JP5067085B2 - Wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, for example, high-capacity communication using MIMO (Multi-Input-Multi-Output) technology and communication quality (including communication speed and communication) between mobiles (including an ad hoc communication network). Bit error rate).

  In mobile communication, a phenomenon called fading, in which reception characteristics deteriorate due to interference by reflected waves, often occurs. In order to cope with this, a technique called a smart antenna that controls the transmission direction of electromagnetic waves and the directivity of the antenna at the time of reception has been developed. In addition, a technique called MIMO has been developed that realizes large-capacity communication by developing this technique, actively using reflection, and transmitting / receiving signals of different series at the same frequency from a plurality of antennas.

  Smart antenna technology in mobile communications has traditionally used beam forming, which is an advanced technology that tracks the mobile body and changes the direction of electromagnetic waves in that direction or changes the insidious direction to suppress noise. On the other hand, a relatively simple technique called diversity has been used on the terminal side.

  The reason for this is that since the base station does not move, the control of the beam direction of the electromagnetic waves can be realized relatively easily because it is only necessary to track the direction of movement of the terminal and point it in that direction. In addition, since the number of operating base stations is far less than that of terminals, it can be used even if the price is somewhat high.

  On the other hand, the terminal not only moves, but the direction of the terminal may change greatly. Often, the orientation of the antenna changes 90 degrees between 0.1 seconds and 0.5 seconds when the face changes during a call on a mobile phone terminal. Therefore, when the beam forming is performed on the terminal side, not only the response to the change in the apparent orientation of the base station accompanying the movement of the terminal in the xYZ direction (this change is relatively small and easy to track), It is necessary to cope with a sudden change in the apparent azimuth of the base station due to the XYZ axis rotation of the terminal (this is difficult). When transmitting and receiving with an antenna having strong directivity using beam forming, there is a possibility that communication will be interrupted as soon as the speaker changes his face. Similarly, when the terminal rotates in the XYZ axis and the base station direction changes suddenly in a place where the radio wave is weak or a place where the reflection is complicated such as a building, there is a possibility that the communication will be interrupted.

  Therefore, in order to prevent fading on the terminal side, for example, a primitive array antenna technique called reception diversity that incorporates a plurality of antennas having different directivity characteristics and switches to an antenna having a good reception state is often used. This method does not require a sophisticated operation of tracking the base station direction, and a signal received from an antenna having the strongest radio wave intensity or an antenna having the lowest error rate may be used. Among PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) mobile phone terminals in Japan, there are terminals having three antennas: a whip antenna, a helical antenna, and a planar inverted F-shaped antenna (PIFA) inside the main body for reception diversity. .

  However, even on the terminal side, communication quality can be further improved by using advanced smart antenna technology.

  For example, for an antenna for a television receiver with a small amount of movement and rotation, there is a technique for searching for an optimum direction by shifting the direction of the antenna (Patent Document 1). In addition, a method using GPS instead of scanning and searching by shifting the direction of antenna is proposed for searching for the direction of the base station (Patent Document 2).

Mobile terminals using MIMO, the most advanced smart antenna, are also on the market. The MIMO technology is described as a standard technology on the WEB site (Non-Patent Document 1) of the JPO. According to this, application of techniques such as beam control, estimation of the direction of incoming waves, and diversity are being studied.
JP 2006-013930 A Special table 2004-514357 http: // www. jpo. go. jp / shiryou / s_sonota / hyoujun_gijutsu / mimo / mokuji. htm

  Specifically, the mobile terminal using MIMO is a notebook personal computer using a wireless LAN. In the case of a notebook personal computer, the mobile terminal rarely moves while being used. An antenna for a television receiver has a very small amount of movement and rotation during normal reception. Therefore, it is difficult to apply these technologies to the smart antenna technology of a terminal such as a mobile phone terminal that has a large amount of movement or rotation.

  The MIMO technology described as a standard technology on the JPO WEB site is not necessarily a technology for mobile terminals, but is applied as it is to the smart antenna technology for terminals with large changes in movement and rotation, such as mobile phone terminals. Difficult to do. For example, in the 4G mobile communication system currently being studied, it is said that the communication speed when moving is about 100 Mb / s and the communication speed when stationary is about 1 Gb / s, and the transmission speed may drop when moving. It is a premise. It is desirable to be able to easily cope with such a change in communication speed.

  In addition to the communication between the mobile unit and the base station as described above, a control technique corresponding to the orientation of the terminal is also required when the mobile unit includes a mobile unit such as an ad hoc mobile communication network.

  Therefore, in communication between a mobile terminal and a base station or between mobile terminals, a wireless communication apparatus that controls the direction of the adaptive antenna to an appropriate direction, prevents communication interruption, and optimizes communication quality is desired. .

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a wireless communication apparatus using an adaptive antenna capable of changing movement or posture, (1) quality evaluation means for evaluating communication quality with a communication partner apparatus, and (2) the quality evaluation described above Azimuth searching means for searching for the azimuth to be set to the adaptive antenna while checking the means; (3) a movement / posture change sensor for detecting movement change or posture change of the wireless communication apparatus; An orientation tracking means for tracking the orientation searched by the orientation search means according to the detection output of the orientation change sensor, and (5) a processing system comprising the quality evaluation means, the orientation search means, and the orientation tracking means. (6) While communicating with at least one processing system, let the remaining processing system search for the direction of the next best antenna in communication with the same communication partner device, and In accordance with the output of the system of the quality evaluation means, characterized by having a plurality of systems controller to review at least processing system is subjected to communicate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a wireless communication apparatus using an adaptive antenna and capable of moving or changing posture, (1) quality evaluation means for evaluating communication quality with a communication partner apparatus, and (2) the quality evaluation described above Azimuth searching means for searching for the azimuth to be set to the adaptive antenna while checking the means; (3) a movement / posture change sensor for detecting movement change or posture change of the wireless communication apparatus; Orientation tracking means for tracking the orientation searched by the orientation search means in accordance with the detection output of the orientation change sensor; (5) location information acquisition means for acquiring location information of the wireless communication device; and (6) location information. Communication partner antenna control utilization information sending means for sending information used by the communication counterpart device to control the antenna orientation, including the position information acquired by the acquisition means, to the communication counterpart device Have a, (7) the quality evaluation unit, a plurality of processing systems made by the azimuth search means and the azimuth tracking means, while communicating with at least processing system (8), the remaining processing system, the same communication partner A plurality of system control means for searching for the direction of the next best antenna in communication with the apparatus and reviewing at least one processing system used for communication according to the output of the quality evaluation means of each processing system ; Features.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a wireless communication device having the wireless communication device of the second aspect of the present invention as a communication partner, (1) information used for antenna direction control that may be given from the wireless communication device of the communication partner And (2) information to be used for controlling the antenna direction from the wireless communication device of the communication partner, which is stored in advance as information for determining the optimum directing direction from the wireless communication device. And a directional azimuth determining means for searching the database means to determine an optimum directional azimuth from the wireless communication apparatus.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the radio | wireless communication apparatus which controls the direction of an adaptive antenna to an appropriate direction in radio | wireless communication between a mobile terminal, a base station, and mobile terminals, can prevent communication interruption, and can optimize communication quality Can provide.

(A) First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which a wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a mobile communication system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication system including a detailed configuration of a mobile terminal according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a mobile communication system 1 includes a base station 2 and a mobile terminal 3 according to the first embodiment. The base station 2 may be an existing base station, and in the first embodiment, the detailed configuration of the mobile terminal 3 is different from the conventional one.

  The mobile terminal 3 has an array antenna 4, a transmission function unit 5, a reception function unit 6 and a common control function unit 7 as functions at the lowest layer of the physical layer in wireless communication, and performs higher-level processing. An upper layer function unit 8 is provided.

  The array antenna 4 is provided with a plurality of antenna elements (shown as four in FIG. 1 but not limited to this number), and the amplitude for each antenna element as will be described later. An adaptive antenna (smart antenna) that can control the directivity by phase control is configured. When each antenna element, which is a constituent element of the array antenna 4, is attached to each of a plurality of surfaces of the mobile terminal 3 (for example, six surfaces including a front surface, a right surface, a back surface, a left surface, an upper surface, and a lower surface), the dead direction disappears. Therefore, it is more preferable.

  In FIG. 1, the array antenna 4 is used for both transmission and reception, but a transmitting array antenna and a receiving array antenna may be provided separately. Further, instead of controlling the directional direction of the array antenna 4, or in addition to controlling the directional direction of the array antenna 4, the dead direction of the array antenna 4 may be controlled. In this specification, the control of the directional azimuth and the dead azimuth and the control of the dead azimuth are also referred to as directional azimuth control.

  In FIG. 1, the detailed configuration of the transmission function unit 5, the reception function unit 6, and the common control function unit 7 is described only for the configuration related to the azimuth control of the array antenna 4. Therefore, data compression / decompression configuration, digital modulation, demodulation configuration, and the like are omitted.

  The transmission function unit 5 distributes the transmission signal by the number of elements of the array antenna 4 and a variable that shifts the phase of each of the distributed transmission signals in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 50 described later. The phase shifter 11 and the amplitude adjuster 12 that changes the amplitude of each of the distributed transmission signals in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 50 to be described later. The array antenna 4, the distributor 10, the variable phase shifter 11, and the amplitude adjuster 12 constitute a transmission type adaptive antenna (smart antenna) that changes the directing direction according to an instruction from the control unit 50. In FIG. 1, the variable phase shifter 11 is provided upstream of the amplitude adjuster 12, but the variable phase shifter 11 is provided downstream of the amplitude adjuster 12. Also good. Further, the variable phase shifter 11 and the amplitude adjuster 12 may be realized by a software configuration and execute the amplitude adjustment and the phase shift in parallel.

  The reception control unit 6 includes an amplitude adjuster 30 that changes the amplitude of each received signal from each antenna element in the array antenna 4 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 50 described later, and each antenna element in the array antenna 4. The received signal from each antenna element of the array antenna 4 output from the variable phase shifter 31 and the variable phase shifter 31 that shifts the phase of each received signal according to an instruction from the control unit 50 described later. Are added (combined), and a quality evaluator 33 that measures the communication quality based on the integrated received signal from the adder 32. The array antenna 4, the amplitude adjuster 30, the variable phase shifter 31, and the adder 32 constitute a receiving adaptive antenna (smart antenna) that changes the directing direction according to an instruction from the control unit 50. In FIG. 1, the amplitude adjuster 30 is provided upstream of the variable phase shifter 31, but the amplitude adjuster 30 is provided downstream of the variable phase shifter 31. Also good. Further, the amplitude adjuster 30, the variable phase shifter 31, and the adder 32 may be realized by a software configuration, and may execute amplitude adjustment, phase shift, and integration in parallel.

  The quality evaluator 33 measures a communication quality value (quality evaluation value) that can evaluate the directivity of the adaptive antenna, and measures an error rate such as a bit error rate (BER), for example. Further, for example, the evaluation by the quality evaluator 33 can be performed using an error correction code for each frame or packet of the received signal. The quality evaluation value signal from the quality evaluator 33 is supplied to the control unit 50.

  The common control function unit 7 forms a control signal to be given to the variable phase shifter 11 and the amplitude adjuster 12 of the transmission function unit 5 and a control signal to be given to the amplitude adjuster 30 and the variable phase shifter 31 of the reception control unit 6. A control unit 50 and an acceleration sensor 51 are included.

  The acceleration sensor 51 includes a sensor portion that detects acceleration along each of the local XYZ directions determined for the mobile terminal 3, and a sensor portion that detects angular acceleration centered on each axis of the XYZ axes. Provided to output measured instantaneous acceleration and instantaneous angular acceleration, and output the amount of movement in each direction in the XYZ directions and the amount of rotation around each axis of the XYZ axes obtained from the measured instantaneous acceleration and instantaneous angular acceleration It is.

  The control unit 50 forms the various control signals described above according to the quality evaluation value from the quality evaluator 33 and the output of the acceleration sensor 51. The control by the control unit 50 will be clarified in the operation explanation section.

(A-2) Operation of the First Embodiment Next, the operation of the mobile terminal 3 in the first embodiment, particularly, the adaptive antenna control operation (antenna control method of the first embodiment) will be described with reference to FIG. Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the antenna orientation control operation by the control unit 50.

  Hereinafter, a case where the control unit 50 controls the reception direction and the transmission direction in the terminal 3 to be the same direction (when the transmission destination 2D of the base station 2 has the same direction as the transmission source 2S) will be described.

  However, the method of the first embodiment can be applied even when the transmission destination 2D and the transmission source 2S have different orientations. The reception azimuth control method is the same method as described later in which the reception azimuth and the transmission azimuth are controlled to the same azimuth. The transmission direction control method is the same method as described later in which the reception direction and the transmission direction are controlled to the same direction except that the quality evaluation value is transmitted from the base station 2.

  For example, when the mobile terminal 3 is powered on, the control unit 50 starts the control operation shown in FIG. First, the initial optimal antenna orientation (first initial orientation) at the initial time is searched (S100), and the local XYZ coordinate system (which the acceleration sensor 51 of the mobile terminal 3 has) is used as a reference. The coordinate system is set (S101). For example, the base station 2 periodically and repeatedly executes communication with the mobile terminal 3 through the control channel in order to grasp the mobile terminal 3 existing in its own jurisdiction area. The control unit 50 searches for an optimal antenna orientation at the initial stage while evaluating the reception quality during such communication. Any existing method may be applied as the search method.

  The mobile terminal 3 includes a GPS reception function unit, and the position of the GPS reception function unit when the power is turned on and the attitude of the acceleration sensor (the direction of the acceleration sensor 51 relative to the absolute coordinate system of the XYZ coordinate system) are used as a reference thereafter. You may make it grasp | ascertain the position and attitude | position of.

  Thereafter, the control unit 50 waits for a predetermined time and searches for the second optimum antenna orientation (second initial orientation) at the initial time (S102). Based on the output of the acceleration sensor 51, the first and The amount of movement in each direction in the XYZ directions and the amount of rotation about each axis of the XYZ axes in the time difference obtained with the second initial orientation is recognized (S103). Thereafter, the position of the base station 2 in the reference coordinate system is estimated (S104).

  A method for estimating the position of the base station 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, the position of the base station 2 is estimated in three dimensions, but will be described in two dimensions in order to simplify the description.

  It is assumed that the first initial azimuth obtained by the mobile terminal 3 located at a certain position P0 is θ0 as captured by an XY coordinate system (reference coordinate system) with that position as the origin. The position of the base station 2 cannot be specified only by the information of the direction θ0. When searching for the second initial azimuth, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 3 has moved to position P1 by moving in the X direction by DX and DY in the Y direction, compared to when searching for the first initial azimuth. Also, when searching for the second initial orientation, the orientation of the mobile terminal 3 (XY coordinate system) is rotated by θ, compared to when searching for the first initial orientation, and the orientation of the orientation (XY coordinate system) Suppose that the second initial orientation is θ1. If the orientation of the mobile terminal 3 does not change and only moves, the second initial orientation is detected as θ1 + θ. Further, the coordinates in the reference coordinate system of the position P1 of the base station 2 at the time of searching for the second initial orientation can be specified from the movement amounts in the X direction and the Y direction. The base station 2 exists at the intersection of the straight line from the known position (origin) P0 to the direction θ0 and the straight line from the known position P1 to the direction θ1 + θ, and the position of the base station 2 is obtained by calculation. (Estimate).

  4A shows a case where only the orientation of the mobile terminal 3 is changed (XY coordinate system), and FIG. 4B shows that the mobile terminal 3 moves without changing the orientation of the orientation. Shows the case. In the former case, the optimum azimuth after the change in the orientation of the posture can be changed according to the output of the acceleration sensor 51 without knowing the position of the base station 2. On the other hand, in the latter case, even if the moving amount of the mobile terminal 3 is the same, the amount of change in the optimal direction differs between when the mobile terminal 3 is close to and far from the base station 2, and if the position of the base station 2 is not known, Such an optimal orientation cannot be tracked.

  When the position of the base station 2 is estimated as described above, the control unit 50 determines the next timing for reviewing the directivity (S105), and waits for that timing (S106). During such standby, it is also monitored whether or not the power of the mobile terminal 3 has been turned off (S107).

  When the power of the mobile terminal 3 is turned off, the series of processes shown in FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows only an outline of the flow of the antenna azimuth control operation by the control unit 50 regardless of whether or not voice communication is performed. When the process proceeds to step S105 for the first time, voice communication is not started, and as described later, step S105 is repeatedly executed thereafter. When step 105 is executed, voice communication is executed in parallel. Some call states are active, and there are other standby states in which voice communication is not being performed. Regarding the standby state, the predetermined time until the next timing for reviewing the directivity is longer than the predetermined time regarding the call state. In addition, if the mobile terminal 3 to be applied switches the communication speed related to the voice communication between the stationary state and the moving state, a predetermined time until the next timing for reviewing the directivity direction regarding the moving state Is set longer than a predetermined time for the stationary state.

  At the next timing for reviewing the azimuth direction, the control unit 50 is based on the output of the acceleration sensor 51 from the previous review timing (the timing at which S104 was executed when shifting from S104 to S105) to the current review timing. Then, the directivity direction of the new antenna is determined (S108). For example, the position and orientation of the mobile terminal 3 at the current review timing are determined by reflecting the output of the acceleration sensor 51 with respect to the position and orientation of the mobile terminal 3 at the previous review timing. From the position and posture of the mobile terminal 3 and the position of the base station 2 estimated in step S104, a new antenna directivity is determined.

  The control unit 50 searches for the optimum directional direction while changing the directional direction within a narrow range centered on the directional direction of the new antenna, and terminates the variation of the directional direction when the optimal directional direction is found. Then, it is fixed to the optimum directivity (S109). Thereafter, the process returns to step S105, and the next timing for reviewing the directivity is determined.

(A-3) Effect of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, the mobile terminal has an adaptive antenna having strong directivity, and always uses the output of the acceleration sensor to direct the directivity. It is possible to perform communication while maintaining (tracking) in an optimal direction, and communication that is more resistant to noise and fading is possible.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, it is not necessary to add new equipment on the base station side, and it is not necessary to modify the upper layer such as a transmission / reception protocol, and simply to the air interface on the mobile terminal side. It is only necessary to add a function, and with such a few additional functions, it is possible to improve the reception sensitivity of both the mobile terminal and the base station and to perform good communication.

(B) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment in which the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a mobile communication system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(B-1) Configuration of Second Embodiment FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication system 1A including a detailed configuration of a mobile terminal in the second embodiment, and the first embodiment described above. The same and corresponding parts as those in FIG. 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

  In FIG. 5, the mobile terminal 3A in the second embodiment can transmit and receive in parallel in two directions, the communication system with one direction is the active system, and the communication system with the other is It is a standby system (search system). When the communication quality in the standby system (search system) is better than the communication quality in the active system, the mobile terminal 3 performs switching between the standby system and the active system.

  3 A of mobile terminals in 2nd Embodiment also have the array antenna 4, the transmission function part 5, the reception function part 6, the common control function part 7, and the upper layer function part 8. FIG. The array antenna 4 and the upper layer function unit 8 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The transmission function unit 5 of the second embodiment includes two systems of distributors 10-1 and 10-2, variable phase shifters 11-1 and 11-2, and amplitude adjusters 12-1 and 12-2. In addition, a dummy signal generator 13, a switch 14 and a multiplexer 15 are included.

  Below, the component part of the divider | distributor 10-1, the variable phase shifter 11-1, and the amplitude regulator 12-1 is called the transmission directivity adjustment structure of a 1st system | strain, the divider | distributor 10-2 and the variable phase shifter 11-. 2 and the components of the amplitude adjuster 12-2 are referred to as a second-system transmission directivity adjustment configuration. The transmission direction adjustment configurations of the first system and the second system are the same as those of the distributor 10, the variable phase shifter 11, and the amplitude adjuster 12 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  The dummy signal generator 13 generates a dummy transmission signal (dummy signal) for the communication system that is currently a standby system (search system) and supplies the dummy transmission signal to the switch 14.

  The switch 14 is also given the original transmission signal output by the higher layer function unit 8. Under the control of the control unit 50, the switcher 14 gives the transmission signal output by the upper layer function unit 8 to the currently used system among the transmission direction adjustment configurations of the first system and the second system, At that time, the dummy signal generated by the dummy signal generator 13 is given to the standby system.

  The transmission signals (original transmission signals or dummy signals) corresponding to the number of antenna elements of the array antenna 4 subjected to directivity adjustment by the first transmission directivity adjustment configuration are also subjected to directivity adjustment by the second transmission directivity adjustment configuration. Further, transmission signals (dummy signals or original transmission signals) for the number of antenna elements of the array antenna 4 are also supplied to the multiplexer 15. The multiplexer 15 multiplexes the transmission signals for each antenna element given from the transmission directivity adjustment configurations of the first system and the second system, and gives them to each antenna element of the array antenna 4.

  In FIG. 5, the active communication partner and the standby communication partner are shown to be the same, but the active communication partner and the standby communication partner may be different.

  The reception function unit 6 of the second embodiment includes two systems of amplitude adjusters 30-1 and 30-2, variable phase shifters 31-1 and 31-2, adders 32-1 and 32-2, and quality evaluation. Devices 33-1 and 33-2 and a switch 34.

  Hereinafter, the components of the amplitude adjuster 30-1, the variable phase shifter 31-1, and the adder 32-1 will be referred to as a first-system reception directivity adjustment configuration, and the amplitude adjuster 30-2, the variable phase shifter 31 will be described. -2 and the adder 32-2 are called a second-system reception directivity adjustment configuration.

  The reception signal from the array antenna 4 is branched into two, one reception signal is input to the first system reception orientation adjustment configuration, and the other reception signal is input to the second system reception orientation adjustment configuration. The reception directivity adjustment configurations of the first system and the second system are the same as those of the amplitude adjuster 30, the variable phase shifter 31, and the adder 32 of the first embodiment, respectively.

  The reception directivity adjustment configuration of the first system corresponds to the transmission directivity adjustment configuration of the first system described above, and the reception directivity adjustment configuration of the second system corresponds to the transmission directivity adjustment configuration of the second system described above. Therefore, for example, if the transmission directivity adjustment configuration of the first system is the active system and the transmission directivity adjustment configuration of the second system is the standby system, the reception side also has the reception directivity adjustment configuration of the first system as the active system and the second system. The reception directivity adjustment configuration becomes a standby system.

  The quality evaluator 33-1 evaluates the reception signal output from the first system reception directivity adjustment configuration, and the quality evaluator 33-2 receives the reception signal output from the second system reception directivity adjustment configuration. The signal is evaluated, and both evaluation value signals are given to the control unit 50. Note that only one quality evaluator may be prepared, and the received signals from the first system and second system reception orientation adjustment configurations may be switched and input to this single quality evaluator.

  Under the control of the control unit 50, the switch 34 selects a reception signal of the reception-direction adjustment configuration of the current system from among the reception-direction adjustment configurations of the first system and the second system, and performs an upper layer function. Part 8 is given.

  The common control function unit 7 of the second embodiment also includes a control unit 50 and an acceleration sensor 51. The acceleration sensor 51 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  Based on the evaluation value signal of the quality evaluator 33-1 and the detection signal of the acceleration sensor 51, the control unit 50 controls the transmission / reception direction of the first system in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the quality evaluator 33. The transmission / reception azimuth of the second system is controlled in the same manner as in the first embodiment based on the evaluation value signal −2 and the detection signal of the acceleration sensor 51. In addition to this, the control unit 50 of the second embodiment also performs a review of the active system and the standby system. For example, at a predetermined cycle, the controller 50 determines that the standby communication quality is better than the active communication quality based on the evaluation value signal of the quality evaluator 33-1 and the evaluation value signal of the quality evaluator 33-2. If the communication quality of the standby system is better than the communication quality of the active system, a switching control signal is sent to the switch 14 and the switch 34, and the current active system is switched to the standby system. In addition, the conventional standby system is switched to the active system.

  FIG. 5 shows that the first system and the second system can both be the active system and the standby system. Alternatively, the active system and the standby system may be fixed. good. In this case, the switch 14 and the switch 34 are omitted, and the variable phase shifters 11-1 and 11-2 and the amplitude adjusters of the respective systems are used when switching between the working system direction and the standby system direction. The control signals given to 12-1 and 12-2 and the control signals given to the amplitude adjusters 30-1 and 30-2 and variable phase shifters 31-1 and 31-2 of each system are exchanged.

(B-2) Operation of the Second Embodiment Next, the operation of the mobile terminal 3A in the second embodiment, particularly, the adaptive antenna control operation (antenna control method of the second embodiment) will be described with reference to FIG. Will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the power of the mobile terminal 3A is turned on, the control unit 50 searches for the optimum (best) azimuth and sets a system (here, the first system) to be the active system at a predetermined initial time. On the other hand, the optimum direction searched is set.

  In such an initial search, both the first system and the second system may be used for the search. In this case, the search range is handled in half by the first system and the second system, You may enable it to search at high speed.

  By setting the optimum azimuth, the transmission signal from the upper layer function unit 8 is given to the transmission azimuth adjustment configuration of the first system of the working system via the switch 14, and the first system is controlled under the control of the control unit 50. With this transmission azimuth adjustment configuration, phase shift control and amplitude adjustment for achieving the optimum azimuth are executed and transmitted from the array antenna 4. In addition, a signal (reception signal) arriving from the optimum azimuth is captured by the array antenna 4 and then the first system of the active system in which amplitude adjustment and phase shift control are performed so that the optimum azimuth is the reception azimuth And is provided to the upper layer function unit 8 via the switch 34.

  Thereafter, the control unit 50 causes the working system to execute a tracking operation in the optimum direction. This tracking operation is the same method as in the first embodiment. In this tracking operation, fine adjustment of the optimum azimuth (search for a narrow range centered on the optimum azimuth) as described in the first embodiment is also performed.

  The dummy signal generated by the dummy signal generator 13 is given via the switch 14 to the transmission direction adjustment configuration of the second system that has finished the initial search and has started to operate as a standby system. Under control, phase shift control and amplitude adjustment for searching for the next best direction are executed and transmitted from the array antenna 4. Further, a signal (received signal) that has arrived from the direction in which the transmission direction adjustment configuration of the standby system (transmission direction adjustment configuration of the second system) is searching is captured by the array antenna 4, and then the second best search direction Is received by the second reception azimuth adjustment configuration of the standby system in which amplitude adjustment and phase shift control are performed so as to be the reception azimuth. That is, the control unit 50 always searches for the next preferred (sub-optimal) azimuth after the azimuth used by the active system for the transmission azimuth adjustment configuration and the reception azimuth adjustment configuration of the standby system. Control to track the second best direction.

  The reception signal of the active system is evaluated by the quality evaluator (33-1 or 33-2) corresponding to the reception direction adjustment configuration of the active system (initially, the reception direction adjustment configuration of the first system). Is evaluated by the quality evaluator (33-2 or 33-1) corresponding to the reception direction adjustment configuration of the standby system (initially the reception direction adjustment configuration of the second system), and both evaluation values are input to the control unit 50. The Thereby, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the relationship between the best direction and the next best direction is reversed, and when the relationship between the best direction and the next best direction is reversed, between the active system and the standby system. Perform switching.

  Thereafter, the control unit 50 repeatedly executes the original communication with the best direction tracking using the active system and the search tracking of the next best direction by the standby system.

(B-3) Effects of Second Embodiment According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. That is, according to the second embodiment, in the mobile terminal, when the orientation direction of the adaptive antenna is directed to the best direction, the second best direction is searched and tracked in parallel, and the best direction greatly changes. When the best azimuth is not reached, the next best azimuth is switched to the best azimuth, so that communication can be performed while always maintaining the directional azimuth of the adaptive antenna at the optimum azimuth. Here, since the tracking of the second best direction also uses the output of the acceleration sensor 51, high tracking accuracy can be realized.

  For example, even if there is one transmission / reception system, it is possible to search for a better direction by slightly shifting the direction. However, in the case where the mobile terminal moves in a valley of a building or the like, the reception situation may be extremely deteriorated unless a search in which the directing direction is greatly changed is performed. If a search in which the directing direction is greatly changed is performed using the current transmission / reception system, transmission / reception cannot be performed on the communication channel in use. Therefore, it is preferable to search using a standby system as in the second embodiment.

(B-4) Modified Embodiment of Second Embodiment In the above description, the case where there is one standby system is shown, but there may be two or more standby systems. For example, a first standby system that searches for the next best direction and a second standby system that searches for the next best direction are provided. After switching to the first standby system, the current active system searches for the first standby system. When the communication quality of the active system switched when not completed is deteriorated, the second standby system up to that time may be switched to the active system.

  In the above description (in the case of FIG. 5), both the active system and the standby system have been shown to search for and track the direction related to the same base station 2 and different paths (for example, one is the reflection path). You may search and track the azimuth | direction which concerns on a different base station from an active system.

  Further, in the above description, the transmission signal (or reception signal) used for searching and tracking the direction in the standby system is a dummy signal that is different from the original signal in the active system. The same signal as that of the current system may be applied.

  Furthermore, in the above description, when the communication quality in the next best direction (standby system) becomes better than the communication quality in the best direction (active system), the system is switched immediately. At best, there is hysteresis that the active system is used for a while until the evaluation value difference between the standby system and the active system is smaller than the threshold value, or until the time when the evaluation value of the standby system is better than the predetermined time. A switching algorithm may be used. For example, depending on the communication method, when the azimuth is switched, the distance to the base station changes, and there is a possibility that the phase of the received data shifts and slips or the same data is received twice. If the difference between the evaluation values of the current system is not so great, it may be better to use the current system as it is than frequent switching. In such a case, it is preferable to apply a switching algorithm having hysteresis.

  Regardless of whether a switching algorithm having hysteresis is applied or not, when switching between the active system and the standby system is performed, data slip or double data reception occurs. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a buffer memory in the mobile terminal (or base station) and to perform smooth switching between systems by controlling writing and reading to the buffer memory.

  In the above description, the signal for selecting the azimuth signal related to the working system is shown. However, a signal to be given to the higher layer function unit 8 may be obtained from a plurality of received signals by other methods. For example, a method of combining received signals from a plurality of directional directions can be applied. For example, a signal to be given to the upper layer function unit 8 may be obtained by majority of received signals from a plurality of directional directions.

  For example, in the case of a combining method, only reception signals with a directional direction with good communication quality may be combined from reception signals from N directional directions. More specifically, among the received signals from N directional orientations, only the analog signal strength with a low error rate in the signal sequence block is added for each frame or packet of the received signal, and the threshold is set to the conventional N A method of determining whether the received data is 1 or 0 can be applied.

In the case of using the majority vote, when the L channels are determined to be 1 and the M channels are determined to be 0 among the bits related to the N received signals received from N azimuths, L> If M, the bit is determined as 1, and if L <M, the bit is determined as 0 (however, when L = M, it is determined as a predetermined bit value of 1 or 0). In wireless communication, an error detection (or error correction) code is normally used. Therefore, if it is determined that a certain bit string or one of the frames is correct / incorrect, an error-free bit string or frame Many people think that just using, there is no need for a majority vote. Here, there are many people who think in the same way even when the complete correction cannot be performed by using the error correction code with the received signals of all series. In this modified embodiment, for example, the result of decoding using error correction on a certain bit string or frame of all three received signals is received as A sequence = 10110100, B sequence = 111010010, and C sequence = 11100001. When it is determined that there is an error somewhere, the majority of each bit is taken and it is determined as 11110000. In general, in an error correction code, correction is possible when the number of errors is a or less, and correction is not possible when there are errors from a + 1 to b with a <b, but whether or not errors are included. There is a function to determine. In the above example, an error correction code with a = 1 and b = 2 is shown. When error correction in which such an error is determined cannot be applied, the majority method is effective.

(C) Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment in which the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a mobile communication system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the first and second embodiments, the mobile terminal autonomously controls the directivity direction of its adaptive antenna. However, in the third embodiment, the mobile terminal and the base station It is intended to provide information that can be used for the orientation direction of the other adaptive antenna.

(C-1) Configuration of Third Embodiment FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication system 1B including detailed configurations of a mobile terminal and a base station in the third embodiment. The same and corresponding parts as those in FIG. 1 according to the embodiment are indicated by the same and corresponding reference numerals.

  In FIG. 6, the mobile terminal 3B in the third embodiment includes an array antenna 4, a transmission function unit 5, a reception function unit 6, a common control function unit 7, an upper layer function unit 8, and a man-machine interface unit (hereinafter referred to as MMIF). 9). The array antenna 4 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Although the mobile terminals 3 and 3A of the first and second embodiments also have the MMIF 9, they are not related to the characteristics, and thus illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  In the case of the third embodiment, the MMIF 9 not only has a function of capturing an original audio signal with the base station 2B and outputting a sound signal, but also continues to bring the mobile terminal 3B into an optimal orientation. To provide information (data signal) necessary for directing or ensuring continuous communication between the mobile terminal 3B and the base station 2B to the user by voice output or display output, or by user input Information (data signal) related to operation is taken in. The data signal is, for example, electronic mail or web data.

  The upper layer function unit 8 of the third embodiment provides the transmission function unit 5 with a data signal necessary for controlling the directivity of the adaptive antenna in the base station 2B in addition to the voice signal that is the original transmission signal. It is. The data signal given to the transmission function unit 5 by the upper layer function unit 8 is a data signal from the MMIF 9 or a data signal from the control function unit 7.

  Further, the upper layer function unit 8 gives the voice signal given from the reception function unit 6 to the MMIF 9 for sound output, and gives the data signal given from the reception function unit 6 to the MMIF 9 or the common control function unit 7. To do.

  The upper layer function unit 8 performs processing such as changing the input / output as described above depending on whether the transmission signal or the reception signal is an audio signal or a data signal. The upper layer function unit 8 appropriately performs encoding and decoding processing on the audio signal. Further, the upper layer function unit 8 performs processing such as assembly or disassembly of a packet or a frame on a transmission signal or a reception signal.

  The transmission function unit 5 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and executes transmission direction adjustment processing.

The reception function unit 6 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and executes reception direction adjustment processing.

  The common control function unit 7 of the third embodiment includes a control unit 50, an acceleration sensor 51, a weather environment detection sensor 52, a GPS reception function unit 53, and a position notification function unit 54.

  The acceleration sensor 51 is the same as that in the first embodiment. However, in the case of the third embodiment, since the GPS reception function unit 53 is included, the acceleration sensor 51 includes a sensor portion that detects acceleration along each direction in the local XYZ directions determined for the mobile terminal 3B. It may be provided with only a sensor portion that detects angular acceleration about each of the XYZ axes.

  The meteorological environment detection sensor 52 is a sensor or a sensor group that detects the weather and the surrounding environment. As the meteorological environment detection sensor 52, all or part of the three types of temperature sensor, humidity sensor, and atmospheric pressure sensor can be applied. A detection signal from the weather environment detection sensor 52 is also given to the control unit 50.

  The GPS reception function unit 53 obtains position information (longitude / latitude / altitude information) of the mobile terminal 3B based on transmission radio waves of a plurality of GPS satellites. The location notification function unit 54 converts the location information obtained by the GPS reception function unit 53 into location information in order to notify the opposing base station 2B.

  In addition, instead of applying the information based on the output from the GPS reception function unit 53 as the position information notified to the opposing base station 2B, area information in a wireless LAN or a wireless PAN (personal area network) is also used. Anyway.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the control unit 50 forms control signals for the transmission function unit 5 and the reception function unit 6 for adjusting the transmission direction and the reception direction. In the case of the third embodiment, the control unit 50 is configured to be provided with the data signal received from the upper layer function unit 8, and, if necessary, the information based on the data signal is transmitted to the upper layer function unit. This is given to the MMIF 9 via the unit 8 and presented to the user. The control unit 50 forms a data signal including information necessary for optimizing the directivity of the adaptive antenna of the base station 2B, and supplies the data signal to the transmission function unit 5 via the higher layer function unit 8. is there. The details of the function of the control unit 50 will be clarified in the description of the operation described later.

  In the case of the third embodiment, the base station 2B also has a detailed configuration different from the existing one. The base station 2B includes an array antenna 70, a transmission / reception function unit 71, a control unit 72, a database 73, and an upper layer function unit 74.

  The array antenna 70 has a plurality of antenna elements arranged at predetermined positions. The array antenna 70 controls the phase and amplitude of a transmission signal to each antenna element, and the amplitude with respect to a signal (received signal) captured by each antenna element. The transmission direction and the reception direction can be adjusted by controlling the phase and the phase.

  The transmission / reception function unit 71 includes a transmission function unit and a reception function unit. The transmission function unit includes a distributor, a variable phase shifter, and an amplitude adjuster in the same manner as the transmission function unit 5 on the mobile terminal 3B side. The transmission direction can be adjusted under the control of the control unit 72. The reception function unit is substantially the same as the reception function unit 6 on the mobile terminal 3B side, and includes an amplitude adjuster, a variable phase shifter, and an adder. And a quality evaluator, and the reception direction can be adjusted under the control of the control unit 72. Note that the reception function unit may omit the quality evaluator.

  The upper layer function unit 74 transfers the audio signal among the received signals given from the transmission / reception function unit 71 to a device corresponding to the communication partner of the mobile terminal 3B. The apparatus according to the other party sends out and the voice signal that has arrived at the base station 3B is given to the transmission / reception function unit 71. Further, the upper layer function unit 74 delivers a data signal among the reception signals given from the transmission / reception function unit 71 to the control unit 72, and transmits the data signal given from the control unit 72 to the transmission / reception function. It is handed over to the unit 71.

  The control unit 72 determines the communication azimuth (transmission azimuth and reception azimuth) with the mobile terminal 3B while referring to the stored contents of the database 73 as described in the description of operation described later, and the determination. The control signal corresponding to the direction is realized in accordance with the transmission / reception function unit 71 to realize the determined transmission direction and reception direction. The control unit 72 includes a terminal position / orientation situation correspondence function unit 80 and a weather environment correspondence function part 81, and the terminal position / orientation situation correspondence function unit 80 provides information on the position and orientation notified from the mobile terminal 3B. The weather environment support function unit 81 performs a control operation according to the weather environment information notified from the mobile terminal 3B. The control unit 72 also performs a storing operation on the database 73 as appropriate.

  The database 73 stores information to be described later (see FIG. 8), which is referred to when the control unit 72 determines the communication direction of the base station 2B. This is referred to when the control unit 72 forms a data signal related to the future communication direction of the terminal 3B.

(C-2) Operation of the Third Embodiment Next, the operation of the mobile terminal 3B and the base station 2B in the third embodiment, particularly the control operation of the adaptive antenna, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. explain.

  The mobile terminal 3B sends, to the base station 2B, for example, a data signal necessary for the adaptive antenna control operation (directivity control operation) in the base station 2B in addition to the voice signal that is the original transmission signal. (S200).

Here, the data signal to be transmitted is information on the current position of the mobile terminal 3B obtained by the GPS reception function unit 53 and arranged for notification by the position notification function unit 54 (for example, longitude, latitude, and height from sea level). Information on the direction instructed by the control unit 50 of the mobile terminal 3B to the transmission function unit 5 and the reception function unit 6 (for example, the current position is the origin, and the longitude, latitude, and height directions are the XYZ axis directions. Information on the moving direction of the mobile terminal 3B obtained by the acceleration sensor 51, information on the weather and the surrounding environment obtained by the weather environment detection sensor 52 (for example, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure). Etc. are included. Note that the attitude (orientation) information of the mobile terminal 3B obtained by the acceleration sensor 51 (for example, the relationship with the XYZ directions of the acceleration sensor 51 based on the XYZ axis directions along the longitude, latitude, and height directions). Information) may also be included in the data signal.

  In the base station 2B, such a data signal is given to the control unit 72 via the higher layer function unit 74.

  The control unit 72 controls the directivity of the array antenna 70 of the base station 3B in the direction corresponding to the received data signal (S201). For example, from the position of the base station 2B, a direction that linearly connects the notified position of the mobile terminal 3B is directed. Alternatively, the direction opposite to the direction in which the mobile terminal 3B is directed is directed.

  In addition, predetermined item information of the received data signal is organized, and the current time measured by the built-in timer is also associated and stored in the database 73 (S202). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of stored contents (each field of one record) in this case. One record includes the position of the mobile terminal 3B, the pointing direction on the mobile terminal 3B side, the direction of the array antenna 70 to the mobile terminal 3B (initially blank, and is written by the processing in step S203), It includes time (including date and time information), weather and surrounding environment information, and a quality evaluation value (initially blank and written by the processing in step S203).

  Thereafter, the control unit 72 reviews whether or not the azimuth corresponding to the received data signal is appropriate (S203). The mobile terminal 3B may determine that the direction in which the transmission radio wave from the mobile terminal 3B is reflected at least once by a building or the like and reaches the base station 2B is the optimal direction. Therefore, the azimuth | direction which linearly connects the position notified of the mobile terminal 3B from the position of the base station 2B, or the opposite direction to the azimuth directed by the mobile terminal 3B is the optimum from the base station 3B. It is not limited to the azimuth, and it is necessary to review whether the azimuth according to the received data signal is appropriate.

  For example, the control unit 72 has the position of the mobile terminal 3B substantially the same (for example, the distance is within 10 m), the direction of the mobile terminal 3B is substantially the same, and the stored time is substantially the same (about 30 minutes before and after). In addition, all or a predetermined number of record information with the same information (such as temperature difference within a predetermined range) is extracted from the latest side, and the array antenna 70 to the mobile terminal 3B of those records is also extracted. The coincidence between the average of the orientations and the directivity in step S201 is determined. If the difference is within a predetermined range, the orientation is written in step S201 in the field of “direction of array antenna 70 to mobile terminal 3B” in the corresponding record of database 73 without changing the orientation as a match. The quality evaluation value at that time is also fetched and written in the quality evaluation value field of the corresponding record in the database 73.

  On the other hand, if the average of the orientation of the array antenna 70 to the mobile terminal 3B in the stored record retrieved from the database 73 does not match the directivity in step S201, the control unit 72 transmits Control the reception function unit 71 to capture a quality evaluation value while directing both directions and confirm a preferable direction. Then, the direction is determined in a direction with good quality, and information on the direction is written in the field of “direction of the array antenna 70 toward the mobile terminal 3B”, and the quality evaluation value is also written.

  For example, when a building is newly constructed or a building is demolished, the radio wave environment changes greatly. In this case, it is often determined that the new directivity in step S201 is preferable than the average of the past orientations. In this case, in addition to writing the new directivity in step S201 in the field "direction of array antenna 70 to mobile terminal 3B", the past records used for averaging are deleted from database 73. Alternatively, instead of erasing, a mark may be added so as to give a small weight when obtaining an average.

  As described above, an attempt was made to retrieve a past accumulated record in the same situation, but if there is no corresponding accumulated record, it is confirmed that the quality evaluation value based on the directing direction in step S201 is equal to or greater than the threshold. Search if not possible.

  After reviewing whether or not the direction according to the received data signal is appropriate, the control unit 72 confirms whether there is information to be notified to the mobile terminal 3B and notifies the mobile terminal 3B. If there is information to be transmitted, a data signal including information to be notified to the mobile terminal 3B is formed, delivered to the upper layer function unit 74, and transmitted to the mobile terminal 3B (S204).

  As information to be notified to the mobile terminal 3B, for example, when the base station 2B sets the direction other than the direction opposite to the direction notified from the mobile terminal 3B as the optimal direction, the direction information may be mentioned. it can. Further, for example, a position having the highest quality evaluation value in a predetermined range (for example, within a radius of 50 m) from the current position is searched from the stored information of the database 73, and the position is notified that the communication position is a good neighbor position. Can give information. Further, marks are given to the database 73 at positions (records) with very low communication evaluation values and positions (records) at which handover has occurred in the past, and when the current position is close to these positions, Considering the moving direction, it is possible to list information notifying that there is a possibility that communication may be lowered or lost when passing through these positions.

  When receiving a data signal transmitted from the base station 2B from the upper layer function unit 8, the control unit 50 of the mobile terminal 3B executes a control operation related to the content of the data signal (S205). For example, when the base station 2B receives a notification that the azimuth other than the direction opposite to the directional direction notified from the mobile terminal 3B is the optimal azimuth, the directional azimuth is changed to correspond to the azimuth. Alternatively, the mobile terminal 3B may check again whether the direction selected by the mobile terminal 3B or the direction opposite to the direction notified from the base station 2B has a higher quality evaluation value. good. If the notification content is for the user, the MMIF 9 is operated via the upper layer function unit 8 to notify the user of the notification content.

(C-3) Effects of Third Embodiment According to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the following effects can be achieved. That is, according to the third embodiment, the orientation of the adaptive antenna in the base station can be directed to the optimum orientation, and the mobile terminal also reviews the orientation of the adaptive antenna based on the notification from the base station. be able to. The base station can notify the mobile terminal of nearby information for good communication, and the adaptive antenna can be set in a suitable direction. Furthermore, when the communication situation is likely to deteriorate, information for avoiding this can be provided to the user in advance.

(C-4) Modified Embodiment of Third Embodiment In the above description, the third embodiment has been described based on the first embodiment. However, the third embodiment relates to the working system of the second embodiment. You may make it apply the technical idea of embodiment.

  The method for acquiring the location information of the mobile terminal is not limited to the above, and any existing method may be applied. For example, the position of the mobile terminal may be estimated based on the radio wave intensity (according to the distance) from a plurality of base stations whose positions are known.

  In the above description, data in the database 73 is not hierarchized or grouped. However, hierarchization or grouping may be performed. For example, the mobile terminal may be divided into a plurality of groups depending on the attitude of the mobile terminal, and a group to be searched for may be determined based on the given attitude of the mobile terminal, and then the records in the group may be searched. Further, the mobile terminals may be grouped according to the number of mobile terminals accommodated in the base station or performing voice communication, and each cell is divided into a plurality of subareas. You may make it group by the combination of the number of terminals. Furthermore, not only one base station but also information on the number of mobile terminals in surrounding base stations may be used for grouping. That is, the base station orientation can be determined according to the arrangement of nearby mobile terminals and base stations, and the step may be reflected in the mobile terminal orientation.

  Unlike the above description, when the mobile terminal is notified of the azimuth from the base station, the mobile terminal may control the azimuth of the mobile terminal according to the azimuth.

  In the above description, the base station gives information to notify the user via the data signal to the mobile terminal. However, a plurality of notification audio signals are prepared in advance, and the corresponding audio signal is sent to the mobile terminal. You may make it notify to a user by transmitting to a terminal. For example, “The call is likely to be disconnected.” Please move to the right a little. " Further, for example, information may be provided so that the user can refer to it even after communication is interrupted. For example, after sending a mark indicating a location (obtained from stored information in the database 73) or display data (for example, e-mail) that is color-coded on a map (map data), and communication is interrupted However, information is provided in a form that allows the display data to be redisplayed. When such a function is provided, it is possible to enhance the convenience of the mobile terminal in a mountainous area, a depopulated area, the inside of a building, a valley, an underground mall, or the like.

  In the above description, the mobile terminal is notified of the position (and moving direction) of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal, but the scheduled route information may be notified. For example, when the mobile terminal has a navigation function, the user inputs where the route is to go, the mobile terminal sends the planned route information to the base station, and the base station If it is predicted that the communication will be interrupted, the information may be notified to the mobile terminal in advance, or another route for preventing communication interruption and quality deterioration may be instructed. Further, these planned route information and the like may be used for handover control, and handover may be executed at a point in front of a point where the communication quality is equal to or less than a threshold value to provide an optimal communication environment.

  In the above description, the base station has a database. However, the upper station of the base station has a database so that a plurality of base stations can be used, and the base station accesses the database to obtain necessary information. You may make it search and take out. In addition, a database that stores information notified by the mobile terminal from the base station and information that it has evaluated in the past is stored in this database. You may make it form based on the content.

(D) Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment in which the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a mobile communication system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the first to third embodiments already described, the mobile terminal can communicate with only the base station. In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the mobile terminal MS1 can communicate with other mobile terminals MS2 and also with the base station BS. For example, the fourth embodiment can be applied to a network in which a mobile terminal communicates with a base station of various networks directly or via another mobile terminal, as shown in FIG. Note that one of the terminals that perform the relay operation or the communication partner terminal with the base station may be a fixed terminal.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a mobile communication system 1C including functional configurations of a mobile terminal and a base station in the fourth embodiment, which is the same as FIG. 6 according to the third embodiment described above. Corresponding portions are indicated by the same corresponding reference numerals. In FIG. 11, regarding two mobile terminals 3C-1 and 3C-2 having the same configuration, one mobile terminal 3C-1 is described as a communication partner with the base station 2C, and the other mobile terminal 3C. -2 is described as relaying communication between the mobile terminal 3C-1 and the base station 2C.

  The mobile terminal 3C-2 that performs the relay operation includes an information transfer function unit 90 and an inter-terminal communication antenna orientation optimization function unit 91 in addition to the configuration mentioned in the third embodiment. The control unit 72 of the base station 2C includes an inter-terminal communication optimization instruction function unit 82. Note that, in the case of the fourth embodiment, the database 73 of the base station 2C contains information to be described later that is necessary for optimizing the antenna orientation of each terminal in communication between the mobile terminals 3C-1 and 3C-2. Is also stored.

  When the mobile terminal 3C-1 determines the mobile terminal 3C-2 to be used for relay by searching for the vicinity or when the mobile terminal 3C-2 determines the mobile terminal 3C-2 to be relayed by the base station 2C and notifies the mobile terminal 3C-2 In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the optimum direction with the relay mobile terminal 3C-2 is searched and the tracking operation is performed. Also, for example, a data signal including the position and orientation of the mobile terminal 3C-1 is transmitted toward the base station 2C at a predetermined cycle.

  Note that the mobile terminal 3C-1 may acquire the current position, posture, and the like from the mobile terminal 3C-2 and reflect them in the determination of the optimum azimuth. For example, the optimum azimuth may be searched for using the direction connecting the current position of the mobile terminal 3C-2 as the initial direction from the current position of the mobile terminal 3C-1.

  The mobile terminal 3C-2 has a plurality of array antennas, and applies one array antenna for communication with the mobile terminal 3C-1 and other array antenna for communication with the base station 2C. It is also possible to have one array antenna and use the one array antenna in a time-division manner for communication with the mobile terminal 3C-1 and communication with the base station 2C. May be.

  The information transfer function unit 90 transfers a signal (voice signal and data signal) addressed to the base station 2C that has arrived from the mobile terminal 3C-1 to the base station 2C, and at the same time the mobile terminal 3C-1 that has arrived from the base station 2C. The addressed signals (audio signal and data signal) are transferred to the mobile terminal 3C-1.

The mobile terminal 3C-2 that performs the relay operation performs an operation for realizing the optimum azimuth similar to that of the third embodiment as control of the azimuth with respect to the base station 2C. In addition, the inter-terminal communication antenna direction optimization function unit 91 of the mobile terminal 3C-2 searches for the optimal direction in communication with the mobile terminal 3C-1 and performs a tracking operation in the same manner as in the first embodiment. To do. Further, for example, a data signal including the position and posture of the mobile terminal 3C-2 is formed at a predetermined cycle. The inter-terminal communication antenna orientation optimization function unit 91 of the mobile terminal 3C-2 includes a data signal including the position and orientation of the mobile terminal 3C-1 given from the mobile terminal 3C-1, and the mobile terminal. The data signals formed for 3C-2 are collectively transmitted to the base station 2C.

  Note that the mobile terminal 3C-2 may also acquire the current position, orientation, and the like from the mobile terminal 3C-1 and reflect them in the determination of the optimal orientation. For example, the optimum azimuth may be searched for using the direction connecting the current position of the mobile terminal 3C-1 as the initial direction from the current position of the mobile terminal 3C-2.

  The inter-terminal communication optimization instruction function unit 82 of the base station 2C refers to the stored contents of the database 73, and the mobile terminal 3C-1 communicates with the mobile terminal 3C-2 in the optimal direction and the mobile terminal 3C. -2 is determined in communication with the mobile terminal 3C-1, and the determined optimal direction is notified to each of the mobile terminals 3C-1 and 3C-2.

  In the case of the third embodiment, only one mobile terminal information is included in one record of the database 73. In the case of the fourth embodiment, one record related to relay transfer includes two records. The information of the mobile terminal (position, posture, etc.) is included, and the past stored record reference is searched with reference to the information of the two mobile terminals at this time, and the optimum azimuth is determined. Others are almost the same as in the case of the third embodiment.

  The mobile terminal 3C-1 notified of the optimum orientation in communication with the mobile terminal 3C-2 performs the same operation as the mobile terminal notified of the optimum orientation with the base station in the third embodiment. The mobile terminal 3C-2 (the inter-terminal communication antenna direction optimization function unit 91) notified of the optimal direction in communication with the mobile terminal 3C-1 is connected to the base station of the third embodiment. The same operation as the mobile terminal notified of the optimum direction is performed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, a mobile terminal may relay in multiple stages. Moreover, the relay of one mobile terminal may be performed (such a mobile terminal may be physically provided with a plurality of array antennas).

  Even in such a case, the search for the optimum azimuth between the mobile terminals is the same as in the first embodiment. Finally, the method for the base station to determine the optimum azimuth between these mobile terminals is , As described above.

  According to the fourth embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments, it is possible to take the optimum antenna orientation in communication between terminals, and it is possible to maintain good communication. Also, each mobile terminal can communicate with a plurality of mobile terminals or base stations, and a large-capacity communication method can be realized.

It is a block diagram which shows the mobile communication system including the detailed structure of the mobile terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control operation | movement of the antenna azimuth | direction by the control part of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the estimation method of the base station position in the mobile terminal of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the reason for which the mobile terminal of 1st Embodiment needs to estimate a base station position. It is a block diagram which shows the mobile communication system containing the detailed structure of the mobile terminal in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the mobile communication system containing the detailed structure of the mobile terminal and base station in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the antenna control operation | movement of the mobile terminal and base station in 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a record structure of the database in the base station in 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the communicable relationship of the mobile terminal and base station in 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the network which can apply 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the mobile communication system containing the detailed structure of the mobile terminal and base station in 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D ... Mobile communication system 2, 2B, 2C ... Base station 3, 3A, 3B, 3C-1, 3C-2 ... Mobile terminal, 4 ... Array antenna, 5 ... Transmission Function unit, 6 ... Reception function unit, 7 ... Common control function unit, 8 ... Upper layer function unit, 9 ... MMIF, 70 ... Array antenna, 71 ... Transmission / reception function unit, 72 ... Control unit, 73 ... Database, 74 ... upper layer function part, 90 ... information transfer function part, 91 ... antenna orientation optimization function part for inter-terminal communication.

Claims (13)

In a wireless communication device using an adaptive antenna and capable of moving or changing posture,
Quality evaluation means for evaluating the quality of communication with a communication partner device;
While confirming the quality evaluation means, the direction search means for searching the direction to be set to the adaptive antenna,
A movement / posture change sensor for detecting movement change or posture change of the wireless communication device;
In accordance with the detection output of the movement / posture change sensor, it has direction tracking means for tracking the direction searched by the direction search means,
A plurality of processing systems including the quality evaluation unit, the direction searching unit, and the direction tracking unit are provided.
While communicating with at least one processing system, the remaining processing system searches for the direction of the next best antenna in communication with the same communication partner device, and communicates according to the output of the quality evaluation means of each processing system. A wireless communication device comprising: a plurality of system control means for reviewing at least one processing system provided to the system. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adaptive antenna includes an array antenna and an antenna element signal control unit that controls an amplitude and a phase of a signal related to each antenna element of the array antenna. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the wireless communication apparatus is a mobile terminal, and the communication partner apparatus is a base station.   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication apparatus is a mobile terminal, and the communication partner apparatus is a mobile terminal. In a wireless communication device using an adaptive antenna and capable of moving or changing posture,
Quality evaluation means for evaluating the quality of communication with a communication partner device;
While confirming the quality evaluation means, the direction search means for searching the direction to be set to the adaptive antenna,
A movement / posture change sensor for detecting movement change or posture change of the wireless communication device;
In accordance with the detection output of the movement / posture change sensor, the azimuth tracking means for tracking the azimuth searched by the azimuth searching means,
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the wireless communication device;
Including location information the position information acquisition means has acquired, the communication partner device is the information used to control the antenna azimuth, have a communication counterpart antenna control usage information sending means for sending to the communication partner device,
A plurality of processing systems including the quality evaluation unit, the direction searching unit, and the direction tracking unit are provided.
While communicating with at least one processing system, the remaining processing system searches for the direction of the next best antenna in communication with the same communication partner device, and communicates according to the output of the quality evaluation means of each processing system. A wireless communication apparatus comprising a plurality of system control means for reviewing at least one processing system provided to the system. 6. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the communication partner antenna control utilization information sending means sends information detected by the movement / attitude change sensor to the communication partner apparatus. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein the adaptive antenna includes an array antenna and an antenna element signal control unit that controls an amplitude and a phase of a signal related to each antenna element of the array antenna. . The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the wireless communication apparatus is a mobile terminal, and the communication partner apparatus is a base station. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the wireless communication apparatus is a mobile terminal, and the communication partner apparatus is a mobile terminal. In the wireless communication apparatus which makes the wireless communication apparatus of Claim 5 or 6 a communicating party,
Database means for preliminarily storing information that can determine the optimum azimuth direction from the wireless communication device according to the information used to control the antenna azimuth that may be given from the wireless communication device of the communication partner;
When the information used for controlling the antenna orientation is given from the wireless communication device of the communication partner, the database means is searched to determine the optimum orientation direction from the wireless communication device. A wireless communication apparatus comprising: When information used for antenna direction control is given from the wireless communication device of the communication partner, the database means is accessed, position information that improves communication quality is obtained and notified to the wireless communication device of the communication partner The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising a good position notifying unit that performs the following. When information used for antenna direction control is given from the wireless communication device of the communication partner, the database means is accessed, and the wireless communication device of the communication partner is in the vicinity of a position where communication is highly likely to be interrupted. The wireless communication device according to claim 10 or 11 , further comprising warning means for determining whether or not the device is positioned and sending a warning to the wireless communication device of the communication partner when a positive determination result is obtained. . 13. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the warning means includes information for resuming communication after the communication is interrupted in the warning.

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