JP2011097295A - Repeater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a repeater capable of performing fault diagnosis of itself. <P>SOLUTION: The repeater which has: a first transmitting/receiving section which performs communication with a portable terminal as a base station function; and a second transmitting/receiving section which performs communication with a fixed base station as a cellular phone function to bear relay of communication between the portable terminal and the fixed base station. The repeater performs, when a trigger for starting the fault diagnosis is detected, the fault diagnosis to a transmitting function as the base station in the first transmitting/receiving section and a receiving function as the cellular phone in the second transmitting/receiving section using a first signal transmitted from the first transmitting/receiving section and received by the second transmitting/receiving section via a first cable, and performs the fault diagnosis to a receiving function as the base station in the first transmitting/receiving section and a transmitting function as the cellular phone in the second transmitting/receiving section using a second signal transmitted from the second transmitting/receiving section and received by the first transmitting/receiving section via a second cable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-diagnosis technique in a relay device used between wireless communication between a mobile phone and a fixed base station.

  In order to perform wireless communication stably, it is necessary to detect a failure of a communication device. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing self-diagnosis in a fixed base station. In this technique, a fixed base station has a terminal unit dedicated to failure diagnosis having a function equivalent to a communication function of a normal mobile phone. The fixed base station can detect its own failure by communicating with the terminal unit at the time of failure diagnosis.

JP 2006-319617 A

A relay device that is interposed between a mobile phone and a fixed base station and performs wireless communication between the two usually has both a function of communicating with the fixed base station and a function of communicating with the mobile phone. That is, the relay device has a function as a mobile phone and a function as a fixed base station.
Since the relay device has two types of functions as described above, the possibility of a failure is higher than that of a fixed base station having only a function for communicating with a mobile phone. Therefore, it is desired to detect a failure of the relay device. However, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing self-diagnosis for a fixed base station, but does not disclose a technique for performing self-diagnosis for a relay device.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a relay device that can perform its own failure diagnosis.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises first transmission / reception means for communicating with a mobile terminal and second transmission / reception means for communication with a fixed base station. A relay device responsible for relaying communication with the fixed base station, the detection means detecting a trigger for starting its own fault diagnosis, and in the case of performing the fault diagnosis, the first transmitting / receiving means and the first When the trigger is detected by the first and second relay means used for transmission / reception of signals between the two transmission / reception means and the detection means, the first relay means transmits the first and second relay means. Using the first signal received by the second transmitting / receiving means and the second signal transmitted from the second transmitting / receiving means and received by the first transmitting / receiving means via the second relay means. Diagnostic means for performing fault diagnosis Characterized in that it comprises.

  According to this configuration, the relay device can perform its own failure diagnosis without having a specialized component for failure diagnosis.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system 1 including a relay device 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a relay device 10. FIG. (A) shows the configuration of the first transmission unit 150, (b) shows the configuration of the first reception unit 151, (c) shows the configuration of the second transmission unit 160, and (d) shows the configuration of the second reception unit 161. FIG. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of RSSI list T100, (b) is an example of the data structure of CINR list T200, (c) is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of BER list T300, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the whole process which concerns on a failure diagnosis process. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a failure diagnosis process. Continue to FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a failure diagnosis process. Continue from FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the abnormality determination process using RSSI. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the abnormality determination process using CINR. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the abnormality determination process using BER.

1. First Embodiment A relay device 10 as a first embodiment according to the present invention will be described.
1.1 Overall Overview Here, an overview of the communication system 1 including the relay device 10 according to the present invention will be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a relay device 10, a mobile phone 20, a fixed base station 30, and a maintenance server 40.

The relay device 10 is interposed between the mobile phone 20 that exists indoors where radio waves of signals to be transmitted and received are difficult to circulate and the fixed base station 30 that exists outdoors, and between the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30. This is a device that performs transmission and reception of the above-mentioned signal and uses a relatively small range as a communication range.
Further, the relay device 10 performs a diagnosis of its own failure (hereinafter referred to as “failure diagnosis”), and when an abnormality is detected, notifies the fixed base station 30 to that effect.

The fixed base station 30 performs wireless communication with the mobile phone 20. In addition, when a notification that an abnormality has been detected is received from the relay device 10, the notification is sent to the maintenance server 40 connected to the fixed base station 30 via a network (not shown).
The mobile phone 20 performs wireless communication with another mobile phone (not shown) via the relay device 10 and the fixed base station 30.

When the maintenance server 40 receives a notification from the fixed base station 30 that the relay apparatus 10 has detected an abnormality, the maintenance server 40 notifies the administrator to that effect.
In addition, it is assumed that communication is performed between the relay device 10 and the mobile phone 20 and between the relay device 10 and the fixed base station 30 by a communication method using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing).

1.2 Configuration of Relay Device 10 Hereinafter, the configuration of the relay device 10 according to the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the relay device 10 includes transmission antennas 101 and 102, reception antennas 103 and 104, distributors 105 and 106, mixers 107 and 108, a first transmission / reception unit 109, a second transmission / reception unit 110, a storage Part 111, control part 112, first cable 113, second cable 114, and switches 115 to 120.

  The relay device 10 transmits and receives signals via the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 at the time of failure diagnosis, and the quality of the transmitted / received signal To diagnose self-failure. Here, the signal quality refers to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) indicating a signal power intensity for a signal transmitted / received between the first transmitting / receiving unit 109 and the second transmitting / receiving unit 110, and a CINR (Carrier) indicating a noise ratio. to Interference plus Noise Ratio) and BER (Bit Error Rate) indicating an error rate.

(1) Transmitting antennas 101 and 102
The transmission antenna 101 is an antenna that transmits a signal to the mobile phone 20 by wireless communication. Specifically, the transmission antenna 101 transmits a signal received from the first transmission / reception unit 109 via the distributor 105 to the mobile phone 20.
The transmission antenna 102 is an antenna that transmits a signal to the fixed base station 30 by wireless communication. Specifically, the transmission antenna 102 transmits a signal received from the second transmission / reception unit 110 via the distributor 106 to the fixed base station 30.

(2) Receive antennas 103 and 104
The receiving antenna 103 is an antenna that receives a signal from the mobile phone 20 by wireless communication. Specifically, the reception antenna 103 outputs a signal received from the mobile phone 20 to the first transmission / reception unit 109 via the mixer 107.
The receiving antenna 104 is an antenna that receives a signal from the fixed base station 30 by wireless communication. Specifically, the reception antenna 104 outputs a signal received from the fixed base station 30 to the second transmission / reception unit 110 via the mixer 108.

(3) Distributors 105 and 106
When receiving signals from the outside, the distributors 105 and 106 distribute the received signals to two paths and output them.
Specifically, when distributor 105 receives a signal to be transmitted from first transmission / reception unit 109 to mobile phone 20, distributor 105 distributes the received signal to transmission antenna 101 and first cable 113. In addition, when the distributor 106 receives a signal to be transmitted from the second transceiver 110 to the fixed base station 30, the distributor 106 distributes the received signal to the transmission antenna 102 and the second cable 114.

The distributors 105 and 106 do not flow signals other than the signal input / output paths described above.
(4) Mixers 107 and 108
When receiving signals from two paths, the mixers 107 and 108 synthesize the received signals and output them to the outside.

Specifically, when the mixer 107 receives signals from both the receiving antenna 103 and the second cable 114, the mixer 107 combines the received signals and outputs the combined signals to the first transmission / reception unit 109. When the mixer 108 receives signals from both the receiving antenna 104 and the first cable 113, the mixer 108 combines the received signals and outputs the combined signals to the second transmitting / receiving unit 110.
The mixers 107 and 108 do not flow any signals other than the signal input / output paths described above.

(5) First transmission / reception unit 109
The first transmission / reception unit 109 performs transmission / reception of signals between the relay device 10 and the mobile phone 20 and transmission / reception of signals to / from the second transmission / reception unit at the time of failure diagnosis. It is realized.
As shown in FIG. 2, the first transmission / reception unit 109 includes a first transmission unit 150, a first reception unit 151, and a first measurement unit 152.

(5-1) First transmission unit 150
The first transmitter 150 transmits a signal to be transmitted to the mobile phone 20 to the mobile phone 20 via the transmission antenna 101, and a signal used for failure diagnosis at the time of failure diagnosis via the first cable 113 to the second transmitter / receiver 110, and a function related to transmission is realized among the functions of the base station.

The first transmitter 150 normally periodically sends a signal including a synchronization signal and broadcast information for identifying the relay device 10 (hereinafter referred to as “broadcast signal”) so that the mobile phone 20 can perform a handover. Output.
Further, the first transmission unit 150 outputs an inspection signal at the time of failure diagnosis. Here, the test signal is a signal including dummy data that does not make sense in the operation of the communication system 1.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the first transmission unit 150 will be described.
The first transmission unit 150 includes a modulation circuit 200 and an amplification circuit 201 as illustrated in FIG.
When the modulation circuit 200 receives a signal transmitted from the fixed base station 30 and demodulated (decoded) by the second transmission / reception unit 110 or a test signal from the control unit 112, the modulation circuit 200 encodes the received signal. Thereafter, the circuit modulates the frequency to be transmitted.

The amplifier circuit 201 is a circuit that amplifies the power of the signal encoded by the modulation circuit 200 to power to be transmitted and outputs the signal encoded by the amplified power to the distributor 105.
(5-2) First receiving unit 151
The first receiving unit 151 receives a signal from the mobile phone 20 via the receiving antenna 103, and receives a test signal from the second transmitting / receiving unit 110 via the second cable 114 at the time of failure diagnosis. It amplifies and demodulates the signal and outputs it to the control unit 112, and implements a function related to reception among the functions of the base station.
It is.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the first receiving unit 151 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the first receiving unit 151 includes a filter 210, an amplifier circuit 211, and a demodulation circuit 212.
The filter 210 removes noise contained in the received signal.
The amplifier circuit 211 is a circuit that amplifies the received power of the received signal to a signal level that can be demodulated.

The demodulation circuit 212 is a circuit that decodes an encoded signal and outputs the decoded signal to the control unit 112.
(5-3) First measurement unit 152
When the first measurement unit 152 receives a signal from the mobile phone 20, the first measurement unit 152 measures the RSSI and CINR of the received signal. Further, the first measuring unit 152 measures the transmission power of the signal transmitted to the second transmitting / receiving unit 110 at the time of failure diagnosis, and the test signal received from the second transmitting / receiving unit 110 via the second cable 114. Also measure RSSI and CINR.

Since measurement of RSSI and CINR is a known technique, description thereof is omitted here.
(6) Second transceiver 110
The second transmission / reception unit 110 performs signal transmission / reception between the relay device 10 and the fixed base station 30 and signal transmission / reception with the second transmission / reception unit at the time of failure diagnosis. The function is realized.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second transmission / reception unit 110 includes a second transmission unit 160, a second reception unit 161, and a second measurement unit 162.
(6-1) Second transmitter 160
The second transmitter 150 transmits a signal to be transmitted to the fixed base station 30 to the fixed base station 30 via the transmission antenna 102, and a signal used for failure diagnosis at the time of failure diagnosis via the second cable 114. It transmits to the transmission / reception part 109, and implement | achieves the function which concerns on transmission among the communication functions of a mobile telephone.

The second transmission unit 160 outputs an inspection signal in the same manner as the first transmission unit 150 at the time of failure diagnosis.
Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the second transmission unit 160 will be described.
The second transmission unit 160 includes a modulation circuit 220 and an amplification circuit 221 as illustrated in FIG.

When the modulation circuit 220 receives a signal transmitted from the mobile phone 20 and demodulated (decoded) by the first transmission / reception unit 109 or a test signal from the control unit 112, the modulation circuit 220 encodes (encodes) the received demodulated signal. ).
The amplifier circuit 221 is a circuit that amplifies the power of the signal encoded by the modulation circuit 220 to power to be transmitted and outputs the signal encoded by the amplified power to the distributor 106.

(6-2) Second receiving unit 161
The second reception unit 161 receives a signal from the fixed base station 30 via the reception antenna 104, and receives a test signal from the first transmission / reception unit 109 via the first cable 113 at the time of failure diagnosis. The received signal is amplified and demodulated and output to the control unit 112, and the function related to reception is realized among the communication functions of the mobile phone.

In general, the second transmission unit 160 periodically receives a broadcast signal including a synchronization signal and broadcast information for identifying the fixed base station 30 in order for the relay apparatus 10 to perform a handover.
Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the second receiving unit 161 will be described.
The second receiver 161 includes a filter 230, an amplifier circuit 231 and a demodulator circuit 232 as shown in FIG. Since each of the filter 230, the amplifier circuit 231 and the demodulation circuit 232 performs the same functional operations as the filter 210, the amplifier circuit 211 and the demodulation circuit 212, description thereof is omitted here.

(6-3) Second measurement unit 162
When the second measuring unit 162 receives a signal from the fixed base station 30, the second measuring unit 162 measures RSSI and CINR for the received signal. In addition, the second measuring unit 152 measures the transmission power of the test signal transmitted from the second transmitting unit 160 to the first transmitting / receiving unit 109 at the time of failure diagnosis, and the first cable 113 from the first transmitting / receiving unit 109. RSSI and CINR are also measured for the test signal received via.

(7) First cable 113, second cable 114, and switches 115-120
The first cable 113 and the second cable 114 are for connecting the distributor 105 and the mixer 108 and the mixer 107 and the distributor 106, respectively.
Each of the switches 115 and 116 is connected or disconnected between the transmission antenna 101 and the distributor 105 and between the transmission antenna 102 and the distributor 106 under the control of the control unit 112.

Each of the switches 117 and 118 is connected or disconnected between the receiving antenna 103 and the mixer 107 and between the receiving antenna 104 and the mixer 108 under the control of the control unit 112.
Each of the switches 119 and 120 is connected or disconnected between the distributor 105 and the mixer 108 and between the mixer 107 and the distributor 106 under the control of the control unit 112. The switches 119 and 120 are in a conductive / non-conductive state with the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 when the control of the control unit 112 is switched between ON and OFF states. The transmission / reception unit is in a conductive / non-conductive state.

During normal operation, that is, when failure diagnosis is not performed, the control unit 112 turns off the switches 119 and 120, respectively, between the distributor 105 and the mixer 108, and between the mixer 107 and the distributor 106. Is disconnected. The remaining switches 115 to 118 are ON.
At the time of failure diagnosis, the control unit 112 turns on the switches 119 and 120 and puts the connection between the distributor 105 and the mixer 108 and between the mixer 107 and the distributor 106. The other switches 115 to 118 remain in the ON state.

(8) Storage unit 111
The storage unit 111 is configured to include an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a memory, and the like, and can detect setting information, various data, programs, and failures detected during failure diagnosis (device abnormalities) that the relay device 10 requires in operation. It has a function of storing such abnormal information. Here, the abnormality information includes the detected time, error type, and error event. The error type indicates any one of RSSI, CINR, and BER, and the error event indicates the content of the detected error.

  Specifically, the storage unit 111 stores various lists including a program relating to the operation of failure diagnosis and data that is a criterion for failure determination. The various lists store an RSSI list T100 used for failure diagnosis based on RSSI, a CINR list T200 used for failure diagnosis based on CINR, and a BER list T300 used for failure diagnosis based on BER. In addition, inspection information (data) included in an inspection signal transmitted / received at the time of failure diagnosis, a modulation scheme and a coding rate performed by the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 are also stored in advance. Here, it is assumed that the modulation scheme and the coding rate performed in each of first transmission / reception section 109 and second transmission / reception section 110 are the same.

Hereinafter, various lists will be described.
(RSSI list T100)
As shown in FIG. 4A, the RSSI list T100 includes a transmission power, a reception power reference value, an RSSI warning value (low), an RSSI warning value (high), an RSSI abnormal value (low), and an RSSI abnormal value (high). ). These values are the distributors 105 and 106, the mixers 107 and 108, the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 that are interposed between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 at the time of failure diagnosis, This is determined in advance by the performance and characteristics of the amplifier circuits 201, 211, 220, and 231 included in each of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110.

The transmission power indicates the transmission power of a signal (informing signal or inspection signal) transmitted from the transmission / reception unit on the transmission side at the time of failure diagnosis. Here, it is assumed that the transmission / reception unit on the signal transmission side transmits a signal with one of the transmission powers indicated in the RSSI list T100 at the time of failure diagnosis.
The reception power reference value is a value determined in advance based on the transmission power of the signal transmitted by the transmission / reception unit on the signal transmission side at the time of failure diagnosis.

The RSSI warning value (low) is a lower limit value for considering the received power of the signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit on the receiving side within the normal range.
The RSSI warning value (high) is an upper limit value for regarding the received power of the signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit on the receiving side as being within a normal range.
The RSSI abnormal value (low) is a lower limit value for determining whether the degree of abnormality of the received power of the signal received by the transmission / reception unit on the receiving side is a warning level or an abnormal level. That is, when the received power is within the range of the RSSI warning value (low) to the RSSI abnormal value (low), it indicates that the degree of abnormality is the warning level, and is below the RSSI abnormal value (low). Indicates an abnormal level.

  The RSSI abnormal value (high) is an upper limit value indicating that the received power of the signal received by the transmission / reception unit on the receiving side is not a normal value, but is of a warning level and is power that can withstand operation. That is, when the received power is within the range of the RSSI warning value (high) to the RSSI abnormal value (high), it indicates that the degree of abnormality is the warning level, and exceeds the RSSI abnormal value (high). Indicates an abnormal level.

(CINR list T200)
As shown in FIG. 4B, the CINR list T200 includes a plurality of sets each including an RSSI value, a CINR reference value, a CINR warning value, and a CINR abnormal value. These values are the distributors 105 and 106, the mixers 107 and 108, the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 that are interposed between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 at the time of failure diagnosis, This is determined by the performance and characteristics of the amplifier circuits 201, 211, 220, and 231 included in each of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110.

The RSSI value indicates the RSSI value measured at the time of failure diagnosis.
The CINR reference value is a CINR value determined based on the measured RSSI value.
The CINR warning value is a lower limit value for regarding the CINR value for a signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit on the receiving side as a normal value.
The CINR abnormal value is a value for determining whether the CINR value for a signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit on the receiving side is a warning level or an abnormal level. That is, when the measured CINR value is within the range of the CINR warning value to the CINR abnormal value, there is no problem in the operation of the communication system, but the degree of abnormality is the warning level. When the CINR is below the abnormal value, it indicates an abnormal level.

(BER list T300)
As shown in FIG. 4C, the BER list T300 includes a plurality of sets including an RSSI value, a CINR reference value, a modulation scheme / coding rate, a BER reference value, and a BER abnormal value. The BER reference value and the BER abnormal value can be derived based on a theoretical value or an actual measurement value.
The RSSI value indicates the RSSI value measured at the time of failure diagnosis.

The CINR reference value is a CINR value determined based on the measured RSSI value, and the correspondence is the same as in the CINR list T200.
The modulation method / coding rate indicates a modulation method and a coding rate when a signal to be transmitted is modulated.
The BER reference value is a reference value for determining that the BER value is a normal value, and is derived based on a theoretical value or an actual measurement value based on a combination of the RSSI value, the CINR reference value, and the modulation scheme / coding rate. Is. When the measured BER value is less than or equal to the BER reference value, the BER value is regarded as a normal value.

  The BER abnormal value is a value for determining whether the measured BER value is a normal level or an abnormal level. In other words, when the measured BER value is within the range of the BER reference value from the BER reference value, there is no problem in the operation of the communication system, but the degree of the abnormality is a warning level, If it is above the BER abnormal value, it indicates an abnormal level.

(9) Control unit 112
The control unit 112 controls the overall operation of the relay device 10 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 111.
Specifically, the control unit 112 outputs a signal to be transmitted to the fixed base station 30 received by the first transmission / reception unit 109 to the second transmission / reception unit 110. Conversely, the control unit 112 outputs a signal to be transmitted to the mobile phone 20 received by the second transmission / reception unit 110 to the first transmission / reception unit 109.

Further, the control unit 112 monitors a trigger for starting the fault diagnosis, and starts the fault diagnosis operation when detecting the trigger.
Hereinafter, components and functions related to failure diagnosis will be described.
The control unit 112 includes a detection unit 170 and a diagnosis unit 171 as components related to failure diagnosis.

(9-1) Detection unit 170
The detection unit 170 monitors a trigger for starting the failure diagnosis.
Specifically, the detection unit 170 detects the radio wave condition from the fixed base station 30 based on the RSSI and CINR measurement results of the notification signal periodically measured by the second measurement unit 162 of the second transmission / reception unit 110. Check the communication status. For example, the detection unit 170 determines the radio wave state and the communication state when the CINR value is lower or higher than the received power to be received from the fixed base station 30 and when the CINR value is higher than a predetermined value. Is determined to be abnormal.

Further, the detection unit 170 confirms whether or not the difference between the most recent date and time when the mobile phone 20 is connected (hereinafter referred to as “terminal last connection date and time”) and the current date and time is greater than a predetermined set value. . As a result, it is possible to confirm the presence or absence of the connected mobile phone.
Moreover, the detection part 170 confirms whether the preset time has come as failure diagnosis time.

Furthermore, the detection unit 170 confirms whether or not the administrator of the relay device 10 has received an instruction to start failure diagnosis.
If the detection unit 170 detects an abnormality when checking the radio wave state and communication state from the fixed base station 30, and if the difference between the terminal last connection date and time and the current date and time is greater than a predetermined set value, the failure diagnosis time The failure diagnosis is started either when the preset time arrives or when an instruction from the administrator of the relay apparatus 10 is received.

(9-2) Diagnosis unit 171
The diagnosis unit 171 performs failure diagnosis based on the quality of the signals transmitted from the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110, that is, the RSSI, CINR, and BER of the received signal.
Specifically, when the detection unit 170 detects a trigger for starting the failure diagnosis, the diagnosis unit 171 turns on the switches 119 and 120, that is, turns on the first cable 113 and the second cable 114. The switches 119 and 120 are turned off at the end and failure diagnosis, that is, the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 are turned off.

  The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the notification signal transmitted from the first transmission / reception unit 109 has been received by the second transmission / reception unit 110. When it is determined that the notification signal transmitted from the first transmission / reception unit 109 is received by the second transmission / reception unit 110, the diagnosis unit 171 outputs power at the time of output of the notification signal measured by the first measurement unit 152. And the RSSI and CINR of the notification signal measured by the second measuring unit 162 are acquired.

The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the first transmission unit 150 of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second reception unit 161 of the second transmission / reception unit 110 based on the acquired RSSI and CINR. . Hereinafter, this process is referred to as an abnormality determination process.
The diagnosis unit 171 generates an inspection signal including the inspection information stored in the storage unit 111, and outputs the generated inspection signal via the second transmission unit 160. When the test signal transmitted from the second transmitter 160 is received by the first receiver 151, the diagnosis unit 171 outputs the test signal measured by the second measuring unit 162. The power and the RSSI and CINR of the test signal measured by the first measurement unit 152 are acquired.

  The diagnosis unit 171 performs an abnormality determination process on the first reception unit 151 of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission unit 160 of the second transmission / reception unit 110 based on the acquired RSSI and CINR. The diagnosis unit 171 performs an abnormality determination process using BER obtained from the information included in the inspection signal received by the first reception unit 151 and the inspection information stored in the storage unit 111. .

  Further, the diagnosis unit 171 generates a test signal including the test information stored in the storage unit 111 and outputs the generated test signal via the first transmission unit 150. When the test signal transmitted from the first transmitter 150 is received by the second receiver 161, the diagnostic unit 171 stores information included in the test signal received by the second receiver 161, and storage An abnormality determination process using BER obtained from the inspection information stored in the unit 111 is performed.

  When the first receiving unit 151 receives a signal indicating a connection request or a handover request from the mobile phone 20 (hereinafter referred to as “request signal”), the diagnosis unit 171 stops the failure diagnosis. Such a scene can occur for the following reasons. Since the switch 115 is in the ON state even during the failure diagnosis, the transmission antenna 101 and the first transmission unit 150 remain conductive, and the first transmission unit 150 notifies the mobile phone 20 of a notification signal for handover. Because it is transmitting. In such a case, a signal received by the first receiving unit 151 may be mixed with a request signal and an inspection signal by the mixer 107. However, in the communication mode based on OFDM, the area used for communication determined from the frequency and time is controlled to be different in each of the mobile phone 20 and the second transmission / reception unit 110. For this reason, even when the request signal and the inspection signal are mixed, signals can be individually extracted from these areas. Therefore, the diagnosis unit 171 receives the request signal from the mobile phone 20 even during failure diagnosis. Can be identified.

Hereinafter, the abnormality determination process using RSSI, CINR, and BER will be described.
(Abnormality judgment processing using RSSI)
The diagnosis unit 171 specifies the RSSI warning value (low) and the RSSI warning value (high) corresponding to the transmission power from the RSSI list T100 using the transmission power for the output signal and the RSSI list T100. The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the acquired RSSI value is within the normal range using the specified RSSI warning value (low) and the RSSI warning value (high). Here, being within the normal range means that the measured RSSI value belongs to a range smaller than the specified RSSI warning value (high) than the specified RSSI warning value (low).

  When the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the RSSI value is not within the normal range, the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the value is equal to or greater than the specified RSSI warning value (high). When determining that the value is equal to or greater than the specified RSSI warning value (high), the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the parameter of the amplifier circuit is abnormal on the transmission side of the test signal and adjusts the parameter of the amplifier circuit. . In this case, the diagnosis unit 171 lowers the amplification coefficient of the amplifier circuit so that the RSSI value is within the normal range. When it is determined that the value is not equal to or higher than the specified RSSI warning value (high), that is, the value is equal to or lower than the specified RSSI warning value (low), the diagnosis unit 171 has an abnormality on the signal reception side. to decide. The diagnosis unit 171 generates abnormality information including a detection time, information indicating that the error type is RSSI, and an error event indicates an abnormality on the reception side, and stores the abnormality information in the storage unit 111 and via the fixed base station 30. To the maintenance server 40.

(Abnormality judgment processing using CINR)
The diagnosis unit 171 specifies the CINR abnormal value corresponding to the acquired RSSI using the acquired RSSI value and the CINR list T200. The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the acquired CINR value is abnormal using the specified CINR abnormal value. Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the CINR value is equal to or less than the specified CINR abnormal value.

When determining that the CINR value is equal to or less than the specified CINR abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 generates abnormality information including the detection time, the error type as CINR, and the error event as information indicating that the CINR is low. And stored in the storage unit 111 and transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the fixed base station 30.
When determining that the CINR value is not equal to or less than the specified CINR abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 considers that both the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 are operating normally.

(Abnormality judgment processing using BER)
The diagnosis unit 171 acquires (measures) the BER using the information included in the received signal and the inspection information stored in the storage unit 111.
The diagnosis unit 171 acquires the modulation scheme and coding rate stored in the storage unit 111.
The diagnosis unit 171 acquires a CINR reference value from the measured RSSI value and the CINR list T200. The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the BER value is abnormal by using the measured RSSI value, the acquired BER value, the CINR reference value, the modulation scheme and the coding rate, and the BER list T300. . Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the acquired BER value is equal to or greater than the BER abnormal value corresponding to the combination of the RSSI value, the CINR reference value, the modulation scheme, and the coding rate in the BER list T300. to decide.

  When determining that the BER value is greater than or equal to the BER abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 assumes that the demodulation circuit used for signal demodulation or its peripheral circuit is abnormal, and sets the detection time and error type to BER and Abnormal information consisting of information indicating that the error event is high is generated, stored in the storage unit 111, and transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the fixed base station 30.

When determining that the BER value is equal to or less than the BER abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 considers that the demodulation circuit used for signal demodulation is operating normally.
1.3 Operation of Relay Device 10 (1) Overall Process Here, the operation of the relay device 10 related to the failure diagnosis process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The detection unit 170 of the control unit 112 detects the radio wave condition and communication from the fixed base station 30 based on the RSSI and CINR measurement results of the notification signal periodically measured by the second measurement unit 162 of the second transmission / reception unit 110. The state is confirmed (step S5), and it is determined whether or not the functional operation of the second transmission / reception unit 110 is normal (step S10).
When it is determined that the functional operation of the second transmission / reception unit 110 is normal (“Yes” in step S10), the detection unit 170 acquires the terminal last connection date and time and the current date and time (step S15), and the terminal last connection date and time. It is confirmed whether or not the difference between the current date and time is larger than a predetermined set value (step S20).

When determining that the difference is not greater than the set value, that is, equal to or less than the set value (“No” in step S20), the detection unit 170 has received an instruction to start failure diagnosis from the administrator of the relay device 10, or It is confirmed whether the time set as the failure diagnosis time has arrived (step S25).
If it is determined that an instruction has not been received or the time set as the failure diagnosis time has not arrived (“No” in step S25), the process returns to step S5.

  When the detection unit 170 determines that the functional operation of the second transmission / reception unit 110 is not normal, that is, is abnormal (“No” in step S10), the difference between the terminal last connection date and the current date is set in advance. When it is determined that the value is greater than the value (“Yes” in step S20), and when it is determined that the time to start the failure diagnosis has been received or the time set as the failure diagnosis time has arrived (“Yes” in step S25) The diagnosis unit 171 performs a failure diagnosis process to perform a failure diagnosis of the relay device 10 (step S30).

(2) Failure Diagnosis Processing Here, the failure diagnosis processing in step S30 shown in FIG. 5 will be described using the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
When the detection unit 170 detects a trigger for starting the failure diagnosis, the diagnosis unit 171 turns on the switches 119 and 120 and conducts the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 (step S100).

The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the base station has been scanned based on whether or not the notification signal periodically received by the second reception unit 161 has been received (step S105).
When determining that the base station has been scanned (“Yes” in step S105), the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the scanned base station is the relay device 10 (step S110). Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not notification information for identifying the relay device 10 is included in the notification signal received by the second reception unit 161.

  When determining that the scanned base station is the relay device 10 (“Yes” in step S110), the second measuring unit 162 of the second transmitting / receiving unit 110 performs RSSI and CINR for the notification signal received by the second receiving unit 161. Is measured (step S115). At this time, the first measurement unit 152 measures the transmission power of the notification signal transmitted from the first transmission unit 150.

The diagnosis unit 171 performs abnormality determination processing using the measured RSSI and abnormality determination processing using CINR (steps S120 and S125).
The second transmission unit 160 of the second transmission / reception unit 110 transmits an inspection signal (step S130). At this time, the second measurement unit 162 measures the transmission power of the inspection signal transmitted from the second transmission unit 160.

The first measurement unit 152 of the first transmission / reception unit 109 measures RSSI and CINR for the test signal received by the first reception unit 151 (step S135).
The diagnosis unit 171 performs an abnormality determination process using the measured RSSI, an abnormality determination process using CINR, and an abnormality determination process using BER (steps S140, S145, and S150).

The first transmission unit 150 of the first transmission / reception unit 109 transmits an inspection signal (step S155).
The diagnosis unit 171 performs an abnormality determination process using the BER obtained from the information included in the inspection signal received by the second reception unit 161 and the inspection information (step S160).
When all the abnormality determination processes are completed, the diagnosis unit 171 turns off the switches 119 and 120, and disconnects the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 (step S165).

When it is determined that the base station is not scanned (“No” in step S105) and when the scanned base station is determined not to be the relay device 10 (“No” in step S110), the process returns to step S105.
(3) Abnormality determination process using RSSI Here, the abnormality determination process performed in steps S120 and S140 shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

In addition, the abnormality determination process performed in step S120 and the abnormality determination process performed in step S140 are whether the target components are the first transmission unit 150 and the second reception unit 161, or the second transmission unit. 160 and the first receiving unit 151, and there is no difference in processing concept.
Here, only the abnormality determination process performed in step S120 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, and the description of the abnormality determination process performed in step S140 will be omitted.

The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the RSSI value measured by the second measurement unit 162 is within the normal range (step S200). Specifically, in the diagnosis unit 171, the measured RSSI value is within the range from the RSSI warning value (low) to the RSSI warning value (high) corresponding to the transmission power of the notification signal measured by the first measurement unit 152. Determine whether or not.
When determining that the RSSI value measured by the second measurement unit 162 is not within the normal range (“No” in step S200), the diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the measured RSSI is equal to or higher than the RSSI warning value (high). Is determined (step S205).

When determining that the measured RSSI value is equal to or higher than the RSSI warning value (high) (“Yes” in step S205), the diagnosis unit 171 uses the parameters of the amplification circuit 201 in the first transmission unit 150 that has transmitted the notification signal. Adjustment is performed (step S210). Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 lowers the amplification coefficient of the amplifier circuit 201.
After the parameter change, the first transmission unit 150 transmits the notification signal again (step S215). The second measuring unit 162 measures the RSSI of the broadcast signal transmitted again (step S220). The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the RSSI value measured again is within the normal range (step S225). If it is determined that it is within the normal range (“Yes” in step S225), the process ends. If it is determined that it is not within the normal range, the process returns to step S210.

  When determining that the measured RSSI is not equal to or higher than the RSSI warning value (high), that is, equal to or lower than the RSSI warning value (low) (“No” in step S205), the diagnostic unit 171 indicates that the second receiving unit 161 is abnormal. Abnormal information to the effect is generated, stored in the storage unit 111, and transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the fixed base station 30 (steps S230 and S235).

  The above is the abnormality determination process performed in step S120. In the abnormality determination process performed in step S140, in the above description, the components in the first transmission / reception unit 109 are changed to the components in the second transmission / reception unit 110, and the components in the second transmission / reception unit 110 are changed to the first transmission / reception unit 109. What is necessary is just to change a notification signal into the signal for a test | inspection to the component in each.

(4) Abnormality determination processing using CINR Here, the abnormality determination processing performed in steps S125 and S145 shown in FIG. 6 will be described.
In addition, the abnormality determination process performed in step S125 and the abnormality determination process performed in step S145 are different depending on whether the target component is the second reception unit 161 or the first reception unit 151. There is no difference in processing concept.

Here, only the abnormality determination process performed in step S125 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, and the description of the abnormality determination process performed in step S145 will be omitted.
The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether the CINR value is equal to or less than the CINR abnormal value (step S300).

  When determining that the CINR value is equal to or less than the CINR abnormal value (“Yes” in step S300), the diagnosis unit 171 includes the detection time, the error type as CINR, and the error event as information indicating that CINR is low. Abnormal information consisting of nothing is generated, stored in the storage unit 111, and transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the fixed base station 30 (steps S305 and S310).

When determining that the CINR value is not less than or equal to the CINR abnormal value (“No” in step S300), the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the CINR value is normal and ends the process.
(5) Abnormality determination processing using BER Here, the abnormality determination processing performed in steps S150 and S160 shown in FIGS.

Note that the abnormality determination process performed in step S150 and the abnormality determination process performed in step S160 differ from each other in whether the target component is the second reception unit 161 or the first reception unit 151. There is no difference in processing concept.
Here, only the abnormality determination process performed in step S150 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, and the description of the abnormality determination process performed in step S160 will be omitted.

The diagnosis unit 171 compares the information included in the received signal with the inspection information stored in the storage unit 111 and acquires the BER (step S400).
The diagnosis unit 171 acquires the modulation scheme and coding rate stored in the storage unit 111 and the CINR reference value corresponding to the measured RSSI value (step S405). Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 acquires a modulation scheme and a coding rate from the storage unit 111, and acquires a CINR reference value corresponding to the measured RSSI value from the CINR list T200. The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the acquired BER value is equal to or greater than the BER abnormal value corresponding to the combination of the RSSI value, the CINR reference value, the modulation scheme, and the coding rate in the BER list T300.

  When determining that the BER value is equal to or higher than the BER abnormal value (“Yes” in step S405), the diagnosis unit 171 includes the detection time, the error type as BER, and the error event as information indicating that the BER is high. Abnormal information consisting of nothing is generated, stored in the storage unit 111, and transmitted to the maintenance server 40 via the fixed base station 30 (steps S410 and S415).

When determining that the BER value is not equal to or higher than the BER abnormal value (“No” in step S405), the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the BER value is normal and ends the process.
1.4 Others Although the above has been described based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the following modifications can be considered.

(1) In the above embodiment, control for the switches 115 to 118 was not mentioned, but the control unit 112 may control the switches 115 to 118 as follows.
The control unit 112 detects an abnormality when the measured RSSI value is equal to or lower than the RSSI abnormal value (low) or equal to or higher than the RSSI abnormal value (high) during the abnormality determination process using RSSI. It is determined that the first transmission / reception unit or the second transmission / reception unit cannot withstand operation, and the switches 115 to 118 are turned off so that communication with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30 is disabled.

Similarly, during the abnormality determination process using CINR, if the measured CINR value is equal to or less than the CINR abnormal value, the control unit 112 turns off the switches 115 to 118 and sets the mobile phone 20 and Communication with the fixed base station 30 is disabled.
When a bit error is detected during the abnormality determination process using the BER, the switches 115 to 118 are turned off so that communication with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30 is disabled.

Furthermore, the control unit 112 may turn off the switches 115 to 118 in accordance with an instruction from the administrator of the relay device 10. In this case, failure diagnosis can be performed in a dedicated diagnosis mode without communicating with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30.
Further, the switches 116 and 118 may be controlled as follows.
Since the second transmission / reception unit 110 always communicates with the fixed base station 30, the RSSI and CINR of the signal received from the first transmission / reception unit 109 during failure diagnosis cannot be measured accurately. Therefore, when detecting a trigger for starting the failure diagnosis, the control unit 112 may turn off the switches 116 and 118 in order to disable communication with the fixed base station 30.

  As a result, the communication between the relay apparatus 10 and the fixed base station 30 is disconnected, but the first transmission / reception unit 109 continues to transmit the notification signal by the transmission antenna 101, so the service is apparently continued. . While communication with the fixed base station 30 is disabled, the second transmission / reception unit 110 of the relay apparatus 10 performs self-diagnosis and parameter adjustment by measuring the signal transmitted from the first transmission / reception unit 109. can do. When the first transmission / reception unit 109 receives a request signal from the mobile phone 20, the relay device 10 turns on the switches 116 and 118 to immediately restore communication with the fixed base station 30 and start an actual service.

(2) In the above embodiment, the case where the difference between the terminal last connection date and time and the current date and time is greater than a predetermined set value is defined as a case where there is no connected mobile phone, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The case where there is no connected mobile phone may include a case where the mobile phone is performing intermittent transmission / reception for power saving (non-communication period of intermittent transmission / reception).

Alternatively, the intermittent communication non-communication section may be a state in which there is no connected mobile phone. In addition, there is no connected mobile phone in a case where transmission / reception with the network side does not occur even when a connected mobile phone exists, that is, a case where transmission / reception with the fixed base station 30 is not necessary in the second transmission / reception unit 110. It is good also as a state.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 112 sets both the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 to the conductive state at the time of starting the failure diagnosis. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

The control unit 112 may control the switches 119 and 120 as follows.
When transmitting a signal from the first transmission / reception unit 109 to the second transmission / reception unit 110, the control unit 112 sets the first cable 113 to the conductive state and the second cable 114 to the non-passing state, that is, sets the switch 119 to the ON state. The switch 120 is turned off. Then, when transmitting a signal from the second transmission / reception unit 110 to the first transmission / reception unit 109, the control unit 112 turns the switch 119 off and the switch 120 on.

Thereby, since one transmission / reception part which transmits a signal does not receive a signal from another transmission / reception via a cable, it can receive the signal from the outside reliably by radio | wireless communication.
(4) In the above embodiment, when the relay device 10 receives the request signal from the mobile phone 20 at the time of failure diagnosis, the relay device 10 stops the failure diagnosis being executed, but the present invention is not limited to this.

When the relay apparatus 10 receives a request signal from the mobile phone 20 at the time of failure diagnosis, the relay apparatus 10 may store a breakpoint of the process being executed and interrupt the process. And the relay apparatus 10 should just perform a failure diagnosis from the break point, ie, the location which interrupted the process, if the opportunity for starting a failure diagnosis is detected again.
(5) Although the transmitting antennas 101 and 102 and the receiving antennas 103 and 104 are configured separately in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

The transmission antenna 101 and the reception antenna 103 may be a single transmission / reception antenna that combines and distributes signals to be transmitted and received.
Similarly, the transmission antenna 102 and the reception antenna 104 may be a single transmission / reception antenna.
In the above embodiment, each of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 is provided with a single transmission antenna and reception antenna. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

Each of the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 may be provided with a plurality of transmission antennas and a plurality of reception antennas as in the case of using MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output).
(6) In the above embodiment, the RSSI list T100 is used only for normal and abnormal classification, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The RSSI list T100 may be used to classify the measured RSSI values into normal, warning, and abnormal.
When the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the measured RSSI value is not within the normal range, the RSSI value is within the range from the RSSI abnormal value (low) to the RSSI warning value (low), or the RSSI warning. It is determined whether the value is within the range of the RSSI abnormal value (high) from the value (high). When the RSSI value is within any of these ranges, the parameter is not changed, and information indicating that the RSSI value is a warning level is stored in the storage unit 111 and transmitted to the maintenance server 40. To do. When the RSSI value is in the range from the RSSI warning value (high) to the RSSI abnormal value (high), the diagnosis unit 171 stores information indicating the warning level as described above. And may be transmitted to the maintenance server 40 to further change the parameters.

  When the value of the RSSI is not within the range from the RSSI abnormal value (low) to the RSSI warning value (low) and not within the range from the RSSI warning value (high) to the RSSI abnormal value (high), The parameter is not changed, and the abnormality information is stored in the storage unit 111 and transmitted to the maintenance server 40. When the RSSI value is equal to or higher than the RSSI abnormal value (high), the diagnosis unit 171 stores the abnormality information in the storage unit 111 and transmits it to the maintenance server 40, and further changes the parameters. Good.

In addition, the diagnosis unit 171 has an RSSI value that is not within the range of the RSSI abnormal value (low) to the RSSI warning value (low) and is not within the range of the RSSI warning value (high) to the RSSI abnormal value (high). In this case, after transmitting the abnormality information, the switches 115 to 118 may be turned off to disable communication with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30.
(7) In the above embodiment, the CINR list T200 is used only for normal / abnormal separation, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The CINR list T200 may be used to determine whether the measured CINR value is normal, warning, or abnormal.
The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the measured CINR value is greater than or equal to the CINR warning value. When it is determined that the CINR value is equal to or greater than the CINR warning value, the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the CINR value is a normal value.

When it is determined that the CINR value is not equal to or greater than the CINR warning value, it is further determined whether the CINR value is within a range between the CINR warning value and the CINR abnormal value.
When the CINR value is within the range between the CINR warning value and the CINR abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 stores information indicating that the CINR value is at the warning level in the storage unit 111 and the maintenance server 40. Send to.

When the CINR value is not within the range of the CINR warning value and the CINR abnormal value, that is, when the CINR value is equal to or less than the CINR abnormal value, the diagnostic unit 171 stores the abnormal information in the storage unit 111 and the maintenance server. 40.
In addition, when the CINR value is equal to or less than the CINR abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 sets the switches 115 to 118 to the OFF state after transmitting the abnormal information, and communication with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30 becomes impossible. You may do it.

(8) In the above embodiment, the BER list T300 is used only for normal / abnormal classification, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The BER list T300 may be used to classify the measured BER values as normal, warning, or abnormal.
The diagnosis unit 171 determines whether or not the measured BER value is equal to or less than the BER reference value. When determining that the BER value is equal to or less than the BER reference value, the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the BER value is a normal value.

If it is determined that the BER value is not less than or equal to the BER reference value, it is further determined whether or not the BER value is within a range between the BER reference value and the BER abnormal value.
When the BER value is within the range between the BER reference value and the BER abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 stores information indicating that the BER is at the warning level in the storage unit 111 and transmits the information to the maintenance server 40. To do.

When the BER value is not within the range of the BER reference value and the BER abnormal value, that is, when the BER value is equal to or greater than the BER abnormal value, the diagnostic unit 171 stores the abnormal information in the storage unit 111 and the maintenance server. 40.
In addition, when the BER value is equal to or higher than the BER abnormal value, the diagnosis unit 171 sets the switches 115 to 118 to the OFF state after transmitting the abnormal information, and communication with the mobile phone 20 and the fixed base station 30 becomes impossible. You may do it.

(9) In the above embodiment, when the measured RSSI value is equal to or less than the abnormal value (low), the diagnosis unit 171 generates abnormality information, stores it in the storage unit 111, and transmits it to the maintenance server 40. However, it is not limited to this.
When the measured RSSI value is equal to or less than the abnormal value (low), the diagnosis unit 171 determines that the reception side in the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 has very high reliability, The parameter of the amplifier circuit may be changed as in the case where the RSSI value exceeds the upper limit value of the normal range. Specifically, the diagnosis unit 171 increases the amplification coefficient so that the RSSI value is within the normal range.

(10) In the above embodiment, the relay device 10 stores the inspection information in advance and uses it when acquiring the BER. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the information included in the inspection signal may be transmitted based on a predetermined rule such as repeating a numerical value from 0 to 9.
On the receiving side, the BER can be acquired by detecting, as an error, a portion where the information included in the received test signal does not match a predetermined rule.

(11) In the above embodiment, the relay device 10 uses the BER list T300 to distinguish between normal and abnormal BER, but the present invention is not limited to this.
The relay device may distinguish between normal and abnormal BER depending on whether there is an error in the received signal, that is, whether the BER value is 0 or not.
(12) In the above embodiment, the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 are in the same housing, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110 may exist in different housings. In this case, the control unit 112 may be in a case where the first transmission / reception unit 109 exists, may be in a case where the second transmission / reception unit 110 exists, or a case different from these cases. May be in the body.
(13) In the above embodiment, at the time of failure diagnosis, diagnosis is performed using three types of values of RSSI, CINR, and BER. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

The diagnosis unit 171 may perform failure diagnosis using at least one of these values.
(14) A program describing the procedure of the method described in the above embodiment is stored in a memory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like reads the program from the memory, and executes the read program. The above method may be realized.

Further, a program describing the procedure of the method may be stored in a recording medium and distributed.
(15) In the above embodiment, the relay device 10 has received an instruction to start failure diagnosis from the administrator of the relay device 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.
An instruction may be received from the communication carrier, or a failure diagnosis start command may be received from the maintenance server 40.

  (16) In the present embodiment, the first cable 113 and the second cable 114 are described as being used for transmission / reception of signals between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110. Not limited. As a means for transmitting and receiving signals between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110, for example, the relay device 10 uses a signal between the first transmission / reception unit 109 and the second transmission / reception unit 110. Wireless communication using a non-frequency band may be performed. Moreover, when communicating by wire, you may carry out using an optical cable.

(17) The above embodiment and modifications may be combined.
1.5 Summary (1) Normally, in the communication system 1 shown in the embodiment, the second transmitting / receiving unit 110 controls transmission power by negotiation with the fixed base station 30. For this reason, the transmission power does not become constant, but the transmission power at that time is grasped by the second transmission / reception unit 110, so that the power when the first transmission / reception unit 109 receives the signal can be calculated. The first transmission / reception unit 109 can perform failure diagnosis and parameter adjustment from the RSSI, CINR and demodulation result (BER) of the signal received from the second transmission / reception unit 110. Further, in order to accurately measure RSSI and CINR, the first transmitting / receiving unit 109 needs not to communicate with the mobile phone 20. When the communication with another terminal is detected, the relay apparatus 10 can prevent the deterioration of the quality of the actual service by immediately stopping the name diagnosis and parameter adjustment using RSSI, CINR and BER.

  (2) The relay device shown in the present embodiment includes a first transmission / reception unit that communicates with a mobile terminal and a second transmission / reception unit that communicates with a fixed base station. A relay device responsible for relaying communication between a mobile station and the fixed base station, detecting means for detecting a trigger for starting own fault diagnosis, and in the case of performing the fault diagnosis, the first transmission / reception means; When the trigger is detected by the first and second relay means used for transmission / reception of a signal to / from the second transmission / reception means and the detection means, the first transmission / reception means transmits the first trigger. A first signal received by the second transmission / reception means via the relay means, and a second signal transmitted from the second transmission / reception means and received by the first transmission / reception means via the second relay means; Diagnostic means for diagnosing failure of own machine using Characterized in that it comprises a.

According to this configuration, the relay device can perform its own failure diagnosis without having a specialized component for failure diagnosis.
(3) Here, the diagnosis means performs failure diagnosis for the transmission function in the first transmission / reception means and the reception function in the second transmission / reception means using the first signal, and uses the second signal. Failure diagnosis may be performed on the reception function in the first transmission / reception means and the transmission function in the second transmission / reception means.

  According to this configuration, the relay device performs communication between the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit via the first and second relay units, and transmits the first transmission / reception unit using the first signal. Failure diagnosis is performed on the function and the reception function of the second transmission / reception means, and failure diagnosis is performed on the reception function of the first transmission / reception means and the transmission function of the second transmission / reception means using the second signal. Thereby, the relay apparatus can detect a failure in both the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means.

  (4) Here, the first transmission / reception unit includes a first transmission unit responsible for a transmission function and a first reception unit responsible for a reception function, and the second transmission / reception unit includes a second transmission unit responsible for a transmission function. And a second receiving unit that bears a receiving function, wherein the first transmitting unit transmits the first signal to the second receiving unit via the first relay means at the time of failure diagnosis, The second transmitting unit transmits the second signal to the first receiving unit via the second relay unit during failure diagnosis, and the diagnostic unit receives an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) for the first signal. ) Based on the first transmitter and the second receiver, and based on RSSI for the second signal, the first receiver and the second transmitter are diagnosed. In the first signal At least one of the RSSI for RSSI and the second signal to the, if not within a predetermined range may be transmitting unit to be diagnosed and / or receiving unit is determined to be abnormal.

According to this configuration, the relay device can detect a failure of the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means based on the RSSI for each of the first signal and the second signal.
(5) Here, when the RSSI value with respect to the signal not within the range is equal to or greater than the upper limit within the range, the transmission unit that is a diagnosis target based on the signal with respect to the RSSI is abnormal. If the RSSI value is lower than the lower limit in the range, the transmission power failure is determined. Information indicating that the information is to be displayed may be notified to an external device.

  According to this configuration, when the RSSI value is equal to or higher than the upper limit of the predetermined range, the relay apparatus can perform self-repair by reducing the transmission power of the signal to be transmitted. Further, when the RSSI value is equal to or lower than the lower limit of the predetermined range, the relay device notifies the external device of information indicating the failure, so that the person who has received the notification handles the detected failure. be able to.

  (6) Here, the diagnosis unit further performs a failure diagnosis of the first transmission unit and the second reception unit based on CINR (Carrier to Interference plus Noise Ratio) for the first signal, Based on the CINR for the second signal, failure diagnosis of the first receiver and the second transmitter is performed, and at least one of the CINR for the first signal and the CINR for the second signal is a predetermined value. In the case of the following, it may be determined that the transmitting unit and / or the receiving unit to be diagnosed are abnormal.

According to this configuration, the relay apparatus can detect a failure of the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit based on the CINR for each of the first signal and the second signal.
(7) Here, the diagnosis unit further performs a failure diagnosis of the first transmission unit and the second reception unit based on a BER (Bit Error Rate) for the first signal, and the second signal The failure diagnosis of the first receiver and the second transmitter is performed based on the BER for the first signal, and at least one of the BER for the first signal and the BER for the second signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. In this case, it may be determined that the transmitting unit and / or the receiving unit to be diagnosed are abnormal.

According to this configuration, the relay device can detect a failure of the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means based on the BER for each of the first signal and the second signal.
(8) Here, the first relay means has a first switch for conducting between the first transmitting unit and the second receiving unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis. The second relay means includes a second switch for conducting between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis. In addition, a first transmission antenna and a first reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the first transmission unit and the first reception unit, respectively, and the second transmission unit and the second reception unit, respectively. Is connected to a second transmitting antenna and a second receiving antenna for communicating with a mobile phone, and the detection means is for starting own fault diagnosis during operation of a communication system including the relay device. The trigger is detected, and the diagnostic means detects the detection hand. When the trigger is detected, both the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit transmit both the first and second relay units to perform the failure diagnosis in parallel with the operation of the communication system. Both the first and second switches may be controlled so as to conduct between each other.

According to this configuration, the relay device diagnoses the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means without stopping communication between the mobile phone and the fixed base station. That is, the relay device can detect a failure while operating the communication system for the mobile phone.
(9) Here, the first relay means has a first switch for conducting between the first transmitting unit and the second receiving unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis. The second relay means includes a second switch for conducting between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis. In addition, a first transmission antenna and a first reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the first transmission unit and the first reception unit, respectively, and the second transmission unit and the second reception unit, respectively. Is connected to a second transmitting antenna and a second receiving antenna for communicating with a mobile phone, and the detection means is for starting own fault diagnosis during operation of a communication system including the relay device. The trigger is detected, and the diagnostic means detects the detection hand. When the trigger is detected at the time of transmitting the first signal to perform the failure diagnosis in parallel with the operation of the communication system, the first relay means and the first transmission unit The second switch controls the first switch so as to conduct between the second receiving unit and the second relay means does not conduct between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit. When the second signal is transmitted, the second relay unit controls the second switch so that the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit are electrically connected to each other. At the same time, the first relay unit may control the first switch so that the first transmission unit and the second reception unit are disconnected.

  According to this configuration, the relay device performs failure diagnosis between the first transmission / reception unit and the second transmission / reception unit without stopping communication between the mobile phone and the fixed base station. Further, since the relay device makes one cable conductive and makes the other cable non-conductive, one transmission / reception means for transmitting a signal using the one cable receives a signal from the other transmission / reception means. There is no. That is, the one transmission / reception means can reliably receive only signals necessary for the operation of the communication system from the outside (a mobile phone or a fixed base station) during diagnosis.

(10) Here, when the first receiving unit receives a request signal related to communication from a mobile phone, the diagnosis unit interrupts or stops the diagnosis, and each of the first and second relay units However, the first and second switches may be controlled so that the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means are non-conductive.
According to this configuration, when the relay device receives the request signal from the mobile phone, the diagnosis is stopped or interrupted, so that the diagnosis does not affect the operation of the communication system.

  (11) Here, at the time of failure diagnosis, the second receiving unit uses the second receiving antenna and the second relay means to perform scanning of the base station for handover, and the first signal Is a signal to be scanned that includes notification information for identifying the relay device, and the diagnosis means includes notification information for identifying the relay device in the signal received by the scanning by the second transmission / reception means. If included, the received signal may be used to diagnose a failure of the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means.

According to this configuration, the relay apparatus performs diagnosis using the signal to be scanned. That is, since the relay device uses the signal and scanning function used in normal communication service operation, it can be executed in parallel with the normal operation function.
(12) Here, when the detection means detects the trigger, the communication with the fixed base station is abnormal, the mobile phone has not been connected for a certain period of time, or a predetermined time has arrived. It is also possible to detect either the fact that it has been received or an instruction to perform fault diagnosis from the administrator of the relay device.

  According to this configuration, the relay device has an abnormal communication with the fixed base station, has not been connected to the mobile phone for a certain period of time, has arrived at a predetermined time, and manages the relay device. The diagnosis is started by detecting any of the instructions received from the person to perform the failure diagnosis. As a result, the administrator of the communication service can cause the relay apparatus to perform diagnosis at a timing that requires diagnosis.

(13) Here, the first and second relay means may be first and second cables, respectively.
According to this configuration, the relay device can easily construct a configuration for transmitting and receiving the first signal and the second signal by using the first and second cables.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for failure diagnosis of a relay apparatus having a communication function equivalent to a mobile phone and a communication function equivalent to a fixed base station in a communication system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication system 10 Relay apparatus 20 Cellular phone 30 Fixed base station 40 Maintenance server 101, 102 Transmission antenna 103, 104 Reception antenna 105, 106 Divider 107, 108 Mixer 109 1st transmission / reception part 110 2nd transmission / reception part 111 Storage part 112 Control unit 113 First cable 114 Second cable 115 to 120 Switch 150 First transmission unit 151 First reception unit 152 First measurement unit 160 Second transmission unit 161 Second reception unit 162 Second measurement unit 170 Detection unit 171 Diagnosis unit

Claims (13)

A relay comprising a first transmitter / receiver for communicating with a portable terminal and a second transmitter / receiver for communicating with a fixed base station, and relaying communication between the portable terminal and the fixed base station A device,
A detecting means for detecting an opportunity to start own failure diagnosis;
In the case of performing the failure diagnosis, first and second relay means used for signal transmission / reception between the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means;
When the trigger is detected by the detection unit, the first signal transmitted from the first transmission / reception unit and received by the second transmission / reception unit via the first relay unit, and the second transmission / reception unit A relay device comprising: a diagnosis unit that performs a failure diagnosis of the own device using the second signal transmitted and received by the first transmission / reception unit via the second relay unit. The diagnostic means includes
Using the first signal, perform a fault diagnosis for the transmission function in the first transmission / reception means and the reception function in the second transmission / reception means,
The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a failure diagnosis is performed on the reception function of the first transmission / reception unit and the transmission function of the second transmission / reception unit using the second signal. The first transmission / reception means includes a first transmission unit responsible for a transmission function and a first reception unit responsible for a reception function,
The second transmission / reception means includes a second transmission unit responsible for a transmission function and a second reception unit responsible for a reception function,
The first transmission unit transmits the first signal to the second reception unit via the first relay unit at the time of failure diagnosis,
The second transmission unit transmits the second signal to the first reception unit via the second relay unit at the time of failure diagnosis,
The diagnostic means includes
Based on RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) for the first signal, the first transmitter and the second receiver are diagnosed for failure.
Based on the RSSI for the second signal, perform a failure diagnosis of the first receiver and the second transmitter,
When at least one of the RSSI for the first signal and the RSSI for the second signal is not within a predetermined range, it is determined that the transmitter and / or the receiver to be diagnosed are abnormal. The relay device according to claim 2, wherein The diagnostic means includes
If the RSSI value for a signal not within the range is equal to or greater than the upper limit within the range, it is determined that the transmitter that is a diagnosis target based on the signal for the RSSI is abnormal, and the RSSI of the signal to be received Reduce the transmission power from the transmitter so that the
The relay apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the RSSI value is equal to or less than a lower limit within the range, information indicating a failure related to transmission / reception power is notified to an external apparatus. The diagnostic means further includes:
Based on CINR (Carrier to Interference plus Noise Ratio) for the first signal, a failure diagnosis of the first transmitter and the second receiver is performed,
Based on the CINR for the second signal, perform a fault diagnosis of the first receiver and the second transmitter,
When at least one of the CINR for the first signal and the CINR for the second signal is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the transmitting unit and / or the receiving unit to be diagnosed is abnormal. The relay apparatus according to claim 4, wherein The diagnostic means further includes:
Based on BER (Bit Error Rate) with respect to the first signal, a failure diagnosis of the first transmission unit and the second reception unit is performed,
Based on the BER for the second signal, perform failure diagnosis of the first receiver and the second transmitter,
When at least one of the BER with respect to the first signal and the BER with respect to the second signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that the transmitter and / or the receiver to be diagnosed are abnormal. The relay device according to claim 5, wherein The first relay means includes a first switch for conducting between the first transmitting unit and the second receiving unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis,
The second relay means has a second switch for conducting between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis,
A first transmission antenna and a first reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the first transmission unit and the first reception unit, respectively.
A second transmission antenna and a second reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the second transmission unit and the second reception unit, respectively.
The detection means detects the trigger for starting own fault diagnosis during operation of a communication system including the relay device,
The diagnostic means includes
When the trigger is detected by the detection means,
In order to perform the failure diagnosis in parallel with the operation of the communication system, both the first and second relay means are electrically connected between the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means. The relay apparatus according to claim 6, wherein both the second switch and the second switch are controlled. The first relay means includes a first switch for conducting between the first transmitting unit and the second receiving unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis,
The second relay means has a second switch for conducting between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit at the time of diagnosis and non-conducting at the time of non-diagnosis,
A first transmission antenna and a first reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the first transmission unit and the first reception unit, respectively.
A second transmission antenna and a second reception antenna for communicating with a mobile phone are connected to the second transmission unit and the second reception unit, respectively.
The detection means detects the trigger for starting own fault diagnosis during operation of a communication system including the relay device,
The diagnostic means includes
When the trigger is detected by the detection means,
When transmitting the first signal to perform the failure diagnosis in parallel with the operation of the communication system, the first relay means conducts between the first transmission unit and the second reception unit. Controlling the first switch to control the second switch so that the second relay means is non-conductive between the first receiving unit and the second transmitting unit,
When transmitting the second signal, the second relay means controls the second switch so as to conduct between the first receiver and the second transmitter, and the first relay The relay apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the unit controls the first switch so that the first transmission unit and the second reception unit are disconnected. The diagnostic means includes
When the first receiving unit receives a request signal related to communication from a mobile phone, the diagnosis is interrupted or stopped, and each of the first and second relaying units is connected to the first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit. The relay device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the first switch and the second switch are controlled so as to be non-conductive with each other. The second receiving unit performs scanning of the base station for handover using the second receiving antenna and the second relay means at the time of failure diagnosis,
The first signal is a signal to be scanned that includes broadcast information for identifying the relay device,
The diagnostic means includes
Failure of the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means using the received signal when the information received by the scanning by the second transmission / reception means includes broadcast information identifying the relay device. The relay device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the relay device is diagnosed. When the detection means detects the trigger,
Instructions that the communication with the fixed base station is abnormal, that the mobile phone has not been connected for a certain period of time, that a predetermined time has arrived, and that the administrator of the relay device performs failure diagnosis The relay apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the relay apparatus detects any one of the messages received. The relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second relay units are first and second cables, respectively. A first transmission / reception unit that communicates as a base station function with a mobile terminal, and a second transmission / reception unit that communicates as a mobile phone function with a fixed base station, the mobile terminal and the fixed base station A method used in a relay device responsible for relaying communication with
The relay device is
At the time of self-diagnosis, the first and second cables used for transmitting and receiving signals between the first transmitting and receiving means and the second transmitting and receiving means,
The method
A detection step for detecting a trigger for starting own fault diagnosis;
After the trigger is detected by the detection step, the first transmission / reception means is transmitted from the first transmission / reception means and is received by the second transmission / reception means via the first cable. Failure diagnosis is performed on the transmission function as a base station and the reception function as a mobile phone in the second transmission / reception means, transmitted from the second transmission / reception means, and transmitted by the first transmission / reception means via the second cable. A diagnostic step of performing a fault diagnosis on a reception function as a base station in the first transmission / reception means and a transmission function as a mobile phone in the second transmission / reception means by using the received second signal, how to.

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