Wireless communication system, communication processing method, wireless communication device, wireless communication program, information processing device, and information processing program

Abstract

To provide a wireless communication system capable of accurately recognizing the amount of interference with another wireless communication system.SOLUTION: A wireless communication system includes an information processing device that processes information related to interference between a wireless communication device of the present invention and a wireless communication device of another system that belongs to another wireless communication system. When the wireless communication device of the present invention receives radio waves transmitted from the wireless communication device of the other system, the wireless communication device of the present invention acquires, and provides to the information processing device, an amount of subjected interference from the wireless communication device of the other system and interference attributes between the own wireless communication device and the wireless communication device of the other system. Furthermore, the information processing device of the present invention estimates an amount of interference impaired from the wireless communication device of the present invention to the wireless communication device of the other system on the basis of the amount of the subjected interference and the interference attributes provided from the wireless communication device of the present invention.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a communication processing method, a wireless communication device, a wireless communication program, an information processing device, and an information processing program, and can be applied to wireless communication of a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle moving on a road, for example. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there exists a technology described in Patent Document 1 as a wireless communication system in which multiple wireless communication networks are arranged, each of which includes a wireless communication device mounted on a vehicle moving on a road (hereinafter referred to as a "vehicle-side wireless communication device") and a wireless communication device arranged as infrastructure on the road side (hereinafter referred to as a "roadside infrastructure device").

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes suppressing radio interference between two different wireless communication systems even when there are two different wireless communication systems that communicate using the same or adjacent frequency bands.

[0004] Specifically, Patent Document 1 describes suppressing radio wave interference between two wireless communication systems when a first wireless communication device belonging to a first wireless communication system and a second wireless communication device belonging to a second wireless communication system are in the same or adjacent area. In Patent Document 1, since the two wireless communication systems use the same or adjacent frequency bands for wireless communication, it is assumed that radio waves emitted by a wireless communication device of one wireless communication system may interfere with a wireless communication device of the other wireless communication system. Therefore, in the wireless communication system described in Patent Document 1, in order to share the two wireless communication systems, it is desirable to prevent interference between the two wireless communication systems (a situation does not occur in which interference from one wireless communication system makes it impossible to satisfy a predetermined communication quality in the wireless communication of the other wireless communication system). For example, in the wireless communication system described in Patent Document 1, when a new wireless communication system is introduced while the existing wireless communication system is in operation, it is required to operate the new wireless communication system so as not to cause interference with the existing wireless communication system. Here, an example of a process of determining whether or not an existing wireless communication device belonging to the wireless communication system causes radio wave interference with the communication of a new wireless communication device belonging to the new wireless communication system in the wireless communication system described in Patent Document 1 occurs in the wireless communication system. In this case, the existing wireless communication device acquires the propagation loss of the radio waves between the new wireless communication device and the new wireless communication device based on the strength when receiving the radio waves emitted from the new wireless communication device, and acquires the degree (hereinafter referred to as the "amount of interference") of the radio waves from the new wireless communication device based on the acquired propagation loss, etc. The existing wireless communication device also acquires attributes of the amount of interference from the new wireless communication device (for example, information on the positional relationship with the new wireless communication device, etc.). Then, based on the amount of interference and the attributes of the amount of interference, the existing wireless communication device determines whether the degree (hereinafter referred to as the "amount of interference") of interference to the new wireless communication device (new wireless communication system) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and if it is determined that the degree is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, performs communication control processing (communication control processing for the device itself) so as to prevent the interference from occurring. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-119778 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, since the strength of radio waves emitted from each wireless communication system varies over time due to changes in surrounding structures, etc., smoothing by long-term measurement at the same transmitting and receiving positions is required to estimate accurate propagation loss. In other words, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to estimate accurate propagation loss by receiving radio waves for a short period of time. Since radio waves are affected by reflections by surrounding structures, etc., propagation loss is not uniquely determined by distance alone. Therefore, when trying to realize the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to estimate accurate propagation loss based only on distance, so there are cases where it is not possible to accurately estimate the amount of interference / interference between wireless communication systems. In other words, in the conventional technology, as described above, when a new wireless communication system is introduced while an existing wireless communication system is in operation, it is difficult to sufficiently suppress interference from the new wireless communication system to the existing wireless communication system.

[0007] In view of the above problems, there is a demand for a wireless communication system, a communication processing method, a wireless communication device, a wireless communication program, an information processing device, and an information processing program that are capable of accurately recognizing the amount of interference with other wireless communication systems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first invention of the present invention is a wireless communication system comprising a wireless communication device of the own system belonging to the wireless communication system, and an information processing device for processing information relating to interference between a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system and the wireless communication device of the own system, wherein the wireless communication device of the own system has an interference amount acquisition means for acquiring an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the own device due to wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system when receiving radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device of the other system, an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the own device and the wireless communication device of the other system, and an interference status providing means for providing the interference amount and the interference attribute to the information processing device, and the information processing device has an interference amount estimation means for performing an interference amount estimation process for estimating an interference amount indicating the degree of interference caused by the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system based on the interference amount and the interference attribute supplied from the wireless communication device of the own system.

[0009] The second invention is a communication processing method performed by a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system includes a wireless communication device of the wireless communication system belonging to the wireless communication system, and an information processing device that processes information related to interference between a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system and the wireless communication device of the own system, the wireless communication device of the own system having an interference amount acquisition means, an interference attribute acquisition means, and an interference status providing means, the information processing device having an interference amount estimation means, the interference amount acquisition means, when receiving radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device of the other system, acquiring an interference amount indicating a degree of interference suffered by the wireless communication device of the own system due to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system, the interference attribute acquisition means acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, the interference status providing means providing the interference amount and the interference attribute to the information processing device, and the interference amount estimation means performing an interference amount estimation process that estimates an interference amount indicating a degree of interference caused to the wireless communication device of the other system by the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system based on the interference amount and the interference attribute supplied from the wireless communication device of the own system.

[0010] The third invention is characterized in that in a wireless communication device belonging to a wireless communication system, when receiving radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system, the wireless communication device has an interference amount acquisition means for acquiring an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the device itself due to wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system, an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the device itself and the wireless communication device of the other system, and an interference status providing means for providing the interference amount and the interference attribute to an external information processing device that processes information regarding interference between the wireless communication device of the other system and the device itself.

[0011] A fourth wireless communication program of the present invention is characterized in that it causes a computer mounted on a wireless communication device belonging to a wireless communication system to function as an interference amount acquisition means for acquiring an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the device itself due to wireless communication of a wireless communication device of the other system when the computer receives radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to the other wireless communication system, an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the device itself and the wireless communication device of the other system, and an interference status providing means for providing the interference amount and the interference attribute to an external information processing device that processes information regarding interference between the wireless communication device of the other system and the device itself.

[0012] The fifth invention is characterized in that, in an information processing device belonging to a wireless communication system, the information processing device has an interference amount estimation means for performing an interference amount estimation process, which, when a wireless communication device of the own system belonging to the wireless communication system receives radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system, acquires from the wireless communication device of the own system an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the wireless communication device of the own system due to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system and an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, and estimates an interference amount indicating the degree of interference caused by the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system based on the acquired interference amount and interference attribute.

[0013] A sixth information processing program of the present invention is characterized in that a computer mounted on an information processing device belonging to a wireless communication system is made to function as an interference amount estimation means that performs an interference amount estimation process to acquire, when a wireless communication device of the own system belonging to the wireless communication system receives radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system, an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the wireless communication device of the own system due to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system and an interference attribute indicating an attribute of the interference in the wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, based on the acquired interference amount and interference attribute. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wireless communication system capable of accurately recognizing the amount of interference with other wireless communication systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing functional configurations of a wireless communication device and an interference management device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 1) showing a specific example of an estimated value of an amount of interference by an interference amount estimating means according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 2) showing a specific example of an estimated value of the amount of interference by the interference amount estimation means according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram (part 3) showing a specific example of an estimated value of the amount of interference by the interference amount estimation means according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram (part 4) showing a specific example of an estimated value of the amount of interference by the interference amount estimation means according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7]4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless communication device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the interference management device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing functional configurations of a wireless communication device and an interference management device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless communication device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the interference management device according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] (A) First embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a wireless communication system, a communication processing method, a wireless communication device, a wireless communication program, an information processing device, and an information processing program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] (A-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a wireless communication system 100 as a wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and another wireless communication system 200 as another wireless communication system located in the same area as the wireless communication system 100 or in the surrounding area (a location where interference of radio waves due to wireless communication may occur).

[0019] In addition, in FIG. 1, the reference characters in parentheses are used only in the second embodiment described later.

[0020] The own wireless communication system 100 includes a roadside infrastructure 130, which is an infrastructure facility arranged on a road, wireless communication devices 110 (110-0, 110-1, 110-2, ...) arranged in each of the vehicles 120 (120-1, 120-2, ...) traveling on the road, and an interference management device 140 that manages radio wave interference (hereinafter simply referred to as "interference") with communication of another wireless communication system 200 by wireless communication of each wireless communication device 110. In this embodiment, the interference management device 140 is a device to which the information processing device (information processing program) of the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the wireless communication device 110-0 is arranged in the roadside infrastructure 130, and the vehicles 120-1, 120-2, ... are respectively equipped with wireless communication devices 110-1, 110-2, .... In the self wireless communication system 100, wireless communication between the roadside infrastructure 130 (wireless communication device 110-0) and each vehicle 120 (wireless communication devices 110-1, 110-2, ...) (hereinafter referred to as "road-to-vehicle communication"), or wireless communication between each vehicle 120 (wireless communication devices 110-1, 110-2, ...) in any combination (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle-to-vehicle communication") is possible. Note that each wireless communication device 110 may be configured to be capable of serial communication by multi-hop wireless communication or the like. Note that, in the self wireless communication system 100 of this embodiment, an environment in which road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication coexist will be described, but it may be configured as an environment in which only road-to-vehicle communication or only vehicle-to-vehicle communication exists. Note that each wireless communication device 110 needs to be able to communicate with the interference management device 140 via some communication path. Note that when only vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed, the wireless communication device 110-0 of the roadside infrastructure 130 is excluded.

[0021] The other wireless communication system 200 includes a wireless communication device 210-0 mounted on a roadside infrastructure 230, and wireless communication devices 210 (210-1, 210-2, ...) mounted on each vehicle 220 (220-1, 220-2, ...). In this embodiment, the other wireless communication system 200 also performs road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication in any combination, similar to the own wireless communication system 100. Note that the other wireless communication system 200 may also be configured to perform only one of road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

[0022] The interference management device 140 communicates with each wireless communication device 110 to exchange information related to interference with other wireless communication systems 200. There are no limitations on the location or place where the interference management device 140 is placed. For example, the interference management device 140 may be placed in a management center that manages the system, or may be placed on the cloud (on the Internet).

[0023] Further, the communication means / path between the interference management device 140 and each wireless communication device 110 is not limited, and various configurations can be applied. For example, each wireless communication device 110 may have a means for connecting to a mobile communication network (for example, a mobile phone network of a communication carrier) and may be connected to the interference management device 140 via the mobile communication network. Furthermore, when multi-hop wireless communication is possible within the own wireless communication system 100, each vehicle 120 (wireless communication devices 110-1, 110-2, ...) may communicate with the interference management device 140 via the roadside infrastructure 130 (wireless communication device 110-0). In this case, the interference management device 140 needs to be able to communicate with the roadside infrastructure 130 (wireless communication device 110-0) by various communication means (for example, various wired / wireless networks, etc.). A plurality of interference management devices 140 may be arranged in the own wireless communication system 100. When a plurality of interference management devices 140 are arranged in the own wireless communication system 100, the interference management devices 140 may be configured to be divided and managed for each predetermined area. In the following description, it is assumed that there is one interference management device 140 in the wireless communication system 100 itself, but even if there are a plurality of interference management devices, the same concept as in the case of one interference management device can be applied.

[0024] Next, the relationship between the own wireless communication system 100 and the other wireless communication system 200 will be described.

[0025] Here, it is assumed that the own wireless communication system 100 and the other wireless communication system 200 use the same or adjacent frequency bands. Therefore, radio waves emitted by a wireless communication device of one system may cause interference to a wireless communication device of the other system. Therefore, in order to share both systems, it is desirable to prevent interference between them (a situation does not arise in which interference from one system makes it impossible to satisfy a predetermined communication quality in wireless communication of the other system). For example, when the own wireless communication system 100 is newly introduced in a situation in which the other wireless communication system 200 is already in operation, it is required that the own wireless communication system 100 is operated so as not to cause interference with the other wireless communication system 200, which is an existing wireless system.

[0026] Next, the internal configuration of the wireless communication device 110 and the interference management device 140 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the wireless communication device 110 and the interference management device 140. As shown in FIG.

[0028] The wireless communication device 110 has an interference level acquisition means 111, an interference state providing means 112, an interference attribute acquisition means 113, an interference level acquisition means 114, an interference determination means 115, and a wireless communication unit 116 for wirelessly communicating with other wireless communication devices 110. The wireless communication unit 116 has an antenna 116a and a demodulation circuit 116b. The interference management device 140 has an interference state acquisition means 141, an interference level estimation means 143, and an interference level providing means 142.

[0029] The wireless communication device 110 may be a device including, as hardware, a computer including a memory and a processor, and a wireless communication unit 116. In this case, the wireless communication device 110 may be configured by installing a program (including the wireless communication program according to the embodiment) in the hardware including the above-mentioned computer or the like.

[0030] Furthermore, the interference management device 140 may be configured using a computer having a memory and a processor as hardware. In this case, the interference management device 140 may be configured by installing a program (including the information processing program according to the embodiment) in the hardware having the above-mentioned computer.

[0031] Each of the wireless communication devices 210 constituting the other wireless communication system 200 can be, for example, a conventional wireless communication device (for example, a conventional wireless communication device that performs inter-vehicle and / or road-to-vehicle communication), and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0032] The interference amount acquiring means 111 acquires the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 by checking the state in which the radio wave transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is received by the wireless communication unit 116, and provides the amount of interference to the interference status providing means 112. An example of the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is a value equivalent to the reception power (reception strength) of the radio wave transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 in the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 (for example, a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) that quantifies the reception power). The interference amount acquiring means 111 may acquire the reception power using, for example, a demodulation circuit 116b that demodulates the wireless signal received by the wireless communication unit 116.

[0033] In addition, in the wireless communication device 110, by using the demodulation circuit 116b to demodulate and analyze the radio wave signal received from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, it is possible to match the band of the radio waves emitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 with the receiving band, and to distinguish the radio waves emitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from other noise. In this case, in the wireless communication device 110, it is possible to obtain a more accurate value for the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, and to eliminate erroneous detection caused by other noise.

[0034] The interference attribute acquisition means 113 acquires an attribute of the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (hereinafter referred to as "interference attribute") and provides it to the interference status providing means 112. An example of the interference attribute is the position (hereinafter referred to as "reception position") of the own device (the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100). Information on the interference attribute can be acquired by a positioning system such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). For example, when the vehicle 120 is equipped with a positioning means using GNSS or the like, the interference attribute acquisition means 113 may hold the interference attribute such as the reception position by acquiring position information from the positioning system. Note that the wireless communication device 110 itself may be equipped with a positioning means.

[0035] As another example of the interference attribute, the position of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 that transmitted the radio wave (hereinafter referred to as the "transmission position") may be added in addition to the reception position. For example, assume a case where the wireless communication devices 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 notify each other of their positions by wireless communication. In this case, if the interference attribute acquisition means 113 can demodulate and read the wireless signal received from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 using the wireless communication unit 116 (demodulation circuit 116b), it is possible to acquire the transmission position of the wireless communication device 210 that received the wireless signal.

[0036] As another example of the interference attribute, the height of the antenna 116a of the own device (the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100) (for example, the height from the road surface on which the vehicle 120 runs; hereinafter, referred to as "receiving antenna height") may be added in addition to the receiving position. The receiving antenna height is the antenna height of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 or information corresponding to the antenna height. In general, when a wireless communication device is mounted on a vehicle, it is considered that the antenna is mounted on the roof of the vehicle to improve visibility, so information corresponding to the antenna height includes information that can be converted to the receiving antenna height, such as the vehicle height (antenna height corresponding to the vehicle height) or the vehicle model (antenna height corresponding to the vehicle model). The interference amount acquisition means 111 may set information on the receiving antenna height in advance (for example, store it in a memory in advance). For example, when the vehicle 120 is mounted with a system that is assumed to notify other vehicles 120 of vehicle attributes (including information corresponding to the receiving antenna height) by wireless communication, the information corresponding to the receiving antenna height may be acquired from the system. As described above, the interference attribute acquiring means 113 is not limited to a means for acquiring the receiving antenna height as part of the interference attribute.

[0037] Furthermore, as another example of the interference attribute, an antenna height equivalent value of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 that transmitted the radio wave (hereinafter referred to as "transmitting antenna height"; the height of the antenna height corresponding to the transmitting position) may be added. The transmitting antenna height is the antenna height of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 or information equivalent to the antenna height. In the case where the wireless communication device is mounted on a vehicle in the other wireless communication system 200, the antenna may be mounted on the roof of the vehicle to improve visibility, so that the information equivalent to the antenna height may be the vehicle height or the vehicle type. For example, the interference attribute acquisition means 113 may acquire the transmitting antenna height or information equivalent to the transmitting antenna height from the wireless communication device 210 that received the wireless signal by processing similar to that for the transmitting position. For example, in the case where the vehicle 220 is also equipped with a system that is assumed to notify the other vehicle 120 of the vehicle attribute (including the antenna height or information equivalent to the antenna height) by wireless communication, similar to the vehicle 120, the information equivalent to the transmitting antenna height can be acquired from the system. As described above, the means by which the interference attribute acquisition means 113 acquires the transmitting antenna height as part of the interference attribute is not limited.

[0038] The interference status providing means 112 provides the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 acquired from the interference amount acquiring means 111 and the interference attribute acquired from the interference attribute acquiring means 113 to the interference management device 140 (interference status acquiring means 141).

[0039] The interference status acquisition means 141 of the interference management device 140 provides the interference level and interference attribute acquired from the interference status providing means 112 to the interference level estimation means 143. As described in the above system configuration, the communication means and communication path for providing information from the wireless communication device to the interference management device 140 are not limited. For example, the interference management device 140 may include a means (for example, a general-purpose data communication modem) for connecting to a wireless communication network of a mobile phone in order to communicate with each wireless communication device 110.

[0040] The interference amount estimation means 143 acquires an estimate of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 based on the amount of interference and interference attributes from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 previously acquired from a large number of wireless communication devices 110 of the own wireless communication system 100, and provides the estimate to the interference amount providing means 142.

[0041] Here, the following relational expression (1) holds for interference from the other wireless communication system 200 (wireless communication device 210) to the wireless communication system 100 (wireless communication device 110). Also, the following relational expression (2) holds for interference from the other wireless communication system 100 (wireless communication device 110) to the other wireless communication system 200 (wireless communication device 210). Note that the units of each term in equations (1) and (2) are decibels.

[0042] In equation (1), the received power at the wireless communication device 110 of the radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "R0", the transmission power of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "P1", the transmitting antenna gain of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "A1", the loss due to the transmitting feeder line etc. of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "F1", the receiving antenna gain of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 is "T0", and the loss due to the receiving feeder line etc. of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 is "F0". In addition, in the formula (2), the received power of the radio wave transmitted by the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 at the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "R1", the transmission power of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 is "P0", the transmission antenna gain of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 is "A0", the loss due to the transmission feeder of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 is "F0", the reception antenna gain of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "T1", and the loss due to the reception feeder of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "F1". Furthermore, in the formulas (1) and (2), the propagation loss of the wireless signal between the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 and the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is "L". Since only the direction of transmission and reception is different between the same wireless communication devices, L is the same in the formulas (1) and (2). R0 = P1 + A1 - F1 - L + T0 - F0 … (1) R1 = P0 + A0 - F0 - L + T1 - F1 … (2)

[0043] Here, the wireless communication device 110 (interference amount acquisition means 111) provides R0 to the interference management device 140 (interference amount estimation means 143) as the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200. Also, here, the interference management device 140 (interference amount estimation means 143) is capable of acquiring values ​​of P1, A1, F1, T0, and F0 from information transmitted by known or related wireless communication devices. Then, the interference management device 140 (interference amount estimation means 143) can calculate L from formula (1). Furthermore, when values ​​of P0, A0, F0, T1, and F1 can be acquired from information transmitted by known or related wireless communication devices, the interference management device 140 (interference amount estimation means 143) can estimate R1 as the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from formula (2).

[0044] In the above, for the sake of simplicity, the transmission frequency of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 (hereinafter referred to as "own frequency") and the transmission frequency of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (hereinafter referred to as "other frequency") are the same. However, when the two frequencies are different, the following applies. When the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 receives the radio wave transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 at the other frequency, the formula (1) can be applied without modification, and when receiving at the own frequency, the formula (1) can be applied by replacing P1 from "transmission power of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200" with "leakage power into the band of the own frequency by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200". The formula (2) can be applied by replacing P0 from "transmission power of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100" with "leakage power into the band of the other frequency by the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100". When the radio wave transmitted by the radio communication device 210 of the other radio communication system 200 is received by the radio communication device 110 of the own radio communication system 100 at the other frequency, L is the same in formula (1) and formula (2), and when it is received at an own frequency different from the other frequency, the band of the own frequency and the band of the other frequency are adjacent, and when the difference between the two frequencies is small, it can be considered to be the same in formula (1) and formula (2) (the difference between L in formula (1) and L in formula (2) is small and can be ignored). On the other hand, when the difference between the two frequencies is large and the difference between L in formula (1) and L in formula (2) cannot be ignored, L is proportional to the square of the frequency, so it is possible to calculate L (antilogarithm) in formula (2) by dividing L (antilogarithm) in formula (1) by the square of the own frequency and multiplying it by the square of the other frequency. As described above, even when the own frequency and the other frequency are different, the interference management device 140 (interference amount estimation means 143) can estimate R1 as the amount of interference to the radio communication device 210 of the other radio communication system 200.

[0045] The interference amount estimation means 143 has previously acquired the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from many wireless communication devices 110 of the own wireless communication system 100. When the position (transmission position) of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 and the position (reception position) of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 are the same, L is expected to be the same. Therefore, by smoothing many values ​​of L when the transmission position and the reception position are the same to obtain an estimated value, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy of L, which was a problem in the conventional technology. As a result, the interference amount estimation means 143 can also more accurately estimate R1, which is the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200. Details of the calculation method of the estimated value of the interference amount will be described later.

[0046] The interference amount providing means 142 provides the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 acquired from the interference amount estimating means 143 to the interference amount acquiring means 114. The interference amount acquiring means 114 provides the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 acquired from the interference amount providing means 142 to the interference determining means 115. As described in the above system configuration, the communication means for providing information from the interference management device 140 to the wireless communication device 110 is not particularly limited, but when a wireless communication network of a mobile phone (mobile communication network) is used, the interference amount providing means 142 and the interference amount acquiring means 114 can be realized by communication means such as a general-purpose data communication modem.

[0047] The interference determination means 115 determines whether interference occurs to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 based on the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 acquired from the interference amount acquisition means 114. When it is determined that the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is greater than a predetermined upper limit value (hereinafter referred to as "allowable interference amount") and interference occurs, the interference determination means 115 adjusts wireless parameters (each parameter used for communication of the wireless communication unit 116) of the own device (wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100) so that interference does not occur to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (so that the amount of interference is equal to or less than the allowable interference amount). An example of the allowable interference amount (threshold value) to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is the upper limit value of the reception power allowed to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (hereinafter referred to as "allowable reception power"). The allowable amount of interference to other wireless systems must be known or the value must be obtainable from information transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200. Examples of methods for adjusting the wireless parameters of the own device (wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100) include adjustments (adjustment of wireless parameters) such as lowering transmission power, stopping emission of radio waves, and switching to another wireless channel. This allows the interference determination means 115 to control the wireless parameters so that the amount of interference (received power) in the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is less than the allowable amount of interference.

[0048] The method of calculating the estimated value of the amount of interference in the interference amount estimation means 143 will be described in detail with reference to Figs.

[0049] 3 to 6 are diagrams showing specific examples of how the interference amount estimation means 143 obtains an estimated value of the interference amount.

[0050] The interference amount estimation means 143 acquires the interference amount and interference attribute from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 as an interference state from the wireless communication device 110 (interference state providing means 112) of the own wireless communication system 100 via the interference state acquisition means 141, and stores it. When the interference amount estimation means 143 stores information on the interference state (interference amount and interference attribute), one example is a method of holding it as a structure. As an example of the configuration of the interference attribute (a field (member) of the interference attribute among the structures constituting the interference state), as described above in the interference attribute acquisition means 113, a configuration including information on the receiving position, the transmitting position, the receiving antenna height, and the transmitting antenna height can be given. In FIG. 4, an example of a structure indicating the interference state is illustrated as data D1.

[0051] The interference amount estimation means 143 may additionally acquire an interference attribute different from the interference attribute acquired from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100. An example of the interference attribute is the density of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 around the receiving position (hereinafter referred to as "terminal density around the receiving position"). One example of the method of storing the terminal density around the receiving position in memory as a column vector (hereinafter referred to as "terminal density vector around the receiving position") having the same number of elements as the number of areas (hereinafter referred to as "regional meshes") obtained by dividing the range in which the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 may exist into meshes of a predetermined size.

[0052] The interference amount estimation means 143 acquires the terminal density around the receiving position in the regional mesh including the receiving position from the receiving position included in the stored interference state (for example, reads out the element of the row number corresponding to the regional mesh including the receiving position in the terminal density vector around the receiving position described above). In addition, in order to calculate the terminal density around the receiving position, the interference amount estimation means 143 counts the number of terminals (the number of wireless communication devices 110) within a predetermined observation time for each regional mesh including the receiving position. For example, the interference amount estimation means 143 increases (increments) the number of terminals in the regional mesh including the receiving position by 1 every time it stores the interference state acquired from the wireless communication device 110 of its own wireless communication system 100 within a predetermined observation time. In order to prevent an error from occurring in the terminal density around the receiving position, when the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 transmits periodically, the above-mentioned predetermined time is preferably an integer multiple of the transmission period.

[0053] Here, each regional mesh is assigned a number (identifier; hereafter referred to as "regional mesh number") of 0, 1, 2, ..., N2-1. Also, here, each time series within a given observation time is assigned a number (identifier; hereafter referred to as "time series number") of 0, 1, 2, ..., M2-1. Note that the smaller the time series number, the earlier the time series it represents.

[0054] In Fig. 3, data D2 is shown as an example of a matrix for calculating the terminal density around a receiving terminal. In the matrix of data D2, the regional mesh numbers corresponding to the receiving positions are assigned as row numbers, and the time series numbers within a given observation time are assigned as column numbers. In the matrix of data D2, a count value of the number of terminals is set in each cell (for each combination of regional mesh number and time series number).

[0055] The interference amount estimation means 143 may perform smoothing by accumulating the terminal density around the receiving position within a specified observation time. When a simple moving average is adopted as a smoothing method, an example is a method of storing in memory as a matrix in which the row direction is the regional mesh including the receiving position and the column direction is a time series. In this case, the number of rows is the number of regional meshes, the number of columns is the number of accumulated terminal densities around the receiving position within a specified observation time (time for performing the moving average), and it is assumed that the column direction is implemented as a ring buffer. Other applicable smoothing methods include weighted moving average, exponential moving average, percentile (moving median in the case of the 50th percentile), and other methods using smoothing filters.

[0056] 3 and 4, data D4 is illustrated as a vector (a vector indicating the terminal density around the receiving position) smoothed for each regional mesh number for the matrix of data D2. In the vector of data D4, a smoothed count value is set for each regional mesh number corresponding to the receiving position.

[0057] Another example of the interference attribute is the density of the wireless communication devices 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 around the transmission position (hereinafter referred to as "terminal density around the transmission position") when the interference attribute includes the transmission position. The calculation method and realization means of the terminal density around the transmission position are similar to those of the terminal density around the reception position, so details are omitted.

[0058] In FIG. 3, data D3 is illustrated as an example of a matrix for calculating the terminal density around a transmitting terminal. In the matrix of data D3, regional mesh numbers corresponding to the transmission positions are assigned as row numbers, and time series numbers within a specified observation time are assigned as column numbers. In the matrix of data D3, a count value of the number of terminals is set for each cell (each combination of regional mesh number and time series number). In addition, in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, data D5 is illustrated as a vector (vector indicating the terminal density around the transmission position) smoothed for each regional mesh number for the matrix of data D3. In the vector of data D5, a smoothed count value is set for each regional mesh number corresponding to the transmission position.

[0059] The interference amount estimation means 143 calculates the propagation loss by the above-mentioned method from the interference amount from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 included in the interference state. As described above, the transmission position and the reception position are the same (in the above, for the sake of simplicity, it is stated that the transmission position and the reception position are the same, but more precisely, among the interference attribute (interference attribute acquired from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100) included in the interference state including the interference amount from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 corresponding to the calculated propagation loss and the interference attribute additionally acquired by the interference amount estimation means 143 (interference attribute different from the above-mentioned "interference attribute acquired from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100"), a combination of at least one interference attribute (hereinafter referred to as "tally key") is similar), by smoothing a large number of propagation loss values ​​to obtain an estimated value, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy of the propagation loss, which was a problem in the conventional technology. For this reason, it is necessary to accumulate and smooth the propagation loss for each group having a similar interference attribute by dividing a large number of propagation loss values ​​into groups by similar tally keys. Therefore, the interference amount estimation means 143 generates a counting key, groups the calculated path losses, and smooths the path losses to obtain an estimate.

[0060] Next, the interference amount estimation means 143 estimates the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from the estimated values ​​of propagation loss belonging to the group determined by the aggregation key using the method described above, and provides the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 to the wireless communication device (interference amount acquisition means 114) via the interference amount providing means 142.

[0061] When the tally key includes the receiving position and the transmitting position, it is possible to group the propagation loss for each receiving position and transmitting position, and thus the estimation accuracy after smoothing is improved. When the tally key includes the receiving position but not the transmitting position, the estimation accuracy after smoothing is inferior to when the tally key includes the receiving position and the transmitting position, but the inclusion of the receiving position improves the estimation accuracy compared to when smoothing is performed without grouping. When the tally key includes the receiving antenna height in addition to the receiving position, there is a correlation between the antenna height and the propagation loss (the higher the antenna height, the better the visibility and the less the influence of obstructions, and therefore the propagation loss tends to be smaller), so the estimation accuracy after smoothing is improved compared to when the tally key does not include the receiving antenna height. When the tally key includes the transmitting antenna height in addition to the transmitting position, the estimation accuracy after smoothing is also improved for the same reason. When the tally key includes the terminal density around the receiving position in addition to the receiving position, there is a correlation between the terminal density around the receiving position and the propagation loss (the greater the terminal density around the receiving position, the denser the terminals (wireless communication devices 110 of the own wireless communication system 100) are, the more susceptible to obstruction by objects carrying terminals (for example, large vehicles if the terminal is mounted on a vehicle), and the greater the propagation loss), so the estimation accuracy after smoothing is improved compared to when the tally key does not include the terminal density around the receiving position. For the same reason, when the tally key includes the terminal density around the transmitting position in addition to the transmitting position, the estimation accuracy after smoothing is also improved.

[0062] When generating and saving the tally key, it is stored in memory as a structure, and the interference attributes included in the tally key (receiving position or transmitting position or receiving antenna height or transmitting antenna height or terminal density around the receiving position or terminal density around the transmitting position) are each quantized with a predetermined resolution. If the tally key includes the receiving position and transmitting position and the receiving antenna height and transmitting antenna height and the terminal density around the receiving position and the terminal density around the transmitting position, and there are N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, and N6 possible quantized values, then N=N1×N2×N3×N4×N5×N6, where N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, and N6 are all integers equal to or greater than 1.

[0063] In this embodiment, the receiving position i1 is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N1-1, the transmitting position i2 is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N2-1, the receiving antenna height i3 is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N3-1, the transmitting antenna height i4 is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N4-1, the terminal density i5 around the receiving position is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N5-1, and the terminal density i6 around the transmitting position is any integer (quantized value) between 0 and N6-1. As described above, the receiving position i1 and the transmitting position i2 correspond to the above regional mesh numbers. In addition, the values ​​(quantized values) of the receiving antenna height i3 and the transmitting antenna height i4 are set to have corresponding ranges of dimensions. For example, for the receiving antenna height i3 and the transmitting antenna height i4, less than 50 cm may be set to "0", between 50 cm and 100 cm to "1", between 100 cm and 150 cm to "2", ... Furthermore, for each value (quantum value) of the terminal density i5 around the receiving position and the terminal density i6 around the transmitting position, a corresponding range of density is set.

[0064] In Fig. 4, data D6 is illustrated as an example of a structure indicating a tally key. The tally key structure shown in Fig. 4 includes six items as interference attributes: receiving position, transmitting position, receiving antenna height, transmitting antenna height, terminal density at the receiving position, and terminal density at the transmitting position.

[0065] One example of a method for holding (storing in memory, etc.) the estimated value of propagation loss as a column vector (hereinafter referred to as "estimated value vector of propagation loss") having the same number of elements as the number of possible combinations of values ​​of the tally key. In Fig. 6, an example of the estimated value vector of propagation loss is shown as data D9. In data D9, the estimated value of propagation loss corresponding to each tally number (0 to N-1) is set.

[0066] The interference amount estimation means 143 obtains the estimated value of the propagation loss corresponding to the value of the tally key (N combinations of the tally key) from the stored estimated values ​​of the propagation loss. Here, in the above-mentioned propagation loss estimated value vector, the element of the row number (hereinafter referred to as "tally number") corresponding to the value of the tally key is read out. The correspondence between the value of the tally key and the tally number needs to be determined in advance, and one example is a method of storing a correspondence table between the value of the tally key and the tally number in memory). In the following, it is assumed that 0 to N-1 are assigned as the tally number for each combination of the tally keys.

[0067] In Fig. 5, data D7 is shown as an example of a correspondence table between the values ​​of the tally keys and tally numbers. In Fig. 5, a tally number is assigned to each combination of six items that make up the tally key.

[0068] In addition, when calculating the estimated value of the propagation loss, the interference amount estimation means 143 performs smoothing by accumulating the propagation loss within a predetermined observation time. When a simple moving average is adopted as a smoothing method, an example is a method of storing in memory as a matrix with the row direction being the tally number and the column direction being the time series. In this case, the number of rows is the number of combinations of tally keys, the number of columns is the number of accumulated propagation losses within the predetermined observation time (time for performing the moving average), and it is assumed that the column direction is implemented as a ring buffer. As a smoothing method, other methods such as weighted moving average, exponential moving average, percentile (moving median in the case of the 50th percentile), and other methods using smoothing filters can be applied. In addition, when calculating the amount of interference (received power) in formula (2), the propagation gain (the inverse of the propagation loss) is multiplied, so if some average is used as a smoothing method, it is necessary to calculate the average of the inverse of the propagation loss.

[0069] However, since radio waves have the property of being reflected and diffracted by surrounding objects (buildings, mountains, etc.), the propagation loss is easily affected by the surrounding environment (the shape of the surrounding objects). Therefore, the interference amount estimation means 143 calculates the propagation loss from the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, and divides the groups by similar aggregation keys. As a result, the interference amount estimation means 143 accumulates the propagation loss for each group with similar interference attributes, and when smoothing, if the shape of the surrounding objects changes over time, the value of the propagation loss before and after the change differs, so when smoothing is performed including both the values ​​before and after the change, the greater the change over time in the shape of the surrounding objects, the greater the error immediately after the change. Therefore, the weight of the propagation loss accumulated at a predetermined time (hereinafter referred to as "new weight") may be made larger than the weight of the propagation loss accumulated before the predetermined time (hereinafter referred to as "old weight"), and the difference between the new weight and the old weight may be made larger as the amount of change over time of the shape of the feature around the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 or the amount of change over time of the shape of the feature around the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 increases. As an example of a method for grasping the amount of change in the shape of the surrounding feature, 3D map data may be acquired at predetermined time intervals, and the similarity (correlation coefficient of altitude) between the latest 3D map data and the previously acquired 3D map data may be calculated. As described above, when calculating the amount of interference (received power) in equation (2), the propagation gain (the reciprocal of the propagation loss) is multiplied, so the weight needs to be multiplied by the reciprocal of the propagation loss.

[0070] In FIG. 6, data D8 is illustrated as an example of a matrix for calculating an estimated value of a propagation loss. In the matrix of data D8, tally numbers are assigned as row numbers, and time series numbers within a given observation time are assigned as column numbers. In the matrix of data D8, the accumulated propagation loss value is set in each cell (for each combination of tally number and time series number). Also, in FIG. 6, data D9 is illustrated as a vector (vector indicating an estimated value of a propagation loss) obtained by smoothing the matrix of data D8 for each tally number. In the vector of data D9, the propagation loss smoothed for each tally number from the matrix of data D8 is set.

[0071] As described above, the interference amount estimation means 143 estimates the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from the estimated value of the propagation loss belonging to the group determined by the aggregation key, and provides the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 to the wireless communication device (interference amount acquisition means 114) via the interference amount providing means 142. At this time, the interference amount estimation means 143 accumulates the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 obtained for each group determined by the aggregation key, and can utilize it as data required for designing the own wireless communication system 100 (determining the installation location of the roadside infrastructure 130 of the own wireless communication system 100 that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, and the coverage (communicable area) of the own wireless communication system 100 that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, etc.).

[0072] Here, it is assumed that data D1 of the interference attribute structure has contents as shown in Fig. 4. The interference attribute structure (data D1) shown in Fig. 4 is [receiving position = 8, transmitting position = 76, receiving antenna height = 15, transmitting antenna height = 21, interference level = 103].

[0073] Here, it is assumed that the smoothed data D4 of the terminal density around the receiving position and the smoothed data D5 of the terminal density around the transmitting position have contents as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, respectively. Furthermore, it is assumed that the data D9 indicating the vector of the smoothed estimated value of the transmission loss has contents as shown in Fig. 6.

[0074] Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the interference amount estimation means 143 first applies the receiving position value (8) of the data D1 of the interference attribute structure to the data D4 of the terminal density around the receiving position to obtain "92" as the terminal density around the receiving position, and then applies the transmitting position value (76) of the data D1 of the interference attribute structure to the data D5 of the terminal density around the transmitting position to obtain "23" as the terminal density around the transmitting position.

[0075] Next, the interference amount estimation means 143 generates data D6 of a tally key structure as shown in FIG. 4 based on the data D1 of the interference attribute structure and the acquired terminal density (92) around the receiving position and terminal density (23) around the transmitting position. The interference amount estimation means 143 sets the values ​​of the data D1 of the interference attribute structure for the receiving position, transmitting position, receiving antenna height, and transmitting antenna height of the tally key structure data D6. In addition, the interference amount estimation means 143 sets the values ​​acquired from the data D4 and D5 as the terminal density around the receiving position and the terminal density around the transmitting position of the tally key structure data D6. As a result, the contents of the data D6 of the tally key structure acquired by the interference amount estimation means 143 are [receiving position=8, transmitting position=76, receiving antenna height=15, transmitting antenna height=21, terminal density around the receiving position=92, terminal density around the transmitting position=23] as shown in FIG. 4.

[0076] Next, the interference amount estimation means 143 applies the acquired data D6 of the tally key structure to the correspondence table D7 between the tally key value and the tally number shown in Fig. 5 to acquire the corresponding tally number. Here, since the contents of the data D6 of the tally key structure are those shown in Fig. 4, the corresponding tally number is 17619853, as shown in Fig. 5.

[0077] Next, as shown in Fig. 6, the interference amount estimation means 143 applies the acquired tally number (17619853) to data D9 indicating a vector of the estimated value of the propagation loss, and acquires an estimated value (112) of the propagation loss. Then, as shown in Fig. 6, the interference amount estimation means 143 calculates R1 using the acquired estimated value (112) of the propagation loss as L in the above formula (2), thereby acquiring "78" as an estimated value of the interference amount.

[0078] (A-2) Operation of the First Embodiment Next, an operation of the own wireless communication system 100 according to the first embodiment (a communication processing method according to the embodiment) will be described.

[0079] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless communication device 110 constituting the wireless communication system 100 itself.

[0080] First, it is assumed that the wireless communication device 110 of the wireless communication system 100 starts processing and receives a radio wave transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (S101).

[0081] Next, the wireless communication device 110 acquires the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (S102), and further acquires the attribute of the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (the interference attribute described above) (S103).

[0082] Next, the wireless communication device 110 provides the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 and the attribute of the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (the above-mentioned interference attribute) to the interference management device 140 (S104).

[0083] Next, the wireless communication device 110 acquires an estimate of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from the interference management device 140, and determines whether interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 will occur (S105).

[0084] If it is determined in step S105 that interference with the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 will occur (the amount of interference is greater than a predetermined value), the wireless communication device 110 adjusts the wireless parameters of its own device (the wireless communication device 110 of its own wireless communication system 100) so as not to cause interference with the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (S106), and returns to the above-mentioned step S101 and operates (waits until it again receives radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200).

[0085] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 that no interference occurs with the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (the amount of interference is equal to or less than a predetermined value), the operation returns to the above-mentioned step S101.

[0086] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the interference management device 140 constituting the own wireless communication system 100. As shown in FIG.

[0087] First, the interference management device 140 starts processing and acquires the “amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200” and the “attributes of the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (the above-mentioned interference attributes)” from the wireless communication device 110 of its own wireless communication system 100 (S201).

[0088] Next, the interference management device 140 estimates the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 (S202), provides the estimated value of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 to the wireless communication device 110 of its own wireless communication system 100 (S203), and returns to the above-mentioned step S201 (waits again until information is obtained from the wireless communication device 110 of its own wireless communication system 100).

[0089] (A-3) Effects of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0090] The interference management device 140 of the first embodiment can smooth a large number of propagation losses by acquiring the amount of interference from the wireless communication devices 210 of the other wireless communication systems 200 from a large number of wireless communication devices 110 of the own wireless communication system 100, thereby improving the estimation accuracy of the propagation losses and enabling accurate estimation of the amount of interference to the wireless communication devices 210 of the other wireless communication systems 200. As a result, in the first embodiment, when the own wireless communication system 100 is newly introduced in a situation where the other wireless communication system 200 is already in operation, an effect is achieved that the own wireless communication system 100 can be operated so as not to cause interference with the other wireless communication system 200, which is an existing wireless system.

[0091] In the first embodiment, the interference management device 140 can gather and grasp locations where no interference occurs with the other wireless communication system 200. Therefore, for example, in an area where the own wireless communication system 100 has already been introduced, it becomes possible to appropriately review the design of the own wireless communication system 100 (determination of the installation location of the roadside infrastructure 130 of the own wireless communication system 100 that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, and the coverage area (communicable area) of the own wireless communication system 100 that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, etc.). In this case, an effect is achieved that the own wireless communication system 100 can be appropriately designed even in an area where the own wireless communication system 100 is scheduled to be introduced in the future.

[0092] Furthermore, in the own wireless communication system 100 of the first embodiment, the propagation loss is smoothed for each of the transmitting and receiving antenna heights and the terminal density around the transmitting and receiving vehicles in addition to the transmitting and receiving positions, thereby further improving the estimation accuracy of the propagation loss and enabling more accurate estimation of the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200. Therefore, in the first embodiment, when the own wireless communication system 100 is newly introduced in a situation where the other wireless communication system 200 is already in operation, it is possible to more reliably operate the own wireless communication system 100 so as not to cause interference to the other wireless communication system 200, which is an existing wireless system.

[0093] Furthermore, in the own wireless communication system 100 of the first embodiment, since it is possible to more accurately grasp locations where no interference occurs with the other wireless communication system 200, it is possible to more appropriately review the design of the own wireless communication system 100 in areas where the own wireless communication system 100 has already been introduced. In this case, it is possible to more appropriately design the own wireless communication system 100 in areas where the own wireless communication system 100 is scheduled to be introduced in the future.

[0094] (B) Second embodiment Hereinafter, a wireless communication system, a communication processing method, a wireless communication device, a wireless communication program, an information processing device, and a second embodiment of an information processing program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0095] (B-1) Configuration of the second embodiment The overall configuration of the second embodiment can also be shown using the above-mentioned Fig. 1. Note that the reference characters in parentheses in Fig. 1 are used only in the second embodiment.

[0096] In FIG. 9, the own wireless communication system 100 is replaced with an own wireless communication system 100A.

[0097] The wireless communication system 100A differs from the first embodiment in that the wireless communication devices 110 (110-0, 110-1, 110-2, ...) and the interference management device 140 are replaced with wireless communication devices 110A (110A-0, 110A-1, 110A-2, ...) and the interference management device 140A.

[0098] The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0099] Next, the internal configuration of the radio communication device 110A and the interference management device 140A will be described with reference to FIG.

[0100] Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the wireless communication device 110A and the interference management device 140A. In Fig. 9, the same or corresponding parts as those in Fig. 2 above are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals.

[0101] As shown in Fig. 9, the wireless communication device 110A differs from the first embodiment in that it does not include the interference amount acquisition means 114 and the interference determination means 115. Also, as shown in Fig. 9, the interference management device 140A differs from the first embodiment in that it does not include the interference amount providing means 142. Other configurations in the second embodiment are similar to those in the first embodiment, so detailed description will be omitted.

[0102] (B-2) Operation of the Second Embodiment Next, an operation of the wireless communication system 100A according to the second embodiment (a communication processing method according to the embodiment) will be described.

[0103] Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the wireless communication device 110A constituting the wireless communication system 100A itself. In Fig. 10, the same steps as those in Fig. 7 above are given the same reference numerals (step numbers).

[0104] The processing in steps S101 to S104 shown in the flowchart in FIG. 10 is the same as the processing in the first embodiment (the same processing as the processing shown in FIG. 7 above), and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] The wireless communication device 110A starts processing, and upon receiving radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, performs processing of steps S101 to S104, and then returns to step S101 and repeats the processing (waiting until it again receives radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200).

[0106] That is, the wireless communication device 110A of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 7 above) in that the processes of steps S105 and S106 are omitted.

[0107] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the interference management device 140A constituting the own wireless communication system 100A. In Fig. 11, the same steps as those in Fig. 8 above are denoted by the same reference numerals (step numbers).

[0108] The processes in steps S201 and S202 shown in the flowchart in FIG. 11 are the same as those in the first embodiment (the same processes as those shown in FIG. 8 above), and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0109] The interference management device 140A performs the processes of steps S201 and S202 upon receiving information from the wireless communication device 110A, and then returns to step S201 to repeat the process of operating (waiting until information is again supplied from the wireless communication device 110A).

[0110] That is, the interference management device 140A of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment (the process shown in FIG. 8 above) in that the process of step S203 is omitted.

[0111] (B-3) Effects of the Second Embodiment According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0112] The interference management device 140A of the second embodiment can smooth a large number of propagation losses by acquiring the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 from a large number of wireless communication devices 110A of the own wireless communication system 100A. As a result, in the second embodiment, the estimation accuracy of the propagation loss is improved, and the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 can be accurately estimated. In addition, the interference management device 140A can gather and grasp the locations where no interference occurs with the other wireless communication system 200 in one location. Therefore, in the second embodiment, in an area where the own wireless communication system 100A has already been introduced, it is possible to appropriately review the design of the own wireless communication system 100A (determination of the installation location of the roadside infrastructure 130 of the own wireless communication system 100A that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, and the service range (communicable area) of the own wireless communication system 100A that does not interfere with the other wireless communication system 200, etc.). In this case, even in an area where the other wireless communication system 200 has already been introduced and where the wireless communication system 100A is scheduled to be introduced in the future, the wireless communication system 100A can be appropriately designed.

[0113] In the second embodiment, the propagation loss is smoothed for each of the transmitting and receiving antenna heights and the terminal density around the transmitting and receiving vehicles in addition to the transmitting and receiving positions, thereby further improving the estimation accuracy of the propagation loss, and the amount of interference to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 can be more accurately estimated. In addition, in the second embodiment, since it is possible to more accurately grasp the location where no interference occurs with the other wireless communication system 200, an effect is achieved that in an area where the own wireless communication system 100A has already been introduced, it is possible to more appropriately review the design of the own wireless communication system 100A. In this case, an effect is achieved that it is possible to more appropriately design the own wireless communication system 100A even in an area where the own wireless communication system 100A is scheduled to be introduced in the future, when the other wireless communication system 200 has already been introduced.

[0114] (C) Other embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may include modified embodiments such as those exemplified below.

[0115] (C-1) In the first embodiment, when the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 transmits a wireless signal intermittently by a packet communication method or the like, interference occurs from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 only when the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is transmitting (another wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 is receiving). Therefore, the higher the transmission time rate (channel usage rate) of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, the higher the possibility of interference from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 to the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200. Therefore, it is desirable to reflect a weight based on the channel usage rate of the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 around the transmission position (hereinafter referred to as "channel usage rate around the transmission position") in the estimated value of the amount of interference. The following two methods are given as a method of reflecting a weight based on the channel usage rate around the transmission position in the estimated value of the amount of interference.

[0116] [First method] For example, the interference amount estimation means 143 may calculate the propagation loss from the amount of interference from the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200, and accumulate the propagation loss for each group with similar interference attributes by dividing the groups by similar aggregation keys, and when smoothing, the weight of the propagation loss accumulated during the time when the channel utilization rate around the transmission position is high may be made larger than the weight of the propagation loss accumulated during the time when the channel utilization rate around the transmission position is low. As described above, when calculating the amount of interference (received power) in equation (2), the propagation gain (the reciprocal of the propagation loss) is multiplied, so the weight needs to be multiplied by the reciprocal of the propagation loss.

[0117] [Second Method] For example, the interference amount estimation means 143 may accumulate the propagation loss for each group with similar interference attributes, and when smoothing, weighting based on the channel utilization rate around the transmission position as described above may not be applied. Instead, when estimating the amount of interference, the higher the channel utilization rate around the current transmission position, the greater the weighting of the estimated value of the propagation loss (value obtained by accumulating the propagation loss for each group with similar interference attributes and smoothing). Specifically, formula (2) may be modified as shown in the following formula (3). Note that the unit of each term in formula (3) is decibels. In formula (3), W is a weight based on the channel utilization rate described above. R1 = P0 + A0 - F0 - L + W + T1 - F1 ... (3)

[0118] The weight W based on the channel utilization rate in equation (3) can be, for example, the following equation (4): Note that the unit of each term in equation (4) is decibels. W = (predetermined constant K) + (channel utilization rate around the transmission position) (4)

[0119] Furthermore, the weight W based on the channel utilization rate in equation (3) may be determined based on the result of comparing the channel utilization rate around the transmission position with a predetermined threshold (threshold X), for example. For example, when the channel utilization rate around the transmission position is equal to or greater than the threshold X, W=0 dB (antilogarithm 1), and when the channel utilization rate around the transmission position is less than the threshold X, W=-∞ dB (antilogarithm 0).

[0120] As mentioned above, when calculating the amount of interference (received power) in equation (2), the propagation gain (the inverse of the propagation loss) is multiplied. Therefore, as shown in equation (3) as an example, the weight W needs to be multiplied by the inverse of the propagation loss.

[0121] One example of the method is to store the channel usage rate around the transmission position in memory as a column vector (hereinafter, channel usage rate vector around the transmission position) having the same number of elements as the number of regional meshes. The interference amount estimation means 143 may acquire the channel usage rate around the transmission position in the regional mesh including the transmission position from the transmission position included in the stored interference state. For example, the interference amount estimation means 143 may read out an element of a row number corresponding to the regional mesh including the transmission position in the channel usage rate vector around the transmission position described above. In addition, in order to calculate the channel usage rate around the transmission position, the interference amount estimation means 143 may add the time (hereinafter, referred to as "transmission time") that the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 transmitted radio waves within a predetermined observation time for each regional mesh including the transmission position, and then divide the result by the predetermined observation time. For example, the interference amount estimation means 143 may add the transmission time in the regional mesh including the transmission position every time it stores the interference state acquired from the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 within a predetermined observation time. In this case, when the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 transmits periodically, it is desirable that the predetermined observation time be an integer multiple of the transmission period so as to prevent an error in the channel utilization rate around the transmission position.

[0122] For example, when there is no large difference in the sending time between the wireless communication devices 210, the interference amount estimation means 143 may store and apply a known sending time (average value of sending time or standard sending time) as a representative value for all the wireless communication devices 210. Also, for example, when the interference attribute acquisition means 113 of the wireless communication device 110 of the own wireless communication system 100 that receives radio waves emitted by the wireless communication device 210 of the other wireless communication system 200 provides the sending time to the interference management device 140 as one of the interference attributes, the interference amount estimation means 143 may hold this provided sending time. When the wireless communication device 110 (wireless communication unit 116) of the own wireless communication system 100 includes a demodulation circuit 116b that demodulates the wireless signal of the other wireless communication system 200, the wireless communication device 110 may acquire the sending time from the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) or data length included in the received data (packet; frame), or may acquire the sending time by measuring the reception time of the received data. The interference management device 140 may receive and hold the transmission times of the respective wireless communication devices 210 from the respective wireless communication devices 110.

[0123] In this case, the interference amount estimation means 143 may perform smoothing by accumulating the channel utilization rate around the transmitting position within a specified observation time. When a simple moving average is adopted as a smoothing method, an example is a method of storing in memory as a matrix in which the row direction represents the regional mesh including the receiving position and the column direction represents a time series. In this case, the number of rows is the number of regional meshes, the number of columns is the number of accumulated channel utilization rates around the transmitting position within a specified observation time (time for performing the moving average), and it is assumed that the column direction is implemented as a ring buffer. Other applicable smoothing methods include weighted moving average, exponential moving average, percentile (moving median in the case of the 50th percentile), and other methods using smoothing filters.

[0124] (C-2) In each of the above embodiments, examples have been described in which the wireless communication system (communication processing method), wireless communication device (wireless communication program), and information processing device (information processing program) of the present invention are applied to the wireless communication systems 100, 100A (wireless communication devices 110, 110A) that perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication / road-to-vehicle communication. However, the application is not limited to vehicle-to-vehicle communication / road-to-vehicle communication, and wireless communication networks for various purposes (e.g., various mobile communication networks, etc.) may also be applied. [Explanation of symbols]

[0125] 100, 100A... own wireless communication system, 110, 110A... wireless communication device, 111... interference level acquisition means, 112... interference status providing means, 113... interference attribute acquisition means, 114... interference level acquisition means, 115... interference determination means, 116... wireless communication unit, 116a... antenna, 116b... demodulation circuit, 120... vehicle, 130... roadside infrastructure, 140, 140A... interference management device, 141... interference status acquisition means, 142... interference level providing means, 143... interference level estimation means, 200... other wireless communication system, 210... wireless communication device, 220... vehicle, 230... roadside infrastructure

Claims

1. In a wireless communication system, an information processing device that processes information on interference between a wireless communication device of the wireless communication system, which belongs to the wireless communication system, and a wireless communication device of the wireless communication system of the other system, which belongs to another wireless communication system, and the wireless communication device of the wireless communication system of the other system; The wireless communication device of the local system includes: an interference level acquisition means for acquiring an interference level indicating a degree of interference experienced by the wireless communication device of the other system when the wireless communication device receives radio waves transmitted from the wireless communication device of the other system; an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the own device and the wireless communication device of the other system; an interference status providing means for providing the information processing device with the amount of interference and the interference attribute; The information processing device includes: The wireless communication device includes an interference amount estimation unit that performs an interference amount estimation process to estimate an interference amount indicating a degree of interference caused by wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system based on the interference amount and the interference attribute supplied from the wireless communication device of the own system.

1. A wireless communication system comprising:

2. The information processing device further includes an interference amount providing means for providing the amount of interference acquired by the interference amount estimation means through the interference amount estimation process to a wireless communication device of the own system, The wireless communication device of the local system further includes an interference determination means for determining whether or not a degree of interference between the wireless communication device of the local system and the wireless communication device of the other system is equal to or greater than a predetermined value based on the amount of interference acquired from the information processing device.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1 .

3. The wireless communication system described in claim 2, characterized in that the wireless communication device of the own system further has a communication control means for changing parameters of the wireless communication performed by the own device when the interference determination means determines that the degree of interference of the wireless communication of the own device with the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

4. A communication processing method performed by a wireless communication system, comprising: the wireless communication system includes an information processing device that processes information regarding interference between a wireless communication device of the wireless communication system itself, a wireless communication device of another system, and the wireless communication device of the wireless communication system itself, the information processing device processing information regarding interference between a wireless communication device of the wireless communication system itself and a wireless communication device of another system ... The wireless communication device of the local system includes an interference amount acquisition means, an interference attribute acquisition means, and an interference status providing means, The information processing device has an interference amount estimation means, the interference amount acquisition means, when receiving radio waves transmitted by the wireless communication device of the other system, acquires an interference amount indicating a degree of interference caused to the wireless communication device of the own system by wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system; the interference attribute acquisition means acquires an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, the interference state providing means provides the amount of interference and the interference attribute to the information processing device; The interference amount estimation means performs an interference amount estimation process for estimating an interference amount indicating a degree of interference caused by wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system, based on the amount of interference and the interference attribute supplied from the wireless communication device of the own system. A communication processing method comprising:

5. In a wireless communication device belonging to a wireless communication system, an interference level acquisition means for acquiring an interference level indicating a degree of interference experienced by the wireless communication device of the other system when the wireless communication device receives radio waves transmitted from the other system; an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the own device and the wireless communication device of the other system; an interference status providing means for providing the amount of interference and the interference attribute to an external information processing device that processes information regarding interference between the wireless communication device of the other system and the wireless communication device itself; A wireless communication device comprising:

6. A computer installed in a wireless communication device belonging to a wireless communication system, an interference level acquisition means for acquiring an interference level indicating a degree of interference experienced by the wireless communication device of the other system when the wireless communication device receives radio waves transmitted from the other system; an interference attribute acquisition means for acquiring an interference attribute indicating an attribute of interference in wireless communication between the own device and the wireless communication device of the other system; an interference status providing means for providing the amount of interference and the interference attribute to an external information processing device that processes information regarding interference between the wireless communication device of the other system and the wireless communication device itself; A wireless communication program characterized by causing the wireless communication program to function as described above.

7. In an information processing device belonging to a wireless communication system, the information processing device has an interference amount estimation means for performing an interference amount estimation process that, when a wireless communication device of the own system belonging to the wireless communication system receives radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system, acquires from the wireless communication device of the own system an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the wireless communication device of the own system due to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system and an interference attribute indicating an attribute of the interference in the wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, and estimates an interference amount indicating the degree of interference caused by the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system based on the acquired interference amount and the interference attribute.

8. An information processing program that causes a computer mounted on an information processing device belonging to a wireless communication system to function as an interference amount estimation means that performs an interference amount estimation process that, when a wireless communication device of a system belonging to the wireless communication system receives radio waves transmitted by a wireless communication device of another system belonging to another wireless communication system, acquires from the wireless communication device of the own system an interference amount indicating the degree of interference suffered by the wireless communication device of the own system due to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the other system and an interference attribute indicating an attribute of the interference in the wireless communication between the wireless communication device of the own system and the wireless communication device of the other system, and estimates an interference amount indicating the degree of interference caused by the wireless communication of the wireless communication device of the own system to the wireless communication device of the other system based on the acquired interference amount and interference attribute.

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