COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE

Abstract

A communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention in which a first communication device and a second communication device communicate with one another via a wired delivery path and a wireless delivery path, wherein the first communication device has: a wired signal transmission unit for transmitting a signal to the second communication device via the wired delivery path; a wireless signal transmission unit for transmitting the signal to the second communication device via the wireless delivery path; a wireless signal reception unit for receiving, via the wireless delivery path, a notification indicating an abnormality or a change in state that has occurred in part of the second communication device; a wired signal reception unit for receiving, via the wired delivery path when the wireless delivery path is hindered, a notification indicating an abnormality or a change in state that has occurred in part of the second communication device; and a control unit for performing control, when the wireless signal reception unit or the wired signal reception unit receives a notification, such that a control signal for controlling the second communication device in accordance with the notification is transmitted by at least one of the wireless signal transmission unit and the wired signal transmission unit.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system, a communication method, and a communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In communication systems, there is known a technique for switching to a redundant frequency channel (standby system) when, for example, an active relay radio device breaks down or when interference occurs in an active frequency channel, causing a line disconnection.

[0003] In addition, some wireless equipment such as that for mobile phones can be monitored by transmitting an alarm (warning: notification) in response to an abnormality detected (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] NTT Docomo, Inc. and five other companies, "Regarding the operation and maintenance of wireless base stations for mobile phones and BWA," Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Study Group on Periodic Inspections of Advanced Land Wireless Systems (3rd meeting), Document 3-3, July 9, 2020 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Non-Patent Document 1 detects a fault and transfers an alarm to a monitoring and control station when an abnormality occurs in wireless station equipment, but there is a problem in that if the wireless transmission path is cut off, the alarm and control signals cannot be transferred.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a communication system, a communication method, and a communication device that make it possible to efficiently control a communication device in which an abnormality or status change has occurred, even if a failure occurs in a wireless transmission path that transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in part of the communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a communication system in which a first communication device and a second communication device communicate with each other via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, characterized in that the first communication device has a wired signal transmitting unit that transmits a signal to the second communication device via the wired transmission path, a wireless signal transmitting unit that transmits a signal to the second communication device via the wireless transmission path, a wireless signal receiving unit that receives a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device via the wireless transmission path, a wired signal receiving unit that receives a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device via the wired transmission path when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, and a control unit that controls at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit and the wired signal transmitting unit to transmit a control signal that controls the second communication device in response to the notification when the wireless signal receiving unit or the wired signal receiving unit receives the notification.

[0008] Moreover, a communication method according to one aspect of the present invention is a communication method in which a first communication device and a second communication device communicate with each other via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, the method including the steps of: when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, the first communication device receiving a notification from the second communication device via the wired transmission path indicating an abnormality or state change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device; and when the first communication device receives the notification, controlling the first communication device to transmit a control signal for controlling the second communication device in response to the notification to the second communication device via the wired transmission path. the wireless transmission path accommodates a plurality of wireless circuits, and the first communication device receives a notification for each of the wireless circuits. It is characterized by:

[0009] Moreover, a communication device according to one aspect of the present invention is a communication device which communicates with other communication devices via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, the communication device comprising: a wired signal transmitting unit which transmits a signal to the other communication device via the wired transmission path; a wireless signal transmitting unit which transmits a signal to the other communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wireless signal receiving unit which receives a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wired signal receiving unit which, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, receives a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wired transmission path; and a control unit which, when the wireless signal receiving unit or the wired signal receiving unit receives a notification, controls at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit and the wired signal transmitting unit to transmit a control signal that controls the other communication device in response to the notification.

[0010] A communication device according to one aspect of the present invention is a communication device which communicates with another communication device via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, the communication device including: a wired signal transmitting unit which, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change which has occurred in a part of the communication device to the other communication device via the wired transmission path; and a wired signal receiving unit which, when the wired signal transmitting unit transmits the notification to the other communication device, receives a control signal for controlling the communication device from the other communication device via the wired transmission path. the wireless transmission path accommodates a plurality of wireless circuits, and the wired signal transmitting unit transmits a notification for each of the wireless circuits. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, even if a failure occurs in a wireless transmission path that transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in part of a communication device, it is possible to efficiently control the communication device in which an abnormality or status change has occurred. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a first communication device which is a communication device according to an embodiment; FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] An embodiment of a communication system will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 1 is configured such that, for example, a first communication device 2-1 and a second communication device 2-2 communicate with each other via a wired transmission path 3 and a wireless transmission path 4.

[0014] Each of the first communication device 2-1 and the second communication device 2-2 has a function as a transmitting device and a function as a receiving device, and is capable of performing two-way communication. In addition, each of the first communication device 2-1 and the second communication device 2-2 can also operate as a relay wireless device. Here, an example will be described in which the first communication device 2-1 transmits a user signal and the second communication device 2-2 receives the user signal.

[0015] The wired transmission path 3 is a wired section that is configured by connecting the first communication device 2-1 and the second communication device 2-2 with, for example, an optical cable, and enables two-way communication. Here, the wired transmission path 3 is an example in which the communication devices 10-1 and 10-2 relay signals. Also, the communication devices 10-1 and 10-2 are connected with, for example, an undersea optical cable.

[0016] The wireless transmission path 4 is a wireless section that accommodates, for example, multiple wireless circuits using multiple frequency channels and enables two-way communication between the first communication device 2-1 and the second communication device 2-2. For example, the wireless transmission path 4 is used as a backup line for the wired transmission path 3.

[0017] The monitoring and controlling device 100 is capable of monitoring anomalies or state changes of the first communication device 2-1 and the second communication device 2-2, for example, via the communication device 10-1. The monitoring and controlling device 100 may be configured integrally with the communication device 10-1, or may be configured integrally with the communication device 10-1 and the first communication device 2-1.

[0018] 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a first communication device 2-1, which is a communication device according to an embodiment. The second communication device 2-2 has the same functions as the first communication device 2-1 shown in FIG.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the first communication device 2-1 has, for example, a transmitting unit 5 and a receiving unit 6. In Fig. 2, the first communication device 2-1 is illustrated as an example in which the transmitting unit 5 and the receiving unit 6 have overlapping functions, but the functions common to the transmitting unit 5 and the receiving unit 6 may be combined into one and shared.

[0020] The transmission unit 5 has, for example, an interface (I / F) unit 50, a priority processing unit 51, a frame processing unit 52, a switching unit 53, two modulation units 54 each corresponding to a frequency channel, a wireless signal transmission unit 55, a control unit 56, and a wired signal communication unit 57.

[0021] The I / F unit 50 is a user interface that acquires a user signal and outputs it to the priority processing unit 51 .

[0022] The priority processing unit 51 performs processing to identify the priority of each user signal output by the I / F unit 50, and outputs the processed user signal to the frame processing unit 52. For example, the priority processing unit 51 processes the priority of each user signal in the same manner as the QoS (quality of services) control defined in IEEE802.11e.

[0023] The frame processing unit 52 performs buffering or the like on the user signal output by the priority processing unit 51 to generate a predetermined frame, and outputs the generated frame to a switching unit 53 .

[0024] When an abnormality occurs in, for example, a frequency channel of an active system (system 0) through which the radio signal transmitting unit 55 transmits a user signal, the switching unit 53 performs a process of switching the frequency channel of the active system in which the abnormality occurs to a frequency channel of a redundant system (system 1). Then, the switching unit 53 outputs the processed user signal to each of the two modulation units 54 for each frequency channel. The switching unit 53 also has a function of outputting an alarm to the control unit 56 when an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the active system.

[0025] Each of the modulation units 54 modulates the user signal output by the switching unit 53 for each frequency channel, and outputs the modulated user signal to the radio signal transmission unit 55. The modulation units 54 may also have a BER (Bit Error Rate) measurement function. Each of the modulation units 54 also has a function of outputting an alarm to the control unit 56 when an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the working system.

[0026] The wireless signal transmitting unit 55 has two RF (radio frequency) units 550 and an antenna 552, each corresponding to a frequency channel, and transmits a signal to another communication device via the wireless transmission path 4. Each RF unit 550 has a transmission amplifier, a filter, etc., and transmits a user signal modulated by the modulation unit 54 via the antenna 552 for each frequency channel. Each RF unit 550 also has a function of outputting an alarm to the control unit 56 when an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the working system.

[0027] The control unit 56 monitors whether an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the working system, and controls each unit constituting the transmission unit 5. For example, the control unit 56 controls simultaneous switching between transmission and reception in the transmission unit 5 and the reception unit 6, detects an abnormality in the frequency channel of the working system, and controls the switching unit 53 to switch the frequency channel of the working system to the frequency channel of the redundant system. The control unit 56 also controls the priority processing unit 51 to process the priority of the user signal.

[0028] Furthermore, when a wireless signal receiving unit 60 or a wired signal receiving unit 572 (described later) receives a specified notification, the control unit 56 controls at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit 55 and the wired signal transmitting unit 570 (described later) to transmit a control signal for controlling another communication device in response to the notification.

[0029] The wired signal communication unit 57 is a wired communication interface that includes a wired signal transmitting unit 570 and a wired signal receiving unit 572 that transmit and receive signals via the wired transmission path 3 (see FIG. 1), and transmits and receives signals according to the control of the control unit 56.

[0030] The wired signal transmitting unit 570 transmits a signal to other communication devices via the wired transmission path 3. In addition, the wired signal transmitting unit 570 transmits a predetermined notification via the wired transmission path 3 for each wireless line in the wireless transmission path 4. For example, when a failure occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, the wired signal transmitting unit 570 transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the communication device to other communication devices by utilizing the available capacity of the wired transmission path 3.

[0031] For example, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, the wired signal receiving unit 572 receives a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wired transmission path 3. For example, the wired signal receiving unit 572 receives a predetermined notification via the wired transmission path 3 for each wireless circuit in the wireless transmission path 4.

[0032] The notifications received by the wired signal receiving unit 572 include, for example, alarms (device alarms, communication alarms) and event information, which are sent with names classified for each part such as a circuit board.

[0033] In addition, for example, when the wired signal transmitting unit 570 transmits a predetermined notification to another communication device, the wired signal receiving unit 572 receives a control signal for controlling the communication device from the other communication device via the wired transmission path 3.

[0034] The receiving unit 6 has, for example, a wireless signal receiving unit 60, two demodulating units 61 corresponding to each frequency channel, a switching unit 62, a frame processing unit 63, a priority processing unit 64, an interface (I / F) unit 65, a control unit 66, and a wired signal communication unit 67.

[0035] The wireless signal receiving unit 60 has two antennas 600 and an RF unit 602, each of which corresponds to a frequency channel, and receives a signal via a wireless transmission path 4. The antenna 600 receives a user signal for each frequency channel. The RF unit 602 includes a receiving amplifier, an AGC (automatic gain control), etc., and detects a user signal as a received signal for each frequency channel via the antenna 600 and outputs the detected user signal to the demodulation unit 61.

[0036] Furthermore, the wireless signal receiving unit 60 receives a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change occurring in a part of the other communication device via the wireless transmission path 4. Furthermore, each of the RF units 602 outputs a detected signal to the control unit 66. Furthermore, each of the RF units 602 has a function of outputting an alarm to the control unit 66 when an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the working system.

[0037] Each demodulator 61 demodulates the user signal received by the wireless signal receiver 60 for each frequency channel, and outputs the demodulated user signal to the switch 62. The demodulator 61 may also have a BER measurement function. Each demodulator 61 also has a function of outputting an alarm to the controller 66 when an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the active system.

[0038] When an abnormality occurs in the working frequency channel that transmits the user signals demodulated by each demodulator 61, the switching unit 62 performs a process of switching the working frequency channel where the abnormality occurs to a redundant frequency channel. Then, the switching unit 62 outputs the processed user signals to the frame processing unit 63 for each frequency channel. The switching unit 62 also has a function of outputting an alarm to the control unit 66 when an abnormality occurs in the working frequency channel.

[0039] The frame processing unit 63 performs buffering or the like on the user signal output by the switching unit 62 to generate a predetermined frame, and outputs the generated frame to a priority processing unit 64 .

[0040] The priority processing unit 64 performs processing to identify the priority of the user signal output by the frame processing unit 63, and outputs the processed user signal to the I / F unit 65. For example, the priority processing unit 64 processes the priority of each user signal in the same manner as the QoS control defined in IEEE802.11e.

[0041] The I / F unit 65 is a user interface that receives the user signals output by the priority processing unit 64 and outputs them to the subsequent stages.

[0042] The control unit 66 monitors whether an abnormality occurs in the frequency channel of the working system, and controls each unit constituting the receiving unit 6. For example, the control unit 66 controls simultaneous switching between transmission and reception in the receiving unit 6 and the transmitting unit 5, detects an abnormality in the frequency channel of the working system, and controls the switching unit 62 to switch the frequency channel of the working system to the frequency channel of the redundant system. The control unit 66 also controls the priority processing unit 64 to process the priority of the user signal.

[0043] Furthermore, when the wireless signal receiving unit 60 or the wired signal receiving unit 672 (described later) receives a specified notification, the control unit 66 controls at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit 55 and the wired signal transmitting unit 670 (described later) to transmit a control signal for controlling another communication device in response to the notification.

[0044] The wired signal communication unit 67 is a wired communication interface that includes a wired signal transmitting unit 670 and a wired signal receiving unit 672 that transmit and receive signals via the wired transmission path 3 (see FIG. 1), and transmits and receives signals according to the control of the control unit 66.

[0045] For example, the wired signal transmitting unit 670 transmits a signal to another communication device via the wired transmission path 3. In addition, the wired signal transmitting unit 670 transmits a predetermined notification via the wired transmission path 3 for each wireless line in the wireless transmission path 4. For example, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, the wired signal transmitting unit 670 transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the communication device to the other communication device by utilizing the available capacity of the wired transmission path 3.

[0046] For example, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, the wired signal receiving unit 672 receives a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wired transmission path 3. For example, the wired signal receiving unit 672 receives a predetermined notification via the wired transmission path 3 for each wireless circuit in the wireless transmission path 4.

[0047] The notifications received by the wired signal receiving unit 672 include, for example, alarms (device alarms, communication alarms) and event information, which are sent with names for each part, such as a circuit board.

[0048] In addition, for example, when the wired signal transmitting unit 670 transmits a predetermined notification to another communication device, the wired signal receiving unit 672 receives a control signal for controlling the communication device from the other communication device via the wired transmission path 3.

[0049] In addition, each function of the above-mentioned transmitting unit 5 and receiving unit 6 may be configured in part or in whole by hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be configured as a program executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0050] For example, the transmitting unit 5 and the receiving unit 6 according to one embodiment can be realized using a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a storage medium or provided via a network.

[0051] Next, a specific operation example of the communication system 1 (FIG. 1) will be described. For example, the first communication device 2-1 transmits a user signal, and the second communication device 2-2 receives the user signal.

[0052] Here, if a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, the first communication device 2-1 receives a notification from the second communication device 2-2 via the wired transmission path 3, indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device 2-2.

[0053] The notification received by the first communication device 2-1 is, for example, a communication alarm, which is information such as bit error rate degradation and out-of-synchronization for each wireless line, transmitted from the second communication device 2-2 for each line accommodated in the wireless transmission path 4. The notification received by the first communication device 2-1 is, for example, event information, which may be information indicating a change in the operation state, such as a system switching result of system 0 / system 1 in the communication device or a CPU start.

[0054] Upon receiving the notification, the first communication device 2-1 performs control so as to transmit, via the wired transmission path 3, to the second communication device 2-2, a control signal for controlling the second communication device 2-2 in response to the notification.

[0055] In this way, in one embodiment of the communication system 1, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, for example, the first communication device 2-1 receives a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device 2-2 via the wired transmission path 3, and controls the second communication device 2-2 in response to the notification.

[0056] That is, the communication system 1 transfers alarms and control signals via the wired transmission path 3 that is installed in parallel with the wireless transmission path 4. Therefore, the communication system 1 can grasp in detail alarm and event information of the communication device with which the first communication device 2-1 or the second communication device 2-2 is opposed, and therefore, when a failure occurs in the wireless transmission path 4, it can accurately isolate the cause and accurately determine the method required to restore communication.

[0057] For example, when the first communication device 2-1 is an attended station and the second communication device 2-2 is an unattended station, if a part of the second communication device 2-2 using the wireless transmission path 4 breaks down, the second communication device 2-2 notifies the first communication device 2-1 of the broken part as a device alarm via the wired transmission path 3. After that, the first communication device 2-1 can control the second communication device 2-2 via the wired transmission path 3 to switch the broken device of the second communication device 2-2 to a spare device.

[0058] In addition, when the CPU of the second communication device 2-2 becomes abnormal, the first communication device 2-1 can remotely perform reset control. In addition, the first communication device 2-1 can remotely control switching of the transmitter output signal of the second communication device 2-2 to a dummy load or an antenna.

[0059] In this way, even if a failure occurs in the wireless transmission path that transmits a notification indicating an abnormality or status change that has occurred in a part of the communication device, the communication system 1 makes it possible to efficiently control the communication device in which the abnormality or status change has occurred, and to efficiently restore communication, thereby enabling high-quality wireless communication. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 communication system, 2-1 first communication device, 2-2 second communication device, 3 wired transmission path, 4 wireless transmission path, 5 transmitter, 6 receiver, 10-1 communication device, 10-2 communication device, 50 I / F unit, 51 priority processing unit, 52 frame processing unit, 53 switching unit, 54 modulation unit, 55 wireless signal transmission unit, 56 control unit, 57 wired signal communication unit, 60 wireless wired signal receiving unit, 61... demodulation unit, 62... switching unit, 63... frame processing unit, 64... priority processing unit, 65... I / F unit, 66... ​​control unit, 67... wired signal communication unit, 100... monitoring and control device, 550... RF unit, 552... antenna, 570... wired signal transmitting unit, 572... wired signal receiving unit, 600... antenna, 602... RF unit, 670... wired signal transmitting unit, 672... wired signal receiving unit

Claims

1. In a communication system in which a first communication device and a second communication device communicate with each other via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, The first communication device is a wired signal transmitting unit for transmitting a signal to the second communication device via the wired transmission path; a wireless signal transmitting unit for transmitting a signal to the second communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wireless signal receiving unit that receives a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wired signal receiving unit that receives, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the second communication device via the wired transmission path; a control unit that controls, when the wireless signal receiving unit or the wired signal receiving unit receives a notification, at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit and the wired signal transmitting unit to transmit a control signal for controlling the second communication device in response to the notification; A communication system comprising:

2. The wireless transmission path is Accommodates multiple wireless lines, The wired signal receiving unit is receiving a notification for each of said wireless links; 2. The communication system according to claim 1,

3. A communication method in which a first communication device and a second communication device communicate with each other via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, receiving, by the first communication device via the wired transmission path, a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change occurring in a part of the second communication device when a failure occurs in the wireless transmission path; a step of controlling, when the first communication device receives the notification, the first communication device to transmit, to the second communication device via the wired transmission path, a control signal for controlling the second communication device in response to the notification; Including, The wireless transmission path is Accommodates multiple wireless lines, The first communication device is receiving a notification for each of said wireless links; A communication method comprising:

4. A communication device that communicates with other communication devices via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, a wired signal transmitting unit for transmitting a signal to the other communication device via the wired transmission path; a wireless signal transmitting unit for transmitting a signal to the other communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wireless signal receiving unit that receives a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wireless transmission path; a wired signal receiving unit that receives, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change that has occurred in a part of the other communication device via the wired transmission path; a control unit that controls, when the wireless signal receiving unit or the wired signal receiving unit receives a notification, at least one of the wireless signal transmitting unit and the wired signal transmitting unit to transmit a control signal for controlling the other communication device in response to the notification; A communication device comprising:

5. The wireless transmission path is Accommodates multiple wireless lines, The wired signal receiving unit is receiving a notification for each of said wireless links; 5. The communication device according to claim 4,

6. A communication device that communicates with other communication devices via a wired transmission path and a wireless transmission path, a wired signal transmitting unit configured to, when a fault occurs in the wireless transmission path, transmit a notification indicating an abnormality or a state change occurring in a part of the communication device to the other communication device via the wired transmission path; a wired signal receiving unit that receives a control signal for controlling the other communication device from the other communication device via the wired transmission path when the wired signal transmitting unit transmits a notification to the other communication device; having The wireless transmission path is Accommodates multiple wireless lines, The wired signal transmission unit is Transmitting a notification for each of said wireless links. A communication device comprising:

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