antenna 1 or the service antenna 3 Acts as a receiving antenna, and when the donor antenna 1 or the service antenna 3 acts as a transmitting antenna, the amplitude and phase are corrected so that the amount of isolation between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna is maximized. Since the correction unit 5 that corrects the orthogonality is provided, it is possible to generate the polarized wave having the highest orthogonality with the polarized wave of the transmitting antenna, and to improve the isolation.

  Further, the isolation can be improved even if the azimuth angle is small (even if the azimuth angle is smaller than 180 degrees), not limited to the state where the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are installed on the back side. Further, even when the directions of the communication areas on the donor side and the service side are not directly opposed, high isolation can be ensured, repeater gain can be increased, and a wider area can be constructed. In addition, it is possible to improve the isolation even when there are reflecting objects in the vicinity and the isolation is deteriorated. For the reflecting objects of a moving body such as a vehicle, the adjustment shown in FIG. By speeding up the update cycle of the control operation, it becomes possible to make the improvement in isolation follow the change in the surrounding environment due to the moving body.

  A program for realizing the function of the adjustment control operation (processing operation shown in FIG. 2) performed by the control unit 8 shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the recording medium is recorded on this recording medium. The recorded program may be read into a computer system and executed to correct the amplitude and phase. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part 8 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a measurement example in the amount of isolation in the isolation measurement part 7 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example in which isolation deteriorates.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Donor antenna, 2, 4 ... 90-HYB (3dB directional coupler), 3 ... Service antenna, 5 ... Correction part, 51, 52 ... Variable attenuator, 53. .. Variable phase shifter, 54, 55... Variable attenuation unit, 56... Variable phase unit, 6... Signal amplification unit, 7. ..Storage unit 10, 11 ... RF-digital conversion unit, 12 ... digital signal processing unit, 13 ... repeater device

Claims (5)

A repeater base station device comprising a reception side antenna, a transmission side antenna, and a repeater device,
A correction comprising an amplitude adjusting means for adjusting the amplitude and a phase adjusting means for adjusting the phase, and correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount of isolation between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna is maximized. A repeater base station apparatus further comprising means. Measuring means for measuring the amount of isolation between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna;
The repeater base according to claim 1, further comprising: the amplitude adjustment unit and a control unit that adjusts the phase adjustment unit so that the amount of isolation measured by the measurement unit is maximized. Station equipment.   The repeater base station apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the measurement unit and the control unit are detachable from the repeater base station apparatus. The receiving side antenna, the transmitting side antenna, the repeater device, the amplitude adjusting means for adjusting the amplitude, and the phase adjusting means for adjusting the phase, and the isolation between the receiving side antenna and the transmitting side antenna An isolation adjustment method in a repeater base station device comprising correction means for correcting the amplitude and phase so that the amount is maximized,
A measurement step of measuring an isolation amount between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna;
An isolation adjustment method comprising: the amplitude adjustment unit; and a control step of adjusting the phase adjustment unit so that the amount of isolation measured in the measurement step is maximized. The receiving side antenna, the transmitting side antenna, the repeater device, the amplitude adjusting means for adjusting the amplitude, and the phase adjusting means for adjusting the phase, and the isolation between the receiving side antenna and the transmitting side antenna Correction means for correcting the amplitude and phase so as to maximize the amount, measurement means for measuring an isolation amount between the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna, and the isolation amount measured by the measuring means Is an isolation adjustment method in a repeater base station apparatus comprising the amplitude adjustment means and a control means for adjusting the phase adjustment means,
The isolation adjusting method, wherein the control means adjusts the amplitude adjusting means and the phase adjusting means at predetermined time intervals.

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