KR20060123023A - Wireless repeating apparatus for time division duplexing system which reduce electric power consumption and extend life time - Google Patents

Abstract

A repeater for minimizing power consumption and extending a life span in a TDD(Time Division Duplexing) system is provided to continuously check reverse and/or forward input signals from an MS(Mobile Station), and to adaptively control power and/or TDD switching within the repeater according to the checked results, thereby realizing stable, effective, and superior performance. The first coupler(213) couples reverse input signals received from an antenna(200). The first signal limiter(206) blocks signals having level higher than a predetermined reference level among the outputted signals of the first coupler(213), and passes signals having level lower than the reference level. The first power detector(211) detects the strength of the signals passing the limiter(206) to output the detected signals. A controller(210) decides whether communication of an MS is performed within a service area of a repeater by analyzing the detected signals, and organically controls operated status of a TDD switching unit and/or a signal amplifier within the repeater according to the decided results.

Description

WIRELESS REPEATING APPARATUS FOR TIME DIVISION DUPLEXING SYSTEM WHICH REDUCE ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION AND EXTEND LIFE TIME}

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional repeater of a time division method;

2 illustrates a general frame structure of time division (TDD) communication used in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time division (TDD) repeater having a double path inside a repeater according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time division (TDD) repeater having a single path inside a repeater according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a circuit diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the signal limiter employed in the device of FIG. 3 or 4 according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100,104: forward link 102,106: reverse link

101,103,105,107: Guard band (TTG, RTG; guard time, also known as Guard Interval)

108: Frame Cycle of the WiBro (Portable Internet) System

200,300: base station antenna 205,306: mobile station antenna

201,204,301,302,304,305: RF switch

202; forward amplifier 208; reverse amplifier 303: bidirectional amplifier

206,212,307,311: signal limiter

211,310: power detector 207,308: synchronization signal acquisition unit

210,309: control unit 213,214,312,313: coupler

The present invention relates to a repeater that implements a sleep (sleep) mode function in a time division duplexing (TDD) type wireless communication repeater using a bidirectional single frequency between a base station and a mobile station. Checks the communication status between the base station and the mobile station and adaptively controls the operation state of the time division switching means and the power supply means of the relay system according to the result, reducing the power consumption of the TDD relay device and the life of the switch (LIFE STYLE). It relates to a relay device that extends significantly.

In general, the repeater is dependent on the system of the parent base station, and is a device that expands the service area by installing a repeater in an area or a shadow area where a signal transmitted from the base station is weakly received. Conventional method used for mobile communication is FDD type repeater using CDMA. Since different frequencies are used for up and down, the desired signal can be properly extracted by using a filter or duplexer so that the electric field of I / O signals of both paths can be extracted. Intensity can be detected easily.

On the other hand, in the TDD repeater using a single frequency in both directions, due to the difference in the strength of the signal in the forward and reverse directions, only the high power output signal is detected using the coupler as shown in FIG.

1 is a block diagram of a repeater showing an implementation of a repeater having a bidirectional path of a general TDD scheme. The signal generated from the base station in the forward direction is received from the base station side antenna 10, through the switch 11, through the forward signal processing unit 12 including a low noise amplifier, and through the switch 13 to the mobile station antenna 14. In order to measure the strength of the forward output signal, the coupler 19 is used to couple the forward output signal to measure the output field strength at the power detector 18.

The signal transmitted from the mobile station in the reverse direction is received from the mobile station antenna 14, passes through the reverse signal processing unit 15 which performs the filtering and amplifying function of the signal via the switch 13, and then through the switch 11 through the base station. It is transmitted to the base station via the side antenna 10, and the output field strength is measured by the power detector 16 by coupling the reverse output signal using the coupler 20 to measure the strength of the reverse output signal. .

Here, the switches 11 and 13 are connected to the forward path while the forward signal is present in the repeater for smooth transmission of the bidirectional signal, and the switches 11 and 13 are connected to the reverse path while the reverse signal is present. 2, switching operations of the switches 11 and 13 are performed during the guard intervals 101, 103, 105 and 107 of the TDD frame shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the electric field strength signal of the output signal individually detected in both directions is sent to the repeater control unit 17, whereby the repeater control unit 17 controls the system as a whole to perform a unique repeater function.

As such, the base station of the TDD system time-divisions the same frequency so that the downlink signal is occupied for a predetermined time, and the uplink signal is occupied for a predetermined time, and the repeater that is dependent on the base station repeats the same process as the base station. .

However, the conventional TDD repeater is always powered by the relay system regardless of the communication between the base station and the mobile station (subscriber) while performing the repeater-specific functions, especially the final amplifier that consumes the most power. There is a problem in that the power consumption is unnecessarily consumed while the communication between the mobile station and the base station is not performed at all by always waiting in the power-on state.

On the other hand, the conventional TDD repeater in the switching method, the forward and reverse switch switching synchronization data (forward section time value, reverse section time value) at the same time in the header section of the downlink section of the frame structure of time division (TDD) communication In order to control the synchronous timing of switch switching by monitoring the forward signal in the repeater at all times, the above-mentioned synchronous data is missing or damaged due to distortion of the communication signal according to environmental characteristics in the space transmitted from the base station. In this case, there is a problem of missing an accurate time division switch switching synchronization timing, and therefore, there is a problem that the original communication quality cannot be stably guaranteed.

In addition, in the conventional TDD repeater switching system, the time division switch of the repeater is switched by the synchronization data of the signal transmitted from the base station regardless of the communication between the base station and the mobile station (subscriber). If there is no communication from the mobile station (subscriber) in the area of awareness, the repeater's switch will continue to operate unnecessarily, even in late-night buildings, underground or remote rural areas. As a result, there is a big problem that the lifespan (operation period) of the repeater switch, whose life is determined by the number of switching, is shortened unnecessarily.

In order to fundamentally solve these problems, basically, it is necessary to accurately detect the existence of communication between the base station and the mobile station (especially the detection of the uplink signal by the signal from the mobile station) and to adaptively control the power and switching in the repeater device. However, due to the basic characteristics of the time division (TDD) relay method, an input signal (especially an uplink signal) is detected in a timely manner between the antennas 10 and 14 and the switches 11 and 13 of the TDD repeater shown in FIG. There was no way to effectively control the system of the TDD relay.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve all the above-mentioned problems, in a TDD relay apparatus, which continuously checks the reverse and / or forward input signals from a mobile station and accordingly adapts the power and / or time division in the relay apparatus. By controlling the switching, it is to provide a stable, efficient, and greatly improved TDD relay device.

The relay apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is a time division (TDD) type wireless communication relay apparatus using a bidirectional single frequency between a base station and a mobile station, the service of the relay apparatus from a reverse input signal through a predetermined antenna First means for detecting a signal for determining whether a mobile station within the area is in communication; And second means for organically controlling the operation of the time division switching means and / or power supply means in the relay apparatus in accordance with the presence or absence of communication of the mobile station.

Here, the first means includes a first coupler for coupling a reverse input signal from the antenna; A first signal limiter which blocks a signal above a predetermined reference level among the output signals from the first coupler and passes a signal below the reference level; And a first power detector for detecting and outputting a strength of the signal passing through the first signal limiter, wherein the second means analyzes a detection signal from the first power detector to analyze the detected signal from the first power detector. And control means for organically controlling the operation state of the time division switching means and / or signal amplification means in the relay apparatus according to the determination result.

Here, the relay device according to the present invention includes a second coupler for coupling a forward input signal through a predetermined antenna; A second signal limiter which blocks a signal above a predetermined reference level among the output signals from the second coupler and passes a signal below the reference level; And a synchronization signal acquisition unit for analyzing a signal passing through the second limiter to detect a synchronization signal and outputting the synchronization signal to the second means, wherein the second step is detected by the synchronization signal acquisition unit. It is preferable to further perform a function of finely correcting the synchronizing signal according to the synchronizing signal and controlling the switching time of the time division switching means in the relay device according to the result.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a relay apparatus for minimizing power consumption and extending an operation period in a TDD system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

First, Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a time division (TDD) repeater having a double path inside the repeater according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the forward signal amplification means and the reverse signal amplification means in the repeater In parallel, the time division switching of the signal processing system of the forward or reverse signal amplifying means is performed by the synchronization signal. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a time division (TDD) repeater having a single path inside a repeater according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein a bidirectional signal in which a forward signal amplification means and a reverse signal amplification means are combined Comprising an amplification means, the time division switching means connected to the front end and the rear end is further connected one by one in series, thereby processing the reverse and forward signal amplification by the time division synchronization signal.

Here, the parallel and serial configurations of the internal signal amplification means of the relay apparatus of FIGS. 3 and 4 and the signal processing and control schemes thereof will be well understood by those skilled in the art, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. Therefore, hereinafter, the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 will be collectively described for convenience, and only a brief description will be given of system configurations, signal processing methods, and organic control methods, which are added or modified according to the technical spirit of the present invention.

The TDD repeater according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 terminates the coupler (213, 312) for coupling the forward input signal, the coupler (214, 313) for coupling the reverse input signal, and terminates the repeater output signal in the reverse direction. Signal limiters 206, 307 for terminating, signal limiters 212, 311 for terminating the forward repeater output signal, synchronization signal acquisition parts 207, 308 for detecting switch switching synchronization in the forward input signal, and reverse direction. Based on the data obtained from the power detectors 212 and 312 for detecting the presence of a reverse signal to operate the sleep mode of the repeater in the input signal, and the data obtained from the synchronization signal acquisition units 207 and 308 and the power detectors 212 and 312. The control unit 210,309 for monitoring and controlling the entire state of the repeater and the interference (for switching) signal sent to the control unit (210,309) interference with the forward signal and the reverse signal The switch 201, 204, 301, 302, 304, 305 for proper switching operation, the forward signal amplifier 202 for low noise amplification and filtering of the forward signal, the reverse signal amplifier 208 for processing the reverse signal, and the switches 301, 302, 304, 305 It consists of a bi-directional signal amplifier 303 for processing a bi-directional signal in accordance with the transfer, and may include means (not shown) for shutting off the power and adjusting the supply amount if necessary.

Referring to the operation of the device of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

In the processing path of the forward input signal, in the TDD relay apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the forward input signal received from the base station antennas 200 and 300 receives a coupler (Coupler) 213 and 312. The signal is coupled to the synchronization signal acquisition unit 207 and 308, and the synchronization signal acquisition unit 207 and 308 analyzes the signal to detect the synchronization and the strength of the input signal for switching the switches 201, 204, 301, 302, 304 and 305. This detection process is characterized in that the coupler (213, 312) is located in front of the switch (201, 301) can always detect the base station forward signal regardless of the switching operation of the switch (201, 301). If the switches 201, 204, 301, 302, 304 and 305 are switched to the reverse path 208, the high power field strength exists in the main path of the coupler 213 and 312, so that the port is transmitted to the synchronization signal acquisition unit through the coupler 213 and 312 for the reverse path. Port is switched to isolation port, but is attenuated by more than 20dB compared to coupling port, and the strength of signal sent to sync detector 207,308 is about 30dB compared to forward input signal received wirelessly. Since the signal is transmitted as an abnormally high signal, the signal cannot be transmitted to the synchronization signal acquisition units 207 and 308, but is terminated (blocked) to the ground by the signal limiters 206 and 307, but is significantly lower than the reverse signal. Signal does not turn on the signal limiters 206 and 307, so the strength of the signal is sent to the synchronization signal acquisition unit 207 and 308 as it is. The synchronization signal acquisition unit 207, 308 amplifies the received low power forward signal to an appropriate level, performs a digital process by a preset algorithm or logic, and detects the synchronization required for switching the switches 201, 214, 301, 302, 304, and 305. The control unit 210, 309, and the control unit 210.309 converts the received signal into a signal for controlling the switch switching, and the guard bands of the TTG (101, 105) and RTG (103, 107) existing between the forward and reverse directions of FIG. In the GI: Guard Intervals 101, 105, 103, and 107, the switching of the time-division switches is performed to have a fine switching time correction function of several microseconds so that interference of the bidirectional signals does not occur. For example, when the synchronization timing is missing in a certain section due to the distortion of the forward signal, a pseudo-synchronization value is calculated by referring to the synchronization values of the section before and after the missing point, and the synchronization control is performed accordingly, or the input synchronization timing is performed. If the pattern is different from the conventional method, by setting the fine delay time and correcting the distortion, the synchronous timing of the time division switching may be corrected to approach the original synchronous timing.

In the processing path of the reverse input signal, in the TDD repeater shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the reverse signal transmitted from the mobile station is received by the mobile station antennas 205 and 306. The received reverse input signal is passed through the couplers 214 and 313 to the reverse amplifiers 208 and 303. In this process, the reverse input signal is transferred to the power detectors 211 and 310 through a coupling port of the coupler 214 and 313. The signal limiters 212 and 311 transmit only external low frequency reverse input signals and block high frequency level signals flowing back in the circuit. The power detectors 211 and 310 detect the strength of the reverse signal and transmit it to the controllers 210 and 309. The controllers 210 and 309 determine whether the reverse communication signal exists in the service area of the repeater by monitoring the signal, and for a predetermined time. If a reverse input signal below a threshold is detected during the operation, the controllers 210 and 309 stop or intermittently operate the time division switches 201, 214, 301, 302, 304 and 305 and the bidirectional amplifiers 202, 208 and 303 (Sleep mode). Can be extended and power consumption can be reduced. In this case, the sleep (sleep) mode is defined as a concept of controlling the power of the system amplifying means and / or the time division switching means to be in a sleep (sleep) state when it is determined that there is no communication between the mobile station and the base station by monitoring the reverse signal. It can be used, and can be adjusted according to the repeater system and specification conditions required to cut off the power supply or to operate it intermittently.

Therefore, the TDD repeater according to the present invention cuts off the power of the last stage amplifier which consumes the most power of the repeater and stops the time division switch when the reverse signal does not exist for a predetermined time in the service area of the repeater. In this state, the reverse signal is detected, and if there is a signal, all operations of the repeater can be restored to the normal state.

Therefore, the repeater according to the present invention receives a bidirectional input signal and continuously monitors the input signal in both directions irrespective of the switching operation of the switch in the time division type repeater, and acquires the switching time of the switch from the forward input signal to obtain a fine synchronization signal. By adjusting, the synchronization can be stabilized, and from the reverse input signal, it is determined whether the mobile station in the service area of the repeater is in communication, and if there is no communication, the repeater is put into the sleep mode. The state can reduce power consumption and also provide the effect of significantly extending the operating period of the repeater by minimizing the operation of the switch.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the signal limiter employed in the apparatus of FIG. 3 or 4 according to the present invention. The signal limiters 206, 212, 307, and 311 employed in the present invention are synchronizing signal acquisition units 207,308. And the input terminals of the power detectors 211 and 310, and are used to properly detect the signal flowing from the antenna. In order to implement this, it can be implemented using a PIN diode or a limiter diode, and the characteristics of the signal limiter implemented as shown in FIG. 5 are implemented so that high power signals cause high attenuation, and low power signals cause attenuation of several dB or less. do. Since the signal limiter must have a fast response speed for the protection of the synchronous signal acquisition unit and the power detector, a high-power signal can operate the diode by itself without applying an external power source to operate the diode. The implementations shown in FIG. 5 show several circuit diagrams configured to enable this operation.

On the other hand, instead of the time-division switch of the present invention, a bandpass filter, for example, may pass only a low frequency band signal below a specific reference level, or may pass only a signal of a specific frequency band, which is a specification of a detailed TDD repeater. And conditional. Similarly, a circulator may be substituted for a time division switch or a band pass filter, and even if a band pass filter or a circulator is replaced with a time pass switch instead of a time division switch in the overall system configuration, a system to which the technical concept is applied may also be applied to the present invention. The scope of the description will be apparent to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail.

In addition, in the relay device of FIGS. 3 and 4 according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, although the connection positions of the forward coupler and the reverse coupler are connected between the antenna and the time division switch, the switch does not depart from the spirit of the present invention. And it may be designed to be modified to be installed between the amplification means.

On the other hand, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and implementations are possible that are not mentioned within the technical scope of the present invention based on the above-described technical spirit and preferred embodiments of the present invention. Will be understood.

The TDD repeater according to the present invention obtains the correct synchronous timing of the time division switch from the forward input signal, and determines whether the mobile station in the service area of the repeater is in communication with the reverse input signal so that the repeater becomes a sleep mode. Thus, it extends the life of the time division switch, minimizes power consumption, and stabilizes synchronous timing.

Specifically, in the TDD repeater, the switch extends the life time of the switch. As shown in FIG. 2, in the case of the WiBro (mobile Internet) system, the frame period 108 is 5 milliseconds (milli). second), the switch of the TDD repeater is operated 400 times per second to compensate for the characteristics of the switch whose operation period is determined by the number of time division switching, thereby greatly extending the life of the switch and the life time of the repeater. In addition, the present invention can significantly reduce the power consumption of the repeater by stopping or intermittently operating a substantial portion or part of the repeater components (parts) when there is no signal in the repeater reverse direction for a certain time in the TDD repeater do. In addition, the present invention enables the TDD repeater to always receive the signal in the forward direction regardless of switching and stopping of the switch, it is possible to perform a stable switching synchronization detection. In addition, the present invention provides an effect that the control unit in the TDD repeater has a function to finely correct the reference time of the synchronization obtained from the synchronization signal acquisition unit so that it can be controlled to prevent the loss and interference of the bidirectional signal.

Claims (3)

In the time division (TDD) wireless communication relay apparatus using a bidirectional single frequency between the base station and the mobile station, First means for detecting, from a reverse input signal through a predetermined antenna, a signal for determining whether or not a mobile station in the service area of the relay apparatus is in communication; And And a second means for organically controlling the operation of the time division switching means and / or the power supply means in the relay device in accordance with the communication status of the mobile station. The method of claim 1, The first means includes a first coupler for coupling a reverse input signal from an antenna; A first signal limiter which blocks a signal above a predetermined reference level among the output signals from the first coupler and passes a signal below the reference level; And a first power detector for detecting and outputting the intensity of the signal passing through the first signal limiter. The second means analyzes the detection signal from the first power detector to determine whether the mobile station is in communication in the area, and according to the determination result, an operation state of time division switching means and / or signal amplification means in the relay device. Wireless communication relay device of the time division (TDD) method, characterized in that consisting of a control means for controlling the organically. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A second coupler coupling a forward input signal through a predetermined antenna; A second signal limiter which blocks a signal above a predetermined reference level among the output signals from the second coupler and passes a signal below the reference level; And a synchronization signal acquisition unit for analyzing the signal passing through the second limiter, detecting the synchronization signal, and outputting the synchronization signal to the second means. And the second means further finely corrects the synchronization signal according to the synchronization signal detected by the synchronization signal acquisition unit, and further controls the switching time of the time division switching means in the relay device according to the result. A time division (TDD) wireless communication relay device.

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