KR20220133646A - Smart antenna system for communication repeater based on massive iot and the method for communication status monitoring - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a smart antenna system comprising: a communication repeater that amplifies a wireless communication signal to facilitate communication; a plurality of distributed smart antennas that collects Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices to transmit them to the communication repeater; and a wireless backhaul massive IoT network formed to transmit data between the communication repeater and a server.

Description

Smart antenna system for massive IoT based communication repeater and communication status monitoring method using the same {SMART ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATION REPEATER BASED ON MASSIVE IOT AND THE METHOD FOR COMMUNICATION STATUS MONITORING}

The present invention relates to a smart antenna system, and more particularly, is designed integrally with an antenna of a repeater such as a DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems), and measures the intensity of electromagnetic waves radiated through the antenna in real time and transmits it to a telecommunication service provider at the same time. A smart antenna system having a function of a base Bluetooth IoT hub and a communication status monitoring method using the same.

With the development of the information industry, a technology capable of transmitting various types of large-capacity data at high speed is required. was studied.

A Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is a system using a single base station and multiple distributed antennas connected by wired or leased lines. Manage multiple antennas.

It is distinguished from a centralized antenna system (CAS) in which a plurality of base station antennas are concentrated in the center of a cell in that a plurality of antennas are dispersed and located more than a predetermined distance apart within a cell.

In general, CAS is a cellular communication system such as wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), long term evolution (LTE)/long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), and 802.16, and has a cell-based structure. OLMIMO (open loop-multi input multi output), CL-SU-MIMO (close loop-single user-multi input multi output), CL-MU-MIMO (close loop-multi user -multi input multi output), Multi-BS-MIMO (multi-base station-multi input multi output), etc. It is a system using various multi-antenna techniques.

The DAS is distinguished from a femto cell in that each unit of the distributed antenna does not control the area of the corresponding antenna by itself, but controls all the distributed antenna areas located in the cell from the base station in the center of the cell. In addition, in that the distributed antenna units are connected by a wired or a dedicated line, a multi-hop relay system or an ad-hoc network connected wirelessly between a base station and a remote station (RS). distinguished In addition, it is also distinguished from a repeater structure that simply amplifies and transmits a signal in that each of the distributed antennas can transmit different signals to each terminal adjacent to the antenna according to the command of the base station.

The DAS can be viewed as a type of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system in that distributed antennas can simultaneously transmit and receive different data streams to support single or multiple mobile stations. From the viewpoint of the MIMO system, the DAS is an antenna distributed at various locations within the cell, and compared to the CAS, the transmission area for each antenna is reduced, thereby reducing the transmission power. In addition, it is possible to increase the transmission capacity and power efficiency of the cellular system by reducing the path loss through shortening the transmission distance between the antenna and the terminal to enable high-speed data transmission, and it is possible to increase the transmission capacity and power efficiency of the cellular system, regardless of the location of the user in the cell. It can satisfy the communication performance of uniform quality. In addition, since the base station and a plurality of distributed antennas are connected by a wire or a dedicated line, signal loss is small, correlation and interference between antennas are reduced, so that it can have a high signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). .

As such, among the communication repeaters, DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) is used to solve the problem of high traffic capacity in an indoor environment by distributing multiple antennas to one repeater. Recently, although DAS is used to improve the communication performance of a communication repeater, an issue arises due to a defect in the antenna that is not related to the communication repeater.

From the perspective of telecommunication companies, since there is no way to check whether the repeater maintains a continuous communication state, the reality is that they have no choice but to support after-sales service only after receiving a customer's claim. In order to solve this problem, a method of installing an 'antenna monitoring system' in the middle of the line leading up to the antenna has been proposed, but commercialization is sluggish due to the increase in line construction cost, separate power supply, and reliability problems.

In addition, in order to configure an IoT network in a smart city, a smart home, or a smart factory, a gateway capable of collecting signals from sensors is required. Such a gateway generally uses a wired network in order to increase reliability, and there is a problem in that a separate gateway as well as a separate wired communication network must be installed to install such a gateway (see FIG. 1 ).

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1588747 Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1689846 Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1475562

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and establishes an environment so that there is no need to install a separate IoT hub in places where an IoT environment is needed such as a smart home or a smart factory, and the intensity of a signal radiated using an antenna for DAS Massive IoT-based smart antenna system for communication repeaters and communication status monitoring method that can avoid potential risks by measuring and transmitting the data to the telecommunication company to maintain stable communication status through prompt A/S and pre-inspection aims to provide

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a communication repeater for smooth communication by amplifying a wireless communication signal, a plurality of distributed smart antennas that collect Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices and deliver them to the communication repeater, Disclosed is a smart antenna system comprising a wireless backhaul massive IoT network configured to transmit data between a communication repeater and a server.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of distributed smart antennas include an energy harvesting module configured to collect energy using RF energy, and a Bluetooth configured to collect data through Bluetooth communication with IoT devices. It includes a hub module and a mobile communication module configured to communicate data with a server through a mobile service.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the energy harvesting module includes an RF coupler for coupling the RF signal transmitted from the communication repeater to the smart antenna so as to generate the minimum power required for charging.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the energy harvesting module receives the RF signal coupled by the RF coupler and converts it into DC for charging.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the energy harvesting module is formed to supply initial power to enable initial operation and driving of the communication module even in the absence of an RF signal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a main controller capable of controlling the signal of the Bluetooth hub module and the signal of the massive IoT network.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a sensor module for measuring the coupling signal input to the smart antenna and transmitting to the main controller.

In addition, the present invention provides a communication status monitoring method using antennas of a DAS repeater having a Bluetooth hub function capable of collecting Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices, the method comprising: measuring the strength of a signal radiated from each antenna; Disclosed is a communication state monitoring method using a smart antenna system including transmitting measurement data to a communication company.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes evaluating a communication risk level based on the measured signal strength, and transmitting measurement data for the communication risk level to a communication company.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the risk rating evaluation is made based on the distance and signal strength of adjacent antennas.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to link the Massive IoT to the existing repeater network without the need to build a separate device network.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the existing network construction cost and build a high-speed IoT environment through a wireless network.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, since a communication company can provide a Bluetooth hub to consumers for free and receive a massive IoT communication fee to generate revenue, it is possible to create a separate revenue model without the need for a separate installation cost. .

Effects obtainable in the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned may be derived by the embodiments of the present invention or a combination of embodiments.

1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the problems of the prior art.
2 is a conceptual diagram of a smart antenna system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram of an installation of a smart antenna system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an internal structure of a smart antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart of a communication state monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a communication state monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams for explaining communication risk rating evaluation due to an output abnormality of a smart antenna.

The smart antenna system for a massive IoT-based communication repeater and the communication state monitoring method using the same according to the present invention may have various modified embodiments.

In the present specification, some embodiments of these will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, in the present specification, the same and similar reference numerals are assigned to the same and similar components even in different embodiments, and the description is replaced with the first description. As used herein, the singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In addition, the suffix "module" or "unit" for components used in the following description is only a term used for the convenience of writing the specification, and does not have a meaning or role distinct from each other.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a smart antenna 100 system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an installation of a smart antenna 100 system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3 , the smart antenna 100 system includes a communication repeater, a plurality of distributed smart antennas 100 , and a wireless backhaul Massive-IoT (Massive-IoT) network.

As shown, the smart antennas 100 collect Bluetooth control signals and wireless communication signals of various IoT devices.

The collected signal is transmitted to a server (or base station) through an outdoor antenna through a communication repeater. Such data transmission may be accomplished through a wireless backhaul massive IoT network.

The communication repeater makes communication smooth by amplifying the signal when communication is difficult due to a weak wireless communication signal.

In the present invention, a problem of high traffic capacity in an indoor environment can be solved by distributing multiple antennas to one repeater using Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) among communication repeaters.

The plurality of distributed smart antennas 100 collects Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices and transmits them to the communication repeater.

The smart antennas 100 may be formed to include an IoT hub function in an antenna of a DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) repeater to transmit an IoT signal to a server, thereby reducing the cost of establishing a separate IoT network.

The wireless backhaul massive IoT network is configured to transmit data between the communication repeater and the server.

The wireless backhaul massive IoT network 5G mobile communication system is applied, and is formed to provide such a hyper-connected network environment, massive IoT, through a mobile communication infrastructure.

The massive IoT may include low-latency, high-reliability communication for providing realistic communication and remote precision control through various things connected to a network.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the massive IoT can be built using LTE massive IoT network using NB-IoT of LTE. In addition, if 5G massive IoT technology is standardized in the future, it will be possible to apply it immediately.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing the internal structure of the smart antenna 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the smart antenna 100 includes a communication antenna 110 , an energy harvesting module 120 , a power management module 130 , a battery 140 , and an antenna power sensor 150 , It may include a mobile communication module 160 , a Bluetooth hub module 170 , and the like.

The energy harvesting module 120 is formed to collect energy using RF energy, and RF coupling the RF signal transmitted from the communication repeater to the smart antenna 100 so as to generate the minimum power required for charging. Includes couplers.

The energy harvesting module 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in various forms. For example, by using a piezoelectric harvester in which a magnetostrictive element that can be deformed by a magnetic field of an RF signal and a piezoelectric material are combined, electrical energy can be generated using the RF signal.

The energy harvesting module 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention may generate electrical energy with respect to RF signals of different frequencies.

Since RF signals of various frequencies are used in an actual environment, the energy harvesting module 120 may increase energy harvesting efficiency by using piezoelectric harvesters of different resonant frequencies.

For example, when the energy harvesting module 120 according to the present invention is located near a mobile communication terminal supporting Wi-Fi, an RF signal of a mobile communication frequency and an RF signal of a Wi-Fi frequency exist around the energy harvesting module 120 . can And if the resonance frequency of the first harvester corresponds to the mobile communication frequency and the resonance frequency of the second harvester corresponds to the Wi-Fi frequency, the energy harvesting module 120 according to the present invention collects both the mobile communication RF signal and the Wi-Fi RF signal. It can be used to generate electrical energy.

The Bluetooth hub module 170 is configured to collect data through Bluetooth communication with IoT devices, and the mobile communication module 160 is configured to communicate data with a server through a mobile service.

The power management module 130 and the battery 140 can supply initial power to enable initial operation and operation of the communication module even in the absence of an RF signal.

In addition, the smart antenna 100 system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a main controller capable of controlling the signal of the Bluetooth hub module 170 and the signal of the massive IoT network, and the antenna power sensor 150 . measures the coupling signal input to the smart antenna 100 and transmits it to the main controller so that a user or a communication company can monitor the state of the smart antenna 100 .

5 is a flowchart of a communication state monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the communication state monitoring method evaluates the communication risk level based on the step of measuring the signal strength radiated from the smart antennas 100 ( S110 ), the arrangement of the antennas, the distance, and the measured signal strength. It may include a step (S120) and a step (S130) of transmitting the measurement data to a communication company.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the above steps may be made selectively. For example, it is possible that step S120 is omitted and step S130 is immediately followed after step S110. Alternatively, other steps may be added in addition to steps S110 to S130.

In the step of measuring the signal strength radiated from the smart antennas 100 ( S110 ), a coupling signal input to the smart antenna 100 may be measured using the sensor module or the antenna power sensor 150 .

The coupling signal may be a signal coupled through an RF coupler present in the energy harvesting module 120 . The RF coupler couples the RF signal transmitted from the communication repeater to the smart antenna 100 so as to generate the minimum power required for charging. The energy harvesting module 120 may receive the RF signal coupled by the RF coupler and convert it into DC for charging. In step S110, it is possible to measure the communication state by measuring the coupling signal generated at this time.

In the step S120 of evaluating the communication risk level based on the arrangement of the antennas, the distance, and the strength of the measured signal, the signal measured in the step S110 is reprocessed based on the arrangement information of the antennas to evaluate the communication risk level.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a communication state monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , a signal strength may be different for each antenna, and an area in which Bluetooth and a mobile terminal can be used may vary according to a distance between the antennas.

Antenna signal abnormality can often be caused by a failure of the repeater itself, cutting or damage of the transmission cable due to the carelessness of construction workers, other natural disasters, and aging of the line.

For this reason, when communication is not performed, a huge economic cost problem and social problem may occur. For example, if communication, such as radio, is not smooth at the site of a fire, damage to life and property may increase.

In a distributed antenna system, even if any one antenna has a problem, this risk can be somewhat alleviated if there is a communication area overlapping with another antenna. can be beyond imagination.

Hereinafter, an example of a method of evaluating a communication risk level due to an output abnormality of the smart antenna 100 in order to solve this problem will be described.

7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a communication risk rating evaluation method due to an output abnormality of the smart antenna 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7A , six distributed smart antennas 100 are disposed, and an area (hereinafter referred to as a 'signal area') to which a signal of each antenna affects is indicated by a dotted line.

As shown, the signal area of each antenna is slightly different.

The main controller may set the reference strength of the signal, and if it does not reach the reference strength, the corresponding smart antenna 100 may be regarded as an 'output abnormal' state.

The main controller estimates the shaded area based on the arrangement of the smart antennas 100 .

In reality, because there are walls or obstacles, the signal area may not be formed in a circular shape. Accordingly, a separate sensor disposed between antennas or a signal of a Bluetooth device disposed between antennas may be used to estimate the shaded area.

When a Bluetooth device is used, since all of the smart antennas 100 may be used as Bluetooth hubs, signals of the Bluetooth device may be measured from adjacent smart antennas 100 .

When the smart antenna 100 in the 'output abnormal' state is detected, the main controller determines the output state of the adjacent antennas, and when it is determined that a shaded area has occurred, the main controller evaluates the communication risk high and transmits a notification to the user or the carrier.

The notification includes the location of the antenna that can minimize the shaded area. For example, if the 100c, 100e, and 100f antennas are in 'Output Abnormal' status, the shadow area can be minimized when the 100f antenna is repaired. Allows the 100f antenna to be repaired in the first place (see Figure 7b).

According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, it is possible to link the Massive IoT to the existing repeater network without the need to build a separate device network, reduce the existing network construction cost, and use the wireless network to achieve high-speed IoT It is possible to build an environment, and since the telecommunication company can provide a Bluetooth hub to consumers for free and receive a massive IoT communication fee to generate revenue, it is possible to create a separate revenue model without the need for a separate installation cost. An improved effect can be expected compared to technology.

The above-described mass IoT-based smart antenna system for a communication repeater is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, but the embodiment is configured by selectively combining all or part of each embodiment so that various modifications can be made. it might be

10: base station
20 : Massive-IoT
30: communication repeater
100: smart antenna
110: communication antenna
120: energy harvesting module
130: power management module
140: battery
150: antenna power sensor
160: mobile communication module
170: bluetooth hub module

Claims (10)

a communication repeater for smooth communication by amplifying a wireless communication signal;
a plurality of smart antennas for collecting Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices and transmitting them to the communication repeater; and
A smart antenna system comprising a wireless backhaul massive IoT network configured to transmit data between the communication repeater and the server. According to claim 1,
The plurality of smart antennas,
an energy harvesting module configured to collect energy using RF energy;
a Bluetooth hub module configured to collect data through Bluetooth communication with IoT devices; and
A smart antenna system comprising a mobile communication module configured to communicate data with a server through a mobile service. 3. The method of claim 2,
The energy harvesting module,
Smart antenna system comprising an RF coupler for coupling the RF signal transmitted from the communication repeater to the smart antenna so as to generate the minimum power required for charging. 4. The method of claim 3,
The energy harvesting module,
Smart antenna system, characterized in that receiving the RF signal coupled by the RF coupler, converting it into DC and charging. 5. The method of claim 4,
The energy harvesting module,
Smart antenna system, characterized in that it is formed to supply initial power to enable initial operation and communication module driving even in the absence of an RF signal. 3. The method of claim 2,
Smart antenna system, characterized in that it further comprises a main controller capable of controlling the signal of the Bluetooth hub module and the signal of the massive IoT network. 7. The method of claim 6,
Smart antenna system, characterized in that it further comprises a sensor module for measuring the coupling signal input to the smart antenna and transmitting to the main controller. In a communication state monitoring method using antennas of a DAS repeater having a Bluetooth hub function capable of collecting Bluetooth control signals of IoT devices, the method comprising:
measuring the intensity of a signal radiated from each antenna; and
Communication state monitoring method using a smart antenna system, characterized in that it comprises the step of transmitting the measurement data to a communication company. 9. The method of claim 8,
Evaluating a communication risk level based on the strength of the measured signal, and transmitting the measurement data for the communication risk level to a communication company. 10. The method of claim 9,
The risk rating evaluation is
A communication state monitoring method using a smart antenna system, characterized in that it is performed based on the distance and signal strength of adjacent antennas.

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