JPH11252000A - Radio telephone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the possibility of connecting a subscriber's equipment constituting a WLL system (wireless local loop system) to a base station by radio. SOLUTION: This system uses a directional antenna 31 capable of changing a direction by an antenna motor drive part 32 when the subscriber's equipment 21 perform communication with the base station through the radio. The electric field intensity of the plural base stations is measured in an electric field intensity measurement part 33 beforehand while changing the direction of the directional antenna 31 and stored in a memory part 40. Also, control is performed so as to turn the direction of the directional antenna 31 to the base station of the highest electric field strength. In the case that a user off-hooks a telephone set 22 and starts communication, when the user can not connect to the base station, the base station of the next highest electric field strength stored in the memory part 40 is tuned by an automatic tuning control part 38 and a procedure for connection is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio telephone device serving as a subscriber device forming a radio local loop through radio communication with a base station connected to a public telephone network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wireless local loop having a configuration as shown in FIG. Wireless local loop
From the lessLocal Loop, the fixed subscriber unit 1 abbreviated as WLL and abbreviated as WSU is connected to a public telephone network 3 via a base station 2 abbreviated as WCS via a wired cable 4. A plurality of base stations 6 are similarly connected to the public telephone network 3 via a cable 5. The plurality of base stations 2 and 6 are distributed and arranged so as to be able to communicate with a wide range of the subscriber device 1 by communication by radio 9 via antennas 7 and 8 provided respectively.

On the subscriber unit 1 side, a plurality of base stations 2, 6
A directional antenna 11 is provided to select one of them and perform communication by radio 9. Subscriber device 1
Forms a wireless local loop with the base station 2 selected via the directional antenna 11 so that the telephone 12 can be connected to the public telephone network 3. In the WLL system 13 as shown in FIG. 4, since the subscriber unit 1 and the base stations 2 and 6 are connected by radio 9, there is no need to provide a dedicated subscriber line for each subscriber unit 1. Installation of the telephone 12 becomes easy. In addition, as a system of wireless communication between the subscriber device 1 and the base stations 2 and 6, a cellular system similar to a mobile phone, a system similar to a PHS, or a dedicated system is used.

[0004]

The conventional directional antenna 11 for the subscriber unit 1 is fixed to the base station 2 to be tuned in advance with the directional direction. Therefore, the subscriber device 1
Can form a local loop by the radio 9 only for a specific base station 2. Each base station 2, 6
Has a limited number of channels, which are frequency bands available for communication by the radio 9. In general, even if many subscriber units 1 form WLL with respect to one base station 2, not all the subscriber units 1 communicate with the base station 2 by the radio 9 at the same time. Although the number of channels, which are the frequency bands of the radio 9 with which communication is possible, is limited,
Usually there is no problem. However, the subscriber device 1
When trying to communicate with the base station 2 by the radio 9, there may be a case where there is no vacant channel and the communication by the radio 9 becomes impossible. Since the direction of the directional antenna 11 is fixed, wireless communication via the base station 6 is impossible even if another base station 6 exists in a range where communication by the wireless 9 is possible.

When a plurality of base stations 2 and 6 can be used for one subscriber device 1, the subscriber device 1 is installed, for example, near the boundary of the service area of the plurality of base stations 2 and 6. It is assumed that one base station 2 is installed at first, and another base station 6 is installed in the vicinity as the number of subscriber devices 1 increases.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a radio telephone device capable of further increasing the possibility of communication when radio communication is possible between a subscriber unit and a plurality of base stations.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a subscriber connected to a public telephone network via a wireless local loop formed between one base station selected from a plurality of base stations. In the wireless telephone device on the side, a high gain is obtained only in a specific directional direction, and a directional antenna capable of changing the direction of the directional direction, and the directional direction in a direction of a base station selected according to a predetermined reference. And control means for controlling the directional antenna so that the directional antenna is pointed.

According to the present invention, a wireless telephone apparatus on the subscriber side connected to a public telephone network via a wireless local loop formed between one base station selected from a plurality of base stations. Controls a directional antenna that can change the direction of the directional direction, and selects a base station according to a predetermined reference, and directs the directional direction to obtain a directional antenna high gain in the direction of the selected base station. Control means for performing the operation. When trying to communicate with the base station with the highest priority in the directivity direction, if the channel content is vacant for that base station, the base station with the next priority is selected and the directivity direction of the directional antenna is pointed. Therefore, the possibility of communication can be increased as compared with the case where the directional direction of the directional antenna is fixed to only one base station.

Further, the present invention includes a memory for storing information on connection possibility for each base station as the predetermined reference, and the control means refers to the memory to
It is characterized in that base stations are selected in the order of high connection possibility.

According to the present invention, the telephone device on the side of the subscriber device is provided with a memory for storing information on connection possibility for each base station as a predetermined reference. Since the control means selects base stations in the order of high connection possibility,
It is possible to increase the possibility of communication with the base station selected first, and if communication with the base station is impossible, the base station with the next highest possibility Can be selected to perform communication, so that the possibility of performing communication as a whole can be increased.

In the present invention, the order in which the connection possibility is high is an order in which the electric field strength is high.

According to the present invention, the possibility of communication is evaluated based on the electric field strength, and the order in which the electric field strength is strong is set to the order in which the connection possibility is high. it can.

Further, in the present invention, the order in which the connection possibility is high is an order in which the probability that there is an empty channel is high.

According to the present invention, a base station having a high probability of having an empty channel is evaluated as a base station having a high possibility of connection. Can be increased.

In the present invention, the predetermined criterion is specified by a user.

According to the present invention, it is possible to select a base station by a user's designation, so that communication can be performed in comparison with a case where the directional direction of the directional antenna is fixed to only one base station. Can be increased.

[0017]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic electrical configuration of a wireless telephone device 20 used in a WLL system as shown in FIG. 4 as an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless telephone device 20 of the present embodiment includes a subscriber device 21, a telephone 22, and a directional antenna device 23. The telephone set 22 forms a WLL system with a plurality of base stations 2 and 6 as shown in FIG. 4 via the subscriber unit 21 and the directional antenna 31.

The directional antenna device 23 includes a directional antenna 31 and an antenna motor drive unit 32. The directional antenna 11 has directivity such that a high gain is obtained only in a specific directional direction and a gain is low in other directions that deviate from the directional direction. Such a directional antenna 3
As 1, for example, a Yagi antenna having multiple elements can be suitably used. Antenna motor drive unit 3
2. The directional antenna 31 can angularly displace the directional antenna 31 about a substantially vertical axis to tune the directional direction in an arbitrary direction.

The subscriber unit 21 has an electric field strength measuring unit 3
3, antenna tuning control unit 34, wireless transmission circuit unit 35, wireless reception circuit unit 36, interface circuit unit 3
7, an automatic tuning control unit 38, a key matrix unit 39, a memory unit 40, and a timer unit 41. The electric field strength measuring section 33 measures the electric field strength of the radio wave transmitted from the base station via the directional antenna 31, and transmits the measured data to the antenna tuning control section. The antenna tuning control unit 34 controls the antenna motor drive unit 32 and controls the directional direction of the directional antenna 31.

Telephone communication by the telephone set 22 is performed via a wireless transmission circuit section 35, a wireless reception circuit section 36, and an interface circuit section 37. The wireless transmission circuit unit 35
The voice data given from the telephone set 22 via the interface circuit unit 37 and the command data from the automatic tuning control unit 38 are transmitted to the base station via the directional antenna 31. The wireless receiving circuit unit 36 receives voice data and command data from the base station via the directional antenna 31, transmits voice data to the interface circuit unit 37, and transmits command data to the automatic channel selection control unit 38. .

The interface circuit unit 37 includes the telephone 22
Is converted into digital data and transmitted to the wireless transmission circuit unit 35, and the digital data from the wireless reception circuit unit 35 is converted into an analog audio signal and transmitted to the telephone 22.

The automatic tuning control section 38 includes an antenna tuning control section 34, a radio transmission circuit section 35, a radio reception circuit section 36, an interface circuit section 37, and a key matrix section 3.
9, are connected to the memory unit 40 and the timer unit 41, respectively, and perform general control relating to the selection of a base station.
The key matrix unit 39 is connected to the automatic tuning control unit 38 and is used when setting a time interval or when the user arbitrarily selects a base station. The memory unit 40 is connected to the automatic channel selection control unit 38, and stores data on the electric field strength of each base station and information on available channels. The timer section 41 is connected to the automatic tuning control section 38 and starts counting time in response to a command from the automatic tuning control section 38.

FIG. 2 shows an operation of the radio telephone device 20 shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment. When the wireless telephone device 20 is installed on the subscriber side in step a1, it is determined in step a2 whether or not the user has performed an operation of inputting a time interval via the key matrix unit 39. If a time interval has been input, the time interval input to the timer unit 41 is set in step a3. When step a3 is completed, or when it is determined in step a2 that the time interval has not been input, the process proceeds to step a4.

In step a4, it is determined whether the set time has elapsed. Even if the set time is not set in step a3, a default set time is given in advance. Automatic tuning control unit 3
8 compares the set time interval with the count time sent from the timer unit 41, and when they match, resets the timer unit 41, and the timer unit 41 starts counting again from the beginning. At the same time, the automatic tuning control unit 38 instructs the antenna tuning control unit 34 to measure the electric field strength of each base station. The antenna tuning control unit 34 instructs the antenna motor drive unit 32 to move the directional antenna 31 at a constant speed.
In step a5, the electric field intensity of each base station received via the directional antenna 31 is measured by the electric field intensity measuring unit 33. The information of the measurement result is transmitted to the antenna tuning control unit 3
4 and as information on the strength of the electric field,
At 6, it is stored in the memory unit 40 via the automatic tuning control unit 38. In step a7, the antenna tuning control unit 34 instructs the antenna motor drive unit 32 to tune the directional antenna 31 to the base station having the strongest electric field strength. Antenna motor drive 32
Directs the directivity direction of the directional antenna 31 toward the base station having the strongest electric field strength. If it is determined in step a4 that the set time has not elapsed, the electric field intensity is not measured.

When step a7 is completed, or when it is determined in step a4 that the set time has not elapsed, off-hook detection of the telephone set 22 is performed in step a8. When the user makes a telephone call, when the telephone set 22 connected to the subscriber unit 21 is off-hook, the interface circuit unit 37 detects the off-hook and notifies the automatic tuning control unit 38 of it. At step a9, the automatic tuning control unit 38
Transmits a connection request command to the base station via the wireless transmission circuit unit 35 and the directional antenna 31. If there is no available channel in the base station, a connection disable command is transmitted from the base station in step a10, and the directional antenna 31
And an automatic tuning control unit 38 via the radio receiving circuit unit 36
Conveyed to. At step a11, the automatic tuning control unit 38
Obtains information on the base station having the second highest electric field strength from the memory unit 40, and instructs the antenna tuning control unit 34 to perform tuning for directing the directivity direction of the directional antenna 31 to the base station. The antenna tuning control unit 34 instructs the antenna motor drive unit 32 to move the directional direction of the directional antenna 31 toward the base station. Thereafter, returning to step a9, the automatic channel selection control unit 38 controls the wireless transmission circuit unit 35 and the directional antenna 31
A connection request command is transmitted to the base station via the. In step a10, if there is an idle channel in the base station, a connection permission command is transmitted from the base station and the directional antenna 3
1 and the automatic tuning control unit 3 via the radio receiving circuit unit 36
8 and communicates with the base station in step a12. When the communication in step a1 is completed, or when no off-hook is detected in step a8, the process returns to step a2, and the above-described procedures are repeated.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The operation performed by the wireless telephone device 20 having the electrical configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The operation of the present embodiment is similar to the operation shown in FIG. 2, and the operation from step b1 to step b4 is basically equivalent to the operation of each step from step a1 to step a4 in FIG. Step b6 is Step a
6. Steps b8 to b10 are basically the same as step a8 to step a10, and step b12 is basically the same as step a12. In step b5,
The information about the vacant channel is confirmed for each base.
In step b8, the confirmation result is stored in the memory unit 40 in the same manner as the operation of storing the measurement result in step a6 in FIG. As a result, information on the base stations is stored in the memory unit 40 in the order of the number of available channels. In step b7, an instruction is sent from the automatic tuning control unit 38 to the antenna tuning control unit 34 so as to perform tuning for directing the directivity direction of the directional antenna 31 to the base station having the most available channels. The antenna motor drive unit 32 moves the directional antenna 31 so that the directional direction is directed to the commanded direction. In step b11, control is performed to direct the directional direction of the directional antenna 31 toward the base station having the next largest number of available channels.

In the wireless telephone device 20 as shown in FIG.
As a third embodiment, the key matrix unit 39
Is operated to select a base station to be designated, and to control to move the directional antenna 31 so that the directivity direction is directed toward the base station. First embodiment and second embodiment
In the embodiment, information on the electric field strength and the number of available channels is collected in advance, and the order of the highest connection possibility is stored. However, the potential of these connections is
It may fluctuate due to time of day and other various factors. In such a case, since the user can arbitrarily select a base station, the possibility of connection can be further increased.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the directivity of the directional antenna is connected to the public telephone network via the wireless local loop toward the base station to be selected in accordance with a predetermined reference. The possibility that communication can be performed can be increased as compared with the case where a wireless local loop can be formed only for a specific base station.

Further, according to the present invention, the selection of a plurality of base stations is performed in the order of high connection possibility, so that connection can be made by the first selection or connection can be made with a small number of changes. Can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, the order in which the possibility of connection is high is based on the order in which the electric field strength is high. However, the possibility that connection is impossible due to a communication failure or the like is reduced, and the possibility that connection is possible can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, the order in which the possibility of connection is high is the order in which the probability that there is a vacant channel is high. Therefore, the probability that connection is impossible due to the absence of a vacant channel is reduced, and connection is possible. Can be increased.

Further, according to the present invention, when communication with the selected base station is not possible, the base station specified by the user can be selected.
The possibility that communication can be performed can be increased as compared with the case where only one is fixed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a wireless telephone device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the wireless telephone device 20 of FIG. 1 as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the wireless telephone device 20 of FIG. 1 as a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of a WLL system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 wireless telephone device 21 subscriber device 22 telephone set 23 directional antenna device 31 directional antenna 32 antenna motor drive unit 33 electric field strength measurement unit 34 antenna tuning control unit 38 automatic tuning control unit 39 key matrix unit 40 memory unit 41 timer unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A subscriber-side radio telephone apparatus connected to a public telephone network via a radio local loop formed between one base station selected from a plurality of base stations. A directional antenna that can obtain a high gain only in the directional direction of the directional antenna and can change the direction of the directional direction, and controls the directional antenna to direct the directional direction toward the base station selected according to a predetermined reference. A wireless telephone device comprising: 2. A memory for storing information on connectability for each base station as the predetermined reference, wherein the control unit refers to the memory and arranges the base stations in the order of higher connectability. 2. A channel selection is performed.
A wireless telephone device as described. 3. The wireless telephone device according to claim 2, wherein the order of higher connection possibility is an order of higher electric field strength. 4. The wireless telephone device according to claim 2, wherein the order of higher connection possibility is an order of higher probability of having an available channel. 5. The wireless telephone device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined criterion is a designation from a user.