Control device and control method for suppressing network power consumption in a cellular communication system

Abstract

To reduce power consumption in a network environment where some of the equipment configurations for multiple wireless communication systems are shared. [Solution] A control device that operates as a base station device for a first generation cellular communication system and shares multiple antennas with other control devices that operate as base station devices for a second generation cellular communication system receives information from the other control devices indicating the status of communication performed by the other control devices, and determines whether or not to stop the operation of one or more of the multiple antennas based on the status of communication performed by the control device and the information. If the control device determines that it should stop the operation of one or more antennas, it controls the multiple antennas to stop the operation of one or more antennas and notifies the other control devices that the operation of one or more antennas has been stopped.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a power saving technology for a network in a cellular communication system.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication system is widely used, and in the future, it is expected that the sixth-generation (6G) cellular communication system will be standardized and widely deployed. It is assumed that the 5G wireless communication system and the 6G wireless communication system will coexist for a certain period from the start of the introduction of 6G. Non-Patent Document 1 describes a base station device that includes antennas and communication circuits with different configurations for 5G and 6G, respectively, in one housing and executes communication for each of 5G and 6G to cope with such an environment.

[0003] When the base station device has different antennas and communication circuits for executing communication of wireless communication systems of a plurality of different generations, it is assumed that the scale of the device becomes too large. On the other hand, the base station device can suppress the device scale by using a configuration in which a part of the device configuration is shared.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In recent years, in a cellular communication system, it has been required to suppress not only the power consumption of a terminal device but also the power consumption of a network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This invention provides a power-saving control technology for networks in environments where some of the device configurations for multiple wireless communication systems are shared.

[0007] A control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a control device that operates as a base station device for a first generation first cellular communication system and shares a plurality of antennas with another control device that operates as a base station device for a second generation second cellular communication system different from the first generation, and includes receiving means for receiving information from the other control device indicating the state of communication performed by the other control device; determination means for determining whether or not to stop the operation of one or more of the plurality of antennas based on the state of communication performed by the control device and the information; control means for controlling the plurality of antennas to stop the operation of one or more antennas when it is determined that the operation of one or more antennas should be stopped; and notification means for notifying the other control device of the cessation of the operation of one or more antennas when it is determined that the operation of one or more antennas should be stopped.

[0008] A control device according to another aspect of the present invention is a control device operating as a base station device of a second cellular communication system of a second generation different from the first generation, which shares a plurality of antennas with another control device operating as a base station device of a first generation first cellular communication system, and comprises: notification means for notifying the other control device of information indicating the status of communication performed by the control device; receiving means for receiving a notification from the other control device indicating the cessation of operation of one or more of the plurality of antennas; and communication means for performing communication using an antenna among the plurality of antennas that is not included in the one or more of the plurality of antennas. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, power consumption can be reduced in a network environment where some of the device configurations for multiple wireless communication systems are shared. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example configuration of a wireless communication system. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of a control device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the first control device. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the second control device. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example of the processing flow performed in a wireless communication system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any way. Furthermore, identical or similar configurations will be given the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0012] (System Configuration) Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. This wireless communication system includes a 5G DU / CU101 that functions as a base station device for a wireless communication system compliant with the 5th generation (5G) cellular communication standard, and a 6G DU / CU102 that functions as a base station device for a wireless communication system compliant with the 6th generation (6G) cellular communication standard. DU stands for Distributed Unit, and CU stands for Central Unit. A DU / CU is a control device that implements the functions of a base station device. That is, the 5G DU / CU101 is a first control device that performs control for 5G communication, and the 6G DU / CU102 is a second control device that performs control for 6G communication. The 5G DU / CU101 and the 6G DU / CU102 share a Radio Unit (RU103). In other words, the 5G DU / CU 101 communicates with the 5G terminal device 111 via the RU 103, and the 6G DU / CU 102 communicates with the 6G terminal device 112 via the RU 103. The 5G DU / CU 101 and the 6G DU / CU 102 may be housed in a single enclosure, or they may be implemented as separate devices located in different locations. The RU 103 includes at least multiple antennas and may include frequency converters, amplifiers, etc., as needed. By sharing antennas, etc. (RU) among control devices (DU / CU) of multiple generations of wireless communication systems in this way, the size of the devices can be reduced compared to providing separate antennas, etc. for each of those control devices. In Figure 1, one 5G DU / CU 101, one 6G DU / CU 102, and one RU 103 are shown, but of course, many of these devices exist. Also, the number of terminal devices is just an example, and there may be many more or even fewer terminal devices than shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, 5G and 6G are examples of different generations of cellular communication standards, and other generations of different cellular communication standards may also be used, such as 6G and 7th generation (7G), or 4G and 6G.

[0013] In recent years, cellular communication systems have required power saving not only for terminal devices but also for the network. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to stop using one or more antennas that are part of the multiple antennas (antenna ports) included in RU103. This allows all antennas to be used when the volume of communication or the number of terminal devices is large, while power supply to some antennas is stopped when the volume of communication or the number of terminal devices is small, thereby suppressing power consumption. In addition, RU103 may suppress power consumption by turning off the communication function while maintaining power supply to the antennas. In one example, RU103 may disconnect the connection between the antenna and the frequency converter and the amplifier. Furthermore, RU103 may use a specific antenna for transmitting a predetermined signal such as a reference signal but not for communicating user data. Also, RU103 may use a specific antenna for transmitting downlink signals but not for receiving uplink signals. Conversely, RU103 may use a specific antenna for receiving uplink signals but not for transmitting downlink signals.

[0014] Power saving control in RU103 is performed by an instruction signal sent to RU103 by either the 5G DU / CU101 or the 6G DU / CU102. Here, the 5G DU / CU101 or the 6G DU / CU102 can independently control RU103 based on, for example, the number of connected terminal devices or the total data rate. For example, the 6G DU / CU102 may perform control to turn off the power to some of the multiple antennas included in RU103 based on the fact that there are few connected 6G terminal devices 112. In this case, even if there are many connected 5G terminal devices 111 and it is necessary to use all of the multiple antennas, the RU103 may stop using some of the antennas due to the control by the 6G DU / CU102.

[0015] In this embodiment, in view of these circumstances, the control functions of RU103 are consolidated into a first control device, which is either a 5G DU / CU101 or a 6G DU / CU102. The second control device then notifies the first control device, which has the control functions of RU103, of information indicating the status of the communication performed by the second control device. Based on this information, the first control device can decide whether or not to stop using one or more of the multiple antennas provided on RU103.

[0016] Information indicating the communication status notified by the second control device includes, for example, the timing for the second control device to request that one or more antennas included in RU103 be stopped. The first control device may control the first control device to stop the operation of an antenna if the timing for the second control device to request that the antenna be stopped arrives while the antenna should be stopped in its own device. The second control device may also notify the first control device of the number of antennas to be requested to be used (or the number of antennas to be stopped) as information indicating the communication status. The first control device may, for example, control RU103 to use the antenna that is greater than the number of antennas to be used for communication in its own device and the number of antennas notified by the second control device, and to stop the use of the other antennas.

[0017] Furthermore, the information indicating the communication status notified from the second control device may be the number of terminal devices connected to the second control device. The first control device may determine the number of antennas to be used based on the number of terminal devices connected to itself and the number of terminal devices connected to the second control device, and may decide to use that number of antennas and stop the operation of the remaining antennas. The number of connected terminal devices and the number of antennas to be used may be associated, for example, based on past communication history. For example, a table may be prepared that records the relationship between the number of terminal devices connected to the first control device and the second control device in the past and the number of antennas used when communicating with those terminal devices. Then, when the first control device identifies the number of terminal devices connected to itself and the number of terminal devices connected to the second control device, it may refer to the table and identify the number of antennas to be used that are associated with those numbers. Alternatively, the first control device may input the number of terminal devices connected to itself and the number of terminal devices connected to the second control device into a predetermined function to identify the number of antennas to be used. The predetermined function may be identified, for example, based on artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML). For example, a trained model obtained through machine learning, using the number of terminal devices connected to the first control device and the second control device respectively as input, and the number of antennas used to provide communication to those terminal devices as training data, can be generated as a predetermined function.

[0018] Furthermore, the information indicating the communication status notified from the second control unit may include the radio quality of the terminal device connected to the second control unit. The first control unit may determine the number of antennas to be used based on the radio quality of the terminal device connected to itself and the radio quality of the terminal device connected to the second control unit, and decide to use that number of antennas and stop the operation of the remaining antennas. The information indicating radio quality may be, for example, a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI). However, it is not limited to this, and any information indicating quality (such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR), etc.) may be used as information indicating radio quality. The radio quality of the connected terminal device and the number of antennas to be used may be associated, for example, based on the history of past communications. For example, a table may be prepared that records the relationship between the radio quality of terminal devices connected to the first control unit and the second control unit, respectively, and the number of antennas used when communicating with those terminal devices in the past. The first control unit can then identify the wireless quality of terminal devices connected to itself and the wireless quality of terminal devices connected to the second control unit, refer to a table, and determine the number of antennas to be used associated with those wireless quality levels. Alternatively, the first control unit may input the wireless quality of terminal devices connected to itself and the wireless quality of terminal devices connected to the second control unit into a predetermined function to determine the number of antennas to be used. This predetermined function may be determined, for example, based on artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML). For example, a trained model obtained by machine learning, using the wireless quality of terminal devices connected to the first and second control units as input and the number of antennas used to provide communication to those terminal devices as training data, may be generated as the predetermined function. Alternatively, the first control unit may determine the number of antennas required for communication with terminal devices based on the wireless quality and number of terminal devices.

[0019] The first control device may determine to resume the operation of the antenna that has stopped operating based on the above-described information. For example, when the number of terminal devices connected to the first control device or the second control device increases, etc., it may be determined to resume the operation of the antenna.

[0020] Based on the above-described determination, the first control device controls RU103 to stop or resume the operation of the antenna. On the other hand, the first control device may notify the second control device of information regarding the antenna whose operation is to be stopped or resumed. As a result, the second control device can identify the number of antennas available in RU103 and can execute communication control according to the number of those antennas. Note that the first control device may notify the second control device of information indicating the number of antennas that are used or whose use is stopped. Also, the first control device may notify the second control device of information identifying the antenna among the antennas that RU103 has, whose operation is to be stopped (or used). That is, it may be notified which antenna is to be operated or stopped by being specified, or the number of antennas may be notified without specifying the antennas.

[0021] The first control device may transmit a message requesting the provision of information to the second control device and receive the above-described information as a response thereto. The first control device may transmit the request periodically and acquire the information periodically, or, for example, when the traffic volume handled by the first control device decreases or increases, it may be configured to transmit the above-described request message. Also, the second control device may notify the first control device of the above-described information periodically or when the traffic volume handled by the second control device decreases or increases without receiving a request.

[0022] Furthermore, the first control unit may instruct the second control unit to control the signal transmission power. For example, the first control unit may transmit information to the second control unit requesting a reduction in the signal transmission power. This reduces the geographical range over which the second control unit provides communication services and decreases the number of terminal devices connected to the second control unit. As a result, power saving can be achieved by reducing the number of antennas that the second control unit needs to use for communication and increasing the number of antennas that are deactivated. The first control unit may also transmit information to the second control unit requesting that it hand over connected terminal devices to other control units. By handing over connected terminal devices in response to this request, the second control unit can reduce the number of antennas required for communication and increase the number of antennas that are deactivated, thereby saving power. In one example, the first control unit may request the second control unit to hand over terminal devices with low wireless quality from among the terminal devices connected to the second control unit.

[0023] Next, an example configuration of the control device (DU / CU101 for 5G and DU / CU102 for 6G) according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 2. In one example, the control device is configured to include a processor 201, ROM 202, RAM 203, storage device 204, and communication circuit 205. The processor 201 is a computer configured to include one or more processing circuits, such as a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit) or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), and executes the overall processing of the device and the above-mentioned processing by reading and executing programs stored in the ROM 202 and storage device 204. The ROM 202 is a read-only memory that stores information such as programs and various parameters related to the processing executed by the control device. The RAM 203 functions as a workspace when the processor 201 executes programs and is a random-access memory that stores temporary information. The storage device 204 is configured to include, for example, a removable external storage device. The communication circuit 205 is configured to include, for example, a circuit for 5G / 6G wireless communication. Although Figure 2 shows one communication circuit 205, the control device may have multiple communication circuits. For example, the control device may have wireless communication circuits that support 5G / 6G or earlier or later generations of communication standards. The control device may have separate communication circuits 205 for each of the multiple usable frequency bands, or it may have a common communication circuit 205 for at least some of those frequency bands. Furthermore, the control device may have communication circuits 205 for wired communication with other control devices.

[0024] Figure 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of the first control device. The first control device includes, as its functions, an information receiving unit 301, a communication status identification unit 302, an antenna usage identification unit 303, an RU control unit 304, and a control information notification unit 305. Note that Figure 3 shows only the functions particularly relevant to this embodiment, and various other functions that the first control device may have are omitted from the illustration. For example, the first control device naturally has other functions that a DU / CU that controls 5G or 6G communication generally has. Also, the functional blocks in Figure 3 are shown schematically, and each functional block may be implemented as an integrated unit or further subdivided. Furthermore, each function in Figure 3 may be implemented, for example, by the processor 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or storage device 204, or by a processor located inside the communication circuit 205 executing predetermined software. Note that the details of the processing performed by each functional unit will not be explained in detail here, and only the general functions will be outlined.

[0025] The information receiving unit 301 receives information indicating the communication status from the second control device. The details of this information are as described above and will not be repeated here. The communication status identification unit 302 identifies the communication status in both the first and second control devices from the communication status of the first control device itself and the information receiving unit 301 indicating the communication status of the second control device. The antenna usage identification unit 303 determines the number of antennas to be used from among the multiple antennas included in the RU103, based on the communication status in both the first and second control devices identified by the communication status identification unit 302. The antenna usage identification unit 303 may also specify which of the multiple antennas to use. That is, the antenna usage identification unit 303 may specify the antennas to be used individually, or it may specify only the number of antennas to be used without specifying which antennas to use. The RU control unit 304 outputs a control signal to the RU103 to operate the number of antennas identified by the antenna usage identification unit 303 and stop the operation of the other antennas. Furthermore, if a specific antenna to be operated is specified by the antenna specification unit 303, the RU control unit 304 outputs a control signal to the RU103 to operate that specific antenna and stop the operation of other antennas. In addition, if an antenna to be stopped is specified by the antenna specification unit 303, the RU control unit 304 may output a control signal to the RU103 to stop the operation of the specified antenna and operate other antennas. The control information notification unit 305 notifies the second control device of information indicating how the RU103 was controlled. For example, the control information notification unit 305 notifies the second control device of information indicating the number of antennas to be used (operated) or stopped in the RU103, or information specifying the antennas to be used (operated) or stopped in the RU103. In addition, information regarding both the antennas to be used (operated) and the antennas to be stopped in the RU103 (information indicating the number of each antenna and information specifying the antennas) may be notified to the second control device.The control information notification unit 305 may further notify the second control device of information requesting that the second control device reduce the signal transmission power, or information requesting that terminal devices connected to the second control device be handed over to other control devices. The control information notification unit 305 may also notify the second control device of information requesting that the transmission power be increased, for example, when the suppression of transmission power in the second control device should be released.

[0026] Figure 4 shows an example of the functional configuration of the second control device. The second control device includes an information notification unit 401, a control information receiving unit 402, and a communication control unit 403 as its functions. Note that Figure 4 shows only the functions particularly relevant to this embodiment, and various other functions that the second control device may have are not shown. For example, the second control device naturally has other functions that a DU / CU that controls 5G or 6G communication generally has. Also, the functional blocks in Figure 4 are shown schematically, and each functional block may be implemented as an integrated unit or further subdivided. Furthermore, each function in Figure 4 may be implemented, for example, by the processor 201 executing a program stored in the ROM 202 or storage device 204, or by a processor located inside the communication circuit 205 executing predetermined software. Note that the details of the processing performed by each functional unit will not be explained in detail here, and only the general functions will be outlined.

[0027] The information notification unit 401 notifies the first control device of information indicating the communication status of the second control device itself. The control information receiving unit 402 receives from the first control device information indicating the number of antennas among the multiple antennas of RU103 that will be used or stopped, or information specifying a particular antenna to be used or stopped. In addition, the control information receiving unit 402 may, in some cases, receive from the first control device information requesting a reduction in the signal transmission power of the second control device, or information requesting a handover of a terminal device connected to the second control device to another control device. The communication control unit 403 controls communication with terminal devices connected to itself based on the information received by the control information receiving unit 402. For example, the communication control unit 403 uses an operating (not stopped) antenna to perform communication with the connected terminal device. In one example, if the communication control unit 403 is notified of an antenna to be stopped, it uses an antenna among the multiple antennas of RU103 that is not included in the notified antenna to perform communication with the terminal device. Furthermore, the communication control unit 403 may determine whether to accept a request to reduce or increase the transmission power when it receives information requesting that the transmission power be reduced or increased. If the communication control unit 403 accepts the request, it reduces or increases the transmission power of the signal according to the request. The communication control unit 403 may also determine whether to accept a request when it receives information requesting that the connected terminal device be handed over to another control device. If the communication control unit 403 accepts the request, it hands over the connected terminal device to the other control device. The communication control unit 403 may also be configured to always accept the above-mentioned requests when it receives them. In other words, it may not be necessary to determine whether to accept or not to accept the request.

[0028] (Process flow) Next, an example of the processing flow performed in a wireless communication system will be explained using Figure 5. In Figure 5, the explanation assumes that the first control device is a 6G DU / CU102 and the second control device is a 5G DU / CU101. However, this is just one example, and it is also possible that the 5G DU / CU101 is the first control device and the 6G DU / CU102 is the second control device. Furthermore, the details of each processing step have been described above, so they will not be repeated here.

[0029] First, the 6G DU / CU102 collects information indicating the communication status of the 5G DU / CU101 (S501). Then, based on the collected information, the 6G DU / CU102 determines whether to stop the operation of one or more of the multiple antennas of the RU103, and whether to restart the operation of any antennas that have stopped working (S502). At this time, the 6G DU / CU102 may also determine whether to request the 5G DU / CU101 to reduce the transmission power or to hand over the connected terminal device. Then, depending on the result of the determination, the 6G DU / CU102 sends a control instruction to the RU103 (S503) and notifies the 5G DU / CU101 of the result of the determination in S502 (S504).

[0030] In this embodiment, as described above, power consumption can be reduced by stopping the operation of the antenna in an environment where base station equipment (control devices, network nodes, DU / CUs) of multiple wireless communication systems share the RU103. Furthermore, since the stopping of operation can be shared among the base station equipment of multiple wireless communication systems, when control is performed by one base station equipment, other base station equipment can appropriately perform communication based on that control. Thus, it becomes possible to contribute to Goal 9 of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation."

[0031] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A control device that operates as a base station device for a first generation first cellular communication system and shares multiple antennas with another control device that operates as a base station device for a second generation second cellular communication system different from the first generation, Receiving means for receiving information indicating the status of communication performed by the other control device, A determination means for determining whether or not to stop the operation of one or more of the plurality of antennas based on the communication status performed by the control device and the information, Control means for controlling the plurality of antennas to stop the operation of one or more antennas when it is determined that the operation of one or more antennas should be stopped, When it is determined that the operation of one or more of the aforementioned antennas should be stopped, a notification means for notifying the other control devices of the cessation of the operation of the said one or more antennas, A control device characterized by having the following features.

2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising a means for requesting the provision of the information to the other control device.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the receiving means periodically receives the information from the other control device.

4. The state of communication performed by the control device is represented by whether or not the operation of one or more antennas should be stopped, and the information includes information indicating the timing at which the other control device requests the operation of one or more antennas to be stopped. The determination means determines that the control device should stop the operation of one or more antennas if the timing occurs during the period in which the operation of one or more antennas should be stopped. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The state of communication performed by the control device is represented by the number of terminal devices connected to the control device, and the information includes information indicating the number of terminal devices connected to other control devices. The determination means determines the number of antennas to be used from the plurality of antennas based on the number of terminal devices connected to the control device and the number of terminal devices connected to the other control device, and determines that the operation of the remaining antennas should be stopped. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The state of communication performed by the control device is represented by the wireless quality of a terminal device connected to the control device, and the information includes information indicating the wireless quality of a terminal device connected to another control device. The determination means determines the number of antennas to be used from the plurality of antennas based on the wireless quality of the terminal device connected to the control device and the wireless quality of the terminal device connected to the other control device, and determines that the operation of the remaining antennas should be stopped. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the notification means notifies the other control device of information identifying one or more antennas whose operation is to be stopped.

8. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the notification means notifies the other control device of information indicating the number of antennas whose operation is stopped.

9. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further characterized in that the notification means notifies the other control device of information requesting a reduction in the signal transmission power.

10. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising the notification means for notifying the other control device of information requesting that it hand over a terminal device currently connected to the other control device.

11. A control device operating as a base station device of a second cellular communication system of a second generation different from the first generation, sharing multiple antennas with another control device operating as a base station device of a first generation cellular communication system, A notification means for notifying the other control device of information indicating the status of communication performed by the control device, Receiving means for receiving a notification from the other control device indicating that the operation of one or more of the plurality of antennas has stopped, A communication means that performs communication using an antenna that is not included in one or more of the aforementioned multiple antennas, A control device characterized by having the following features.

12. The control device according to claim 9, characterized in that the notification means notifies the other control device of the information when it receives a request for the provision of the information from the other control device.

13. The control device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the notification means periodically notifies the other control device of the information.

14. A control method performed by a control device that operates as a base station device for a first generation cellular communication system and shares multiple antennas with another control device that operates as a base station device for a second generation cellular communication system different from the first generation, Receiving information from the other control device indicating the status of communication performed by said other control device, Based on the communication status performed by the control device and the information, it is determined whether or not to stop the operation of one or more of the multiple antennas. When it is determined that the operation of one or more of the aforementioned antennas should be stopped, the plurality of antennas are controlled to stop the operation of the one or more of the aforementioned antennas. When it is determined that the operation of one or more of the aforementioned antennas should be stopped, the other control devices are notified of the cessation of the operation of the said one or more antennas. A control method characterized by including

15. A control method performed by a control device operating as a base station device of a second cellular communication system of a second generation different from the first generation, which shares a plurality of antennas with another control device operating as a base station device of a first generation cellular communication system of a first generation, To notify the other control device of information indicating the status of the communication performed by the control device, Receiving a notification from the other control device indicating that the operation of one or more of the multiple antennas has stopped, To perform communication using an antenna that is not included in one or more of the aforementioned multiple antennas, A control method characterized by including

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