Wireless repeater, control method and program that are suitable for mesh network

Abstract

To provide a wireless repeater that enables flexible route changes as a node within a mesh network.SOLUTION: The wireless repeater comprises multiple antennas arranged in respective different directions, and is controlled such that one or more first antennas of the multiple antennas are used as donor antennas to receive signals from a base station device or other wireless repeaters, and such that one or more second antennas, which are at least some of the other multiple antennas than the first antennas, are used as service antennas to output amplified signals, so that the signals received via the first antennas are amplified and output to the second antennas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a configuration technique for a wireless repeater. [Background technology]

[0002] In cellular communication networks, the use of high frequency bands that can secure large capacity is being considered to deal with the ever-increasing traffic. The higher the frequency band used, the greater the attenuation of radio waves over distance, so the installation costs will increase if multiple base stations are installed to provide wireless services over a wide area. In response to this, the construction of a mesh network using wireless repeaters that amplify and relay signals between base station equipment and terminal equipment is being considered. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] In a mesh network, when a path between specific nodes is cut off by an obstruction, etc., another path can be flexibly used, thereby providing a stable communication service to terminal devices. On the other hand, since a conventional wireless repeater is configured to amplify radio waves received from a limited direction and then output them in a limited direction, it is expected that a mesh network in which wireless repeaters are nodes will not be able to flexibly change paths.

[0004] The present invention provides a wireless repeater that enables flexible route changes as a node in a mesh network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A wireless repeater according to one embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of antennas arranged facing different directions, a control means for controlling one or more first antennas of the plurality of antennas to be used as a donor antenna for receiving signals from a base station device or another wireless repeater, and a second antenna which is at least a part of an antenna of the plurality of antennas different from the first antenna, to be used as a service antenna for outputting the amplified signal, and an amplifier for amplifying the signal received via the first antenna and outputting it to the second antenna. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless repeater that enables flexible route changes as a node in a mesh network. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of antenna arrangement in a wireless repeater. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table showing the relationship between each antenna and beam and wireless quality. [Figure 4] A figure showing an example of a table that identifies, for each donor beam, a service beam to be used in conjunction with the donor beam. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless repeater. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless repeater. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow executed by a wireless repeater. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0009] FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. This wireless communication system is a mesh network using wireless repeaters, and includes a base station device 101 and wireless repeaters 111 to 119. The base station device 101 may be, for example, a node having a base station function conforming to a cellular communication standard of the fifth generation (5G) gNodeB or a later generation. The wireless repeaters 111 to 119 are, for example, distributed so that a signal transmitted from the base station device 101 reaches a wide range. The wireless repeaters 111 to 119 are configured to amplify radio waves arriving from a specific direction and output the signal in a direction different from the direction of arrival. For example, the wireless repeater 111 is configured to receive a signal from the base station device 101 using a receiving beam directed toward the base station device 101, and output the amplified signal in a direction different from the direction of the base station device 101. The wireless repeater 111 forms a transmission beam in the reception beam directed toward the base station device 101 so that the signal relayed by the wireless repeater 111 is not received at a level equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and outputs the amplified signal. The wireless repeater 112 can receive the signal output from the wireless repeater 111 with a quality equal to or higher than a predetermined wireless quality by directing the reception beam toward the wireless repeater 111. The wireless repeater 112 is configured to amplify the received signal and output the amplified signal in a direction different from the direction of the wireless repeater 111. On the other hand, it is assumed that the wireless repeater 114 and the wireless repeater 115 can also receive the signal output from the wireless repeater 111 with a quality equal to or higher than a predetermined wireless quality by directing the reception beam toward the wireless repeater 111. However, by directing their receiving beams toward the base station device 101 and the wireless repeater 114, respectively, the wireless repeater 114 and the wireless repeater 115 do not receive the signal output from the wireless repeater 111 with sufficient power. However, the wireless repeater 114 and the wireless repeater 115 can receive the signals from the base station device 101 and the wireless repeater 114, respectively, with sufficient power. In this way, as represented by the arrows in FIG. 1, each section of the relay communication path (hereinafter, for convenience, these sections may be referred to as "links").) is set.

[0010] Here, for example, in an initial state, it is assumed that a link 121 is formed between the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 113. Then, it is assumed that the link 121 becomes unavailable (for example, the wireless quality becomes insufficient) due to, for example, an obstruction. In this case, for example, if the wireless repeater 113 can form a link with the wireless repeater 116, it can continue to relay signals. On the other hand, since a conventional wireless repeater has a fixed antenna, it cannot direct a beam in a significantly different direction. For this reason, for example, even if the wireless repeater 113 can direct a receiving beam in the direction of the wireless repeater 112, it is assumed that it cannot direct a receiving beam in the direction of the wireless repeater 116. Also, for example, it is possible that the direction of the antenna of the wireless repeater 113 can be adjusted when the wireless repeater 113 is installed so that it can form a beam that can receive signals from the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116. However, it is assumed that this adjustment needs to be performed with high accuracy, which may lead to an increase in installation costs.

[0011] In this embodiment, in consideration of such circumstances, the wireless repeater is configured to have a plurality of antenna panels each capable of forming a beam in a certain range, and to select an antenna panel that forms a receiving beam. The wireless repeater selects an antenna panel corresponding to the general direction in which the receiving beam is to be formed, and uses the selected antenna panel to perform beam control so as to direct a detailed beam in the direction of the base station device or other wireless repeater that is the source of the signal. For example, by arranging a large number of antenna panels to surround the wireless repeater, it becomes possible to form a receiving beam in all directions as seen from the wireless repeater, even if the range in which each antenna panel can form a beam is narrow.

[0012] FIG. 2(A) shows an example of the configuration of the wireless repeater 111 to wireless repeater 119 according to this embodiment. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the wireless repeaters 111 to 119, they are collectively referred to simply as "wireless repeaters". The wireless repeater includes a plurality of antennas (antenna panels 201 to 204) each capable of forming a beam within a certain range. The plurality of antennas are each configured to be capable of setting the beam direction within a certain angular range. In FIG. 2(A) and the following example, an example in which the wireless repeater has four antennas will be described, but the wireless repeater may have, for example, five or more antennas, or may have, for example, two or three antennas. The greater the number of antennas, the narrower the angular range that each antenna should cover. For example, when a beam is formed to cover the entire angular range, the narrower the angular range, the more the gain within that range can be improved, and for example, it becomes possible to receive signals from other devices present within that angular range with sufficient power. In addition, when the same power is supplied to each antenna, the narrower the corresponding angle range, the signal sent from the antenna can reach a longer distance. In addition, each antenna can form a narrow beam for communication, but when the beam is directed in a specific direction, such as near the end of the angle range, the beam may not have sufficient gain. In response to this, narrowing the corresponding angle range makes it possible to form a beam with sufficient gain. For example, when a wireless repeater is placed on a wall, there is no need to have an antenna on the wall side, and in this case, the wireless repeater can communicate with various angle ranges using two or three antennas.

[0013] In such a wireless repeater, an antenna whose corresponding angle range includes the position of a relay source device (base station device 101 or another wireless repeater) is selected, and a detailed beam directed to the relay source device is set using the selected antenna. The detailed beam is set, for example, by measuring wireless signals arriving from the surroundings in each antenna panel. For example, multiple beams that can be set in each antenna panel are predefined, and a beam with the best reception quality of wireless signals from among the multiple beams may be selected as the beam to be set when the antenna panel is used. Also, the detailed beam may be set based on a transmission path estimate value of a signal received in each antenna panel.

[0014] The wireless repeater measures the wireless quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR)) of the wireless signal received in a configurable beam in each antenna panel, and identifies the beam that can obtain the best wireless quality. Then, the wireless repeater compares the best wireless quality in each antenna panel to determine the antenna panel to be used when receiving a signal from the base station device 101 or another wireless repeater (relay source device). After that, the wireless repeater forms a beam that obtains the best wireless quality using the antenna panel determined to be used, and receives the wireless signal transmitted from the relay source device. In the following, the antenna determined to be used may be called a "donor antenna", and the beam formed using the donor antenna may be called a "donor beam". The wireless repeater may amplify the signal received using the donor beam, and transfer the amplified signal using an antenna other than the donor antenna. In the following, the antenna other than the donor antenna may be called a "service antenna", and the beam used when transferring a signal from the service antenna may be called a "service beam". The wireless signal transferred using the service beam is received by a terminal device or other wireless repeater in the area formed by the service beam. In order to provide wireless services to terminal devices located in a certain wide range, a wide beam may be formed as the service beam. On the other hand, since it is assumed that the position of the relay source device is fixed, a narrow beam with high gain is formed as the donor beam.

[0015] A control device not shown in FIG. 1 may set a relay path, and each wireless repeater may determine a donor antenna and a donor beam so as to relay a signal from a specific device (base station device 101 or another wireless repeater) as a relay source device according to an instruction from the control device. The wireless repeater may have a communication interface for control communication with the control device. This control communication may be performed, for example, by a control signal defined in the wireless communication standard of the relay target, or by a signal conforming to a standard different from the wireless communication standard of the relay target. In one example, the wireless repeater may relay 5G communication and receive instructions from the control device via the 5G control channel. In another example, the wireless repeater may be configured to relay 5G communication and communicate with the control device using Long Term Evolution (LTE). The wireless repeater may also have a wired communication function and receive instructions from the control device via the wired communication function. The control device may, for example, notify the wireless repeater of setting information of a signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) used for measurement transmitted from a device that the wireless repeater is to use as a relay source. Here, the setting information of the measurement signal may include information such as the frequency and time resource at which the measurement signal is transmitted, and the symbol sequence used when generating the measurement signal. In this case, each wireless repeater may be configured to transmit a measurement signal unique to the device itself. This allows the wireless repeater to set a donor antenna and donor beam suitable for the relay communication path previously set by the control device.

[0016] 2(A), for example, antenna panels 201 to 204 can each set the beam direction in an angular range of 90 degrees. As an example, wireless repeater 113 can use antenna panel 204 when forming a beam in the direction of wireless repeater 112, and can use antenna panel 201 when forming a beam in the direction of wireless repeater 116. Here, for example, it is assumed that the wireless quality of the wireless signal from wireless repeater 112 is the best in a first beam among the multiple beams that can be set in antenna panel 204, and the wireless quality of the wireless signal from wireless repeater 116 is the best in a second beam among the multiple beams that can be set in antenna panel 201. In one example, the wireless repeater 113 may compare a first wireless quality of a wireless signal in a first beam of the antenna panel 204 with a second wireless quality of a wireless signal in a second beam of the antenna panel 201, and if the first wireless quality is better, may determine to use the antenna panel 204 as a donor antenna and not use the antenna panel 201 as a donor antenna. Note that, when a control device (not shown) indicates that a link should be formed between the wireless repeater 113 and the wireless repeater 112, the wireless repeater 113 may measure a measurement signal from the wireless repeater 112 in each beam of each antenna panel, and may determine a donor antenna and a donor beam based on the measurement result. Note that the control device may preset multiple relay path candidates, and may notify the wireless repeater 113 of information on a relay source device corresponding to each of the multiple candidates. For example, the control device may notify the wireless repeater 113 of information on the measurement signals from the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116. Then, based on the information, the wireless repeater 113 can determine a donor antenna and a donor beam for each of the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116. Note that the wireless repeater 113 can use, as a donor beam, a beam with the best wireless quality among the combinations of beams identified for each of the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116 based on the information notified from the control device.In addition, the wireless repeater 113 may notify the control device of the measurement results of its wireless quality and receive an instruction from the control device regarding which of the beams corresponding to the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116 should be used as the donor beam.

[0017] The wireless repeater can determine and use a donor antenna and a donor beam by the configuration as shown in FIG. 2(A). The wireless repeater can have an antenna group that can be used only as a donor antenna and a donor beam, and an antenna group that can be used as a service antenna and a service beam separately. An example of the configuration of the wireless repeater in this case is shown in FIG. 2(B). The configuration of FIG. 2(B) has a structure in which two antenna groups having the configuration as shown in FIG. 2(A) are stacked. Then, the first antenna group 221 can be used as a service antenna, and the second antenna group 222 can be used as a donor antenna. In this configuration, one of the antenna panels in the antenna group 222 is selected as a donor antenna, and the other antenna panels of the antenna group 222 are not used. Then, the radio signal received and amplified by the donor antenna is output from the antenna group 221. Note that the antenna group that can be used as a service antenna may be the second antenna group 222, and the antenna group that can be used as a donor antenna may be the first antenna group 221.

[0018] In addition, in the configuration as shown in FIG. 2(A), one of the multiple antennas can be a donor antenna, and at least a part of the other antennas can be a service antenna. That is, each of the multiple antennas can operate as both a donor antenna and a service antenna, and the functions can be switched and used. For example, in the example of FIG. 2(C), the antenna 241 can be a donor antenna, and the antennas 242 to 244 can be service antennas. Here, it is assumed that the antenna used as the donor antenna receives the radio wave radiated from the service antenna. However, when the beam width of the donor beam is set narrow as described above, the radio wave arriving from a direction other than the directional direction of the beam is strongly attenuated, and it is assumed that this effect can be ignored. On the other hand, since the distance between the service antenna and the donor antenna is short, there is a possibility that the effect of the radio wave radiated from the service antenna cannot be ignored. For this reason, for example, when using the configuration as shown in FIG. 2(C), the service beam can be set in the antennas 242 to 244 so that the interference with the donor beam set in the antenna 241 is sufficiently suppressed (at least the interference level is below a predetermined level). The same is true when the configuration shown in Fig. 2(B) is used. For example, as shown in Fig. 2(D), an antenna 263 that may cause strong interference to a donor antenna 261 may not be used as a service antenna, and a service beam may be formed in an antenna 262 or the like such that interference with a donor beam formed in the donor antenna 261 is sufficiently suppressed.

[0019] The wireless repeater as described above is configured to be able to change the donor antenna and the donor beam. For example, the wireless repeater 113 can receive a signal from the wireless repeater 112 by using the antenna 204 as the donor antenna in the configuration of FIG. 2(A), but can switch the donor antenna to the antenna 201 and operate to receive a signal from the wireless repeater 116 due to, for example, the presence of an obstruction between the wireless repeater 113 and the wireless repeater 112. Note that the wireless repeater 113 switches the donor beam to a beam directed toward the wireless repeater 116, for example, in response to the reception quality of the wireless signal from the wireless repeater 112 falling below a predetermined level. Note that the wireless repeater can measure a measurement signal transmitted by a surrounding candidate relay source device using each beam that can be formed in each antenna panel during a certain period of time, for example, at night, and can determine in advance the beam to be switched to based on the measurement result. That is, the wireless repeater does not search for a device to be a relay source after switching and determine a donor beam after the wireless quality of the donor beam in use deteriorates, but can set the device to be a relay source after switching in advance. In this case, the wireless repeater can hold, for example, relationship information indicating the relationship between the obtained wireless quality and the beam used when the wireless quality was obtained, for example, in the form of a table, in response to the measurement of the wireless quality. An example of this table is shown in FIG. 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the table can include information identifying an antenna (antenna ID), information on a beam set in the antenna (beam ID), and information associated with the wireless quality when the beam is used. Note that FIG. 3 shows an example in which an RSRP value is held as an example of wireless quality, but a value indicated by another wireless quality index such as SINR may be held. The wireless repeater can select a changed donor beam using the table.

[0020] The wireless repeater may, for example, notify a control device (not shown) of the result of measuring the wireless quality in advance and receive information indicating the priority of the beam to be used as the donor beam from the control device. For example, the wireless repeater 113 may use the beam corresponding to the direction of the wireless repeater 112 with the highest priority, and when the wireless quality of the beam deteriorates to below a predetermined level, may receive information from the control device indicating that the beam corresponding to the direction of the wireless repeater 116 should be used. The wireless repeater according to this embodiment can flexibly change the relay path by using multiple antennas each capable of forming a beam corresponding to a different angle range. For example, even if the wireless repeater 112 and the wireless repeater 116 are located in significantly different directions as seen from the wireless repeater 113, the wireless repeater 113 can set a donor beam in each direction by changing the antenna used as a donor antenna, and can arbitrarily change the relay path.

[0021] In addition, the wireless repeater can be miniaturized by using an antenna that is not used as a donor antenna as a service antenna, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(C). For example, a switch is provided for each antenna to connect to either a circuit for operating as a donor antenna or a circuit for operating as a service antenna, and the antenna is switched between a donor antenna and a service antenna by switching the switch. The switch may be a physical switch, a semiconductor switch, or the like, but may be a switch of another type. This makes it possible to place the wireless repeater even in a narrow space. In one embodiment, the wireless repeater can operate all antennas as donor antennas when installed. Then, while switching between configurable beams in each antenna, the wireless repeater measures the wireless quality (e.g., RSRP or SINR) of a predetermined signal (e.g., SSB) transmitted by other surrounding devices (e.g., a base station device or another wireless repeater). Then, the wireless repeater uses an antenna and a beam that can obtain, for example, the best wireless quality as a result of the measurement as a donor antenna and a donor beam, and switches an antenna that is not used as a donor antenna to a service antenna. The wireless repeater may store combinations of antennas and beams other than the donor beam and the wireless quality obtained by the beams in the form of a table. This table may also have a format as shown in FIG. 3, for example. When the wireless quality of a signal received in the donor beam deteriorates to a level below a predetermined level, the wireless repeater may determine the beam with the next best wireless quality as the donor beam after switching based on the table. The wireless repeater may not store the relationship between the antennas and beams and the wireless quality, and may determine the use priority of the antennas and beams according to the wireless quality and store information on the determined priority. The wireless repeater may also notify a control device (not shown) of the relationship between the antennas and beams and the wireless quality, and obtain information on the use priority of each beam from the control device.

[0022] Also, the wireless repeater may have a first antenna group usable as a service antenna and a second antenna group usable as a donor antenna, separately, as shown in FIG. 2(D). In this case, for example, in the second antenna group, an antenna not used as a donor antenna can periodically measure surrounding wireless signals while switching a settable beam. For example, the wireless repeater measures the wireless quality (e.g., RSRP or SINR) of a predetermined signal (e.g., SSB) sent by other surrounding devices (base station devices or other wireless repeaters) while switching beams in an antenna not used as a donor antenna in the second antenna group. Then, the wireless repeater holds the measured wireless quality as relationship information indicating the relationship between the beam and the beam, and when the wireless quality of the currently used donor beam deteriorates to a level below a predetermined level, the wireless repeater can determine a new donor beam based on the held relationship information. According to this, the wireless repeater can determine a candidate donor beam to be switched to in advance while continuing to relay radio waves from the relay source device without setting a period for measuring wireless signals. In addition, with this configuration, the time difference between when the wireless quality is measured and when the beam is switched can be shortened, making it possible to set an appropriate donor beam, for example, when the wireless repeater moves or when the communication environment changes significantly over time.

[0023] In addition, the wireless repeater determines the service antenna and the service beam after determining the donor antenna and the donor beam. For example, in the case of a configuration as shown in FIG. 2(C), the donor antenna is not used as a service antenna, and at least a part of the antennas not selected as donor antennas is used as a service antenna. In the example of FIG. 2(C), the antenna 241 is selected as the donor antenna, and all of the antennas 242 to 244 can be used as service antennas. However, this is only an example, and some of the antennas 242 to 244 may not be used as donor antennas or service antennas. Since the antenna 241 is used as a donor antenna, it is not used as a service antenna. In addition, in the case of a configuration as shown in FIG. 2(D), a donor antenna is selected from the antenna group of donor antenna candidates, and other donor antenna candidates are not used. In this case, at least a part of the antenna group of service antenna candidates is used as a service antenna. 2D shows an example in which, among the group of antennas that are service antenna candidates, antenna 263 that is installed in the same direction as donor antenna 261 is not used as a service antenna, and antenna 262 that faces the other direction is used as a service antenna. Note that, in the case where antenna 263 can form a beam that causes sufficiently little interference to the donor beam, antenna 263 may also be used as a service antenna.

[0024] Here, the service antenna forms a service beam so that interference with the donor beam is sufficiently small. Since the donor antenna is assumed to form a donor beam with a narrow beam width in order to improve the gain, it is possible to suppress wraparound interference from the service antenna to a certain extent. However, it is assumed that the service antenna is placed in a position sufficiently close to the donor antenna, and in that case, it may be assumed that the interference suppression effect of the donor beam alone is insufficient. For this reason, the service antenna forms a service beam that can sufficiently suppress interference in combination with the donor beam. In addition, in one example, the service beam may be formed as a beam with a beam width as wide as possible as long as it does not cause strong interference to the donor beam. For example, for each candidate donor beam that can be set in each antenna, a service beam with which interference is sufficiently suppressed is determined in advance, and a table that specifies the service beam to be used together with each donor beam may be held in the wireless repeater. This information may be recorded, for example, in the memory of the wireless repeater when the wireless repeater is manufactured. For example, a table such as that shown in FIG. 4 is held in the wireless repeater. In the example of FIG. 4, for example, when a donor beam with beam ID=1 is formed in an antenna with antenna ID=1, a service beam with beam ID=3 should be set for an antenna with antenna ID=2. Note that the beam ID for the donor is different from the beam ID for the service, and for example, the donor beam with beam ID=1 and the service beam with beam ID=1 are different beams. Note that this is only an example, and beam IDs may be assigned so as not to overlap. Note that the wireless repeater is configured to be able to perform beam control for each antenna by identifying the antenna ID for that antenna. That is, the wireless repeater separately holds beam setting information associated with the antenna ID, and can control the directivity of the antenna based on the beam setting information.

[0025] After installation, the wireless repeater performs measurements as described above to determine the donor antenna and donor beam, searches the table for a service beam associated with the determined donor beam, and sets the service beam according to the search result. When changing the donor beam, the wireless repeater searches the table for a service beam associated with the changed donor beam, and sets the service beam according to the search result. In this way, the wireless repeater of this embodiment is configured to be able to flexibly change the direction of the donor beam, and is configured to set a service beam that sufficiently suppresses loop interference to the donor beam to be used. This makes it possible to flexibly set a relay path, and makes it possible to perform relay transmission that is not affected by loop interference even when the donor beam is switched.

[0026] FIG. 5 shows an example of the internal configuration of a wireless repeater as shown in FIG. 2(C). The wireless repeater includes antenna panels 501 to 504, which are connected to a donor circuit 521 or a service circuit 522 via switches 511 to 514, respectively. The donor circuit 521 has a function of controlling an antenna connected via a switch as a donor antenna and performing control to form a donor beam with a predetermined directional characteristic. The donor circuit 521 also amplifies a wireless signal input from a connected donor antenna by an amplifier 523, and then transfers the signal to a service circuit 522. The service circuit 522 has a function of controlling a connected antenna as a service antenna and performing control to form a service beam with a predetermined directional characteristic. The service circuit 522 supplies the amplified signal input from the donor circuit 521 via the amplifier 523 to an antenna connected via a switch, and transmits the signal using the formed service beam. In the wireless repeater, for example, all of the switches 511 to 514 are initially connected to the donor circuit 521. The donor circuit 521 sets (for example, in a time-division manner) each of the beam patterns available as donor beams for each of the antenna panels 501 to 504, and measures the wireless quality (for example, RSRP, SINR, etc.) of a measurement signal (for example, SSB) transmitted from other surrounding devices. The donor circuit 521 holds the measurement result of the wireless quality in each beam in a format as shown in FIG. 3. For example, when the wireless quality in a specific beam formed by the antenna panel 502 is the best, the donor circuit 521 sets the antenna panel 502 as a donor antenna and connects the antenna panels 501, 503, and 504 to the service circuit 522. The donor circuit 521 also notifies the service circuit 522 of the beam ID of the donor beam in the antenna panel 502, for example. Based on the beam ID of the notified donor beam, the service circuit 522 identifies the beam to be set in each of the antenna panels 501, 503, and 504 based on information such as that shown in FIG.Then, service circuit 522 sets the beams identified for antenna panel 501, antenna panel 503, and antenna panel 504 in each of the antenna panels. In this manner, a donor beam is set in antenna panel 502, and service beams that do not cause strong interference with the donor beam are set in the other antenna panels, enabling subsequent relay transmission to be performed.

[0027] Fig. 6 shows an example of the internal configuration of the wireless repeater as shown in Fig. 2(D). The wireless repeater includes an antenna group including antenna panels 601 to 604 that can be used as donor antennas, and an antenna group including antenna panels 605 to 608 that can be used as service antennas. The antenna panels 601 to 604 can be connected only to a donor circuit 621 via switches 611 to 614, respectively. The antenna panels 605 to 608 can be connected only to a service circuit 622 via switches 615 to 618, respectively. Note that the wireless repeater is configured such that, for example, all of the switches 611 to 614 are initially turned on, and all of the antenna panels 601 to 604 are connected to the donor circuit 621. Then, the donor circuit 621 sets (for example, in a time-division manner) each of the beam patterns that can be used as donor beams for each of the antenna panels 601 to 604, and measures the wireless quality (for example, RSRP, SINR, etc.) of a measurement signal (for example, SSB) transmitted from other surrounding devices. Then, the donor circuit 621 holds the measurement result of the wireless quality for each beam in a format as shown in FIG. 3. Then, for example, when the wireless quality of a predetermined beam formed by the antenna panel 602 is the best, the donor circuit 621 sets the antenna panel 602 as the donor antenna. Then, the switches 611, 613, and 614 are opened to prevent the antenna panels 601, 603, and 604 from being used. On the other hand, the donor circuit 621 can provide a predetermined notification to the service circuit 621 so that, for example, antenna panel 605, antenna panel 607, and antenna panel 608, which are installed in the same direction as antenna panel 601, antenna panel 603, and antenna panel 604, are connected to the service circuit 621. Then, the donor circuit 621 amplifies the radio signal input from the connected donor antenna by an amplifier 623, and then transfers it to the service circuit 622. In addition, the donor circuit 621 notifies the service circuit 622 of the beam ID of the donor beam in antenna panel 602, for example.4, the service circuit 622 specifies the beam to be set in each of antenna panel 605, antenna panel 607, and antenna panel 608 based on the beam ID of the notified donor beam. Then, the service circuit 622 sets the beam specified for each of antenna panel 605, antenna panel 607, and antenna panel 608 in each antenna panel. In this way, a donor beam is set in antenna panel 602, and a service beam that does not cause strong interference with the donor beam is set in antenna panel 605, antenna panel 607, and antenna panel 608, making it possible to perform subsequent relay transmission.

[0028] 6, during relay transmission using the antenna panel 602, the switches 611, 613, and 614 may be turned on to continuously measure the wireless quality (e.g., RSRP or SINR) of a measurement signal (e.g., SSB) sent from other surrounding devices. In one example, the donor circuit 621 may turn on at least one of the switches 611, 613, and 614 at a predetermined timing when a measurement signal is sent from other surrounding devices, and turn off these switches at a different timing. The donor circuit 621 may measure signals from other surrounding devices at a predetermined cycle, and in that case, the switches 611, 613, and 614 may be turned on only during a period corresponding to the predetermined cycle, and turn off these switches during a different period. In order to perform such measurements, for example, a processing system may be provided separately for processing signals received at each antenna panel.

[0029] In the above example, all antennas are operable as both donor antennas and service antennas, and all antennas are operable as only one of donor antennas and service antennas. However, this is not limiting. For example, some antennas may be operable as both donor antennas and service antennas, and other antennas may be operable as only one of donor antennas and service antennas. In other words, a wireless repeater that combines the configurations of Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 may be used.

[0030] In the above example, a case where each antenna can form multiple beams has been described, but each antenna does not have to be able to form multiple beams. In this case, only the donor antenna and the service antenna are selected. Note that the operation of the wireless repeater in this case is the same as that in the above example when the number of configurable beams is only one.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing executed by a wireless repeater. This processing can be realized, for example, by having one or more processors (computers) included in the wireless repeater execute a predetermined program or computer-readable instructions. The program or computer-readable instructions can be stored in a storage medium such as a memory in the wireless repeater. The program or computer-readable instructions may also be input to the wireless repeater via an external tangible memory or a communication line. Each process described below is an example, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, some of the processing steps shown below may be omitted or replaced with other processing steps, or the order of the processing may be changed.

[0032] For example, when the wireless repeater is turned on or during a specific period such as a specific nighttime time period, the wireless repeater measures the wireless quality (e.g., RSRP or SINR) of a measurement signal (e.g., SSB) sent from other surrounding devices (base station devices or other wireless repeaters) (S701). The wireless repeater measures the wireless quality using each of its own multiple antennas, and if multiple beams can be set for each antenna, using each of the multiple beams. The wireless repeater then stores the measurement results of the wireless quality corresponding to each antenna beam obtained in S701 in, for example, a memory within the repeater (S702).

[0033] Based on the measurement results stored in the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater determines, for example, an antenna beam that can provide the best wireless quality as the donor antenna / donor beam (S703). Note that selecting the antenna beam with the best wireless quality is merely an example, and the donor antenna / donor beam may be selected based on other criteria. For example, a beam with the smallest difference in wireless quality between a predetermined number of adjacent beams may be determined as the donor beam. Also, a beam with the best average wireless quality between a predetermined number of adjacent beams may be determined as the donor beam. Also, an antenna with the best average wireless quality of multiple configurable beams may be selected as the donor antenna, and a donor beam may be selected from the multiple beams.

[0034] Then, the wireless repeater determines the service antenna and the service beam based on the donor antenna and the donor beam determined in S703 (S704). For example, when each antenna of the wireless repeater can operate as both a donor antenna and a service antenna, the wireless repeater operates at least some of the antennas except the donor antenna as service antennas. In one example, a predetermined number of antennas centered on the donor antenna may not be used as donor antennas or service antennas. Also, all antennas except the donor antenna may be used as service antennas. Also, the service beam may be determined so that the level of radio interference to the donor beam is below a predetermined level.

[0035] When the wireless repeater determines the donor antenna / donor beam and the service antenna / service beam, it starts relay transmission using those antennas and beams (S705). In the relay transmission, a wireless signal received using the donor antenna / donor beam is amplified by an amplifier and output from the service antenna / service beam.

[0036] While performing relay transmission, the wireless repeater continues to monitor the wireless quality of the signal received at the donor antenna / donor beam (S706). Then, when the wireless quality falls below a predetermined level (YES in S706), the wireless repeater performs reselection of the donor antenna / donor beam (S703), for example, based on the information held in S702. The wireless repeater determines the new donor antenna / donor beam, for example, after excluding the donor antenna / donor beam currently in use, as described above with respect to S703. Then, the wireless repeater determines the service antenna / service beam based on the new donor antenna / donor beam (S704) and resumes relay transmission (S705).

[0037] The wireless repeater may restart the process from S701 during a predetermined period, such as a specific nighttime period. For example, the wireless repeater may stop relay transmission at the start of the predetermined period, and may measure signals from other devices in the vicinity for each of a number of available antenna beams without outputting a signal. This updates the information held, making it possible to avoid the selection of an inappropriate antenna beam based on old information. For example, when a configuration such as that shown in FIG. 2(D) is used, the measurement (S701) and the update of the held information (S702) may be performed during relay transmission.

[0038] In the above example, the wireless repeater selects and uses one donor antenna / donor beam, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a combination of multiple donor antenna / donor beams may be selected. For example, the direct wave and the reflected wave of a wireless signal transmitted by another wireless repeater may reach the wireless repeater from different directions. In this case, the wireless repeater may use a combination of a first donor antenna / donor beam corresponding to the direction of the direct wave and a second donor antenna / donor beam corresponding to the direction of the reflected wave. In this case, the wireless repeater may determine, for example, a combination of antenna beams that can obtain a predetermined wireless quality as a combination of donor antenna / donor beams based on the measurement results held in S703. Then, in S704, for example, when each antenna of the wireless repeater can operate as both a donor antenna and a service antenna, operate at least a part of antennas other than the antennas included in the combination of donor antenna / donor beam as service antennas. In addition, the wireless repeater may determine the service beam so that the level of radio interference to the antenna beam included in the donor antenna / donor beam combination is below a predetermined level. In one example, the wireless repeater may store, as a table, information on antenna beams that can be used as the service antenna / service beam when each antenna beam is used as the donor antenna / donor beam, and may select, as the service antenna / service beam, an antenna beam that can be used in all of the multiple antenna beams included in the donor antenna / donor beam combination.

[0039] When storing the measurement results of the wireless quality corresponding to each antenna beam measured in S701 in the memory of the wireless repeater, the wireless repeater may, for example, hold a combination of antenna beams that, when combined, will result in a wireless quality of a wireless signal from a specific other device at or above a predetermined level. At this time, the wireless repeater may, for example, take into consideration, for each combination of antenna beams, the number of antennas that can be used as a service beam and the angular range of the beams when the combination is used as a donor antenna / donor beam. For example, the wireless repeater may not hold information on a specific combination of antenna beams so that the combination is not used when the number of antennas that can be used as a service beam is below a predetermined number when the combination is used as a donor antenna / donor beam. Also, the wireless repeater may not hold information on a specific combination of antenna beams so that the combination is not used when the angular range of the service beam is below a predetermined size when the combination is used as a donor antenna / donor beam.

[0040] A combination of multiple antenna beams may be selected only when, for example, when selecting a donor antenna / donor beam in S703, wireless quality exceeding a predetermined level cannot be obtained with one antenna beam. The wireless repeater may select a combination of antenna beams that does not include a specific antenna beam when reselecting a specific antenna beam as a result of a decrease in wireless quality while using the specific antenna beam as a donor antenna / donor beam. The wireless repeater may also select another antenna beam that can achieve a wireless quality of a predetermined level or higher by combining with the specific antenna beam as an additional donor antenna / donor beam, based on the result of measuring the wireless quality while using the specific antenna beam, when reselecting a specific antenna beam as a result of a decrease in wireless quality while using the specific antenna beam as a donor antenna / donor beam. As described above, the wireless repeater is able to receive wireless signals from the relay source with sufficient wireless quality by enabling the wireless repeater to use multiple antenna beams corresponding to each of multiple arrival paths of a wireless signal from a relay source device as donor antenna / donor beams. This improves the stability of relay transmission.

[0041] As described above, the wireless repeater according to this embodiment can set a donor beam in a flexible direction and set a service beam accordingly so as not to cause unnecessary interference, by the above-mentioned configuration and operation. This enables flexible route changes in a mesh network using wireless repeaters, and when communication in a specific wireless section becomes impossible, an alternative relay route can be easily set. This makes it possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization, and promote innovation."

[0042] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A wireless repeater, A plurality of antennas arranged in different directions; a control means for controlling the use of one or more first antennas among the plurality of antennas as donor antennas for receiving signals from a base station device or other wireless repeaters, and the use of a second antenna, which is at least a part of an antenna different from the first antenna, among the plurality of antennas as a service antenna for outputting the amplified signals; an amplifier that amplifies a signal received via the first antenna and outputs the amplified signal to the second antenna; and A wireless repeater, characterized in that the width of the donor beam formed by the first antenna is narrower than the width of the service beam formed by the second antenna.

2. 2. The wireless repeater of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of antennas can operate as either the donor antenna or the service antenna, and each of the plurality of antennas is configured to be connected to a donor circuit when operating as the donor antenna, and to be connected to a service circuit when operating as the service antenna.

3. The wireless repeater described in claim 2, characterized in that the control means measures the radio quality of the signal using each of the plurality of antennas as the donor antenna, determines the first antenna to be used for communication based on the radio quality, and determines at least some of the antennas of the plurality of antennas that were not selected as the donor antenna as the first antenna to operate as the service antenna.

4. The wireless repeater described in claim 3, characterized in that when the wireless quality of the signal from the base station device or another wireless repeater falls below a predetermined level during communication using the first antenna, the control means changes the antenna to be used as the donor antenna from the first antenna to another antenna among the plurality of antennas based on the results of the measurement, and designates some of the antennas among the plurality of antennas that are different from the other antenna as the service antenna.

5. The wireless repeater described in claim 3, characterized in that the control means measures the wireless quality using beams that can be set at each of the multiple antennas, determines the first antenna to be used for communication and the donor beam to be set at the first antenna based on the wireless quality, sets at least a portion of the multiple antennas that are different from the first antenna as the second antenna, and determines the service beam to be set at each of the second antennas based on the donor beam.

6. a storage means for storing a table specifying the service beam to be set when each of the configurable beams in each of the plurality of antennas is used as the donor beam; 6. The wireless repeater according to claim 5, wherein the control means determines the service beam to be set in each of the second antennas based on the table and the donor beam.

7. The wireless repeater described in claim 5, characterized in that when the wireless quality of the signal from the base station device or another wireless repeater falls below a predetermined level during communication using the determined donor beam, the control means changes the donor beam to another beam among the beams that can be set at each of the multiple antennas based on the results of the measurement, sets at least some of the antennas among the multiple antennas that are different from the antenna to which the other beam is set as the service antenna, and determines the service beam for the service antenna based on the other beam.

8. the plurality of antennas includes a first group of antennas operable as the donor antennas and a second group of antennas operable as the service antennas; The wireless repeater of claim 1, characterized in that the control means selects one or more of the first antennas from the first antenna group, and selects at least a portion of the second antenna group as the second antennas based on the selected first antennas.

9. The wireless repeater described in claim 8, characterized in that the control means measures the wireless quality of the signal using each of the antennas included in the first antenna group as the donor antenna, determines the first antenna to be used for communication based on the wireless quality, and determines the second antenna to be used for communication from among the antennas included in the second antenna group based on the first antenna used as the donor antenna.

10. The wireless repeater described in claim 9, characterized in that when the wireless quality of the signal from the base station device or another wireless repeater falls below a predetermined level during communication using the first antenna, the control means changes the antenna to be used as the donor antenna from the first antenna to another antenna in the first antenna group based on the results of the measurement, and determines the antenna to be used as the service antenna from the second antenna group based on the other antenna.

11. The wireless repeater described in claim 9, characterized in that the control means measures the wireless quality using beams that can be set at each of the antennas included in the first antenna group, determines the first antenna to be used for communication and the donor beam to be set at the first antenna based on the wireless quality, and designates at least some of the antennas included in the second antenna group as the second antenna based on the first antenna and the donor beam, and determines the service beam to be set at each of the second antennas.

12. a storage means for storing a table specifying the service beam to be set in each of the antennas included in the second antenna group when each of the beams that can be set in each of the antennas included in the first antenna group is used as the donor beam; 12. The wireless repeater according to claim 11, wherein the control means determines the second antenna and the service beam to be set in each of the second antennas based on the table and the donor beam.

13. The wireless repeater described in claim 8, characterized in that the control means measures the wireless quality of the signal using another antenna other than the first antenna included in the first antenna group while communication is being performed using the first antenna.

14. The wireless repeater described in claim 11, characterized in that when the wireless quality of the signal from the base station device or another wireless repeater falls below a predetermined level during communication using the determined donor beam, the control means changes the donor beam to another beam among the beams that can be set at each of the antennas included in the first antenna group based on the results of the measurement, and based on the other beam and the antenna to which the other beam is set, designates at least some of the antennas included in the second antenna group as the service antenna, and determines the service beam at the service antenna.

15. A control method executed in a wireless repeater having a plurality of antennas arranged in different directions, the method comprising: performing control so that one or more first antennas among the plurality of antennas are used as donor antennas for receiving signals from a base station device or other wireless repeaters, and a second antenna, which is at least a part of an antenna different from the first antenna among the plurality of antennas, is used as a service antenna for outputting the amplified signals; amplifying a signal received via the first antenna and outputting the amplified signal to the second antenna; Including, The control method according to claim 1, wherein the width of the donor beam formed by the first antenna is narrower than the width of the service beam formed by the second antenna.

16. A computer is provided in a wireless repeater having a plurality of antennas each facing in a different direction, a program for controlling a radio communication system to use one or more first antennas among the plurality of antennas as a donor antenna for receiving signals from a base station device or another wireless repeater, and to use a second antenna among the plurality of antennas, which is at least a part of an antenna different from the first antenna, as a service antenna for outputting the amplified signals, A signal received via the first antenna is amplified and output to the second antenna, a width of the donor beam formed by the first antenna is narrower than a width of the service beam formed by the second antenna; A program characterized by:

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