KR100989917B1 - Method and apparstus for administrating repeater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A relay management device for increasing network efficiency is provided to supply a mobile communication service to a relay by using the signal of an adjacent base station when a base station error occurs. CONSTITUTION: A control unit(44) determines a base station error based on a Tx signal level of a Tx switch(41). The control unit transmits the Tx signal of the base station to a relay or transmits a control signal to the Tx switch. The control unit transmits an Rx signal of the relay to the base station or transmits the control signal to an Rx switch.

Description

Relay management device and method {METHOD AND APPARSTUS FOR ADMINISTRATING REPEATER}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for managing a repeater, comprising: an apparatus capable of minimizing interruption of a repeater service by detecting a failure of a repeater installed in a base station in a mobile communication network and linking the repeater with an adjacent base station of the corresponding base station when a failure is detected; It is about a method.

In general, a mobile communication system divides a service area into a plurality of base stations to form a cell, which is a small service area, and provides a service to the mobile communication terminal through these base stations. However, since shadow areas may occur for various reasons, a plurality of repeaters are used in combination with a base station to cover them.

Since all kinds of repeaters currently used, such as repeaters such as optical repeaters and wireless repeaters, are dependent on the combined base station, when a failure occurs in the base station itself due to various causes, a plurality of repeaters linked to the failed base station You will not be able to provide service until it is restored.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection state between a base station and a relay period in a conventional mobile communication network, and illustrates a case where an optical repeater including a donor unit and a remote unit is applied. Referring to Figure 1, the base station 10 is coupled to the donor portion 20 of the plurality of optical repeaters, each optical repeater donor portion 20 is coupled to each of the remote portion 30 of a plurality of remote locations Able to know. Since this configuration is widely used in the prior art, detailed description thereof will be omitted. 1, it can be seen that the base station 10 is coupled with a plurality of donors and remotes. In this case, when the base station 10 fails, the plurality of optical repeaters 20, 30) cannot all provide services properly, so users in the shaded areas covered by these optical repeaters will not be able to receive smooth mobile communication services.

However, until now, even if a failure occurs in the base station, no action or countermeasure has been provided for the repeater until the base station is restored. Therefore, when a failure occurs in the base station, the repeaters coupled to the base station cannot wait to resolve the failure of the base station without any countermeasures, so that the service interruption does not occur in the combined repeaters when the base station fails. There is a need for ways to minimize discomfort.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, the present invention by using the signal of the adjacent base station when the base station failure occurs to prevent the repeater service interruption caused by the base station failure to provide a stable mobile communication service to minimize user inconvenience At the same time it is an object to provide an apparatus and method for improving the overall quality of the network.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a device and method for preventing the service interruption due to the base station maintenance by the interruption service is not disconnected even during the repair of the failed base station, and automatically return to the normal state when the failure repair is completed. Another purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, in the repeater management apparatus for detecting a failure of the base station by combining between the base station and the repeater and managing the repeater when detecting the failure, in combination with the base station to receive a Tx signal from the base station Tx for detecting and transmitting the received Tx signal level to the control unit, and transmitting the Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater or transmitting the second Tx signal received through the RF processor to the repeater according to the control signal of the control unit. Switch unit; An Rx switch unit for receiving an Rx signal from a repeater in combination with a repeater, for transmitting an Rx signal received from the repeater to a base station or transmitting the Rx signal to an RF processor according to a control signal of a controller; An RF processor configured to receive a second Tx signal received from a neighboring base station other than the base station according to a control signal of a controller, transmit the second Tx signal to a Tx switch, and transmit the Rx signal received from the Rx switch to the neighboring base station; And controlling overall operation of the Tx switch unit, the Rx switch unit, and the RF processing unit, and determining whether the base station has failed based on the Tx signal level received from the Tx switch, and transmitting the Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater. Or transmit a control signal for transmitting a second Tx signal received through the RF processor to the repeater, transmitting the Rx signal received from the repeater to the base station, or transmitting the Rx signal to the RF processor. It provides a repeater management device including a control unit for transmitting a control signal to the Rx switch unit.

Herein, the Tx switch unit receives a sector-by-sector Tx signal from the base station in combination with each sector of the base station so as to process each sector-by-sector Tx signal, and detects the received sector-by-sector Tx signal level to the controller. At least one sector unit for transmitting a sector-specific Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater or a second sector-specific Tx signal received from the RF processor through the distributor to the repeater; And a divider configured to receive a second Tx signal from the RF processor and to divide and transmit a second Tx signal for each sector to each sector unit.

The sector unit may further include a coupler configured to receive a sector-specific Tx signal from a base station; A base station signal detector which receives a Tx signal for each sector from the coupler, detects a signal level, and transmits the signal level to a control unit; And an RF switch unit configured to transmit the sector-specific Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater according to the control signal of the controller or to transmit the sector-specific second Tx signal received from the RF processor to the repeater.

The control unit may be configured to determine that the base station has a failure when at least one of the signal levels received from the base station signal detection unit of each sector unit has a failure.

In addition, the Rx switch unit, in combination with each sector of the repeater to receive the sector-specific Rx signal from the repeater so as to process each sector-specific Rx signal of the repeater, the sector-by-sector received from the repeater by a control signal of the controller At least one sector unit for transmitting an Rx signal to a base station or for transmitting the sector-specific Rx signal to a combiner; And a combiner configured to receive and combine Rx signals for each sector from each of the at least one sector unit, and then transmit the combined Rx signals to the RF processor.

The RF processor may include a duplexer configured to receive a second Tx signal received from a neighboring base station other than the base station according to a control signal of a controller, and to receive a high output amplified signal from a high output amplifying unit and transmit the received signal to the neighboring base station; A low noise amplifier configured to receive a second Tx signal from the duplexer and to amplify low noise; An up-down converter unit for receiving a low noise amplified signal from the low noise amplifier unit, removing an adjacent band signal except for a magnetic band signal, amplifying and controlling the signal to an appropriate level for a repeater input, and transmitting the signal to the Tx switch unit; A driving amplifier unit for receiving an Rx signal from the Rx switch, amplifying and controlling the signal to a predetermined level; And a high power amplifier configured to receive the amplified and controlled signal from the driving amplifier unit and to amplify the output to a neighboring base station.

The Tx switch unit may receive a second Tx signal of a neighbor base station through a coupler coupled to the base station, and the Rx switch unit may be configured to transmit to a neighbor base station through a coupler coupled to the base station.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a repeater management device which is coupled between the base station and the repeater to detect the failure of the base station and manages the repeater when the failure is detected, the repeater management including a Tx switch unit, Rx switch unit, RF processing unit and control unit A repeater management method using an apparatus, comprising: a first step of receiving, by a Tx switch unit, a Tx signal from a base station, detecting a received Tx signal level, and transmitting the received Tx signal to a controller; A second step of determining, by the controller, whether a base station has failed based on the received Tx signal level; If it is determined that there is no failure in the control unit transmits a control signal indicating that there is no failure to the Tx switch unit and the Rx switch unit, the Tx switch unit operates to transmit the Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater, the Rx switch unit is A third step of operating the Rx signal received from the repeater to the base station; And transmitting a control signal indicating that there is a failure to the Tx switch unit, the Rx switch unit, and the RF processing unit when the controller determines that there is a failure, and wherein the RF processing unit transmits a second Tx signal received from an adjacent base station other than the base station. Transmitting to the Tx switch unit, the Tx switch unit transmitting a second Tx signal received from the RF processor to the repeater, the Rx switch unit transmitting the Rx signal received from the repeater to the RF processor, and the RF processor receiving And a fourth step of operating the transmitted Rx signal to the adjacent base station.

According to the present invention, by using the signal of the adjacent base station when the base station failure occurs, it is possible to prevent the repeater service interruption caused by the base station failure to provide a stable mobile communication service to minimize the inconvenience of the user and at the same time improve the overall quality of the network And methods.

In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for preventing service interruption due to base station maintenance by not interrupting the repeater service even during repair of a failed base station, and automatically returning to a normal state when the repair of the failed base station is completed. can do.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view for explaining the overall concept of the repeater management apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall network configuration in which a repeater management apparatus according to the present invention is coupled on a mobile communication network, in which the repeater is an optical repeater including a donor part 20 and a remote part 30.

2, it can be seen that the repeater management device 40 according to the present invention is coupled between the base station 10 and the donor unit 20 of the optical repeater. The repeater management device 40 coupled in this way is characterized in that it operates as follows. That is, the repeater management device 40 determines whether the base station 10 is normal or faulty by receiving a Tx signal from the combined base station 10 and detecting a signal level, and in case of normal, the base station 10 and the repeater. It operates to connect the donor portion 20 of the normal. On the other hand, if it is determined that the abnormality, that is, the failure, the repeater management device 40 receives the second Tx signal received from the adjacent base station (not shown) through the coupler 50 and the donor part ( 20) combines the adjacent base station and the optical repeater, and in the case of the Rx signal is to radiate the Rx signal received from the donor unit 20 to the adjacent base station through the coupler 50 and the antenna. In order to perform such an operation, the repeater management device 40 processes the weak second Tx signal received from the neighboring base station to an appropriate level and the level enough to transmit the Rx signal received from the repeater to the neighboring base station. To amplify it.

3 is a flowchart showing the overall operating state of the repeater management apparatus 40 of this configuration.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, the repeater management apparatus 40 detects a Tx signal received from the base station 10 (S100). When the Tx signal is detected, it is determined whether the base station 10 is normal / disabled based on the received signal (S110).

If it is determined to be normal, as described above, the repeater management device 40 operates to normally connect the base station 10 and the donor unit 20 of the repeater, and returns to step S100.

If abnormal, that is, it is determined that there is a failure, as described above, the repeater management device 40 starts to operate (S120). That is, the repeater management device 40 receives the second Tx signal received from the adjacent base station through the coupler 50 and transmits it to the donor unit 20 of the optical repeater, thereby combining the adjacent base station and the optical repeater, and the Rx signal. In this case, the Rx signal received from the donor unit 20 is operated to radiate to the adjacent base station through the coupler 50 and the antenna.

Next, it is determined whether the base station 10 has been restored, that is, the failure has been resolved (S130). If the failure has been resolved, the process returns to step S100 again. If the failure has not been resolved, step S120 is continuously performed.

4 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a specific internal configuration of the repeater management device 40 according to the present invention, as described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the repeater management device 40 of the present embodiment includes a Tx switch unit 41, an RF processing unit 42, an Rx switch unit 43, and a control unit 44.

The Tx switch 41, the RF processor 42, the Rx switch 43, and the controller 44 operate as follows. First, the Tx switch unit 41 receives a Tx signal from the base station 10 in combination with the base station 10, detects the received Tx signal level, and transmits the signal to the control unit 44. The controller 44 determines whether the base station 10 has a failure based on the received Tx signal level, and if it is determined to be normal, transmits a signal to the Tx switch unit 41 and the Rx switch unit 43 indicating the normal state. . When the Tx switch unit 41 and the Rx switch unit 43 receive a signal indicating that the controller 44 is normal, the Tx switch unit 41 and the Rx switch unit 43 transmit the received Tx signal to the donor unit 20 of the repeater to operate in a normal state. The Rx signal received from the 20 is transmitted to the base station 10. Specifically, the Tx switch unit 41 transmits the Tx signal received from the base station 10 to the donor unit 20, and the Rx switch unit 43 transmits the Rx signal received from the donor unit 20 to the base station ( 10).

If the base station 10 is abnormal, that is, the controller 44 determines that there is a failure, the control unit 44 transmits a control signal to the Tx switch unit 41 and the Rx switch unit 43 informing that it is abnormal. do. In addition, the control unit 44 also transmits a control signal informing that the RF processing unit 42 is abnormal. The RF processor 42 starts an operation by a control signal informing that it is abnormal. The RF processor 42 is set not to operate when the base station 10 is normal.

The Tx switch unit 41, the Rx switch unit 43, and the RF processing unit 42 each operate as follows when receiving a control signal indicating that the base station 10 is abnormal. First, the RF processor 42 receives a Tx signal (hereinafter referred to as a second Tx signal) of a neighbor base station transmitted from a neighbor base station received through the antenna of the base station 10 through the coupler 50, and this is a Tx switch. Transfer to section 41. However, since the Tx signal of the neighboring base station, that is, the second Tx signal received from the neighboring base station, is a weak signal, the RF processor 42 may remove the noise before transmitting it to the Tx switch unit 41 and use it in the repeater. It is desirable to perform appropriate signal processing operations such as amplification at a level of accuracy. Next, the Tx switch unit 41 transmits the second Tx signal received from the RF processing unit 42 to the donor unit 20 of the repeater.

Meanwhile, the Rx switch unit 43 transmits the Rx signal received from the donor unit 20 to the RF processor 42, and the RF processor 42 transmits the received Rx signal to the adjacent base station through the coupler 50 and the antenna. Will be sent to. However, even in this case, it is preferable that the RF processor 42 performs a signal processing operation such as amplifying the Rx signal to an appropriate level so that the Rx signal can be transmitted to the adjacent base station.

On the other hand, although not shown in Figure 4, the repeater management device 40 includes a power supply for supplying power.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the repeater management apparatus 40 as described with reference to FIG. 4, in which a Tx signal is processed when a failure occurs.

First, the Tx switch unit 41 receives the Tx signal transmitted from the base station 10 (S200), detects the level of the received signal (S210), and transmits it to the controller 44 (S220). .

The controller 44 determines whether the base station 10 is normal or fault based on the received signal level (S230). The determination method is a method of setting a range (eg, -55 dBm to -35 dBm / total) of a normal value of a received signal level in advance, and if it is out of this, the base station 10 determines that the base station 10 is not normal, that is, there is a failure. Can be used.

If it is determined that there is a failure, the control unit 44 transmits a control signal informing of the failure to the Tx switch unit 41, the RF processing unit 42, and the Rx switch unit 43 (S240).

The RF processor 42 starts to operate by the control signal informing of the failure, and the RF processor 42 first transmits the Tx signal of the neighboring base station, that is, the second base station, received from the antenna of the base station 10 through the coupler 50. Receive a Tx signal (S250). The RF processor 42 performs a signal processing operation such as removing and amplifying the noise of the received second Tx signal (S260), and transmits the completed Tx signal to the Tx switch unit 41 (S260). S270), the Tx switch unit 41 transmits the received signal to the donor unit 20 of the repeater (S280).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the repeater management apparatus 40 as described with reference to FIG. 4 and illustrates a case of processing an Rx signal when a failure occurs.

Steps S200 to S240 are the same as those of FIG. 5, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. In operation S240, the Rx switch unit 43 receiving a control signal indicating a failure from the controller 44 transmits the Rx signal to the base station 10 so as not to transmit the Rx signal received from the donor unit 20 of the repeater to the base station 10. The processor 43 transmits to the processor 43 (S290). The RF processor 43 performs a signal processing operation such as a high power amplification to a level sufficient to receive the Rx signal to the adjacent base station (S300) and transmits the processed signal to the adjacent base station through the coupler 50. It is made (S310).

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the internal configuration of the repeater management apparatus 40 according to the present invention, and is for the case of processing signals divided by sectors. The repeater management device 40 according to the embodiment of FIG. 7 can process signals by sector, that is, by alpha (α) sector, beta (β) sector, and gamma (γ) sector, which are generally used in a base station and a repeater. It differs from FIG. 6 in that it was comprised.

Referring to FIG. 7, the Tx switch unit 41 includes three sector units 411, 412, 413 for processing signals for each sector, and a three way divider 414 for distributing signals for each sector. . Each of the three sector units includes an alpha sector unit 411, a beta sector unit 412, and a gamma sector unit 413. Each sector unit includes a coupler, a base station signal detector, and an RF switch unit, respectively. The repeater management device 40 of such a configuration operates as follows.

First, the coupler of each sector unit 411 receives a Tx signal for each sector from the base station 10, extracts it, and transmits it to the base station signal detection unit of each sector unit. The base station signal detector detects the level of the received signal and transmits it to the controller 44.

As described above, the controller 44 determines whether the base station 10 is normal based on the signal level, and in each case, the Tx signal from the base station 10 can be transmitted to the donor unit 20 in the normal case. The RF switch unit is driven, and the sector-specific RF switch unit transmits a Tx signal to the donor unit 20 accordingly. When it is determined that there is a failure, the control section 44 transmits a control signal indicating the failure to each sector unit of the Tx switch section 41, the Rx switch section 43, and the RF processing section 42. In this case, the controller 44 determines whether the signal level received for each sector is normal, for example, if any one of them is abnormal, the base station 10 may determine that there is a failure, and each sector If all of the signal levels are abnormal, the base station 10 may determine that there is a failure.

First, in the case of processing the Tx signal, for example, the duplexer 421 of the RF processor 42 determines that the coupler 50 receives the Tx signal transmitted from the adjacent base station other than the base station 10, that is, the second Tx signal. It receives through, and transmits it to the low noise amplifier 422. The low noise amplifier 422 amplifies the low noise since the received signal is a weak signal and transmits it to the Up Dowon Converter Unit (423). The UDCU 423 performs a process of amplifying and controlling the received signal to a level suitable for the input of the donor unit 20 of the repeater after removing the adjacent band signal except for the self band signal using a SAW filter. Then, the completed signal is transmitted to the three-way splitter 414 of the Tx switch section 41. The three-way splitter 414 divides the received signal by sector and transmits the received signal to the RF switch unit of each sector unit 411, 412, 413. The RF switch unit of each sector unit 411, 412, 413 transmits the received signal to the donor unit 20 of the repeater.

Next, a case of processing the Rx signal will be described. When it is determined that it is abnormal, that is, a failure, each sector unit 431, 432, 433 of the Rx switch unit 43 that receives the control signal informing of this from the control unit 44 receives the Rx signal for each sector received from the donor unit 3 in three directions. The three-way combiner combines the sector-specific Rx signal and transmits it to the driving amplifier 425 of the RF processor 42. The driving amplifier 425 amplifies the received signal to an appropriate level and transmits it to the high output amplifier 424. The high power amplifier 424 high power amplifies the received signal at a level that can reach the signal to the adjacent base station and transmits it to the duplexer 421, the duplexer 421 transmits it to the adjacent base station.

In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains have the appended claims and drawings. It should be noted that various modifications and variations are possible with reference to.

For example, in the above embodiment, the repeater management device is configured as a separate device and is described as being coupled between the base station and the repeater. However, the repeater management device according to the present invention may be configured to be embedded in the repeater.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection state between a base station and a relay period in a conventional mobile communication network.

2 is a view for explaining the overall concept of the repeater management apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing the overall operating state of the repeater management device 40 having the configuration as shown in FIG. 2.

4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a specific internal configuration of the repeater management device 40 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the repeater management apparatus 40 as described with reference to FIG. 4, in which a Tx signal is processed when a failure occurs.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the repeater management apparatus 40 as described with reference to FIG. 4 and illustrates a case of processing an Rx signal when a failure occurs.

7 is a view showing still another embodiment of the internal configuration of the repeater management apparatus 40 according to the present invention.

<Description of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

10 ... the base station,

20 ...

30 ...

40 repeater management unit,

50 ... coupler,

41 ... Tx switch part,

42 RF treatment unit,

43 ... Rx switch section.

Claims (6)

In the repeater management device coupled to the base station and the repeater for detecting a failure of the base station and managing the repeater when detecting the failure, Receives the Tx signal from the base station in combination with the base station, detects and transmits the received Tx signal level to the control unit, and transmits the Tx signal received from the base station by the control signal of the control unit to the repeater or received through the RF processor Tx switch unit for transmitting the second Tx signal to the repeater; An Rx switch unit for receiving an Rx signal from a repeater in combination with a repeater, for transmitting an Rx signal received from the repeater to a base station according to a control signal of a controller, or for transmitting the Rx signal to an RF processor; An RF processor configured to receive a second Tx signal received from a neighboring base station other than the base station according to a control signal of a controller, transmit the second Tx signal to a Tx switch, and transmit the Rx signal received from the Rx switch to the neighboring base station; And To control the overall operation of the Tx switch unit, Rx switch unit and the RF processing unit, to determine whether the base station failure based on the Tx signal level received from the Tx switch, and to transmit the Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater Or transmit a control signal for transmitting the second Tx signal received through the RF processor to the repeater, and transmit the Rx signal received from the repeater to the base station, or transmit the Rx signal to the RF processor. Control unit for transmitting signals to Rx switch unit Repeater management device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The Tx switch unit, In order to process each sector Tx signal of the base station, the sector-specific Tx signal is received from the base station in combination with each sector of the base station, and the received sector-specific Tx signal level is detected and transmitted to the control unit, and the control signal of the control unit. At least one sector unit configured to transmit sector-by-sector Tx signals received from the base station to the repeater or to transmit sector-by-sector second Tx signals received from the RF processor to the repeater; And A divider that receives a second Tx signal from the RF processor and distributes and transmits a second Tx signal for each sector to each sector unit. Repeater management device comprising a. The method of claim 2, Each of the sector units, A coupler for receiving sector-by-sector Tx signals from the base station; A base station signal detector which receives a Tx signal for each sector from the coupler, detects a signal level, and transmits the signal level to a control unit; And RF switch unit for transmitting the sector-by-sector Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater according to the control signal of the control unit or the second sector-by-sector Tx signal received from the RF processor through the distributor. Repeater management device comprising a. The method of claim 3, And the control unit determines that the base station has a failure when at least one of the signal levels received from the base station signal detection unit of each sector unit has a failure. The method of claim 1, And the Tx switch unit receives a second Tx signal of a neighbor base station through a coupler coupled to the base station, and the Rx switch unit transmits to a neighbor base station through a coupler coupled to the base station. A repeater management device coupled between a base station and a repeater for detecting a failure of a base station and managing a repeater when detecting a failure, comprising: a repeater management method using a repeater management device including a Tx switch unit, an Rx switch unit, an RF processor, and a control unit; , A first step of receiving, by the Tx switch unit, a Tx signal from a base station, detecting the received Tx signal level, and transmitting the detected Tx signal level to a control unit; A second step of determining, by the controller, whether a base station has failed based on the received Tx signal level; When it is determined that there is no obstacle in the control unit, a control signal indicating that there is no failure is transmitted to the Tx switch unit and the Rx switch unit, and the Tx switch unit operates to transmit a Tx signal received from the base station to the repeater, and the Rx switch unit is A third step of operating the Rx signal received from the repeater to the base station; And If it is determined that there is a failure in the control unit transmits a control signal indicating that there is a failure to the Tx switch unit, the Rx switch unit and the RF processing unit, the RF processing unit transmits a second Tx signal received from an adjacent base station other than the base station to the Tx And transmit the second Tx signal received from the RF processor to the repeater, wherein the Rx switch unit transmits the Rx signal received from the repeater to the RF processor, and the RF processor receives the received Rx. A fourth step of operating the signal to the adjacent base station Repeater management method comprising a.

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