KR20190020501A - Base station device based on directional/omni-directional hybrid antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a base station device based on a directional/omnidirectional hybrid antenna comprises: a directional antenna; a first omnidirectional antenna; an RF module for receiving an RF signal received from the directional antenna or the first omnidirectional antenna; a switching unit for selectively connecting one of the directional antenna and the first omnidirectional antenna to the RF module; and a control module for controlling the switching unit to connect the RF module to any one based on a communication environment index.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a base station apparatus based on a directional /

The present invention relates to a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna, and more particularly, to a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna using an antenna mode and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) level suitable for a communication environment by providing a directional antenna and a non- Base station apparatus.

The multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology used in wireless communications is a technology that simultaneously compensates for communication errors by using two or more antennas at the same time so as to suppress a decrease in communication quality and stably maintains communication speed.

Generally, a drop in communication quality occurs due to reflection, refraction, scattering, etc. of radio waves due to environmental obstacles. Accordingly, in order to cope with the environmental communication trouble occurring in all directions, an antenna composed of omnidirectional antennas is used.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2014-0052409: Horizontal Polarization Omni-Directional Antenna for MIMO

A problem to be solved by an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of enhancing a communication effect in a direction toward a base station apparatus in an environment where there are few propagation obstacles such as the sea.

Also, the present invention provides a technique for quickly recovering a communication connection even if the base station apparatus fails to secure a sufficient communication area due to movement or obstacle of the terminal, thereby failing to connect to the terminal.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

A base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna, a first omnidirectional antenna, an RF module for converting an RF signal received through the directional antenna or the first omnidirectional antenna into a data packet A switching unit selectively connecting one of the directional antenna and the first non-directional antenna to the RF module, and a control module controlling the switching unit to connect the RF module to the RF module based on the communication environment index .

In this case, the communication environment index may be an index generated based on the strength of the received RF signal, for example, a ratio of the strength of the received RF signal to the strength of the noise.

The base station apparatus may further include a second non-directional antenna connected to the RF module.

The control module controls the switching unit to connect the RF module and the directional antenna when the communication environment index is equal to or greater than a predetermined value while the switching unit is connecting the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna And the switching unit may control the switching unit to connect the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna when the communication environment index is less than a predetermined value while the switching unit connects the RF module and the directional antenna.

The base station further includes a modem module that modulates or demodulates the data packet according to a predetermined modulation and coding scheme (MCS) level, and the control module connects the RF module to the directional antenna The MCS level is increased when the communication environment index increases to a first reference value, and when the switching unit connects the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna, the communication environment index is lowered to reach a second reference value The MCS level can be lowered.

In this case, the first reference value is n (n is a natural number of 2 or more), the second reference value is m (m is a natural number of 2 or more), and the control module connects the RF module and the directional antenna The MCS level is increased each time the communication environment index increases to reach each of the n first reference values, and when the switching unit connects the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna, the communication environment index And the MCS level can be lowered each time the m second reference values are reached.

Also, the first reference value and the second reference value may be different.

Meanwhile, if the connection to the external device fails in the state where the MCS level is the lowest, the control module alternately switches the directional antenna or the first non-directional antenna at predetermined intervals until the connection with the external device succeeds So that the switching unit can be controlled to be connected.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a directional antenna and a non-directional antenna are provided together as a configuration of an antenna used by a base station apparatus, and a directional antenna or an omni-directional antenna can be used according to a communication environment, It is possible to efficiently cope with environmental communication trouble factors occurring in all directions.

Also, the communication efficiency can be improved by dynamically determining the antenna mode and the MCS level most suitable for the base station device to perform communication with the terminal in various communication environments.

1 is a functional block diagram of a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a configuration in which a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention includes one directional antenna and two omnidirectional antennas.
3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a configuration in which a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention includes one directional antenna and four omni-directional antennas.
4 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention changes an antenna mode and an MCS level according to a communication environment.
5 is an exemplary diagram for explaining reference values set for changing the antenna mode and the MCS level according to a communication environment in a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating a point in time when a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna changes an antenna mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, To fully disclose the scope of the invention to a person skilled in the art, and the scope of the invention is only defined by the claims.

In describing embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of well-known functions or constructions will be omitted unless otherwise described in order to describe embodiments of the present invention. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions in the embodiments of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention of the user, the intention or the custom of the operator. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

The functional blocks shown in the drawings and described below are merely examples of possible implementations. In other implementations, other functional blocks may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the following detailed description. Also, while one or more functional blocks of the present invention are represented as discrete blocks, one or more of the functional blocks of the present invention may be a combination of various hardware and software configurations that perform the same function.

Also, to the extent that the inclusion of certain elements is merely an indication of the presence of that element as an open-ended expression, it should not be understood as excluding any additional elements.

Further, when a component is referred to as being connected or connected to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that there may be other components in between.

Also, the expressions such as 'first, second', etc. are used only to distinguish a plurality of configurations, and do not limit the order or other features between configurations.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a functional block diagram of a base station apparatus 100 based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna 111, a first omnidirectional antenna 112, an RF module 120, 130, a modem module 140, and a control module 150. The directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus 100 according to an embodiment may further include one or more omnidirectional antennas 113, 114, and 115.

The directional antenna 111 is an antenna designed to propagate around a specific place or intensively transmit and receive radio waves in a specific direction, and can increase the communication distance in a direction in which the antenna is oriented. Typical examples of the directional antenna 111 include a parabola antenna, a helical antenna, a Yagi antenna, and an outdoor terrestrial TV antenna.

The omnidirectional antennas 112, 113, 114, and 115 are designed to transmit a radio wave propagating circularly around the antenna without transmitting the radio wave in a certain direction, and can transmit and receive radio waves in all directions.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in which a base station apparatus 100 based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention includes one directional antenna 111 and two omni-directional antennas 112 and 113 .

Referring to FIG. 2, a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna 111 disposed at one point, An antenna in which one omnidirectional antenna 112 and a second omnidirectional antenna 113 are disposed can be used.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes one directional antenna 111 and four omnidirectional antennas 112, 113, 114, Fig.

Referring to FIG. 3, a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a directional antenna 111 disposed at one point, a first non-directional antenna 112, An antenna in the form of a second omnidirectional antenna 113, a third omnidirectional antenna 114 and a fourth omnidirectional antenna 115 may be used.

As described above, the directional antenna 111 having a relatively heavy weight is disposed at the center, and the omnidirectional antennas 112, 113, 114, and 115, which are relatively light in weight, are disposed at the edges thereof. However, the arrangement of the directional antenna 111 and the non-directional antennas 112, 113, 114, and 115 is not limited to this example. The number of omnidirectional antennas illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 is merely an example, and the number of the omnidirectional antennas illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 is not limited to two or four, and the number of omni-directional antennas illustrated in Figs. May include two or more omnidirectional antennas.

The RF module 120 converts the RF signal received from the directional antenna 111 or the omnidirectional antenna 112, 113 into a data packet. The RF module 120 may convert an RF signal based on an analog signal received through the directional antenna 111 or the omnidirectional antennas 112 and 113 into a data packet composed of digital bits. In addition, the RF module 120 may convert a data packet composed of digital bits into an RF signal based on an analog signal to be transmitted via the directional antenna 111 or the omnidirectional antenna 112, 113. Meanwhile, since the RF module 120 has a well-known configuration, detailed description is omitted.

The switching unit 130 selectively connects either the directional antenna 111 or the first omnidirectional antenna 112 to the RF module 120. At this time, omnidirectional antennas other than the first omnidirectional antenna 112 may be connected to the RF module 120 basically. That is, the second omnidirectional antenna 113 may be connected to the RF module 120.

Therefore, the configuration of the antenna to be used may vary depending on the connection type of the switching unit 130, in the base station apparatus 100 based on the directional / non-directional composite antenna according to the embodiment of the present invention.

For example, since the directional antenna 111 and the second omnidirectional antenna 113 are connected to the RF module 120 in a state where the switching unit 130 connects the directional antenna 111 to the RF module 120 Directional antenna 111 and the second non-directional antenna 113, and this state is referred to as a directional / non-directional combined mode. Therefore, in the directional / non-directional complex mode, the omnidirectional antenna 113 capable of efficiently responding to environmental communication disturbance factors occurring in all directions and the directional antenna 111 capable of increasing the communication efficiency toward the terminal toward the base station Can be used together.

The first omnidirectional antenna 112 and the second omnidirectional antenna 113 are connected to the RF module 120 while the switching unit 130 connects the first omnidirectional antenna 112 to the RF module 120. [ The RF signal can be transmitted / received using only the omnidirectional antennas 112 and 113, and this state is referred to as a non-directional mode. Therefore, omnidirectional mode uses more omnidirectional antennas (112, 113) than directional / omnidirectional complex mode. Therefore, when environmental communication obstacles increase in all directions, Stability can be increased.

The modem module 140 modulates a data packet to be transmitted through the RF module 120 according to a predetermined modulation and coding scheme level and transmits the data packet received through the RF module 120 to a predetermined MCS level Demodulate accordingly. The lower the MCS level, the slower the communication speed, but the higher the communication stability, and the higher the level, the more unstable the communication stability, but the faster the communication speed. Therefore, when the communication environment is good, it is effective to use a high MCS level in order to increase the speed, and when the communication environment is bad, it is effective to use a low MCS level for stability. The MCS level may be, for example, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM or the like, but is not limited to the examples listed above.

The control module 150 may control the switching unit 130 to connect the RF module 120 to either the directional antenna 111 or the first omnidirectional antenna 112 based on the communication environment index. Also, the control module 150 may determine the MCS level of the modem module 140 based on the communication environment index. At this time, the control module 150 may be implemented as an arithmetic unit provided in the RF module 120 or the modem module 140, or may be an arithmetic unit located independently of the RF module 120 or the modem module 140 .

Here, the communication environment index may be measured based on the strength of the RF signal received by the RF module 120 as an index indicating the degree of comfort of the communication environment. For example, the communication environment index may include a signal to noise ratio (SNR), which is a ratio of the intensity of the RF signal received by the RF module 120 to the intensity of the noise received by the RF module 120, It does not.

4 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a directional / non-directional composite antenna based base station apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention changes an antenna mode and an MCS level according to a communication environment.

4, in a state where the switching unit 130 connects the RF module 120 and the first omnidirectional antenna 112, that is, in the non-directional mode, the control module 150 determines that the communication environment index The switching unit 130 releases the connection between the RF module 120 and the first omnidirectional antenna 112 and controls the RF module 120 and the directional antenna 111 to be connected to each other, It is possible to change to the compound mode. In a state where the switching unit 130 connects the RF module 120 and the directional antenna 111, that is, in the directional / non-directional complex mode, when the communication environment index becomes lower than a predetermined value, the switching unit 130 The connection between the RF module 120 and the directional antenna 111 is released and the RF module 120 and the first non-directional antenna 112 are connected to each other to change to the non-directional mode.

In this way, the control module 150 controls the switching unit 130 to convert into the omnidirectional mode or the directional / non-directional complex mode according to the communication environment index, thereby improving the communication effect toward the terminal toward the base station, It is possible to efficiently cope with the environmental communication obstruction factor occurring in the environment.

In addition, the control module 150 increases the MCS level whenever the communication environment index becomes larger than a predetermined value in the directional / non-directional hybrid mode, increases the MCS level whenever the communication environment index becomes smaller than a preset value in the non- Can be controlled to be lowered.

Therefore, when a communication environment is good, a high MCS level is used to direct a high communication speed, and when a communication environment is poor, an antenna mode and an MCS level are dynamically changed in various communication environments using a low MCS level Can be changed.

If the MCS level is the lowest and the connection to the external device fails, the control module 150 controls the RF module 120 to transmit the directional antenna 111 or the first omni-directional antenna 112 The switching unit 130 may be controlled to be alternately connected at a predetermined cycle.

Accordingly, it is possible to increase the communication distance in the direction of the directional antenna 111 in a situation where it is impossible to know the connection failure due to what factors, and an advantage of communication in all directions of the non-directional antennas 112 and 113 It is possible to increase the success rate of connection with an external device.

5 is an exemplary diagram for explaining reference values set for changing the antenna mode and the MCS level according to the communication environment in the base station 100 based on the directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, when the higher the communication environment index, which are a first reference value as the communication environment index which is a starting point to increase the MCS level TH _U1, TH _U2, TH _U3, TH _U4, TH _U5, TH _U6, TH _U7, TH _U8 , TH _U9 is is set in a horizontal axis, which are the second reference value as the communication environment index which is a reference point to lower the MCS level when the communication environment index lower TH _D1, TH _D2, TH _D3, TH _D4, TH _D5, TH _D6, TH _D7 , TH _D8 , and TH _D9 are set on the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis is set to the MCS level that can be changed to 9 levels. The control module 150 of the base station apparatus 100 based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention generates an antenna mode and an antenna mode based on a first reference value, a second reference value, and an MCS level set as shown in FIG. The MCS level can be selected.

For example, the control module 150 TH _U1, TH _U2, TH _U3, TH _U4, TH _U5, TH _U6, TH _U7 which are a communication environment index a first reference value when the communication environment index increased, TH _U8, TH _U9 in each time is reached may increase the MCS level, when the communication environment index is lowered, which are a communication environment index a second reference value TH _D9, TH _D8, TH _D7, TH _D6, TH _D5, TH _D4, TH _D3, TH _D2 , The MCS level can be lowered each time it reaches TH _D1 .

The control module 150 controls the switching unit 130 to change the antenna mode from the directional / non-directional complex mode to the non-directional mode when the communication environment index increases or decreases. When the communication environment index becomes lower and higher, Mode to the directional / non-directional complex mode. 6, which is an enlarged view of a part of Fig. 5, will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating a point in time when a base station apparatus based on a directional / non-directional composite antenna changes an antenna mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6, the example communication environment index is small, the MCS level of QPSK _1/2 oriented / omnidirectional composite mode (the state that the communication environment index higher), the communication environment, when the index TH _U2 MCS level than the THU ₂ a it can be increased by QPSK _2/3. Then, the communication environment index TH polyhydric higher than _D3 lowered again before it reaches TH _U3 When lower than TH _D3 may change the antenna mode to the omnidirectional mode, jidaga the communication environment index lower than TH _U2 in omnidirectional mode TH _D2 becomes high again before it reaches the antenna mode can be changed when higher than TH _U2 in orientation / omnidirectional composite mode. On the other hand, when the antenna mode is changed to the omnidirectional mode in orientation / omnidirectional composite mode, the communication environment index to lower the MCS level is lower than when non-TH TH _{D2 U2} to QPSK _1/2.

In addition, it is possible to lower the MCS level when the communication environment index is high MCS level is QPSK _5/6 of omnidirectional composite mode (communication environment condition index is lowered), the communication environment index TH _D3 than TH _U3 as QPSK _2/3 . Then, when the communication environment index becomes high again before it reaches the lower jidaga TH _D2 than TH _U2 higher than TH _U2 communication environment index in the antenna mode oriented / omnidirectional and can change the composite mode, the orientation / omnidirectional composite mode than TH _D3 The antenna mode can be changed back to the omnidirectional mode when it goes low again before reaching TH _U3 and becomes lower than TH _D3 . On the other hand, when the antenna mode is changed from the omnidirectional mode oriented / omnidirectional composite mode, the communication environment index can increase the MCS level when higher than TH _U3 not when one TH _D3 as QPSK _5/6.

That is, when the communication environment index increases in the directional / non-directional hybrid mode, the MCS level can be changed along the dashed lines shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the communication environment index decreases in the unidirectional mode, The MCS level can be changed along the solid line of FIG. Here, FIG. 6 shows TH _U2 and The heights of the solid line and the dotted line are shown differently in order to distinguish between the solid line and the dotted line in the section between the TH _D3 and the TH _D3. However, the MCS level in the section where the solid line overlaps with the dotted line is substantially the same.

5 and 6, it can be seen that the first reference value TH _U3 set to raise the MCS level at the same MCS level and the second reference value TH _D2 set to lower the MCS level are different from each other. Therefore, it is possible to frequently change the MCS level by changing the values of the first reference value and the second reference value at the same MCS level, and to more reliably operate the antenna mode selection and the MCS level change.

5 and 6 illustrate that the first reference value set to raise the MCS level has a value larger than the second reference value set to lower the MCS level. However, if the first reference value is set to be smaller than the second reference value It is possible.

The RF module 120, the switching unit 130, the modem module 140, and the control module 150, which are included in the above-described embodiments, include a memory including instructions programmed to perform these functions, And a microprocessor for performing the functions described herein.

The directional antenna 111 and the omnidirectional antennas 112 and 113 are provided together as the configuration of the antenna used by the base station apparatus and the directional antenna 111 or the omnidirectional antennas 112 and 113 are provided depending on the communication environment, 113), it is possible to efficiently cope with environmental communication failure factors occurring in all directions while enhancing the communication effect toward the terminal toward the base station.

Also, the communication efficiency can be improved by dynamically determining the antenna mode and the MCS level most suitable for the base station device to perform communication with the terminal in various communication environments.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by various means. For example, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

In the case of hardware implementation, the method according to embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) , FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and the like.

In the case of an implementation by firmware or software, the method according to embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a module, a procedure or a function for performing the functions or operations described above. A computer program recorded with a software code or the like may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium or a memory unit and may be driven by a processor. The memory unit is located inside or outside the processor, and can exchange data with the processor by various known means.

Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. It is therefore to be understood that the embodiments described above are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. It is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. .

100: base station device based on directional / non-directional composite antenna
111: directional antenna
112: 1st omnidirectional antenna
113: second omnidirectional antenna
114: Third omnidirectional antenna
115: Fourth omnidirectional antenna
120: RF module
130:
140: Modem module
150: Control module

Claims (8)

Directional antenna;
A first non-directional antenna;
An RF module for receiving an RF signal received via the directional antenna or the first omnidirectional antenna;
A switching unit selectively connecting one of the directional antenna and the first non-directional antenna to the RF module; And
And a control module for controlling the switching unit to connect the RF module to any one of the RF modules based on the communication environment index
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the communication environment index includes:
The ratio of the intensity of the received RF signal to the intensity of the noise
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. The method according to claim 1,
The base station apparatus comprising:
And a second omnidirectional antenna coupled to the RF module
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. The method according to claim 1,
The control module includes:
The switching unit controls the switching unit to connect the RF module and the directional antenna when the communication environment index becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value while the switching unit connects the RF module and the first non-
And the switching unit controls the switching unit to connect the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna when the communication environment index becomes a predetermined value or less in a state where the switching unit connects the RF module and the directional antenna
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. 5. The method of claim 4,
The base station apparatus further comprises a modem module for modulating or demodulating the RF signal received by the RF module according to a predetermined modulation and coding scheme (MCS) level,
The control module includes:
When the switching unit connects the RF module and the directional antenna and the communication environment index increases to reach a first reference value, the MCS level is increased,
When the switching unit connects the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna and the communication environment index becomes lower and reaches a second reference value, the MCS level is lowered
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the first reference value is n (n is a natural number of 2 or more), the second reference value is m (m is a natural number of 2 or more)
The control module includes:
The switching unit increases the MCS level every time the communication environment index increases to reach each of the n first reference values in a state where the RF module and the directional antenna are connected,
The MCS level is lowered each time the communication environment index is lowered to reach each of the m second reference values in a state where the switching unit is connecting the RF module and the first omnidirectional antenna
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the first reference value and the second reference value are different
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna. 6. The method of claim 5,
The control module includes:
If the connection with the external device fails in a state in which the MCS level is the lowest, the RF module is connected to the directional antenna or the first omnidirectional antenna at predetermined intervals until the connection with the external device is successful, Controlled
Base station device based on directional / omnidirectional composite antenna.

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