JP7116203B2 - BASE STATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to communication devices, base station devices, terminal devices, communication systems, communication methods, and programs.

The "IEEE802.11ad" standard and mobile wireless communication systems under consideration as the fifth generation use high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave bands, so communication using beamforming is effective. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of searching for a terminal while changing the beam direction of the base station in order for the base station to establish a communication connection with the terminal as a method of establishing communication using beamforming.

JP-A-7-170227

Fixed 5G terminals such as subnetwork base stations (repeaters), 5G wireless routers, security cameras equipped with 5G radios, and low-speed 5G terminals can be considered as equipment and devices that make up the 5th generation (5G) communication system. However, if a beamforming control technique based on the assumption of a mobile terminal is applied to such a semi-fixed terminal, it will result in wasted search time, and there is a possibility that inefficient beamforming control will be performed. There is

The present invention has been made based on the recognition of the above problems, and provides a communication device, a base station device, a terminal device, a communication system, a communication method, and a program that can improve the efficiency of beamforming control. is.

[1] In order to solve the above problems, a communication device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from a communication partner, a direction setting unit that sets the direction of directivity of the antenna, a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with a communication partner; and a control unit that sets a directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit.

[2] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system, comprising: an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the terminal device; a direction setting unit for setting a direction of directivity; a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device; and a control unit that sets the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing beam search for the communication.

[3] Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, in the base station device described above, the control unit includes information about the directivity direction of the antenna when the antenna transmits and receives the signal to and from the terminal device. is stored in the direction storage unit as the direction information corresponding to the terminal device.

[4] Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, in the base station apparatus described above, terminal type information indicating at least whether the terminal apparatus is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal is stored in association with the terminal apparatus. a type storage unit, wherein the control unit stores the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit as a fixed terminal when communication is started between the device itself and the terminal device. , the direction of the directivity of the antenna is set based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit.

[5] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system, comprising: an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the terminal device; A direction setting unit for setting the direction of directivity, a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device, and at least indicating whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal. a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information corresponding to the terminal device; and if the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit indicates that the terminal device is a fixed terminal, and the terminal device, set the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit, and omit beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal device and a control unit for controlling the

[6] Further, in one aspect of the present invention, in the base station apparatus described above, when it is determined to offload the terminal apparatus to another base station apparatus during communication with the terminal apparatus, the other base station apparatus It is characterized by instructing the station apparatus to connect with the terminal apparatus and notifying the terminal type information to the other base station apparatus.

[7] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a terminal device that transmits and receives signals to and from a base station device in a wireless communication system, comprising: an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the base station device; a direction setting unit for setting the directivity direction of the base station device; a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the base station device; and communication between the device and the base station device. and a control unit that sets the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing a beam search for the communication to be started when the communication is started. do.

[8] Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device described above, the control unit includes information about the directivity direction of the antenna when the antenna transmits and receives the signal to and from the base station device. is stored in the direction storage unit as the direction information associated with the base station apparatus.

[9] Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, the above-described terminal device further includes an orientation detection unit that detects an orientation, and the control unit determines whether or not the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit has changed. It is characterized in that, when the direction changes, the direction information stored in the direction storage unit is updated according to the amount of change in the direction.

[10] Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device described above, terminal type information indicating at least whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal is notified to the base station device. Characterized by

[11] In addition, one aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the terminal device described above, the type information is included in terminal capability information and notified to the base station device.

[12] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a terminal device that transmits and receives signals to and from a base station device in a wireless communication system, comprising: an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the base station device; a direction setting unit for setting the directivity direction of the base station device; a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the base station device; When communicating with the base station apparatus, the direction of the directivity of the antenna is set based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit, and beam tracking processing during communication with the base station apparatus is omitted. and a control unit for controlling.

[13] Further, one aspect of the present invention is the base station apparatus according to any one of [2] to [6] above and the terminal according to any one of [7] to [12] above. and a communication system.

[14] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a communication method in a communication system including a base station device and a terminal device, wherein the base station device stores the terminal device in association with the terminal device. Based on the direction information of the device, the direction of the directivity of the antenna when transmitting/receiving signals to/from the terminal device is set, and in the state in which the direction is set, the direction of the antenna is set without performing a beam search. and the terminal device transmits and receives signals to and from the base station device based on direction information of the base station device stored in association with the base station device. setting a directivity direction of an antenna when the antenna is set, and starting transmission/reception of signals with the base station apparatus without performing a beam search in a state in which the direction is set. is.

[15] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a communication method in a communication system including a base station device and a terminal device, wherein terminal type information corresponding to the terminal device in the base station device is a fixed terminal. When communicating between the device and the terminal device, the directivity direction of the antenna is set based on the direction information of the terminal device, and beam tracking is performed during communication connection with the terminal device. When the terminal device is a fixed terminal, the terminal device controls to omit the processing, and when communicating between the terminal device and the base station device, the antenna is adjusted based on the direction information of the base station information. The communication method is characterized by setting a direction of directivity and performing control so as to omit beam tracking processing during communication with the base station apparatus.

[16] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system, comprising: A direction setting unit that sets the direction of the directivity of an antenna for transmission and reception, a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device, and communication is started between the device itself and the terminal device. a control unit that sets the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing a beam search for the communication to be started. It is a program for functioning as

[17] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a terminal device that transmits and receives signals to and from a base station device in a wireless communication system, comprising: A direction setting unit for setting the direction of directivity of an antenna for transmission and reception, a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the base station apparatus, and between the own apparatus and the base station apparatus. a control unit that, when starting communication, sets the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing a beam search for the communication to be started. It is a program for functioning as a terminal device.

[18] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system, the program controlling a computer to transmit and receive signals to and from the terminal device. a direction setting unit that sets the direction of the directivity of the antenna to be transmitted; a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device; and the terminal device is at least a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal. a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information indicating whether the terminal device is associated with the terminal device; and if the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit indicates that the terminal device is a fixed terminal setting the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit when communicating between the device itself and the terminal device, and performing beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal device; is a program for functioning as a base station apparatus comprising a control unit that controls to omit .

[19] Further, one aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a terminal device that transmits and receives signals to and from a base station device in a wireless communication system, the computer program transmitting and receiving signals to and from the base station device. a direction setting unit for setting the direction of directivity of the antenna to be used; a direction storage unit for storing direction information representing the direction in association with the base station device; and the base station apparatus, set the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit, and omit beam tracking processing during communication with the base station apparatus. and a program for functioning as a terminal device.

According to the present invention, beam search processing can be omitted or beam search time can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to achieve high speed and low power consumption at the time of connection between the base station and the terminal. That is, according to the present invention, the efficiency of beam forming control can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a base station (base station device) according to the same embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a semi-fixed terminal (terminal) according to the same embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a terminal connects to a base station in the communication system according to the same embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a base station connects to a terminal (semi-fixed terminal) in the communication system according to the same embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a procedure of phase information setting processing in the semi-fixed terminal according to the same embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a base station (base station device) according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a semi-fixed terminal (terminal) according to the same embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the sequence of communication between the semi-fixed terminal and the base station when the semi-fixed terminal is powered on and after that according to the same embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a base station according to the same embodiment connects to a terminal (semi-fixed terminal); 4 is a flowchart showing in more detail the operation procedure of the base station when paging occurs in the base station according to the same embodiment; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a sequence when data communication is performed by connecting a semi-fixed terminal side to a base station side according to the same embodiment; It is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the first mode of the storage unit according to the same embodiment and an example of data stored in the storage unit. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a second aspect of a storage unit according to the same embodiment and an example of data stored in the storage unit; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of each terminal search operation (time slot allocation method) of the base station according to the same embodiment; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a specific communication sequence according to the same embodiment, showing a sequence for offloading a terminal connected to a certain base station;

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
[First embodiment]
First, an outline of this embodiment will be described.
A base station and a terminal according to this embodiment perform beam forming control using an array antenna. When the base station and the terminal perform beam search, the phase based on the stored phase information is used as the start phase. The stored phase information is the phase or beam pattern of the previous communication. As a result, the base station directs the beam directly without performing a beam search when the terminal with which communication is to be a fixed station. Also, when the terminal that is the communication partner is a mobile station, the base station first performs beam search. Also, since the base station with which the terminal communicates is basically a fixed station, the terminal directs the beam directly without performing a beam search. Since the orientation of the terminal changes, the initial phase of the terminal is appropriately changed to the initial phase according to the orientation of the terminal. A terminal performs a beam search and transmits information obtained by the search to the base station by some method (communication message). This makes it possible for the base station to direct the beam to the terminal at once based on the information obtained from the terminal.

In this embodiment, when performing a beam search or when starting a connection, the previously communicated signal phase is used as the initial phase. Note that the beam search includes, for example, transmission of each terminal search signal transmitted by the base station, transmission of paging beams, or processing in which the terminal detects a beam reference signal from the base station with the highest received power.

Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the device, etc., and the communication method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment. As illustrated, the communication system 1 is a mobile radio communication system and includes a base station 5, a plurality of terminals (semi-fixed terminals 7, mobile terminals 9, etc.), and a core network 10. FIG. Although one semi-fixed terminal 7 and one mobile terminal 9 are shown in FIG. 1, in practice, the communication system 1 may accommodate more terminals. The base station 5 communicates with the semi-fixed terminal 7 or with the mobile terminal 9 using a high frequency band such as a millimeter wave band. At this time, mutual beamforming control is performed between the base station and the terminal.

The base station 5 performs wireless communication with the semi-fixed terminal 7 and the mobile terminal 9 and also performs communication via the core network 10 .
The semi-fixed terminal 7 is a terminal device that performs wireless communication with a base station. The semi-fixed terminal 7 is basically installed in a fixed place such as a home, an office, a public place, or the like. The meaning of "semi-fixed" in the term "semi-fixed terminal" is as follows. Semi-fixed terminals 7 can be moved at any time, but the frequency of movement is relatively low. Therefore, in relation to the base station 5, which is a fixed station, the frequency of change in relative position and direction between the semi-fixed terminal 7 and the base station 5 is relatively low. The semi-fixed terminal 7 is, for example, a stationary server computer, a desktop PC, PC peripherals (printers, scanners, multifunction devices, cameras, etc.), various household appliances, and IoT devices that are mainly used stationary. and so on. Note that “IoT” is an abbreviation for “Internet of Things”.
A mobile terminal 9 is a terminal device that performs wireless communication with a base station. The mobile terminal 9 is a portable terminal, such as a smart phone (smartphone) or a notebook PC. The mobile terminal 9 moves relatively frequently and basically does not stay in one place for a long period of time.

Next, the functional configuration of the base station will be explained.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a base station (base station device). As illustrated, the base station 5 includes a control section 51 , a transmission/reception section 57 and an array antenna section 58 . The configuration of the base station 5 shown here is for a TDD system in which the same uplink and downlink frequencies are used. It should be noted that the frequency used may be in another form.
Note that "TDD" is an abbreviation for "Time Division Duplex". Also, the base station 5 can communicate with other devices using the core network 10 .

The function of each unit that configures the base station 5 is realized using an electronic circuit. In each part having a function of storing information in the base station, storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a magnetic hard disk device is used.

The control unit 51 performs various controls related to communication of the base station 5 . For example, the control unit 51 performs control such as beam phase control, scheduling processing, and carrier frequency control of radio signals to be transmitted and received. Specifically, for example, when the control unit 51 starts communication between its own device and the semi-fixed terminal 7 or the mobile terminal 9, the directivity of the antenna is determined based on the phase information stored in the phase storage unit 53. By setting and starting the direction of , if the communication partner is the semi-fixed terminal 7, communication connection can be established without unnecessary beam search. In other words, in this case, the control unit 51 performs control so as to suppress beam search processing for communication to be started. Here, "when communication is started" is not limited to when the base station 5 communicates with the semi-fixed terminal 7 or the mobile terminal 9 for the first time. For example, when starting communication again after communication has been in a pause state for various reasons, or when starting communication again after a series of communication has ended (restarting, etc.) included in "when". The control unit 51 will be described in more detail below.

The transmitting/receiving section 57 outputs signals from the reference signal processing section 54 and the data/control signal processing section 55 in the control section 51 to the array antenna section 58 as radio signals. Further, the transmitting/receiving section 57 outputs the radio signal input from the array antenna section 58 to the reference signal processing section 54 and the data/control signal processing section 55 as a baseband signal. Further, the transmitting/receiving unit 57 internally adjusts the signal phase of each antenna element to control the beam direction and radiation pattern. That is, the transmitting/receiving section 57 has a function corresponding to, for example, a phased array antenna. Alternatively, the transmission/reception unit 57 may be configured to adjust the phase by digital signal processing.

The array antenna unit 58 is an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from terminals. A plurality of antenna elements are arranged according to a predetermined rule in the array antenna section 58 . The array antenna unit 58 transmits the radio signal of each antenna element passed from the transmitting/receiving unit 57 , and passes the received radio signal of each antenna element to the transmitting/receiving unit 57 . It should be noted that other types of antennas may be used instead of the array antenna.

The control unit 51 will now be described in more detail. As illustrated, the control section 51 includes a phase setting section 52 , a phase storage section 53 , a reference signal processing section 54 and a data/control signal processing section 55 .

The phase setting unit 52 reads the phase information (direction information) stored in the phase storage unit 53, and sets the signal phase in the transmission/reception unit 57 (sets the directivity direction of the antenna) based on this phase information. Also, the phase setting unit 52 detects the signal phase of the transmitting/receiving unit 57 at the end of communication (after the end of communication) and writes it to the phase storage unit 53 . Furthermore, the phase setting unit 52 estimates the optimum signal phase based on the reception information acquired from the reference signal processing unit 54 and adjusts the phase of the transmission/reception unit 57 .

The phase storage unit 53 individually stores the phase information of the previous communication for each terminal. Specifically, the phase storage unit 53 stores phase information for controlling the array antenna. That is, the phase storage unit 53 stores beam patterns. Note that the phase storage unit 53 may be provided in the core network 10 instead of the base station 5, or may be provided in another location accessible by the network. In this case, the phase setting unit 52 appropriately accesses the phase storage unit 53 via the network to read and write phase information.

The reference signal processing unit 54 demodulates the reference signal associated with the received beam, and notifies the phase setting unit 52 of reception information such as phase and level. The reference signal processing unit 54 also generates a reference signal related to the beam to be transmitted and outputs it to the transmission/reception unit 57 .

The data/control signal processing unit 55 demodulates the data and control signal received by the transmission/reception unit 57 based on the information acquired from the reference signal processing unit 54 . The data/control signal processor 55 also generates transmission data and a transmission control signal, and outputs them to the transmitter/receiver 57 .

Since this embodiment is a TDD system in which the same frequency is used for uplink and downlink, the transmitting/receiving unit 57 can be shared for transmission and reception. In addition, the same phase setting of radio signals can be used for uplink and downlink.
In the case of an FDD system in which different frequencies are used for uplink and downlink, the optimum phases are different for uplink and downlink, respectively. In that case, phase information for both uplink and downlink is stored in the phase storage unit 53 . As for the downlink propagation path state, a downlink propagation path report is obtained from the terminal, and the downlink signal phase is adjusted based on the propagation path information. Furthermore, in order to notify the terminal of the state of the uplink propagation path, based on the reception information detected by the reference signal processing unit 54, the state of the uplink propagation path is notified to the information terminal. "FDD" is an abbreviation for "Frequency Division Duplex".

Next, the functional configuration of the semi-fixed terminal will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a semi-fixed terminal (terminal, terminal device). As shown, the semi-fixed terminal 7 includes a control section 71 , a transmission/reception section 77 and an array antenna section 78 . The configuration of the semi-fixed terminal 7 shown here is for a TDD system in which the same uplink and downlink frequencies are used. It should be noted that the frequency used may be in another form.

The control unit 71 performs various controls related to communication of the semi-fixed terminal 7 . For example, the control unit 71 performs controls such as beam phase control and carrier frequency control of radio signals to be transmitted and received. Specifically, for example, when starting communication between its own device and the base station 5, the control unit 71 does not perform a beam search for the communication to be started, and uses the phase stored in the phase storage unit 73. Set the antenna directivity direction based on the information. That is, in this case, the control unit 71 performs control so as to suppress beam search processing for communication to be started. Here, “when starting communication” is not limited to when the semi-fixed terminal 7 communicates with the base station 5 for the first time. For example, when starting communication again after communication has been in a pause state for various reasons, or when starting communication again after a series of communication has ended (restarting, etc.) included in "when". Control unit 71 is described in more detail below.
Since the transmitting/receiving section 77 and the array antenna section 78 have the same functions as the transmitting/receiving section 57 and the array antenna section 58 in the base station 5 respectively, the description thereof is omitted here. That is, the array antenna section 78 transmits and receives signals to and from the base station 5 .

The control unit 71 will be explained in more detail. As illustrated, the control section 71 includes a phase setting section 72 , a phase storage section 73 , a reference signal processing section 74 , a data/control signal processing section 75 and an orientation detection section 76 .
The functions of the reference signal processing unit 74 and the data/control signal processing unit 75 are the same as those of the reference signal processing unit 54 and the data/control signal processing unit 55 in the base station 5, respectively. Detailed description is omitted.

The phase setting unit 72 reads the phase information (direction information) stored in the phase storage unit 73, and sets the signal phase in the transmission/reception unit 77 (sets the directivity direction of the antenna) based on this phase information. Also, the phase setting unit 72 detects the signal phase of the transmission/reception unit 77 at the end of the communication (after the end of the communication) and writes the phase information in the phase storage unit 73 . Also, the phase setting unit 72 estimates the optimum signal phase based on the reception information acquired from the reference signal processing unit 74 and adjusts the phase of the transmission/reception unit 77 . Further, the phase setting section 72 performs phase correction for the tilt of the semi-fixed terminal 7 itself based on the orientation information passed from the orientation detection section 76 . The details of this phase correction processing will be described later with reference to flowcharts.

The phase storage unit 73 stores signal phase information in communication with the base station 5 . When storing signal phase information for a plurality of base stations 5, the phase storage unit 73 stores the identification information of each base station 5 and the phase information in association with each other.

The orientation detection unit 76 detects the orientation of the semi-fixed terminal 7 and outputs the detected information (orientation information) to the phase setting unit 72 . For direction detection, existing technologies such as gyro and GPS are used. Note that "GPS" is an abbreviation for "Global Positioning System".

Next, the communication sequence will be explained.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a terminal connects to a base station in the communication system 1. FIG. The figure shows the sequence in the TDD system, and the vertical direction corresponds to the temporal order. The following description follows along with this sequence.

In step S1, a data communication request is generated in the semi-fixed terminal 7. FIG.
In step S2, the semi-fixed terminal 7 sets the phase of the radio signal to the signal phase of the previous communication. Specifically, the phase setting section 72 in the semi-fixed terminal 7 reads the signal phase information of the previous communication from the phase storage section 73, and sets the phase of the transmission/reception section 77 based on the information.

At step S3, the base station 5 transmits a terminal search signal. The semi-fixed terminal 7 receives this terminal search signal.
In step S<b>4 , the semi-fixed terminal 7 transmits a communication connection request to the base station 5 . The base station 5 receives this communication connection request.
In step S5, the base station 5 sets the signal phase for the terminal that sent the communication connection request.

In step S6, the base station 5 transmits a connection setup notification to the semi-fixed terminal 7 which is the request source. The semi-fixed terminal 7 receives this connection setting notification.
In step S<b>7 , the semi-fixed terminal 7 transmits connection setup completion to the base station 5 . The base station 5 receives this connection setup completion. At this stage, the communication connection is established and data communication is possible.
In step S8, the semi-fixed terminal 7 and the base station 5 exchange data with each other. This data communication is performed, for example, according to a higher-level protocol.

According to the communication sequence described above, the semi-fixed terminal 7 sets the signal phase to that of the previous communication. In the case of semi-fixed terminals, there is a high possibility that the signal phase in the previous communication will be optimal in the current communication as well. This eliminates the need for a new beam search, and allows the semi-fixed terminal 7 to direct the beam toward the base station at once.

Each terminal search signal in step S3 is beam-output by the base station 5 so that each terminal has a communication opportunity. A terminal that receives each terminal search signal obtains a communication opportunity. This search signal contains, for example, a reference signal for beams. Furthermore, the search signal may include a synchronizing signal, a notification signal, and the like.
Instead of transmitting each terminal search signal, the base station 5 may receive a connection-related signal using a receiver capable of omnidirectional reception. In this case, the procedure for transmitting each terminal search signal becomes unnecessary.

In step S5 above, the base station 5 sets the signal phase of the communication connection request sent from the terminal as the signal phase for the terminal. If it is known that the terminal is a fixed terminal, it is possible to set the signal phase to the value of the previous communication, but in this embodiment, the terminal may be a mobile terminal. This is because there is a high probability that the device has moved since the previous communication.
The signal phase when the base station receives the connection request signal may be the same as the signal phase when each terminal search signal is transmitted. At that time, the base stations will eventually communicate with the same signal phase.

When the communication connection is requested in step S4, the semi-fixed terminal 7 reports the signal phase information or beam pattern from the previous communication to the base station 5, and the base station 5 transmits the phase or beam pattern to the base station 5. May be set to the reported signal phase.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the semi-fixed terminal 7 connects only to the base station 5 and performs communication. Furthermore, when the semi-fixed terminal 7 is simultaneously connected to a macrocell base station that does not use the millimeter wave band, the semi-fixed terminal 7 transmits/receives control signals as shown in steps S4, S6, and S7 via the macrocell base station. good too. In this case, the signal phase or beam pattern for communicating with the base station 5 is fed back from the semi-fixed terminal 7 side to the base station 5 side via the macrocell base station. The base station 5 then sets the signal phase or beam pattern fed back to the phase storage unit 53 of the base station 5 as the signal phase of the semi-fixed terminal 7 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a base station connects to a terminal (semi-fixed terminal) in the communication system 1. FIG. This figure also shows the sequence in the TDD system. Also, the illustrated sequence diagram shows a sequence when the base station has the phase signal of the paging target terminal at the time of the previous communication. The following description follows along with this sequence.

In step S11, the semi-fixed terminal 7 is set to the signal phase of the previous communication and enters a standby state.
In step S12, paging to the semi-fixed terminal 7 occurs on the base station 5 side.
In step S13, the base station 5 sets the signal phase of the semi-fixed terminal 7 to be communicated to the signal phase of the previous communication.

At step S 14 , the base station 5 transmits a paging signal to the semi-fixed terminal 7 . The semi-fixed terminal 7 receives this paging signal.
In step S<b>15 , the semi-fixed terminal 7 transmits a communication connection request to the base station 5 . The base station 5 receives this communication connection request.
In step S16, the base station 5 transmits a connection setup notification to the semi-fixed terminal 7 which is the request source. The semi-fixed terminal 7 receives this connection setting notification.

In step S<b>17 , the semi-fixed terminal 7 transmits connection setting completion to the base station 5 . The base station 5 receives this connection setup completion. At this stage, the communication connection is established and data communication is possible.
In step S18, the semi-fixed terminal 7 and the base station 5 exchange data with each other.

As described above, the base station 5 holds the phase information of the terminal to be paged. In this case, the base station 5 sequentially sets the phase from the signal phase of the previous communication, transmits the paging signal, and performs the terminal search. In the illustrated example, since the terminal to be communicated with is a semi-fixed terminal, the initial phase setting enables communication all at once. That is, the base station 5 can set the optimum signal phase with a high probability. Also, this makes it possible to reduce the paging resources to be used.

If the base station 5 does not have the phase information of the terminal to be paged, it transmits the paging signal while sequentially setting the phase from a predetermined signal phase. By this, the base station 5 performs terminal search.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of phase information setting processing in a semi-fixed terminal. Description will be made below along this flow chart.
In step S21, the direction sensor of the semi-fixed terminal 7 detects the direction. Specifically, the orientation detection unit 76 of the semi-fixed terminal 7 detects the orientation.
In step S22, the semi-fixed terminal 7 determines whether or not the most recently detected orientation is the same as the previously detected orientation. If the direction is the same as last time (step S22: YES), the process returns to step S21. If the direction differs between the previous time and this time (step S22: NO), the process proceeds to step S23.
When proceeding to step S23, the semi-fixed terminal 7 updates the phase information stored in the phase storage unit 73 based on the difference between the previously detected direction and the currently detected direction. Specifically, the phase setting section 72 reads the phase information stored in the phase storage section 73 . Then, the phase is corrected so that the beam direction is oriented in the original direction (direction toward the base station 5) by the difference between the previous direction and the current direction. The phase setting section 72 then writes the corrected phase information to the phase storage section 73 .
After the processing of this step ends, the process returns to step S21.

Through the above processing, the control unit 71 determines whether or not the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit 76 has changed compared to the previous time. The information is updated according to the change in orientation.

The semi-fixed terminal 7 is used by being installed in a house, for example. The position and direction change relatively infrequently, for example, only within a house. However, the direction to the base station may change significantly.

The semi-fixed terminal 7 receives a reference signal for the beam from the base station 5 at predetermined intervals, and finely adjusts (updates) the phase information stored in the phase storage unit 73 based on this reference information. You may do so.
In addition, when the position (semi-fixed terminal 7) changes as well as the direction of the base station 5 viewed from the semi-fixed terminal 7, the phase information can be adjusted and updated in the same manner as the above procedure. be. In order to detect the position of the semi-fixed terminal 7, it is possible to use GPS or a method of triangulation using short-range wireless communication.

As described above, according to this embodiment, both the base station side and the terminal side store the information of the signal phase of the communication partner in the phase storage section. Then, the phase setting section on the base station side or the terminal side reads out the stored phase information and sets the phase. Note that the phase information stored in the phase storage unit is based on the phase at the time of the previous communication. Therefore, it is possible to immediately start communication with the other party without performing beam search. If the phase stored in the phase storage unit cannot be used to communicate with the other party, for example, the base station or the terminal performs beam search using that phase as the starting phase.

This embodiment can be applied to communication between fixed base stations and semi-fixed terminals. However, the present invention is not limited to that form, and can be applied to communication between, for example, a base station installed in a means of transportation such as a train or bus and a mobile terminal held by a passenger. Since there is a high probability that the passenger stays in almost the same place in the train or bus while moving, the mobile terminal held by the passenger can be regarded as a semi-fixed terminal based on the position of the base station. It's for. Further extending this, the present embodiment can be applied when the relative positional relationship between the base station and the terminal is substantially fixed (when the frequency of position changes and direction changes is low). .

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In addition, below, it demonstrates centering around the matter peculiar to this embodiment. Further, descriptions of matters common to the already described embodiments may be omitted.

First, an outline of this embodiment will be described. A feature of this embodiment is that the semi-fixed terminal notifies the base station of information that it is a semi-fixed terminal. For example, the terminal notifies the base station of the UE Capability including information indicating whether it is a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. As a result, the fixed terminal and the base station can start communication with mutually fixed beam phases.

A basic procedure of this embodiment will be described. However, the details of the procedure may change depending on the variation described later.
The procedure when the terminal communicates with the base station for the first time is as follows.
Step 1: Power on your device. A terminal performs a cell search for a base station by sequentially changing the beam direction. Alternatively, the terminal performs a cell search for base stations with a wide beam width. These allow the terminal to connect to the base station.
Step 2: When a terminal connects to a base station for the first time, it notifies the base station of information indicating whether it is a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. The terminal stores the beam phase when the communication is performed.
Step 3: If the terminal is a fixed terminal, the base station stores that the terminal is a fixed terminal and the beam phase during communication.
Step 4: The terminal goes into standby/CDTX state with the stored beam phase. Note that the terminal may occasionally (for example, periodically) perform a cell search, or perform standby with a phase that is slightly wider than the stored beam phase. Also, the terminal may periodically notify the beam phase.

The communication control procedure of the base station is as follows.
If the terminal that wants to communicate is a fixed terminal, the base station initiates communication with the beam phase stored for that terminal.
If the terminal to communicate with is a mobile terminal, the base station searches for the mobile terminal by sequentially changing the beam direction or by using a wide beam phase, and initiates communication.

The terminal communication control procedure is as follows.
The terminal starts communication with the stored beam phase. However, when communication with the base station cannot be performed with that beam phase, communication with the base station is performed by sequentially changing the direction of the beam or using a wide beam.

Note that the above procedure describes a case where both the base station and the terminal perform beamforming. Alternatively, only the base station may beamform. Alternatively, only the terminal may perform beamforming.

The overall configuration of the communication system according to this embodiment is the same as the configuration described with reference to FIG. 1 in the previous embodiment. Therefore, description of the overall configuration is omitted here. Note that the communication system according to this embodiment includes a base station 5A instead of the base station 5. FIG. Further, the communication system according to this embodiment includes a semi-fixed terminal 7A instead of the semi-fixed terminal 7. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a base station (base station apparatus) according to this embodiment. As illustrated, the base station apparatus 5A includes a control section 51A, a transmission/reception section 57, and an array antenna section 58. FIG. The configuration of the base station 5 shown here is for a TDD system in which the same uplink and downlink frequencies are used. It should be noted that the frequency used may be in another form.
The transmitting/receiving section 57 and the array antenna section 58 have the same functions as those described in the first embodiment.

As shown, the control unit 51A includes a phase setting unit 52, a phase storage unit 53, a reference signal processing unit 54, a data/control signal processing unit 55, and a terminal type storage unit 59. . A feature of this embodiment is that the control unit 51A includes a terminal type storage unit 59 .
For example, when the terminal type information of the terminal stored in the terminal type storage unit 59 indicates that it is a fixed terminal, the control unit 51A stores the information in the phase storage unit 53 when communicating between the own device and the terminal. Based on the obtained phase information, the directivity direction of the antenna is set, and control is performed so as to omit beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal.

Phase storage unit 53 and terminal type storage unit 59 may be collectively referred to as a “storage unit”. The storage unit may exist inside the base station 5A or may exist in an external device. If the storage unit exists outside the base station 5A, it is made accessible from the base station 5A via, for example, a core network or other networks.

The terminal type storage unit 59 stores information on the terminal type corresponding to each terminal. Specifically, the terminal type storage unit 59 stores information indicating whether each terminal is a mobile terminal or a semi-fixed terminal. The form of information stored in the terminal type storage unit 59 is arbitrary and designed appropriately. For example, the terminal type storage unit 59 may store a list of information identifying terminals only for semi-fixed terminals. In this case, terminals not included in the list are considered to be mobile terminals.

The phase setting unit 52 appropriately refers to the terminal type storage unit 59 and reads the terminal type information for each terminal. When the terminal to be communicated with is a semi-fixed terminal, phase setting section 52 sets the signal phase in transmitting/receiving section 57 based on the phase information stored in phase storage section 53 . Also, the phase setting unit 52 detects the signal phase of the transmitting/receiving unit 57 at the end of communication (after the end of communication) and writes it as phase information in the phase storage unit. On the other hand, when the terminal to be communicated with is not a semi-fixed terminal, phase setting section 52 sets a predetermined signal phase. That is, in this case, phase setting section 52 sets the signal phase without depending on the phase information for each terminal stored in phase storage section 53 . Furthermore, the phase setting unit 52 estimates the optimum signal phase based on the reception information obtained from the reference signal processing unit, and performs phase adjustment of the transmission/reception unit.

The reference signal processing unit 54 demodulates the reference signal related to the received beam, and notifies the phase setting unit 52 of reception information such as phase and level. Also, the reference signal processing unit 54 generates a reference signal related to the beam to be transmitted, and outputs it to the transmitting/receiving unit.

The data/control signal processor 55 demodulates the data and control signals received from the transmitter/receiver 57 . It also generates transmission data and transmission control signals and outputs them to the transmission/reception unit 57 .
The data/control signal processing unit 55 also performs processing for storing the terminal type information received from the transmitting/receiving unit 57 in the terminal type storage unit 59 .

Next, the functional configuration of the semi-fixed terminal will be described.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a semi-fixed terminal. As shown, the semi-fixed terminal 7A includes a control section 71A, a transmission/reception section 77, and an array antenna section 78. FIG. The configuration of the semi-fixed terminal 7A shown here is for a TDD system in which the same uplink and downlink frequencies are used. It should be noted that the frequency used may be in another form.
The transmitting/receiving section 77 and the array antenna section 78 are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

The control unit 71A sets the direction of the directivity of the antenna based on the phase information stored in the phase storage unit 73 when communicating between itself and the base station 5A, and sets the beam direction during communication with the base station 5A. Control to omit follow-up processing. The controller 71A will be described in more detail below.

As shown, the control unit 71A includes a phase setting unit 72, a phase storage unit 73, a reference signal processing unit 74, a data/control signal processing unit 75, an orientation detection unit 76, and a terminal type notification signal generation unit. 79 and . A feature of this embodiment is that the control unit 71A includes a terminal type notification signal generation unit 79. FIG.

The terminal type notification signal generator 79 generates a signal for notifying the base station side of information indicating whether the own terminal is a mobile terminal or a semi-fixed terminal. This signal is called a terminal type notification signal. The terminal type notification signal generation section 79 passes the generated terminal type notification signal to the data/control signal processing section 75 .
Data/control signal processing section 75 transmits a terminal type notification signal to base station 5A according to an appropriate procedure. Note that the signal may be generated in a form in which terminal type information is included in terminal capability information (UE Capability information, etc.).

A processing procedure in this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the sequence of communications between the semi-fixed terminal and the base station when and after the semi-fixed terminal is powered on. It should be noted that in the figure, only sequences relatively deeply related to the configuration of the present embodiment are described, and description of other detailed sequences necessary for communication is omitted. The procedure will be described below along this sequence.

In step S31, the semi-fixed terminal 7A is powered on. This activates the semi-fixed terminal 7A.
In step S32, the base station 5A transmits each terminal search signal. Each terminal search signal allows the terminal to obtain a communication opportunity.
In step S33, the semi-fixed terminal 7A performs a cell search for base stations. The semi-fixed terminal 7A searches for each terminal search signal while sequentially sweeping the beam direction during cell search. Alternatively, the search may be performed using a beam with a wide beam width, an omnidirectional antenna, or the like. As a result of the search, the semi-fixed terminal 7A receives this terminal search signal. That is, the semi-fixed terminal 7A detects a cell and estimates the optimum signal phase or beam pattern for transmitting and receiving the signal of that cell.
In step S34, the semi-fixed terminal 7A stores the optimum signal phase or beam pattern at the time of cell detection, and sets the signal phase for transmission/reception.

In step S35, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits a terminal capability report to the base station 5A. Terminal type information is included in this terminal capability report message. The terminal type notification signal generating section 79 of the semi-fixed terminal 7A generates a signal of terminal type information regarding the own terminal. The terminal type information is information for distinguishing whether the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal (fixed terminal) or a mobile terminal. Specifically, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits, for example, including terminal type information in UE Capability information.
The base station 5A receives the terminal capability report from the semi-fixed terminal 7A.

At step S36, the base station 5A stores the terminal type information extracted from the received terminal capability report. Specifically, the terminal type storage unit 59 in the base station 5A stores the terminal type information in association with the terminal identification information.
In step S37, if the terminal type information stored in step S36 represents "semi-fixed terminal", the base station 5A stores the phase information when the terminal capability report was received. Specifically, the phase storage unit 53 stores the phase information.
In step S38, the base station 5A sets the signal phase for the terminal at the time of receiving the terminal capability report. Specifically, the phase setting section 52 performs phase setting in the transmission/reception section 57 .

In step S39, the base station 5A transmits a terminal capability report response to the semi-fixed terminal 7A. This terminal capability report response is a positive response indicating that the base station 5A has successfully received and processed the terminal capability report. Further, when the target terminal is a semi-fixed terminal, it indicates that the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal is stored on the base station 5A side. The semi-fixed terminal 7A receives this terminal capability report response.

In step S40, the semi-fixed terminal 7A enters a standby state. In the waiting state, the semi-fixed terminal 7A waits for a paging signal. At this time, the semi-fixed terminal 7A enters a standby state with the stored beam phase.
Note that the semi-fixed terminal 7A may appropriately perform a cell search at predetermined intervals. Also, the semi-fixed terminal 7A may be set to wait with a wider phase than the stored beam phase. Further, since the phase information may change, the semi-fixed terminal 7A may notify the base station 5A of the beam phase at predetermined intervals.

When the semi-fixed terminal 7A detects a cell as a result of the cell search (step S33), the phase information at the time of cell detection may be included in the terminal capability report (step S35) and reported.
When the terminal capability report from the terminal includes the phase information at the time of cell detection on the terminal side, the base station 5A calculates the phase information for the terminal based on the phase information, and the calculated phase The information may be stored in the phase storage unit 53 (process in step S37).
Further, when the phase information for the terminal is calculated based on the phase information reported from the terminal side as described above, the base station 5A may set the calculated phase information (step S38 processing).

As in the case of the first embodiment, the signal phase when the base station 5A receives the terminal capability report may be the same as the signal phase when each terminal search signal is transmitted. In that case, as a result, each terminal communicates with the signal phase when the search signal is transmitted.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the semi-fixed terminal 7A connects and communicates only with the base station 5A. Further, if the semi-fixed terminal 7A is connected to a macrocell base station that does not use the millimeter wave band at the same time, it may transmit and receive control signals as in steps S35 and S39 via the macrocell base station. In this case, the signal phase or beam pattern for communicating with the base station 5A is fed back from the semi-fixed terminal 7A side to the base station 5A side via the macrocell base station. The base station 5A then sets the signal phase or beam pattern fed back to the phase storage section 53 of the base station 5A as the signal phase of the semi-fixed terminal 7A.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a communication sequence when a base station according to this embodiment connects to a terminal (semi-fixed terminal). This figure also shows the sequence in the TDD system. Also, the illustrated sequence diagram shows a sequence when the base station has the phase signal of the paging target terminal at the time of the previous communication. The following description follows along with this sequence.

In step S51, the semi-fixed terminal 7 is in a waiting state. Note that the semi-fixed terminal 7A in this step is in a waiting state with the stored beam phase.
In step S52, paging to the semi-fixed terminal 7A occurs on the side of the base station 5A.
In step S53, the base station 5A reads the stored phase information regarding the semi-fixed terminal 7 to be communicated with, and sets the signal phase based on this information. The base station 5A performs radio communication with the semi-fixed terminal 7 after this setting with this signal phase.

At step S54, the base station 5A transmits a paging signal to the semi-fixed terminal 7A. The semi-fixed terminal 7A receives this paging signal.
In this embodiment, the base station 5A transmits the paging signal to the semi-fixed terminal 7A with the signal phase set in step S53. In other words, there is no particular need for the base station 5A to sweep the paging signal sequentially, and it is possible to transmit the paging signal to the semi-fixed terminal 7A at once. In addition, this also has the effect of reducing paging resources.

In step S55, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits a communication connection request to the base station 5A. The base station 5A receives this communication connection request.
In step S56, the base station 5A transmits a connection setting notification to the requesting semi-fixed terminal 7A. The semi-fixed terminal 7A receives this connection setting notification.
In step S57, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits connection setting completion to the base station 5A. The base station 5A receives this connection setup completion. At this stage, the communication connection is established, and data communication can be performed between the base station 5A and the semi-fixed terminal 7A.
At step S58, the base station 5A and the semi-fixed terminal 7A exchange data with each other.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing in more detail the operation procedure of the base station when paging occurs (step S52 in FIG. 10). This flow chart shows the procedure from occurrence of paging to establishment of communication connection with the terminal. Description will be made below along this flow chart.

At step S61, paging occurs at the base station 5A.
In step S62, the phase setting unit 52 of the base station 5A determines whether or not the paging is directed to the semi-fixed terminal. This determination by the phase setting unit 52 can be performed by referring to terminal type information stored in the terminal type storage unit 59 regarding the terminal. If the paging target terminal is a semi-fixed terminal (step S62: YES), the process proceeds to the next step S63. If the paging target terminal is not a semi-fixed terminal (step S62: NO), the process proceeds to step S64.

If the paging is addressed to a semi-fixed terminal, the phase setting unit 52 reads the stored phase information from the phase storage unit 53 in step S63. Then, the phase setting unit 52 sets the signal phase based on the read phase information. When the processing of this step ends, the process moves to step S66.

If the paging is not directed to a semi-fixed terminal, the base station apparatus 5A performs a terminal search in step S64. At this time, the base station apparatus 5A performs a terminal search while sequentially sweeping the beam direction from a predetermined signal phase. Alternatively, the base station apparatus 5A may appropriately search for terminals using a wider beam width. Alternatively, the base station apparatus 5A may search for terminals using an omnidirectional antenna.
Then, in step S65, the phase setting unit 52 of the base station apparatus 5A sets the signal phase of the terminal detected in response to the terminal search in step S64. When the processing of this step ends, the process moves to step S66.

Transition to step S66 is made from either step S63 or S65. The signal phase is appropriately set at this point regardless of which transition is made.
Then, in step S66, the base station device 5A establishes communication connection with the terminal.

According to the processing procedure described above, when performing paging to a semi-fixed terminal, the terminal search time becomes unnecessary, and the time for communication connection is shortened.
It should be noted that FIG. 11 has explained the processing procedure when paging occurs from the side of the base station 5A. However, even when a communication connection request is received from the terminal side, the signal phase is set according to the terminal type (according to whether the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal) in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. can be

The operations of the base station 5A and the semi-fixed terminal 7A during communication connection in this embodiment will be described.
If the terminal to be communicated with is a mobile terminal, the base station 5A receives the reference signal for the beam from the mobile terminal and adjusts the signal phase. Thereby, the base station 5A causes the beam to follow the movement of the mobile terminal.
When this embodiment is applied to the FDD system, the base station 5A requests the terminal to report the downlink beam phase information at the time of communication connection (for example, at the time of transmitting the connection setup notification). . Then, the terminal reports phase information of the received downlink beam at the time of communication connection. Also, when receiving a signal from a terminal, the base station 5A detects the phase information of the uplink beam and notifies the terminal of the phase information of the uplink beam. As described above, in the FDD system, the base station and the terminal mutually obtain the phase information of the beam transmitted by the own station from the other station. Then, each of the base station and the terminal sets its own phase based on the phase information obtained from the other station.
If the communication target terminal is a semi-fixed terminal, there is no need to perform the above-described operations during communication. Also in the case of the FDD system, there is no need to request the semi-fixed terminal to report downlink beam phase information at the time of communication connection. In other words, in these cases, the base station 5A does not request the terminal to report downlink beam phase information. Also, the base station 5A does not notify the terminal of the uplink beam phase information. Also, the base station 5A does not demodulate the reference signal for the beam. Therefore, the base station 5A acquires and stores in advance information (terminal type information) indicating whether or not the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal.
That is, in the base station 5A, the phase setting unit 52 refers to the terminal type information of the terminal stored in the terminal type storage unit 59. FIG. When the terminal indicates that the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal, the phase setting unit 52 sets the direction of the antenna based on the phase information stored in the phase storage unit 53 when communicating between the own device and the terminal. direction, and controls to omit beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal device.
It should be noted that the base station 5A may receive a reference signal relating to the beam at the beginning of communication and finely adjust the beam based on the reference signal.
As described above, the base station 5A of this embodiment can omit the beam tracking process when the communication partner is a semi-fixed terminal by knowing the terminal type information of the terminal that is the communication partner.

Also, the semi-fixed terminal 7A does not need to receive reference signals related to beams for beam tracking during communication.
Even when this embodiment is applied to the FDD system, the semi-fixed terminal 7A is not required to report downlink beam phase information from the base station 5A at the time of communication connection. Therefore, the semi-fixed terminal 7A does not need to report downlink beam phase information to the base station 5A.
In other words, in these cases, the semi-fixed terminal 7A does not report downlink beam phase information to the base station apparatus 5A. Also, the semi-fixed terminal 7A does not demodulate the reference signal for the beam. As a premise, the semi-fixed terminal 7A reports information (terminal type information) as to whether it is a semi-fixed terminal to the base station 5A in advance.
In other words, semi-fixed terminal 7A, based on the information that it is a fixed terminal, directs the antenna based on the phase information stored in phase storage section 73 when communicating between itself and base station apparatus 5A. The direction of transmission is set, and control is performed so as to omit beam tracking processing during communication with the base station 5A.
As described above, the semi-fixed terminal 7A of the present embodiment can omit processing related to beam tracking, and can reduce terminal processing load and current consumption.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a sequence when data communication is performed by connecting from the semi-fixed terminal side to the base station side. This sequence assumes that terminal type information (information indicating that the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal) is not reported to the base station when the power of the semi-fixed terminal is turned on. The following description follows along with this sequence.

In step S71, a data communication request is generated on the semi-fixed terminal 7A side.
In step S72, the phase setting section 72 of the semi-fixed terminal 7A reads the phase information stored in the phase storage section 73, and sets the signal phase based on the phase information.

In step S73, the base station 5A transmits each terminal search signal. That is, in this step, the base station 5A searches for terminals. The semi-fixed terminal 7A, which has set the signal phase in step S72, appropriately receives each terminal search signal.
In step S74, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits a communication connection request. At this time, the semi-fixed terminal 7A includes terminal type information in the communication connection request. The terminal type information is information indicating whether or not the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal. Specifically, the terminal type notification signal generator 79 in the semi-fixed terminal 7A generates a signal for transmitting terminal type information to the base station 5A side. The base station 5A receives the above communication connection request.

In step S75, the base station 5A stores the terminal type of the terminal that sent the communication connection request. This terminal type is taken out from the communication connection request received by the base station 5A. Specifically, data/control signal processing section 55 writes terminal type information to terminal type storage section 59 . At this time, the terminal type storage unit 59 associates and stores the terminal identification information and the terminal type information.
In step S76, if the terminal that has sent the communication connection request is a semi-fixed terminal, the phase setting unit 52 writes the phase information in the phase storage unit 53 when the request is received.
In step S77, the phase setting unit 52 sets the signal phase of the terminal that has sent the communication connection request. Note that the phase setting unit 52 sets the signal phase when the communication connection request signal is received.

In step S78, the base station 5A transmits a connection setting notification to the requesting semi-fixed terminal 7A. The semi-fixed terminal 7A receives this connection setting notification.
In step S79, the semi-fixed terminal 7A transmits connection setting completion to the base station 5A. The base station 5A receives this connection setup completion. At this stage, the communication connection is established, and data communication can be performed between the base station 5A and the semi-fixed terminal 7A.
In step S80, the base station 5A and the semi-fixed terminal 7A exchange data with each other.

In the procedure shown in FIG. 9, the terminal reports the terminal type information to the base station when the power is turned on, whereas in the procedure shown in FIG. Report to the base station.
Also, instead of including the terminal type information in the communication connection request, the terminal may transmit the terminal type information to the base station at another timing. For example, after the communication connection request, the terminal may transmit only terminal type information to the base station.
Thus, in this embodiment, the terminal type information is transmitted from the terminal side to the base station side. This allows the base station to know the terminal type of each terminal. That is, the base station can know information as to whether the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. This enables the base station to set the signal phase using pre-stored phase information when the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal.

Also, when the terminal type is a semi-fixed terminal, the semi-fixed terminal and the base station do not need to perform beam tracking processing. Similarly, in the data communication shown in FIG. 10, semi-fixed terminals and base stations do not need to perform beam tracking processing.

In addition, the terminal may also report downlink beam phase information to the base station. Based on the reported downlink beam phase information, the base station can calculate the phase to be set on the base station side for communication with the terminal. Then, the base station can store the phase information and set the phase based on the phase information.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the signal phase when the base station receives the request from the terminal may be the same as the signal phase when each terminal search signal is transmitted. In that case, as a result, communication is performed with the same signal phase as the signal phase when each terminal search signal was transmitted.

Here, the configuration of the storage unit in this embodiment will be described.
13 and 14 are schematic diagrams respectively showing the structure of a storage unit and an example of data stored in the storage unit according to this embodiment. 13 and 14 show storage means used for the same purpose, but differ from each other in specific aspects.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the first aspect of the storage section of the present embodiment. As illustrated, the storage unit can be expressed in the form of a two-dimensional table. This table has items of terminal identification number (terminal identification information), terminal type, and phase information. Each row of the table corresponds to each terminal.
A portion of the storage unit that stores terminal type information in association with terminal identification information corresponds to the terminal type storage unit 59 . A portion that stores phase information in association with terminal identification information corresponds to the phase storage unit 53 .
One of the features of this embodiment is that the terminal type storage unit 59 exists. In the base station of the first embodiment, the terminal type storage unit 59 does not exist, and only the phase storage unit 53 exists.

Returning to FIG. 13, the terminal identification number is information for uniquely identifying each terminal. In the example shown in this figure, an integer from 1 to 6 is given to each terminal as a terminal identification number.
The terminal type is information representing the type of terminal. More specifically, the terminal type is information indicating whether the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. In the example shown in the figure, the terminal type corresponding to terminal numbers 1, 4 and 5 is "semi-fixed terminal", and the terminal type corresponding to terminal numbers 2, 3 and 6 is "mobile terminal".
The phase information stores information about the signal phase for each terminal. Specifically, the phase information is information on the phase of power supplied to each antenna element of the array antenna section 58 . The phase of each antenna element determines the directivity pattern of the array antenna as a whole.
In the example shown in this figure, phase information of antennas 1 to n is held corresponding to terminal identification number 1 . The phase of antenna 1 is φ1_1, the phase of antenna 2 is φ1_2, . . . , and the phase of antenna n is φ1_n.
Further, corresponding to terminal identification number 4, phase information of antennas 1 to n is held. The phase of antenna 1 is φ4_1, the phase of antenna 2 is φ4_2, . . . , and the phase of antenna n is φ4_n.
Further, corresponding to terminal identification number 5, phase information of antennas 1 to n is held. The phase of antenna 1 is φ5_1, the phase of antenna 2 is φ5_2, . . . , and the phase of antenna n is φ5_n.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second aspect of the storage section of the present embodiment. As illustrated, the storage unit can be expressed in the form of a two-dimensional table. This table has items of terminal identification number (terminal identification information), terminal type, and phase information.
A feature of this second aspect shown in the figure is that the table holds only rows for which the terminal type is "semi-fixed terminal" and does not hold rows for which the terminal type is "mobile terminal". That is, terminals not written in this table are regarded as mobile terminals. Furthermore, as a modification of the storage section of the second mode, the column of "terminal type" may be omitted. In the present embodiment, the terminal type can take only two values, ie, "mobile terminal" or "semi-fixed terminal." The information is sufficient even if is omitted.
Here, the terminal type can take only two types of values: "semi-fixed terminal" and "mobile terminal". In addition, the storage unit does not store phase information for terminals whose terminal type is "mobile terminal". Therefore, the information held by the second mode of the storage section does not lack any information compared to the information held by the first mode of the storage section.
It should be noted that the storage unit shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 may store beam pattern information instead of phase information. For example, the phase information of terminal identification number 1 may be beam pattern A, the phase information of terminal identification number 4 may be beam pattern B, and the like. Beam patterns A, B, etc. are identifiers of beam patterns output by the base station.

Next, an example of each terminal search operation by the base station will be described.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of each terminal search operation by the base station. In the figure, the horizontal axis represents time (time). In the figure, time is divided as appropriate, and individual semi-fixed terminals are assigned to each of the divided time zones.
Here, among terminals that are communication partners of the base station 5A, F_UE1 (terminal identification number: 1), F_UE4 (terminal identification number: 4), and F_UE5 (terminal identification number: 5) are semi-fixed terminals. assume that. The base station 5A first performs a terminal search for semi-fixed terminals (F_UE1, F_UE4, F_UE5), and after completing the search for these semi-fixed terminals, searches for other terminals (UEs). For this reason, the base station 5A searches while sweeping the beam direction in sequence. The base station 5A already holds the phase information of the semi-fixed terminals, and the base station 5A performs phase setting using the phase information of the semi-fixed terminals in the time slot assigned to each semi-fixed terminal. In other words, beam search is unnecessary, and the search can be performed with the signal phase corresponding to each terminal.

When searching for other terminals (UEs), the area (direction) searched for when searching for semi-fixed terminals may be omitted.

By searching for each terminal in this manner, the base station 5A can reliably perform searches in order from the area where the terminal is located. Therefore, the communication system as a whole is more likely to increase the number of terminals that can be connected for communication as quickly as possible.

Note that the base station 5A may set each terminal search time period to a time period different from the time period during which data communication is performed with each terminal. Each terminal search time zone does not need to be continuous, and may be arranged so as to interrupt the time of data communication with each terminal. Also, each terminal search and data communication with each terminal may be divided by frequency. Alternatively, each terminal search and data communication with each terminal may be divided by radio resources. When the radio resource is divided, for example, the radio resource for each terminal search signal and the radio resource for data communication are appropriately arranged in each region partitioned as a two-dimensional matrix of the time domain and the frequency domain.
Also, the base station 5A may perform transmission and reception using multi-beams. Then, for example, the base station 5A may occupy one beam among the multi-beams for each terminal search time slot.
In addition, the base station 5A may use a dedicated array antenna for each terminal search separately from the array antenna for data communication.

As described above, the base station 5A in this embodiment holds terminal type information.
By knowing that the communication target terminal is a semi-fixed terminal, the base station 5A can omit beam search and beam tracking processing during communication. That is, it becomes possible to save time and power.
Further, the base station 5A can eliminate the need for handover-related processing by knowing that the terminal to be communicated with is a semi-fixed terminal. That is, when the base station 5A finds out that the terminal is a semi-fixed terminal, it does not request the terminal to report an event related to handover. As a result, semi-fixed terminals do not need to report events, and the processing load and power consumption of the terminals can be reduced.
Furthermore, semi-fixed terminals do not need to be equipped with a handover function, so implementation can be simplified.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In addition, below, it demonstrates centering around the matter peculiar to this embodiment. Further, descriptions of matters common to the already described embodiments may be omitted.
This embodiment is characterized by the configuration and procedure when there are multiple connectable base stations around the semi-fixed terminal.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment. As illustrated, the communication system 3 is a mobile radio communication system and includes a plurality of base stations 5B, at least one semi-fixed terminal 7B, and a core network 10. FIG. In addition, although three base stations 5B are shown in the figure, the communication system 3 may include any number of base stations 5B equal to or greater than two. In addition, although one quasi-fixed terminal 7B is shown in FIG. The base station 5 communicates with terminals using a high frequency band such as a millimeter wave band. At this time, mutual beamforming control is performed between the base station and the terminal.
In the illustrated example of the communication system 3, the quasi-fixed terminal 7B is quasi-fixed at a position where it can communicate with any of the three base stations 5B. The semi-fixed terminal 7B can communicate with any of the base stations 5B while performing mutual beam control.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a communication sequence unique to this embodiment. The sequence described in this figure shows a procedure for offloading a semi-fixed terminal communicating with a certain base station to another base station. The following description follows along with this sequence.

In step S101, data communication has already been performed between the first base station (base station 5B) and semi-fixed terminal 7B. Prior to this step, a procedure for establishing connection between the first base station and the semi-fixed terminal 7B has already been executed.
In step S102, an event occurred that the communication load of the first base station became excessive. When the communication load exceeds a predetermined threshold, the first base station starts processing for offloading some of the fixed terminals that are in communication.

In step S103, the first base station requests neighboring cell information from the semi-fixed terminal 7B. Neighboring cell information is information about cells of other base stations that can be connected from the semi-fixed terminal 7B. The semi-fixed terminal 7B receives the peripheral cell information request.
In step S104, the semi-fixed terminal 7B returns a neighboring cell information report to the first base station. The first base station receives this neighboring cell information report.

In step S105, the first base station performs processing to consider whether to offload some terminals based on the neighboring cell information reports returned from each terminal, and makes a decision as appropriate. The neighboring cell information report includes identification information of base stations that can be connected from the terminal, information on the signal strength of each base station, and the like. In this sequence, the first base station decides to offload the semi-fixed terminal 7B and let the second base station take over.
In step S106, the first base station deletes the information regarding the connection with the semi-fixed terminal 7B. In this step, it is sufficient for the first base station to delete the information indicating that the semi-fixed terminal 7B is currently connected. The first base station may retain information about the semi-fixed terminal 7B other than the information indicating that it is currently connected. By keeping the first base station holding information (terminal type information, phase information, etc.) about the semi-fixed terminal 7B, when the first base station next becomes the connection destination base station of the semi-fixed terminal 7B, , it is possible to establish a connection quickly.

In step S107, the first base station sends a semi-fixed terminal connection instruction to the second base station through communication or the like via the core network 10 or an X2 interface (not shown) that directly connects base stations to each other. (base station 5B). The semi-fixed terminal connection instruction sent here includes information necessary for connection in this embodiment, such as identification information of the semi-fixed terminal, terminal type information, phase information, and channel quality information. The second base station receives this semi-fixed terminal connection indication.

In step S108, the second base station stores the semi-fixed terminal information included in the received semi-fixed terminal connection instruction in its own storage unit. Here, the semi-fixed terminal information includes terminal identification information, terminal type information, and phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B.
In step S109, the second base station sets the signal phase for communication with the semi-fixed terminal 7B based on the received phase information, propagation path quality information, and the like. Specifically, the second base station calculates the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B in the second base station based on the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B received from the first base station. For example, the phase information for connecting the second base station to the semi-fixed terminal 7B is calculated based on the positional relationship between the first base station, the second base station, and the semi-fixed terminal 7B. More specifically, the second base station knows in advance the location of the first base station. Also, the approximate position of the semi-fixed terminal 7B (the distance between the semi-fixed terminal 7B and the first base station) depends on the quality (signal reception level, etc.) of the wireless propagation path between the semi-fixed terminal 7B and the first base station, and the use It can be calculated from the frequency, etc. Based on the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B received from the first base station, the direction of the semi-fixed terminal 7B with respect to the first base station is determined. Based on these pieces of information, the second base station estimates the direction of the semi-fixed terminal 7B with respect to the second base station. Alternatively, the approximate direction of the semi-fixed terminal 7B with respect to the second base station is obtained. Phase information is then calculated based on the direction of the semi-fixed terminal 7B with respect to the second base station.

On the other hand, the first base station gives instructions to the semi-fixed terminal 7B to be offloaded in parallel with the instruction to the second base station. That is, it is as follows.
In step S110, the first base station transmits a handover (HO) instruction to the second base station to the semi-fixed terminal 7B. The semi-fixed terminal 7B receives this handover instruction.
In step S111, the semi-fixed terminal 7B sets the signal phase of the second base station for communication with the second base station. The semi-fixed terminal 7B stores in advance the phase information of each base station.

Through the procedure up to this point, both the second base station and the semi-fixed terminal 7B have mutually completed signal phase setting. Based on the signal phase set in this way, communication is performed between the second base station and the semi-fixed terminal 7B in the following sequence.
In step S112, the semi-fixed terminal 7B transmits a communication connection request to the second base station. The second base station receives this communication connection request.
In step S113, the second base station transmits a communication setup notification to the semi-fixed terminal 7B. The semi-fixed terminal 7B receives this communication setting notification.
In step S114, the semi-fixed terminal 7B transmits connection setup completion to the second base station. The second base station receives this connection setup completion.

By the procedure up to this point, data communication between the second base station and the semi-fixed terminal 7B is enabled. In other words, the semi-fixed terminal 7B has been handed over from the first base station to the second base station.
In step S115, the second base station and the semi-fixed terminal 7B exchange data with each other.

Incidentally, in the above procedure, the semi-fixed terminal 7B reports information on neighboring cells to the first base station in response to the neighboring cell information request from the first base station. Instead, when the semi-fixed terminal 7B and the first base station are connected (for example, when the power is turned on), the semi-fixed terminal 7B reports its own terminal type information to the first base station. , neighboring cell information may also be reported. In this case, the first base station stores the neighboring cell information received from the semi-fixed terminal 7B in the storage unit. Furthermore, beam directions for transmitting/receiving neighboring cells may also be stored. Then, the first base station refers to the stored neighboring cell information as necessary during offload processing. When such a procedure is taken, the sequence of neighboring cell information request (step S103) and neighboring cell information reporting (step S104) is unnecessary and can be omitted.

Further, in step S107 above, the first base station includes the neighboring cell information acquired from the semi-fixed terminal 7B, which is the object of offloading, in the semi-fixed terminal connection instruction message and sends it to the second base station. good too. By doing so, the second base station can grasp the peripheral cell information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B to be handed over.

Upon receiving the communication connection request from the semi-fixed terminal 7B, the second base station may again finely adjust the phase setting of the semi-fixed terminal 7B based on the direction of the signal. Also, the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B derived by this fine adjustment may be stored in the phase storage section of the second base station. As a result, the second base station, which has been handed over, can more accurately hold and set the phase information of the semi-fixed terminal 7B.

In addition, in the above explanation of step S111, it was stated that the semi-fixed terminal 7B stores in advance the phase information of each base station (for example, the second base station that is the handover destination), but this is not essential. do not have. After receiving the HO instruction to the second base station (step S110), the semi-fixed terminal 7B may perform beam search for the second base station. However, since the semi-fixed terminal 7B stores the phase information of the second base station in advance, it becomes possible to immediately transmit a communication connection request to the second base station without performing a beam search. .
Alternatively, the first base station estimates the phase information of the second base station, includes the phase information of the second base station in the HO instruction to the second base station (step S110), and notifies the semi-fixed terminal 7B. You may do so. As a result, the semi-fixed terminal 7B can immediately transmit a communication connection request to the second base station without performing beam search.

The sequence shown in FIG. 17 is an example in which the base station offloads the semi-fixed terminal to another base station during data communication between the base station and the semi-fixed terminal. On the other hand, when the semi-fixed terminal is waiting for an access from the base station (waiting for paging, etc.), the beam may be switched to another base station to wait. In that case, the base station is switched as in the sequence shown in FIG. That is, when the semi-fixed terminal is waiting for the first base station, the first base station determines to switch the semi-fixed terminal to the second base station. Then, the first base station sends a semi-fixed terminal connection instruction to the second base station (corresponding to step S107 in FIG. 17). At the same time, the first base station sends the semi-fixed terminal a HO instruction to the second base station (a handover instruction for standby).
Alternatively, the standby target base station may be switched by a trigger from the semi-fixed terminal side. In that case, the semi-fixed terminal transmits a switchover report to the first base station based on its own judgment. Upon receiving this switching report, the first base station notifies the second base station, which is the switching destination, of semi-fixed terminal information (terminal identification information, terminal type information, phase information, etc.). Then, the second base station, which is the switching destination, stores the terminal information. The second base station performs phase setting based on the stored phase information when performing signal transmission/reception with the semi-fixed terminal. The semi-fixed terminal also stores the beam direction of the second base station to which it is switched. When the semi-fixed terminal transmits and receives signals to and from the second base station, it sets the signal phase based on the beam direction information.
By using these procedures, the communication system according to this embodiment can switch base stations not only during data communication but also during standby.

[Modification]
The first to third embodiments have been described above. Next, a plurality of modified examples will be described. In addition, when combinations are possible, a plurality of modified examples described below may be combined and implemented.

[First modification]
In the first to third embodiments, the terminal (semi-fixed terminal, etc.) is configured to control the direction of the beam. On the other hand, in this modification, the terminal is configured to transmit and receive signals in all directions (360 degrees, omnidirectional) without controlling the beam direction using an array antenna or the like. Alternatively, the terminal is configured to transmit and receive signals in half directions. Here, half azimuth means transmitting and receiving signals with uniform power within a range of approximately 180 degrees. At approximately 180 degrees on the opposite side, it is impossible to transmit and receive signals. In other words, although the base station performs beam control, the terminal does not perform beam control.

[Second modification]
In the first to third embodiments, the base station is configured to perform beam control on all channels including synchronization channels and broadcast channels. On the other hand, in this modified example, the base station transmits and receives signals omnidirectionally with respect to the synchronization channel, broadcast channel, and control channel common to terminals. Then, the base station performs beam control to which the first to third embodiments are applied only in individual control channels and data channels for each terminal.

[Third Modification]
In the first to third embodiments, a base station or a terminal stores phase information for each antenna element so that the signal phase can be set. This modification stores not only phase information but also amplitude information for each communication partner. Here, the amplitude information is transmission power information and reception power information.
By storing the transmission power information (amplitude information) in the base station or the terminal, it is possible to quickly start communication with the other party using the stored transmission power. In other words, there is no need to adaptively adjust the transmission power. This utilizes the fact that the radio wave propagation environment (distance, etc.) between the base station and the semi-fixed terminals is highly likely to remain unchanged.
Also, by storing the received power information (amplitude information) in the base station or the terminal, it is possible to quickly start communication with the other party using the stored received power. In other words, reception AGC (auto gain control) can be set in advance according to received power information. That is, there is no need to adaptively adjust the AGC gain level. This utilizes the fact that the radio wave propagation environment (distance, etc.) between the base station and the semi-fixed terminals is highly likely to remain unchanged.

[Fourth Modification]
In the first to third embodiments, the base station and terminal controlled the directions of the beams for transmission and reception using array antennas. In this modified example, the directions of beams for transmission and reception are controlled by an antenna of another type without using an array antenna. There are various methods of controlling the direction of the beam without using an array antenna, but one example is a method of changing the direction of the directional beam of the antenna by mechanical means using an antenna rotator.

That is, the "phase information" described in the first to third embodiments (including modifications) is a type of "direction information" that indicates the directivity direction of the antenna. Similarly, the "phase storage unit" is a kind of "direction storage unit" that stores "direction information" representing the direction of transmission and reception.
Also, the "phase setting" described in the first to third embodiments (including modifications) is a type of "direction setting" for setting the directivity direction of the antenna. Similarly, the 'phase setting section' is a kind of 'direction setting section'.
The direction information is information representing the direction of the communication partner. Directional information is represented, for example, by an angle value (scalar or vector) representing a specific direction in a two-dimensional plane or three-dimensional space. Alternatively, the directional information is represented by a value representing the signal strength (power or the like) for each direction in a two-dimensional plane or three-dimensional space. Alternatively, the directional information is represented by the value of the phase of power (current) supplied to each antenna element in the array antenna. Alternatively, the directional information is represented by the phase and amplitude values of power (current) supplied to each antenna element in the array antenna. Also, the direction information indicating the direction of directivity of the antenna may be expressed by other methods of expression.

[Fifth Modification]
The phase setting unit in each of the base station and the semi-fixed terminal described in the first to third embodiments functions as a direction setting unit that sets the directivity direction of the antenna when the transmitting/receiving unit transmits/receives signals. do. In each embodiment, the direction setting unit reads the direction information corresponding to the other party with which it has communicated in the past and sets the directivity direction of the antenna. In some cases, the direction setting unit stores direction information notified from the outside, reads the direction information, and sets the directivity direction of the antenna. Furthermore, in this modified example, the direction setting unit is not limited to the above-described forms, and appropriately reads direction information designated by some method (for example, identification information of a device such as a base station or a terminal is designated). , to set the directivity direction of the antenna.

[others]
The "semi-fixed terminal" described in the first to third embodiments (including modifications) is a type of "fixed terminal". Also, "base stations" and "terminals" are collectively referred to as "communication devices."

Features of the base stations and terminals described in the first to third embodiments are listed here.
In a communication apparatus (base station apparatus or terminal apparatus), a direction setting section (phase setting section) sets the directivity direction of an antenna when transmitting/receiving the signal. Also, the direction storage unit (phase storage unit) stores direction information representing the direction in association with the communication partner. Further, the direction setting section reads the direction information corresponding to the communication partner from the direction storage section, and sets the direction of directivity of the antenna based on the read direction information.
Further, the direction setting unit may write information on the direction of the communication partner when the transmitting/receiving unit transmits/receives signals to/from the communication partner as direction information corresponding to the communication partner in the direction storage unit. Further, the direction setting unit acquires direction information of the own device when the communication partner transmits and receives signals to and from the own device, and sets the direction information of the communication partner obtained based on the direction information of the own device to the corresponding direction setting unit. The information may be written in the direction storage unit as direction information corresponding to the communication partner.
Further, the communication device may notify the communication partner of the direction information of the communication partner when signals are transmitted/received to/from the communication partner.
The base station apparatus may also include a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information indicating whether the terminal apparatus is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal in association with the terminal apparatus. At this time, the direction setting unit reads the terminal type information from the terminal type storage unit when the transmitting/receiving unit transmits a terminal search signal for starting communication with the terminal device, and determines that the terminal device is a fixed terminal. In some cases, the directivity direction of the antenna is set based on the direction information read from the direction storage unit.
Also, during communication with a terminal device, the base station device determines a terminal device to be offloaded to another base station device, and hands over the terminal device determined to be offloaded to the other base station device. The base station apparatus may instruct the other base station apparatus to connect to the terminal apparatus while instructing the other base station apparatus to connect to the terminal apparatus. In this case, the base station apparatus notifies the other base station apparatus of the direction information of the terminal apparatus when instructing the other base station apparatus to connect to the terminal apparatus (the second base station apparatus in FIG. 17). 1 base station).
Further, the base station apparatus receives a connection instruction to the terminal apparatus from the other base station apparatus regarding the terminal apparatus that the other base station apparatus has decided to offload, and from the connection instruction, the terminal apparatus Direction information may be obtained, and based on the obtained direction information, the direction setting unit may set the directivity direction of the antenna when transmitting and receiving signals with the terminal device (Fig. 17 secondary base stations).
Also, the terminal device may notify the base station device of terminal type information indicating whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal (eg, FIG. 12).
Further, when the terminal apparatus receives a handover instruction from the base station apparatus to another base station apparatus during communication with the base station apparatus, the direction setting unit is included in the handover instruction. Direction of directivity of the antenna when transmitting/receiving a signal to/from the other base station based on the direction information of the other base station device or the direction information of the other base station read from the direction storage unit (semi-fixed terminal in FIG. 17).

At least part of the functions of the base stations and terminals in the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof may be realized by a computer. In particular, control of communication procedures, control of transmission/reception directions, and other functions may be implemented by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in this recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. It should be noted that the "computer system" referred to here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. In addition, “computer-readable recording media” refers to portable media such as flexible discs, magneto-optical discs, ROMs, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, USB memories, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Say things. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a medium that dynamically retains a program for a short period of time, like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. It may also include things that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memories inside computer systems that are servers and clients in that case. Further, the program may be for realizing part of the functions described above, or may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

Although the embodiment of the present invention and its modifications have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and the design, etc., within the scope of the gist of the present invention. is also included.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in communication systems and communication devices that constitute them.

1 communication system 5, 5A, 5B base station (base station device)
7, 7A, 7B semi-fixed terminal (terminal device)
9 mobile terminal 10 core network 51, 51A control unit 52 phase setting unit (direction setting unit)
53 phase storage unit (direction storage unit)
54 reference signal processing unit 55 data/control signal processing unit 57 transmission/reception unit 58 array antenna unit 59 terminal type storage unit 71 control unit 72 phase setting unit (direction setting unit)
73 phase storage unit (direction storage unit)
74 reference signal processing unit 75 data/control signal processing unit 76 azimuth detection unit 77 transmission/reception unit 78 array antenna unit

Claims (4)

A base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system,
An antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the terminal device;
a direction setting unit that sets the direction of directivity of the antenna;
a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device;
When communication is started between the own device and the terminal device, the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing a beam search for the communication to be started. a control unit for setting
a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information indicating at least whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal in association with the terminal device;
and
If the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit indicates that the terminal device is a fixed terminal when starting communication between the device itself and the terminal device, the control unit setting the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit ;
A base station device ,
During communication with a terminal device, when it is decided to offload the terminal device to another base station device, the other base station device is instructed to connect to the terminal device, and the terminal device with respect to the device, notifying the other base station device of the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information;
When an instruction to connect to a terminal device, and the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information regarding the terminal device to be connected are received from another base station device, When the terminal device is a fixed terminal, based on the positional relationship among the own base station device, the other base station device, and the terminal device to be connected, and the received transmission path quality information, the own base station device calculates direction information for connecting to the terminal device to be connected, sets the direction of antenna directivity based on the calculated direction information, and communicates with the terminal device to be connected;
Base station equipment . A base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system,
An antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the terminal device;
a direction setting unit that sets the direction of directivity of the antenna;
a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device;
a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information indicating at least whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal in association with the terminal device;
When the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit indicates that the terminal device is a fixed terminal, the terminal type information stored in the direction storage unit is stored in the direction storage unit when communicating between the own device and the terminal device. a control unit that sets the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information and performs control to omit beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal device;
A base station device comprising
During communication with a terminal device, when it is decided to offload the terminal device to another base station device, the other base station device is instructed to connect to the terminal device, and the terminal device with respect to the device, notifying the other base station device of the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information;
When an instruction to connect to a terminal device, and the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information regarding the terminal device to be connected are received from another base station device, When the terminal device is a fixed terminal, based on the positional relationship among the own base station device, the other base station device, and the terminal device to be connected, and the received transmission path quality information, the own base station device calculates direction information for connecting to the terminal device to be connected, sets the direction of antenna directivity based on the calculated direction information, and communicates with the terminal device to be connected;
Base station equipment . A base station apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ;
a terminal device;
A communication system comprising:
The terminal device
A terminal device that transmits and receives signals to and from a base station device in a wireless communication system,
An antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the base station device;
a direction setting unit that sets the direction of directivity of the antenna;
a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the base station device;
When communication is started between the base station apparatus and the base station apparatus, the directivity of the antenna is determined based on the direction information stored in the direction storage unit without performing a beam search for the communication to be started. a control for setting a direction;
an orientation detection unit that detects an orientation;
and
The control unit determines whether or not the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit has changed, and if the orientation has changed, updates the direction information stored in the direction storage unit according to the amount of change in orientation. to update,
It is a terminal device characterized by
Communications system. A program for controlling a base station device that transmits and receives signals to and from a terminal device in a wireless communication system,
the computer,
a direction setting unit that sets the direction of the directivity of an antenna that transmits and receives signals to and from the terminal device;
a direction storage unit that stores direction information representing the direction in association with the terminal device;
a terminal type storage unit that stores terminal type information indicating at least whether the terminal device is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal in association with the terminal device;
When the terminal type information of the terminal device stored in the terminal type storage unit indicates that the terminal device is a fixed terminal, the terminal type information stored in the direction storage unit is stored in the direction storage unit when communicating between the own device and the terminal device. a control unit that sets the directivity direction of the antenna based on the direction information and performs control to omit beam tracking processing during communication connection with the terminal device;
A base station device comprising
During communication with a terminal device, when it is decided to offload the terminal device to another base station device, the other base station device is instructed to connect to the terminal device, and the terminal device with respect to the device, notifying the other base station device of the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information;
When an instruction to connect to a terminal device, and the terminal type information, the direction information, and the transmission channel quality information regarding the terminal device to be connected are received from another base station device, When the terminal device is a fixed terminal, based on the positional relationship among the own base station device, the other base station device, and the terminal device to be connected, and the received transmission path quality information, the own base station device calculates direction information for connecting to the terminal device to be connected, sets the direction of antenna directivity based on the calculated direction information, and communicates with the terminal device to be connected;
A program for functioning as a base station device .

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