First communication device, second communication device, and method

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication device and a method that can easily achieve beam pattern monitoring. A parameter calculation unit (32) of a communication device (3) calculates a beam forming parameter each time information necessary for beam forming is received. A monitoring packet generation unit (33) generates a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameter calculated by the parameter calculation unit (32) and sends the monitoring packet to an interface (4).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in mobile communication networks that adopt New Radio (NR), base stations (BSs) are divided into several devices. For example, base stations that adopt NR are divided into Centralized Units (CUs), Distributed Units (DUs), and Radio Units (RUs). Of these units, for example, the CU hosts the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In addition, for example, the DU hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a part of the upper part (High PHY layer) of the Physical (PHY) layer. Also, for example, the RU hosts a part of the lower part (Low PHY layer) of the PHY layer. Furthermore, the DU and the RU are connected by an interface called the fronthaul. In addition, when a base station is configured with devices such as CUs, DUs, and RUs, efforts are accelerating toward Open Radio Access Networks (Open RANs) that configure base stations by combining devices from different vendors. The adoption of Open RANs makes it possible to more flexibly combine CUs, DUs, RUs, etc. that were previously provided by a single vendor. Currently, the O-RAN Alliance, an industry group, is playing a central role in formulating the O-RAN specification, which is one of the specifications for Open RAN. In the case of a RAN architecture that employs O-RAN, a DU that employs O-RAN is sometimes called an O-DU, and a RU that employs O-RAN is sometimes called an O-RU. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 describes the architectures of O-RAN, O-DU, and O-RU.

[0003] In addition, with the current explosive increase in communication terminals (e.g., User Equipment (UE)), it has become common to use beamforming technology using large-scale array antennas equipped at base stations. Effective use of beamforming technology enables high-speed, large-capacity wireless communication in NR. For example, for a base station divided into CU, DU, and RU to perform communication using beamforming, the beamforming technology described in Non-Patent Document 2 is used. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] O-RAN Fronthaul Control, User and Synchronization Plane Specification 6.0 - March 2021 [Non-Patent Document 2] Kazuaki Takeda and 5 others, “Status of study on physical layer elemental technologies and high frequency band utilization in 5G”, NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal, Vol. 25, No.3, October 2017, Internet <URL:https: / / www.nttdocomo.co.jp / binary / pdf / corporate / technology / rd / technical_journal / bn / vol25_3 / vol25_3_005jp.pdf> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] By the way, when checking the beam pattern formed by an RU, it was necessary to measure the beam pattern output from the antenna using, for example, a large anechoic chamber or expensive measuring equipment, or to connect base station debugging equipment to the base station and extract data from inside the base station. However, base stations are often installed at high altitudes, and it has been difficult to transport an installed base station to an anechoic chamber to measure the beam pattern, or to extract data from base stations installed at high altitudes using the above-mentioned method.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a communication device and method that can easily implement beam pattern monitoring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a first communication device among a first communication device and a second communication device which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed therein, and includes: a receiving means for receiving information necessary for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; a parameter calculation means for calculating, each time the information necessary for beam formation is received, beam forming parameters for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for beam pattern formation; and a monitoring packet generation means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameters each time the beam forming parameters are calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface.

[0008] A communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a second communication device among a first communication device and a second communication device which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed in a distributed manner, wherein the second communication device is provided with a transmitting means for transmitting, via the interface to the first communication device, information necessary for beam formation and a request to transmit a monitoring packet, and the monitoring packet includes beam forming parameters for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device.

[0009] A method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed, the method receiving information necessary for beam forming from the second communication device via the interface, and each time the information necessary for beam forming is received, calculating beam forming parameters for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device based on the information necessary for beam pattern formation, and each time the beam forming parameters are calculated, generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameters, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface.

[0010] A method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a method of a second communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed, in which the second communication device transmits, via the interface to the first communication device, a request to transmit information necessary for beam forming and a monitoring packet, and the monitoring packet includes beam forming parameters for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a communication device and method that can easily implement beam pattern monitoring. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 1 in a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 2 in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 3 in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the communication device 3 in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 5 in the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 6 in a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 7 in a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the communication device 7 in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 9 in a third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 10 according to a third embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 11 in a third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the communication device 11 in the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 13 in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 14 in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a communication device 15 in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a monitoring packet in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a beam pattern in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the communication device 15 in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration example of a communication device in each embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] In the following, specific embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and in order to simplify the description, duplicated descriptions will be omitted as necessary.

[0014] The following embodiments may be implemented independently or in appropriate combination. These embodiments have different novel features. Therefore, these embodiments contribute to solving different objects or problems and provide different effects.

[0015] As used herein, depending on the context, "if" may be interpreted to mean "when," "at or around the time," "after," "upon," "in response to determining," "in accordance with a determination," or "in response to detecting." These expressions may be interpreted to have the same meaning, depending on the context.

[0016] <First embodiment> Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 1 in this embodiment, Fig. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 2 in this embodiment, and Fig. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 3 in this embodiment. Each element shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 3 can be implemented, for example, as dedicated hardware, as software running on dedicated hardware, or as a virtualization function instantiated on an application platform running on general-purpose hardware.

[0017] For example, the communication device 1 may be a base station that supports a communication method defined in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR). The base station is connected to, for example, a terminal device and a core network that support LTE or NR. The base station and the core network are connected by an S1 interface or an NG interface, and the base stations are connected to each other by an X2 interface or an Xn interface, but are not limited thereto.

[0018] A base station that adopts NR is divided into, for example, a Centralized Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and a Radio Unit (RU). Of these units, for example, the CU hosts the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In addition, for example, the DU hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a portion of the upper part (High PHY layer) of the Physical (PHY) layer. Also, for example, the RU hosts a portion of the lower part (Low PHY layer) of the PHY layer. Furthermore, the DU and RU are connected by an interface called the Fronthaul. The CU and DU are also connected by an interface.

[0019] Communication device 1 includes communication device 2 and communication device 3. In this embodiment, communication device 2 functions as the second communication device, and communication device 3 functions as the first communication device. As described above, for example, communication device 1 is a base station, and communication device 2 and communication device 3 are devices in which all or part of the functions of a base station are distributed. Note that communication device 1 may include other communication devices in addition to communication device 2 and communication device 3. In other words, the base station functions may be distributed among multiple communication devices including communication device 2 and communication device 3.

[0020] For example, the communication device 2 may be an O-DU (or DU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance, and the communication device 3 may be an O-RU (or RU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The communication device 2 and the communication device 3 are connected by an interface 4. The interface 4 may be an Open Fronthaul defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Of course, the communication device 2, the communication device 3, and the interface 4 may be devices or interfaces defined by 3GPP, but are not limited thereto. For example, the communication device 2 may be a DU, the communication device 3 may be an RU, and the interface 4 may be a Fronthaul. The above other communication devices included in the communication device 1 other than the communication device 2 and the communication device 3 may be a CU. Also, the interface connecting the CU and the communication device 2 may be an F1 interface.

[0021] In FIG. 2, the communication device 2 includes a receiving unit 21 and a transmitting unit 22.

[0022] The receiver 21 is configured to receive downlink data from a higher-level device. The higher-level device may be a CU. The transmitter 22 is configured to transmit the downlink data and information required for beam formation to the communication device 3.

[0023] In FIG. 3, the communication device 3 includes a receiving unit 31, a parameter calculating unit 32, and a monitoring packet generating unit 33.

[0024] The receiving unit 31 is configured to receive downlink data and information required for beam formation from the communication device 2. Here, the information required for beam formation is repeatedly transmitted from the communication device 2 at time intervals of, for example, 0.5 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds.

[0025] In addition, the parameter calculation unit 32 is configured to calculate beamforming parameters for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device, based on the information required for beamforming received by the receiving unit 31. The parameter calculation unit 32 calculates the beamforming parameters every time the information required for beamforming is received. For example, the beamforming parameters may include a beamforming weight, which will be described later.

[0026] The monitoring packet generation unit 33 is configured to generate a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameters calculated by the parameter calculation unit 32, and transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 4. The monitoring packet generation unit 33 generates a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameters every time the beam forming parameters are calculated.

[0027] Next, an operation example of the communication device 3 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the communication device 3 according to the first embodiment.

[0028] In the communication device 3, the receiving unit 31 receives information required for beam formation from the communication device 2 (S101).

[0029] The parameter calculation unit 32 of the communication device 3 calculates beam forming parameters for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device (S102).

[0030] The monitoring packet generator 33 of the communication device 3 generates a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameters calculated by the parameter calculator 32 (S103).

[0031] The monitoring packet generator 33 of the communication device 3 transmits the monitoring packet generated in S104 to the interface 4 (S104).

[0032] As described above, the communication device 3 can transmit information representing the beam pattern to the interface 4. Therefore, the communication device 3 can easily realize monitoring of the beam pattern.

[0033] <Second embodiment> Fig. 5 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 5 in this embodiment, Fig. 6 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 6 in this embodiment, and Fig. 7 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 7 in this embodiment. Communication device 5 corresponds to communication device 1 in the first embodiment, communication device 6 corresponds to communication device 2 in the first embodiment, and communication device 7 corresponds to communication device 3 in the first embodiment. Interface 8 corresponds to interface 4 in the first embodiment.

[0034] For example, the communication device 5 may be a base station that supports a communication method defined in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR).

[0035] Communication device 5 includes communication device 6 and communication device 7. As described above, for example, communication device 5 is a base station, and therefore communication device 6 and communication device 7 are devices in which all or part of the functions of a base station are distributed. Note that communication device 5 may include other communication devices in addition to communication device 6 and communication device 7. In other words, the functions of a base station may be distributed among multiple communication devices including communication device 6 and communication device 7.

[0036] For example, the communication device 6 may be an O-DU (or DU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance, and the communication device 7 may be an O-RU (or RU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The communication device 6 and the communication device 7 are connected by an interface 8. The interface 8 may be an Open Fronthaul defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Of course, the communication device 6, the communication device 7, and the interface 8 may be devices or interfaces defined by 3GPP, but are not limited thereto. For example, the communication device 6 may be a DU, the communication device 7 may be an RU, and the interface 8 may be a Fronthaul. The above other communication devices included in the communication device 5 other than the communication device 6 and the communication device 7 may be a CU.

[0037] 6, the communication device 6 includes a receiving unit 61 and a transmitting unit 62. The receiving unit 61 and the transmitting unit 62 correspond to the receiving unit 21 and the transmitting unit 22 in the first embodiment, respectively.

[0038] The receiver 61 is configured to receive downlink data from a higher-level device. The higher-level device may be a CU. The transmitter 62 is configured to transmit the downlink data and information required for beam formation to the communication device 7.

[0039] 7, the communication device 7 includes a receiving unit 71, a parameter calculation unit 72, and a monitoring packet generation unit 73. The receiving unit 71, the parameter calculation unit 72, and the monitoring packet generation unit 73 correspond to the receiving unit 31, the parameter calculation unit 32, and the monitoring packet generation unit 33 in the first embodiment, respectively.

[0040] The receiving unit 71 is configured to receive downlink data and information required for beam formation from the communication device 6. Here, the information required for beam formation is repeatedly transmitted from the communication device 6 at time intervals of, for example, 0.5 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds.

[0041] In addition, the parameter calculation unit 72 is configured to calculate beamforming parameters for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for beamforming received by the receiving unit 71. The parameter calculation unit 72 calculates the beamforming parameters every time the information necessary for beamforming is received. For example, the beamforming parameters may include a beamforming weight, which will be described later.

[0042] The monitoring packet generating unit 73 is configured to generate a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameters every time the parameter calculating unit 72 calculates the beam forming parameters. Furthermore, the monitoring packet generating unit 73 is configured to select at least one specific monitoring packet from all the generated monitoring packets, and transmit the selected monitoring packet to the interface 8. It should be noted that the monitoring packet generating unit 73 may, of course, treat all the generated monitoring packets as "monitoring packets to be transmitted."

[0043] Here, the selection of monitoring packets by the monitoring packet generating unit 73 will be described. The monitoring packet generating unit 73 may transmit specific monitoring packets to the interface 8 instead of transmitting all monitoring packets generated by the monitoring packet generating unit 73 to the interface 8. In other words, the monitoring packet generating unit 73 may select some monitoring packets of all monitoring packets generated by the monitoring packet generating unit 73 as "monitoring packets to be transmitted". Then, the monitoring packet generating unit 73 may transmit the monitoring packets to be transmitted to the interface 8.

[0044] More specifically, the parameter calculator 72 calculates at least one beamforming parameter for each unit frequency, or for each unit time, or for each combination of frequency and time.

[0045] The monitoring packet generating unit 73 may select, as a monitoring packet to be transmitted, a monitoring packet including a beam forming parameter of "a part of the frequency band used by the beam formed for communication with the terminal device" from among all monitoring packets including the beam forming parameter. The "part of the frequency band used by the beam formed for communication with the terminal device" may be, for example, not all of the frequency band used by the beam generated by the communication device 7, but at least one of a plurality of partial frequency bands into which the entire frequency band is divided. This partial frequency band may be, for example, a partial band (Bandwidth part, BWP). That is, for example, when the frequency band used by the communication device 7 is divided into a plurality of partial bands, the monitoring packet generating unit 73 may select, as a monitoring packet to be transmitted, a monitoring packet including a beam forming parameter of a beam constituting at least one of the plurality of partial bands. In addition, the configuration may be applied even when the communication device 7 does not adopt a partial band. For example, when the entire frequency band (system band) used by the communication device 7 is 20 MHz, the monitoring packet generator 73 may select, as a monitoring packet to be transmitted, a monitoring packet including beam forming parameters for a certain 1 MHz frequency band among all monitoring packets including beam forming parameters calculated for the entire frequency band (system band). Also, the monitoring packet generator 73 may select, as a monitoring packet to be transmitted, a monitoring packet including beam forming parameters for forming a beam used at a specific time among all times when a beam for communication with a terminal device was formed and a series of data transmissions were performed.

[0046] Furthermore, the monitoring packet generator 73 may divide one monitoring packet to be transmitted into multiple divided packets (multiple data units) and transmit the multiple divided packets at least one at a time to the interface 8. The unit of division may be, but is not limited to, one slot or one resource block.

[0047] Of course, the above-mentioned operations may be performed alone or in appropriate combination. This allows the communication device 7 to transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 8 while avoiding the bandwidth of the interface 8 being overwhelmed.

[0048] Next, an operation example of the communication device 7 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the communication device 7 according to the second embodiment.

[0049] The receiving unit 71 of the communication device 7 receives information required for beam formation from the communication device 6 (S201).

[0050] The parameter calculation unit 72 of the communication device 7 calculates at least one beamforming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device (S202).

[0051] The monitoring packet generator 73 of the communication device 7 generates a monitoring packet including at least one beamforming parameter calculated in S202 (S203).

[0052] The monitoring packet generating unit 73 of the communication device 7 selects a specific monitoring packet from among the monitoring packets generated in S203 (S204).

[0053] The monitoring packet generating unit 73 of the communication device 7 transmits the monitoring packet selected in S204 to the interface 8 (S205).

[0054] As described above, the communication device 7 can select a monitoring packet including the beamforming parameters and transmit it to the interface 8. Therefore, the communication device 7 can easily realize monitoring of the beam pattern while avoiding the bandwidth of the interface 8 being constrained.

[0055] In the above description, the monitoring packets to be transmitted are selected from all the generated monitoring packets, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the monitoring packet generator 73 may generate only the monitoring packets to be transmitted without generating packets that are not the targets of transmission.

[0056] <Third embodiment> FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 9 in this embodiment, FIG. 10 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 10 in this embodiment, and FIG. 11 shows an example of the configuration of a communication device 11 in this embodiment. A communication device 9 corresponds to the communication device 1 in the first embodiment, a communication device 10 corresponds to the communication device 2 in the first embodiment, and a communication device 11 corresponds to the communication device 3 in the first embodiment. An interface 12 corresponds to the interface 4 in the first embodiment.

[0057] For example, the communication device 9 may be a base station that supports a communication method defined in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR).

[0058] The communication device 9 includes the communication device 10 and the communication device 11. As described above, for example, the communication device 9 is a base station, and therefore the communication device 10 and the communication device 11 are devices in which all or part of the functions of a base station are distributed. Note that the communication device 9 may include other communication devices in addition to the communication device 10 and the communication device 11. In other words, the functions of a base station may be distributed among a plurality of communication devices including the communication device 10 and the communication device 11.

[0059] For example, the communication device 10 may be an O-DU (or DU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance, and the communication device 11 may be an O-RU (or RU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The communication device 10 and the communication device 11 are connected by an interface 12. The interface 12 may be an Open Fronthaul defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Of course, the communication device 10, the communication device 11, and the interface 12 may be devices or interfaces defined by 3GPP, but are not limited thereto. For example, the communication device 10 may be a DU, the communication device 11 may be an RU, and the interface 12 may be a Fronthaul. The above other communication devices included in the communication device 9 in addition to the communication device 10 and the communication device 11 may be a CU.

[0060] 10, the communication device 10 includes a receiving unit 101 and a transmitting unit 102. The receiving unit 101 and the transmitting unit 102 correspond to the receiving unit 21 and the transmitting unit 22 in the first embodiment, respectively.

[0061] The receiving unit 101 of the communication device 10 is configured to receive downlink data from a higher-level device. The higher-level device may be a CU. The transmitting unit 102 is configured to transmit the downlink data and information required for beam formation to the communication device 11.

[0062] 11, the communication device 11 includes a receiving unit 111, a parameter calculation unit 112, and a monitoring packet generation unit 113. The receiving unit 111, the parameter calculation unit 112, and the monitoring packet generation unit 113 correspond to the receiving unit 31, the parameter calculation unit 32, and the monitoring packet generation unit 33 in the first embodiment, respectively. In addition, the transmitting unit 102 is configured to request the communication device 11 to transmit a monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10. By requesting the communication device 10 to transmit a monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10, monitoring of the beam pattern can be realized more on-demand.

[0063] Furthermore, the transmitting unit 102 may indicate a method for selecting a monitoring packet and request the communication device 11 to transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 12. More specifically, the transmitting unit 102 may request the communication device 11 to transmit a monitoring packet including beamforming parameters of a beam using a specific time and frequency band to the interface 12. The specific time is a portion of the entire time during which a beam for communication with a terminal device is formed and a series of data transmissions are performed, the portion being designated by the transmitting unit 102. The specific frequency band is a part of the frequency bands designated by the transmitting unit 102 among all the frequency bands used by the beams formed for communication with the terminal device.

[0064] The receiver 111 of the communication device 11 is configured to receive a request to transmit downlink data, information necessary for beam formation, and a monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10 from the communication device 10. In addition, the parameter calculator 112 is configured to calculate beamforming parameters for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for beam formation received by the receiver 111. Note that the parameter calculator 112 calculates the beamforming parameters every time information necessary for beam formation is received. For example, the beamforming parameters may include a beamforming weight, which will be described later.

[0065] The monitoring packet generation unit 113 is configured to generate a monitoring packet including the beam forming parameters calculated by the parameter calculation unit 112 in response to a request from the communication device 10 received by the receiving unit 111, and transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10. Here, at least one of the information required for beam forming and the request to transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10 is repeatedly transmitted from the communication device 10 at time intervals of, for example, 0.5 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds.

[0066] Next, an operation example of the communication device 10 and the communication device 11 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the communication device 10 and the communication device 11 according to the third embodiment.

[0067] The receiving unit 111 of the communication device 11 receives information required for beam formation and a request to transmit a monitoring packet to the interface 12 or the communication device 10 from the communication device 10 (S301).

[0068] The parameter calculation unit 112 of the communication device 11 calculates beam forming parameters for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device (S302).

[0069] The monitoring packet generator 113 of the communication device 11 generates a monitoring packet including the beamforming parameters calculated by the parameter calculator 112 (S303).

[0070] The monitoring packet generator 113 of the communication device 11 transmits the monitoring packet generated in S303 to the interface 12 (S304).

[0071] As described above, the communication device 11 can transmit information representing a beam pattern to the interface 12 or the communication device 10 in response to a request from the communication device 10. Thus, the communication device 11 can realize more on-demand monitoring of the beam pattern.

[0072] <Fourth embodiment> Fig. 13 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 13 in this embodiment, Fig. 14 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 14 in this embodiment, and Fig. 15 shows an example of the configuration of communication device 15 in this embodiment. Communication device 13 corresponds to communication device 1 in the first embodiment, communication device 14 corresponds to communication device 2 in the first embodiment, and communication device 15 corresponds to communication device 3 in the first embodiment. Interface 16 corresponds to interface 4 in the first embodiment.

[0073] For example, the communication device 13 may be a base station that supports a communication method defined in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR).

[0074] The communication device 13 includes the communication device 14 and the communication device 15. As described above, for example, the communication device 13 is a base station, and therefore the communication device 14 and the communication device 15 are devices in which all or part of the functions of a base station are distributed. Note that the communication device 13 may include other communication devices in addition to the communication device 14 and the communication device 15. In other words, the functions of a base station may be distributed among a plurality of communication devices including the communication device 14 and the communication device 15.

[0075] For example, the communication device 14 may be an O-DU (or DU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance, and the communication device 15 may be an O-RU (or RU) defined by the O-RAN Alliance. The communication device 14 and the communication device 15 are connected by an interface 16. The interface 16 may be an Open Fronthaul defined by the O-RAN Alliance. Of course, the communication device 14, the communication device 15, and the interface 16 may be devices or interfaces defined by 3GPP, but are not limited thereto. For example, the communication device 14 may be a DU, the communication device 15 may be an RU, and the interface 16 may be a Fronthaul. The above other communication devices included in the communication device 13 other than the communication device 14 and the communication device 15 may be a CU.

[0076] 14, the communication device 14 includes a receiving unit 141, a transmitting unit 142, and a processing unit 143. The receiving unit 141 corresponds to the receiving unit 21 in the first embodiment, and the transmitting unit 142 corresponds to the transmitting unit 142 in the first embodiment.

[0077] The receiving unit 141 of the communication device 14 is configured to receive downlink data (user plane, U-Plane) and control plane (C-Plane) from a higher-level device. The higher-level device may be a CU. The receiving unit 141 may also be configured to receive a monitoring packet transmitted on the interface 16 by the communication device 15 described later.

[0078] The transmitter 142 is configured to transmit downlink data and "information necessary for beam formation" to the communication device 15. The "information necessary for beam formation" is, for example, C-Plane information defined by the O-RAN Alliance, and includes information included in the C-Plane signal of Section type 5 and the C-Plane signal of Section type 6. Hereinafter, the C-Plane signal of Section type 5 and the C-Plane signal of Section type 6 may be simply referred to as Section type 5 and Section type 6, respectively. Note that the C-Plane signal may also be referred to as a C-Plane packet signal.

[0079] Here, the information in Section type 6 and Section type 5 will be described. Section type 6 includes Channel Information. Channel Information is information that indicates the state of each of a plurality of propagation paths between a terminal device and communication device 15. Each propagation path corresponds to a pair of an antenna of the terminal device and an antenna of communication device 15. Channel Information is often represented by a matrix H, and is also called a channel matrix. For example, when beamforming is performed by communication device 15 having 64 antennas for eight terminal devices each having two antennas, Channel Information is expressed as the following formula (1).

[0080]

number

[0081] In formula (1), h UE#,UEAnt#,RUAnt# represents the state of the transmission path between the antenna of each terminal device and the antenna of the base station as a complex number, where UE# is an identifier that distinguishes between terminal devices, UEAnt# is an identifier that distinguishes between antennas equipped in the terminal device, and RUAnt# is an identifier that distinguishes between antennas equipped in the base station. The packet formats of Section types 5 and 6 are defined by the O-RAN Alliance.

[0082] Next, Section type 5 will be described. Section type 5 includes information in the Channel Information described in formula (1) that indicates which user to select and form a beam. Section type 5 has a format that specifies the target user number (UE ID / ueId[14:8]) and the Resource Block (RB) number on the frequency axis.

[0083] The processing unit 143 is configured to analyze the monitoring packet received by the receiving unit 141. The monitoring packet includes beamforming parameters, which will be described later, and for example, the beamforming parameters include Beamforming Weight, which will be described later. For example, when analyzing beamforming weight, the processing unit 143 may analyze the beamforming weight, plot a beam pattern, and output it to an external device.

[0084] 15, the communication device 15 includes a channel information receiving unit 151, a beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152, a channel information storage memory 153, a beam pattern forming calculation unit 154, and a monitoring packet generating unit 155. The channel information receiving unit 151 and the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 correspond to the receiving unit 31 in the first embodiment, and the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 corresponds to the parameter calculation unit 32 in the first embodiment. The monitoring packet generating unit 155 corresponds to the monitoring packet generating unit 33 in the first embodiment.

[0085] The channel information receiving unit 151 of the communication device 15 is configured to receive Section type 6, extract Channel Information from Section type 6, and store it in the channel information storage memory 153. Section type 6 is received, for example, every 0.5 milliseconds or 20 milliseconds.

[0086] The beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 is configured to receive Section type 5. For example, Section type 5 is received every 0.5 milliseconds. In addition, when receiving Section type 5, the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 is configured to instruct the channel information storage memory 153 to output, to the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154, the channel information of the terminal device and the position of the RB on the frequency axis specified in Section type 5, among the channel information stored in the channel information storage memory 153. Furthermore, the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 is configured to instruct the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 to calculate a beamforming weight.

[0087] The channel information storage memory 153 is configured to store the channel information of each terminal device included in Section type 6.

[0088] The beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 is configured to receive an instruction from the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152, receive designated Channel Information from the channel information storage memory 153, and calculate Beamforming Weight. Note that the algorithm by which the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 calculates Beamforming Weight includes, but is not limited to, Zero-Forcing (ZF) and Minimum Mean Squared Error (MMSE).

[0089] Here, we will explain the Beamforming Weight. The Beamforming Weight is information calculated based on the relevant Channel Information from the list of all communication terminals already received in Section type 6 in order to form a beam for the user specified in Section type 5. The Beamforming Weight may be calculated based only on the Channel Information specified in the Channel Information with each communication terminal received in Section type 6. The Beamforming Weight is often represented as W. If the received signal on the terminal device side is Y, the Channel Information is H, the Beamforming Weight is W, the transmitted signal is X, and the noise on the terminal device side is N, it can generally be expressed as in the following formula (2).

[0090]

number

[0091] In this way, a beam received by the terminal device is formed by the Channel Information H and the Beamforming Weight W. In addition to the above-mentioned algorithm, there is also an algorithm that performs eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) on the Channel Information and treats the eigenvalue decomposition result (EVD result) as new Channel Information. When using such an algorithm, the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 may perform eigenvalue decomposition on the Channel Information.

[0092] The beam pattern formation calculation unit 154 may be called an inverse matrix accelerator (Mat. inv accelerator), an inverse matrix calculation unit (Mat. inv calculator), or an inverse matrix calculation accelerator (Mat. inv calculation accelerator).

[0093] The monitoring packet generation unit 155 is configured to collect various information from each functional unit of the communication device 15, and transmit the information to the interface 16. More specifically, the monitoring packet generation unit 155 is configured to collect information handled by each functional unit from the channel information receiving unit 151, the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152, the channel information storage memory 153, and the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154, and transmit the information to the interface 16. That is, the monitoring packet generation unit 155 may output the collected information to the interface 16 in the form of a monitoring packet.

[0094] The information collected by the monitoring packet generator 155 and transmitted to the interface 16, that is, the information transmitted in the form of a monitoring packet, includes, but is not limited to, Section type 5, Section type 6, Channel Information, the inverse matrix of Channel Information, Beamforming Weight, EVD result, etc. For example, it may be various values ​​obtained when the beam pattern forming calculator 154 calculates the Beamforming Weight.

[0095] An example of a monitoring packet that the monitoring packet generator 155 transmits to the interface 16, particularly an example of transmitting a monitoring packet including Beamforming Weight to the interface 16, is shown in FIG. 16. In general, when eight terminal devices each have two antennas, a total of 16 Beamforming Weights are required. Furthermore, when a base station that communicates with these terminal devices using beamforming has 64 array antennas, the Beamforming Weight is expressed as a two-dimensional matrix using 16×64=1024 complex numbers, and becomes the Beamforming Weight per frequency resolution. Note that the resolution is not limited to per frequency, and may be, but is not limited to, a Beamforming Weight per subcarrier, per RB, or per multiple RBs.

[0096] 16 is an example of a monitoring packet representing this two-dimensional matrix. The header may be freely set by, for example, a communication carrier of a communication system in which the communication device 15 is incorporated. For example, if this information is not necessary in the communication device 14, the header may be set so that the communication device 14 discards this monitoring packet as an abnormal packet. In addition, if a monitoring device that analyzes the monitoring packet and checks the beam shape is installed on the interface 16, or if the processing unit 143 analyzes the monitoring packet and checks the beam shape, the monitoring packet generation unit 155 may set the header of the monitoring packet to a form suitable for the monitoring device or the processing unit 143.

[0097] When expressing the Beamforming Weight at a certain resolution of 1 unit on the I / Q plane, it is composed of 1024 IQ data. Any of various bit compression methods may be applied to these IQ data, but the example in Figure 16 uses the 9-bit Block Floating Point adopted by the O-RAN Alliance to construct the monitoring packet. In addition, the example in Figure 16 defines one exponent (BFP Exponent) for every 64 antennas, and the IQ data is expressed in 9 bits. Therefore, in an 8-bit representation, the sign bit (S) shifts sequentially. Note that these IQ data may be transmitted in the payload portion of Ethernet.

[0098] 17 shows an example of a beam pattern, in which two beams are orthogonal to each other in the ±15° and ±46° directions. In this manner, by analyzing the monitoring packet transmitted by the communication device 15 of this embodiment onto the interface 16 by the monitoring device on the interface 16 or the processing unit 143 of the communication device 14, it is possible to confirm the beam pattern without actually measuring it.

[0099] Moreover, the monitoring packet generating unit 155 may collect information handled by each functional unit each time the functional unit receives information handled by the functional unit, calculates information, or outputs the information to another functional unit, generate a monitoring packet including the information, and immediately transmit the monitoring packet to the interface 16. More specifically, for example, each time the channel information receiving unit 151 receives Section type 6, the monitoring packet including Section type 6 may be immediately collected, and transmitted to the interface 16. In addition, each time the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 receives Section type 5, the monitoring packet including Section type 5 may be immediately collected, and transmitted to the interface 16. Similarly, each time the channel information storage memory 153 receives and stores Channel Information from the channel information receiving unit 151, the channel information may be collected, and a monitoring packet including the Channel Information may be generated and transmitted to the interface 16. In addition, each time the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 calculates and outputs a beamforming weight, the beamforming weight may be collected, a monitoring packet including the beamforming weight may be generated, and the monitoring packet may be immediately transmitted to the interface 16. The monitoring packet generation unit 155 may immediately collect various information, generate a monitoring packet including the information, and output the information to the interface 16, so that various information can be checked more quickly and without delay.

[0100] Next, an operation example of the communication device 15 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the communication device 15 according to the fourth embodiment.

[0101] The channel information receiving unit 151 of the communication device 15 receives Section type 6 from the communication device 14 (S401).

[0102] The channel information receiving unit 151 of the communication device 15 extracts the Channel Information from the received Section type 6, and stores it in the channel information storage memory 153 (S402).

[0103] The beam pattern formation instruction information receiving unit 152 of the communication device 15 receives Section type 5 from the communication device 14 (S403).

[0104] The beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152 of the communication device 15 instructs the beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 to transmit the Channel Information of the terminal device and the position of the RB on the frequency axis specified in Section type 5 from the Channel Information stored in the channel information storage memory 153 (S404).

[0105] The beam pattern forming instruction information receiver 152 of the communication device 15 instructs the beam pattern forming calculator 154 to calculate the beamforming weight (S405).

[0106] The beam pattern forming calculation unit 154 of the communication device 15 receives the instruction from the beam pattern forming instruction information receiving unit 152, receives the specified Channel Information from the channel information storage memory 153, and calculates the Beamforming Weight (S406).

[0107] The monitoring packet generator 155 collects various information from each functional unit of the communication device 15 and transmits it to the interface 16 (S407).

[0108] As described above, the communication device 15 can collect various information handled by each functional unit constituting the communication device 15, including the beamforming weight, and transmit the information to the interface 16. Therefore, the communication device 15 can check various information without actually measuring it.

[0109] <Other embodiments> <1> In the first to fourth embodiments, the monitoring packets are assumed to be processed by the communication devices 2, 6, 10, and 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the monitoring packet may be processed by a processing unit provided in a device that is different from the communication devices 2, 6, 10, and 14 and that is connected to the interface.

[0110] <2> The communication devices 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15 (hereinafter referred to as communication device 1, etc.) according to the above-described embodiments may have the following hardware configuration. Fig. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computer (information processing device) capable of realizing the communication device according to each embodiment.

[0111] 19, a communication device 1 or the like includes a network interface 1000, a processor 1001, and a memory 1002. The network interface 1000 is used to communicate with other wireless communication devices including a plurality of communication terminals. The network interface 1000 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series, the IEEE 802.3 series, or the like.

[0112] The processor 1001 reads out and executes software (computer programs) from the memory 1002 to perform the processes of the communication device 1 and the like described using the flowcharts and sequence diagrams in the above-mentioned embodiments. The processor 1001 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 1001 may include multiple processors.

[0113] The memory 1002 is configured by a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The memory 1002 may include storage located remotely from the processor 1001. In this case, the processor 1001 may access the memory 1002 via an I / O interface (not shown).

[0114] 19, the memory 1002 is used to store software modules. The processor 1001 reads out and executes the software modules from the memory 1002, thereby performing the processing of the communication device 1 and the like described in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0115] As described with reference to FIG. 19, each of the processors included in the communication device 1 etc. executes one or more programs including a group of instructions for causing a computer to execute the algorithm described with reference to the drawing.

[0116] In the above example, the program can be stored and provided to the computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. The non-transitory computer readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives) and magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks). Further, examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, and CD-R / W. Further, examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory includes, for example, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, and RAM (Random Access Memory). The program may also be provided to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of the transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire or an optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0117] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0118] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) A first communication device and a second communication device, which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed therein, the first communication device comprising: a receiving means for receiving information necessary for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; A parameter calculation means for calculating a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting a downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for forming the beam pattern, each time information necessary for forming the beam is received; a monitoring packet generating means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameter every time the beam forming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; Equipped with A first communication device. (Appendix 2) the monitoring packet generation means selects, from the monitoring packets, a monitoring packet including beam forming parameters of a beam using a specific frequency band among all frequency bands used by the beam, and outputs the monitoring packet to the interface; 2. A first communication device as described in claim 1. (Appendix 3) The first communication device described in any one of Appendices 1 and 2, wherein the monitoring packet generation means selects from the monitoring packets a monitoring packet including beam forming parameters for forming a beam used at a specific time out of the entire time used for a series of communications with the terminal device, and outputs the monitoring packet to the interface. (Appendix 4) The first communication device described in any one of Appendix 1 to 3, wherein the monitoring packet generating means divides the monitoring packet into a plurality of data units and transmits the divided plurality of data units at least one at a time to the interface. (Appendix 5) The receiving means includes: A first communication device described in any one of Appendix 1 to 4, receiving a request to transmit the monitoring packet from the second communication device, and the monitoring packet generating means transmitting the monitoring packet to the interface in response to the request. (Appendix 6) The first communication device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5, wherein the information required for forming the beam is Channel Information. (Appendix 7) The monitoring packet includes a Beamforming Weight. 7. A first communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. (Additional Note 8) The monitoring packet includes at least one of the Channel Information, an eigenvalue decomposition result of the Channel Information, and an inverse matrix of the Channel Information. 7. The first communication device of claim 6. (Appendix 9) A method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, the method comprising: receiving information required for beamforming from the second communication device via the interface; Each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device is calculated based on the information necessary for forming the beam pattern; generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beamforming parameters each time the beamforming parameters are calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; method. (Appendix 10) A second communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device and the second communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having base station functions distributed therein, the second communication device includes a transmitting means for transmitting information required for beam forming and a request for transmitting a monitoring packet to the first communication device via the interface; The monitoring packet includes a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device. A second communication device. (Appendix 11) A method for a second communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device and the second communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, the method comprising: The second communication device transmits a request to the first communication device via the interface to transmit information necessary for beamforming and a monitoring packet; The monitoring packet includes a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device. method.

[0119] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-151801, filed on September 17, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1~3, 5~7, 9~11, 13~15 Communication equipment 4, 8, 12, 16 Interface 21, 31, 61, 71, 101, 111, 141 Receiver 22, 62, 102, 142 Transmitter 32, 72, 112 Parameter calculation section 33, 73, 113 Monitoring packet generator 143 Processing section 151 Channel information receiver 152 Beam pattern formation instruction information receiving unit 153 Channel information storage memory 154 Beam pattern forming calculation unit 155 Monitoring Packet Generator 1000 Network Interfaces 1001 Processor 1002 Memory

Claims

1. A first communication device and a second communication device, which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed therein, the first communication device comprising: a receiving means for receiving information required for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; a parameter calculation means for calculating, each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for forming the beam; a monitoring packet generating means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameter every time the beam forming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; Equipped with the monitoring packet generation means selects, from the monitoring packets, a monitoring packet including beam forming parameters of a beam using a specific frequency band among all frequency bands used by the beam, and outputs the monitoring packet to the interface; A first communication device.

2. A first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, a receiving means for receiving information required for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; a parameter calculation means for calculating, each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for forming the beam; a monitoring packet generating means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameter every time the beam forming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; Equipped with the monitoring packet generation means selects, from the monitoring packets, a monitoring packet including a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used at a specific time out of an entire time used in a series of communications with the terminal device, and outputs the selected monitoring packet to the interface. A first communication device.

3. A first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, a receiving means for receiving information required for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; a parameter calculation means for calculating, each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for forming the beam; a monitoring packet generating means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameter each time the beam forming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; Equipped with The receiving means receives a request to transmit the monitoring packet from the second communication device, the monitoring packet generating means transmits the monitoring packet to the interface in response to the request. A first communication device.

4. A first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, a receiving means for receiving information required for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; a parameter calculation means for calculating, each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device, based on the information necessary for forming the beam; a monitoring packet generating means for generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beam forming parameter each time the beam forming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface; Equipped with The monitoring packet includes a Beamforming Weight. A first communication device.

5. A method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, the method comprising: receiving information required for beam forming from the second communication device via the interface; Each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device is calculated based on the information necessary for forming the beam; generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beamforming parameter each time the beamforming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface, selecting a monitoring packet including beamforming parameters of a beam using a specific frequency band among all frequency bands used by the beam from the generated monitoring packets, and outputting the selected monitoring packet to the interface; method.

6. A method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having base station functions distributed therein, the method comprising: receiving information necessary for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; Each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device is calculated based on the information necessary for forming the beam; generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beamforming parameter each time the beamforming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface, selecting, from the generated monitoring packets, a monitoring packet including a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used at a specific time out of the entire time used in a series of communications with the terminal device, and outputting the selected monitoring packet to the interface; method.

7. A method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having base station functions distributed therein, the method comprising: receiving information necessary for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; Each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device is calculated based on the information necessary for forming the beam; generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beamforming parameter each time the beamforming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface, receiving a request to transmit the monitoring packet from the second communication device; After generating the monitoring packet, transmitting the monitoring packet to the interface in response to the request. method.

8. A method executed by a first communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having base station functions distributed therein, the method comprising: receiving information necessary for beam formation from the second communication device via the interface; Each time information necessary for forming the beam is received, a beam forming parameter for forming a beam used when transmitting the downlink signal received from the second communication device to a terminal device is calculated based on the information necessary for forming the beam; generating a monitoring packet including the calculated beamforming parameter each time the beamforming parameter is calculated, and outputting the monitoring packet to the interface, The monitoring packet includes a Beamforming Weight. method.

9. A second communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, which are connected to each other via an interface and have base station functions distributed therein, the second communication device includes a transmitting means for transmitting information required for beam formation and a request for transmitting a monitoring packet to the first communication device via the interface; The monitoring packet includes a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device. A second communication device.

10. A method for a second communication device of a first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device and the second communication device being connected to each other via an interface and having a base station function distributed therein, the method comprising: The second communication device transmits a request to the first communication device via the interface to transmit information necessary for beamforming and a monitoring packet; The monitoring packet includes a beam forming parameter for forming a beam to be used when transmitting a downlink signal to a terminal device. method.

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