COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

Abstract

Provided is a communication system with which it is possible to continue communicating while each set of a station device is fixed to a wireless channel, even when the communication quality of a specific wireless channel is bad. Therefore, this communication system comprises a first line switching device for switching a first communication line connected to a first station device, a second line switching device for switching a second communication line connected to a second station device, and a wireless channel allocating means for allocating from among a plurality of wireless communication channels for communication between the first and second communication lines. The first line switching device transmits, to the second line switching device, a port number signal that indicates a port number to which a signal has been inputted from the first communication line to the first line switching device. The second line switching device identifies a port number of the second line switching device that connects to the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal. The first and second line switching devices switch the first and second communication lines which are connected to the first and second station devices so that communication via the allocated wireless communication channel is performed between the port number indicated by the port number signal and the identified port number.

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] There are known communication systems and methods that use a base station antenna that can be used with multiple frequency bands (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, by using an antenna duplexer or the like, a single antenna can be shared not only with multiple frequency bands, but also with multiple station devices such as base stations and subscriber stations, allowing multiple station devices and multiple wireless channels to be operated in parallel. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Development of Five-Band Base Station Antenna for the Introduction of the 700MHz Band, Tatsuhiko Yoshihara, Hiroyuki Kawai, Taisuke Ihara, NTT DoCoMo Technical Journal Vol. 22 No. 1, April 1, 2014, p. 26-31 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Thus, in the prior art communication system and communication method, by using an antenna duplexer or the like, it is possible to communicate signals of multiple channels between multiple sets of station devices via a single antenna. However, in the prior art, the wireless channel used by each set of station devices is fixed and difficult to change. Therefore, when the communication quality of a specific wireless channel is poor, the communication using that wireless channel must continue with the quality degraded. Alternatively, the number of lines that can communicate simultaneously on that wireless channel may decrease, resulting in some lines being unable to communicate.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and has an objective to provide a communication system and a communication method that can continue communication with good quality even when the wireless communication quality of a specific wireless channel is poor, while keeping the wireless channel used by each set of station devices fixed, and can suppress the occurrence of lines that cannot communicate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A communication system according to the present disclosure includes a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines and a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines, and is a communication system for communicating between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels, the communication system further including a first line switching device for switching the first communication line connected to the first station device, a second line switching device for switching the second communication line connected to the second station device, and a wireless channel allocation means for allocating one of the plurality of wireless communication channels to communication between the first communication line and the second communication line, the first line switching device being a port through which a signal is input to the first line switching device from the first communication line. a port number signal indicating a port number of the first line switching device to the second line switching device, the second line switching device specifies a port number of the second line switching device to be connected to the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal, and the first line switching device and the second line switching device switch the first communication line connected to the first station device and the second communication line connected to the second station device so that communication is performed via the wireless communication channel assigned by the wireless channel assignment means between the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the second line switching device specified by the second line switching device.

[0007] A communication system according to the present disclosure includes a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines, a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines, a first line switching device that switches the first communication lines connected to the first station device, and a second line switching device that switches the second communication lines connected to the second station device. The communication method for communicating between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels includes the steps of: the first line switching device transmitting to the second line switching device a port number signal indicating a port number through which a signal has been input from the first communication line to the first line switching device; The method includes a step of identifying a port number of the second line switching device to be connected to a port number of a line switching device; an allocation step of allocating one of the plurality of wireless communication channels to communication between the first communication line and the second communication line; and a step of switching the first communication line connected to the first station device and the second communication line connected to the second station device so that communication is performed between the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the second line switching device identified by the second line switching device via the wireless communication channel assigned in the allocation step. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the communication system and communication method disclosed herein, the wireless channel used by each set of station devices remains fixed, and even if the wireless communication quality of a specific wireless channel is poor, communication can be continued with good quality, thereby preventing the occurrence of lines that cannot communicate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system of a comparative example. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation and a communication method of the communication system according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The following describes an embodiment of a communication system and a communication method according to the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted. In the following description, for convenience, the positional relationship of each structure may be expressed based on the illustrated state. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and the embodiments may be freely combined, any component of each embodiment may be modified, or any component of each embodiment may be omitted, within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0011] Embodiment 1 A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system of a comparative example. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the communication system and a communication method.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system according to this embodiment performs communication between a plurality of base stations 200 and a plurality of subscriber stations 300. In the configuration example described here, the number of subscriber stations 300 in the communication system is the same as the number of base stations 200. The subscriber station 300 is an example of a first station device. The base station 200 is an example of a second station device. The subscriber station 300, which is the first station device, accommodates a plurality of subscriber station side communication lines 20. The base station 200, which is the second station device, accommodates a plurality of base station side communication lines 10. The subscriber station side communication lines 20 are an example of a first communication line. The base station side communication lines 10 are an example of a second communication line.

[0013] The subscriber station communication line 20 and the base station communication line 10 are, for example, voice communication lines. When the subscriber station communication line 20 and the base station communication line 10 are voice communication lines, analog signals are transmitted through these communication lines. Note that the subscriber station communication line 20 and the base station communication line 10 are not limited to voice communication lines, and may be, for example, digital data communication lines.

[0014] The communication between the subscriber station 300, which is the first station device, and the base station 200, which is the second station device, is wireless communication via an antenna. The multiple base stations 200 are connected to one base station side antenna 501 via a base station side antenna duplexer 511. The multiple subscriber stations 300 are connected to one subscriber station side antenna 502 via a subscriber station side antenna duplexer 512.

[0015] The subscriber stations 300 and the base station 200 communicate with each other via multiple wireless channels. In the configuration example described here, the number of subscriber stations 300 and the number of base stations 200 in the communication system are the same. The number of wireless channels used in the communication between the subscriber stations 300 and the base stations 200 is also the same as the number of subscriber stations 300 and the number of base stations 200. In other words, each subscriber station 300 and each base station 200 are associated with each other to form a pair, and one wireless channel is provided for each pair of the subscriber station 300 and the base station 200.

[0016] In the example shown in FIG. 1, N base stations 200 are provided from the first base station to the Nth base station. Also, N subscriber stations 300 are provided from the first subscriber station to the Nth subscriber station. Here, N is an integer of 2 or more. The Nth base station and the Nth subscriber station communicate with each other through the Nth wireless channel. That is, for example, the first base station and the first subscriber station communicate with each other through the first wireless channel. In addition, in each figure of the present disclosure, "first", "second", ..., "Nth" are represented by "#1", "#2", ..., "#N", respectively. In this way, in the communication system according to this embodiment, a plurality of sets of station devices are operated in parallel using an antenna duplexer.

[0017] The communication system according to this embodiment includes a customer station line switching device 400 and a base station line switching device 100. The customer station line switching device 400 is a first line switching device that switches the customer station communication lines 20 connected to each of the customer stations 300, which are first station devices. The base station line switching device 100 is a second line switching device that switches the base station communication lines 10 connected to each of the base stations 200, which are second station devices.

[0018] Next, with reference to Fig. 2, an example of the configuration of the communication system according to this embodiment will be described. In the example shown in Fig. 2, for the sake of simplicity, three base stations 200 are provided, namely, a first base station 210, a second base station 220, and a third base station 230. Also, three subscriber stations 300 are provided, namely, a first subscriber station 310, a second subscriber station 320, and a third subscriber station 330. The first base station 210 and the first subscriber station 310 communicate with each other via a first wireless channel. The second base station 220 and the second subscriber station 320 communicate with each other via a second wireless channel. The third base station 230 and the third subscriber station 330 communicate with each other via a third wireless channel. Each base station 200 accommodates three base station side communication lines 10. Also, each subscriber station 300 accommodates three subscriber station side communication lines 20. That is, the subscriber station side communication lines 20 and the base station side communication lines 10 each have a total of nine lines.

[0019] The base station side line switching device 100 is provided between the communication network 1 and each base station 200. The base station side line switching device 100 has a connection port on each of the communication network 1 side and the base station 200 side. The number of connection ports provided in the base station side line switching device 100 is at least the number of second communication lines accommodated in the base station 200. In the illustrated example, the base station side line switching device 100 has nine connection ports on each of the communication network 1 side and the base station 200 side.

[0020] Each base station 200 has an interface to which the base station side communication lines 10 accommodated therein are connected. That is, the first base station 210 has a first base station interface 211. The three base station side communication lines 10 accommodated in the first base station 210 are connected to the first base station interface 211 and each port on the base station 200 side of the base station side line switching device 100. The second base station 220 has a second base station interface 221. The three base station side communication lines 10 accommodated in the second base station 220 are connected to the second base station interface 221 and each port on the base station 200 side of the base station side line switching device 100. The third base station 230 has a third base station interface 231. The three base station side communication lines 10 accommodated in the third base station 230 are connected to the third base station interface 231 and each port on the base station 200 side of the base station side line switching device 100.

[0021] The subscriber station line switching device 400 is provided between each subscriber station 300 and each subscriber terminal (telephone, etc.). The subscriber station line switching device 400 has connection ports on both the subscriber station 300 side and the subscriber terminal side. The number of connection ports provided in the subscriber station line switching device 400 is at least the number of first communication lines accommodated in the subscriber station 300. In the illustrated example, the subscriber station line switching device 400 has nine connection ports on each of the subscriber station 300 side and the subscriber terminal side.

[0022] Each subscriber station 300 has an interface to which the subscriber station side communication lines 20 accommodated therein are connected. That is, the first subscriber station 310 has a first subscriber station interface 311. The subscriber station side communication lines 20 for three lines accommodated in the first subscriber station 310 are connected to the first subscriber station interface 311 and each port of the subscriber station side line switching device 400 on the subscriber station 300 side. The second subscriber station 320 has a second subscriber station interface 321. The subscriber station side communication lines 20 for three lines accommodated in the second subscriber station 320 are connected to the second subscriber station interface 321 and each port of the subscriber station side line switching device 400 on the subscriber station 300 side. The third subscriber station 330 has a third subscriber station interface 331. The subscriber station side communication lines 20 for three lines accommodated in the third subscriber station 330 are connected to the third subscriber station interface 331 and each port of the subscriber station side line switching device 400 on the subscriber station 300 side.

[0023] In the communication system according to this embodiment, the base station line switching device 100 includes a base station side radio channel allocation unit 101. Also, the customer station side line switching device 400 includes a customer station side radio channel allocation unit 401. The base station side radio channel allocation unit 101 and the customer station side radio channel allocation unit 401 are radio channel allocation means that allocate one radio channel from the above-mentioned multiple radio channels to communication between the customer station side communication line 20, which is the first communication line, and the base station side communication line 10, which is the second communication line.

[0024] The wireless channels are allocated based on one or both of the number of lines that can be accommodated by the station device corresponding to each wireless channel and the communication quality of each wireless channel. The base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 evaluate the communication quality of the wireless channel using, for example, SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio). Then, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 preferentially allocate wireless channels with relatively good communication quality. Alternatively, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 may preferentially allocate wireless channels of station devices with a surplus compared to the number of lines that can be accommodated.

[0025] When the communication quality is evaluated using the SNR, as shown in Fig. 1, the base station side line switching device 100 may be provided with a base station side external noise acquisition antenna 110. Also, the subscriber station side line switching device 400 may be provided with a subscriber station side external noise acquisition antenna 410. The base station side external noise acquisition antenna 110 and the subscriber station side external noise acquisition antenna 410 acquire the external noise of each wireless channel. Then, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 calculates the SNR using the external noise acquired by the base station side external noise acquisition antenna 110. Similarly, the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 calculates the SNR using the external noise acquired by the subscriber station side external noise acquisition antenna 410.

[0026] The base station side radio channel allocation unit 101 may acquire external noise from the base station side antenna 501 via the base station 200 or directly, without using the base station side external noise acquisition antenna 110. Also, the subscriber station side radio channel allocation unit 401 may acquire external noise from the subscriber station side antenna 502 via the subscriber station 300 or directly, without using the subscriber station side external noise acquisition antenna 410.

[0027] In the communication system configured as above, when a call is made from any of the subscriber terminals, a signal is input from the subscriber station communication line 20 corresponding to that subscriber terminal to the subscriber station line switching device 400. When a signal is input from the subscriber station communication line 20 to the subscriber station line switching device 400, the subscriber station line switching device 400 transmits a port number signal indicating the port number through which the signal was input from the subscriber station communication line 20 to the subscriber station line switching device 400, to the base station line switching device 100. In other words, the first line switching device transmits a port number signal indicating the port number through which the signal was input from the first communication line to the first line switching device, to the second line switching device.

[0028] The base station line switching device 100 receives a port number signal transmitted from the customer station line switching device 400. The base station line switching device 100 identifies the port number of the base station line switching device 100 to be connected to the port number of the customer station line switching device 400 indicated by the received port number signal. In other words, the second line switching device identifies the port number of the second line switching device to be connected to the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal.

[0029] The customer station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 switch the customer station communication line 20 connected to the customer station 300 and the base station communication line 10 connected to the base station 200 so that communication is performed via the wireless channel assigned by the base station wireless channel assignment unit 101 and the customer station wireless channel assignment unit 401 between the port number of the customer station line switching device 400 indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the base station line switching device 100 specified by the base station line switching device 100. That is, the first line switching device and the second line switching device switch the first communication line connected to the first station device and the second communication line connected to the second station device so that communication is performed via the wireless communication channel assigned by the wireless channel assignment means between the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the second line switching device specified by the second line switching device.

[0030] The allocation of radio channels and communication processing in the communication system configured as above will be described with reference to a specific example shown in Fig. 2. First, the base station side radio channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side radio channel allocation unit 401 acquire information on the SNR of each radio channel and the number of lines that each station device can accommodate from the base station 200, the subscriber station 300, the base station side external noise acquisition antenna 110 and the subscriber station side external noise acquisition antenna 410. Then, based on the acquired information on the SNR of each radio channel and the number of lines that each station device can accommodate, the base station side radio channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side radio channel allocation unit 401 set the allocation priority for each radio channel in descending order of the available capacity.

[0031] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the first wireless channel has weak external noise, good wireless communication quality, and the number of accommodable lines is three. The second wireless channel also has weak external noise, good wireless communication quality, and the number of accommodable lines is three. The third wireless channel has strong external noise, and poor wireless communication quality. As the wireless communication quality deteriorates, the number of accommodable lines for the third wireless channel is reduced to one. Therefore, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 set the allocation priority of the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel to "high", and set the allocation priority of the third wireless channel to "low".

[0032] Assume that an analog telephone signal (dial pulse signal, push button signal, etc.) is input from a subscriber terminal to the seventh line port of the subscriber station line switching device 400. In this case, the subscriber station line switching device 400 adds a port number signal indicating the line port number where the input of the signal was detected to the beginning of the input signal. Here, the port number signal may be a dedicated pulse signal, or a dial pulse signal or push button signal may be used.

[0033] The subscriber station line switching device 400 transmits the analog telephone signal with the port number signal added to the beginning to the base station line switching device 100. The wireless channel allocated by the subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 401 is used for this transmission. In the example described here, the allocation priority of the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel is set to "high" as described above. Therefore, for example, the subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 401 allocates the first wireless channel to the communication. Therefore, the subscriber station line switching device 400 outputs the analog telephone signal with the port number signal added to the first subscriber station 310. Then, the analog telephone signal with the port number signal added is sent from the first subscriber station 310 via the first wireless channel through the first base station 210 to the base station line switching device 100.

[0034] The base station line switching device 100 extracts a port number signal from the received signal. The base station line switching device 100 then first identifies the port number of the subscriber station line switching device 400 to which the analog telephone signal has been input from the extracted port number signal. Next, the base station line switching device 100 identifies the port number of the base station line switching device 100 to be connected to the port number of the subscriber station line switching device 400. In the example described here, the port number of the base station line switching device 100 corresponding to the port number of the subscriber station line switching device 400 is the same. Therefore, next, the base station line switching device 100 identifies the seventh line port of the base station line switching device 100 as the connection port for the seventh line port of the subscriber station line switching device 400. The base station line switching device 100 then removes the port number signal from the analog telephone signal to which the port number signal has been added, and outputs the analog telephone signal to the communication network 1 from the identified seventh line port.

[0035] Thereafter, the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 pass through signals from the subscriber terminal and the communication network 1 so that communication is performed between the seventh line ports of the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 via the first wireless channel. That is, the subscriber station line switching device 400 puts the seventh line port on the subscriber terminal side into use. Then, the subscriber station line switching device 400 outputs a signal input from the seventh line port on the subscriber terminal side from the first line port on the subscriber station 300 side and transmits it to the first subscriber station 310. The first subscriber station 310 transmits the input signal to the first base station 210 via the first wireless channel. The first base station 210 outputs the received signal to the first line port on the base station 200 side of the base station line switching device 100. The base station line switching device 100 puts the seventh line port on the communication network 1 side into use. Then, the base station side line switching device 100 outputs the signal input from the first line port on the base station 200 side from the seventh line port on the communication network 1 side. Signals transmitted from the communication network 1 to the subscriber terminal are processed in the same manner.

[0036] In this state, suppose that an analog telephone signal is next input from a subscriber terminal to the eighth line port of the subscriber station line switching device 400. Since the first wireless channel is being used for the previous communication on the seventh line port, the number of lines that the first wireless channel can accommodate has been reduced to two, while the number of lines that the second wireless channel can accommodate remains at three. Therefore, the subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 401 allocates the second wireless channel, which has a relatively large spare capacity, to the communication in question.

[0037] The subsequent processing is the same as the example of the seventh line port described above. That is, the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 pass through signals from the subscriber terminal and the communication network 1 so that communication is performed via the second wireless channel between the eighth line ports of the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100. More specifically, the subscriber station line switching device 400 puts the eighth line port on the subscriber terminal side into use. Then, the subscriber station line switching device 400 outputs a signal input from the eighth line port on the subscriber terminal side from the fourth line port on the subscriber station 300 side and transmits it to the second subscriber station 320. The second subscriber station 320 transmits the input signal to the second base station 220 via the second wireless channel. The second base station 220 outputs the received signal to the fourth line port on the base station 200 side of the base station line switching device 100. The base station line switching device 100 puts the eighth line port on the communication network 1 side into use. Then, the base station side line switching device 100 outputs the signal input from the fourth line port on the base station 200 side from the eighth line port on the communication network 1 side. Signals transmitted from the communication network 1 to the subscriber terminal are processed in the same manner.

[0038] In this state, suppose that an analog telephone signal is input from a subscriber terminal to the ninth line port of the subscriber station line switching device 400. At this point, the number of lines that can be accommodated by the first and second wireless channels is both 2. Therefore, the subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 401 allocates, for example, the first wireless channel to the communication.

[0039] The subsequent processing is the same as the example of the seventh and eighth line ports described above. That is, the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 pass through signals from the subscriber terminal and the communication network 1 so that communication is performed between the ninth line ports of the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 via the first wireless channel. More specifically, the subscriber station line switching device 400 puts the ninth line port on the subscriber terminal side into use. Then, the subscriber station line switching device 400 outputs a signal input from the ninth line port on the subscriber terminal side from the second line port on the subscriber station 300 side and transmits it to the first subscriber station 310. The first subscriber station 310 transmits the input signal to the first base station 210 via the first wireless channel. The first base station 210 outputs the received signal to the second line port on the base station 200 side of the base station line switching device 100. The base station line switching device 100 puts the ninth line port on the communication network 1 side into use. Then, the base station side line switching device 100 outputs the signal input from the second line port on the base station 200 side from the ninth line port on the communication network 1 side. Signals transmitted from the communication network 1 to the subscriber terminal are processed in the same manner.

[0040] Next, the effect achievable by the communication system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the comparative example of FIG. 3. The system shown in the comparative example of FIG. 3 does not include the base station side line switching device 100 and the subscriber station side line switching device 400 according to the present disclosure. That is, in the comparative example of FIG. 3, the base station side communication line 10 is directly connected to each base station 200, and the subscriber station side communication line 20 is directly connected to each subscriber station 300. As described above, one wireless channel is provided for each pair of the subscriber station 300 and the base station 200. The wireless channel used by each pair of the subscriber station 300 and the base station 200 is fixed and cannot be changed. In such a comparative example, when communication is performed simultaneously on three lines accommodated in the third subscriber station 330, all of these three lines use the third wireless channel. Therefore, when strong external noise is present in the third wireless channel and the wireless communication quality is poor, communication must be continued with deteriorated quality, or the number of lines capable of simultaneous communication is reduced, and there is a possibility that lines that cannot communicate may occur.

[0041] In contrast, the communication system according to this embodiment includes the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 as described above, and also includes a radio channel allocation means for allocating one of a plurality of radio communication channels to the communication between the base station line 10 and the subscriber station line 20. Then, the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 exchange information on the port number of the line to be connected, and the subscriber station line 20 connected to the subscriber station 300 and the base station line 10 connected to the base station 200 are switched so that the communication is performed via the radio channel allocated by the radio channel allocation means. This makes it possible to change the radio communication channel used for the communication between the base station line 10 on the communication network 1 side and the subscriber station line 20 on the subscriber terminal side while keeping the radio channel used by each pair of the subscriber station 300 and the base station 200 fixed. Therefore, according to the communication system according to this embodiment, when a specific radio channel has a bad radio communication quality due to strong external noise, the communication can be continued with good quality using other radio channels, and the occurrence of a line that cannot be communicated can be suppressed.

[0042] In the communication system according to this embodiment, the communication quality of the wireless channels may be monitored during communication between the base station communication line 10 and the subscriber station communication line 20. If necessary, the base station wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 401 may change the wireless channels to be allocated to the base station communication line 10 and the subscriber station communication line 20 during communication. In this case, the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 switch the subscriber station communication line 20 connected to the subscriber station 300 and the base station communication line 10 connected to the base station 200 so that communication is performed via the wireless channel whose allocation has been changed.

[0043] When changing the assigned wireless channel during communication, one of the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 (hereinafter also referred to as "one line switching device") transmits the above-mentioned port number signal to the other of the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 (hereinafter also referred to as "the other line switching device"). The other line switching device receives the port number signal transmitted from one line switching device. The other line switching device identifies the port number of the other line switching device to be connected to the port number of the one line switching device indicated by the received port number signal. Then, if this identified port number is already currently in use, the wireless channel to be used for communication of the port number in use is changed.

[0044] Here, when the assigned wireless channel is changed during communication, the transmission of the port number signal can be performed in two cases: when the changed wireless channel is used, and when the wireless channel before the change is used. When the changed wireless channel is used, if the port number specified from the received port number signal is in use, the other line switching device changes the wireless channel used for communication of the in-use port number to that of the station device that was used when the port number signal was input to the other line switching device.

[0045] Furthermore, when the wireless channel before the change is used, one line switching device transmits to the other line switching device, in addition to the port number signal, a station equipment port signal indicating the input / output port of the station equipment corresponding to the changed wireless channel. When the other line switching device receives the station equipment port signal, it changes the wireless channel used for communication of the port number specified from the received port number signal to the one indicated by the station equipment port signal. In this case, for example, it is possible to add the port number signal to the beginning of the analog telephone signal and the station equipment port signal to the end of the analog telephone signal.

[0046] Next, a communication method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 4. The communication method according to this embodiment is a communication method for communicating between the base station 200 and the subscriber station 300 via a plurality of wireless communication channels in the communication system configured as described above. That is, the communication method according to this embodiment is a communication method for communicating between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels in a communication system including a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines, a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines, a first line switching device for switching the first communication lines connected to the first station device, and a second line switching device for switching the second communication lines connected to the second station device.

[0047] In the communication method according to this embodiment, first, in step S1, the customer-station line switching device 400, which is the first line switching device, transmits a port number signal to the base station line switching device 100, which is the second line switching device. The port number signal is a signal indicating a port number to which a signal is input from the customer-station communication line 20, which is the first communication line, to the customer-station line switching device 400. In the following step S2, the base station line switching device 100, which is the second line switching device, identifies the port number of the base station line switching device 100 to be connected to the port number of the customer-station line switching device 400 indicated by the received port number signal.

[0048] In step S3, an allocation step is performed in which one of a plurality of wireless communication channels is allocated to communication between the subscriber station side communication line 20, which is the first communication line, and the base station side communication line 10, which is the second communication line. In this allocation step, for example, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401, which are wireless channel allocation means, set allocation priorities of the wireless channels based on one or both of the number of lines that the station device corresponding to each wireless channel can accommodate and the communication quality of each wireless channel. Then, the base station side wireless channel allocation unit 101 and the subscriber station side wireless channel allocation unit 401 allocate the wireless channels according to the allocation priorities that they have set.

[0049] In step S4, the subscriber station line switching device 400 and the base station line switching device 100 switch the subscriber station communication line 20 connected to the subscriber station 300 and the base station communication line 10 connected to the base station 200 so that communication is performed via the wireless channel assigned in step S3 between the port number of the subscriber station line switching device 400 indicated by the port number signal in step S1 and the port number of the base station line switching device 100 specified in step S2.

[0050] It should be noted that step S2 is executed after step S1, but step S3 may be executed before or after step S1 and step S2, or between step S1 and step S2. Step S4 is executed after all of steps S1 to S3 have been executed.

[0051] In the communication method configured as above, the same effects as those of the communication system according to this embodiment can be obtained.

[0052] In the above description, the customer station 300 is the first station device, the customer station line switching device 400 is the first line switching device, the customer station communication line 20 is the first communication line, the base station 200 is the second station device, the base station line switching device 100 is the second line switching device, and the base station communication line 10 is the second communication line. However, these relationships may be reversed. That is, in the communication system and communication method according to the present disclosure, the base station 200 may be the first station device, the base station line switching device 100 may be the first line switching device, the base station communication line 10 may be the first communication line, the customer station 300 may be the second station device, the customer station line switching device 400 may be the second line switching device, and the customer station communication line 20 may be the second communication line.

[0053] In the communication system and the communication method according to the embodiment, the control circuits of the base station line switching device 100 and the subscriber station line switching device 400 may be provided with, for example, a computer having a processor and a memory (not shown). In this case, the communication system controls the communication system and executes the communication method by executing a program stored in the memory of the computer by the processor of the computer to execute a preset process.

[0054] That is, the communication system and method according to the present disclosure can be realized by having a processor execute a program stored in a memory to perform a preset process, and by having hardware and software work together. The program for realizing the system and method according to the present disclosure can be recorded on an information recording medium. The program for realizing the system and method according to the present disclosure can also be provided through a communication network. [Industrial Applicability]

[0055] The present disclosure can be used in a communication system that includes a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines and a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines, and that communicates between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels, and in a communication method for the communication system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1. Communication Network 10 Base station communication line 20 Subscriber station communication line 100 Base station side line switching device 101 Base station side wireless channel allocation unit 110 Antenna for acquiring external noise from base station 200 base stations 210 1st base station 211 First base station interface 220 2nd base station 221 Second base station interface 230 3rd base station 231 3rd base station interface 300 subscriber stations 310 1st subscriber station 311 First Subscriber Station Interface 320 2nd subscriber station 321 Secondary Subscriber Station Interface 330 Third subscriber station 331 Third Subscriber Station Interface 400 Subscriber station line switching device 401 Subscriber station wireless channel allocation unit 410 Antenna for acquiring external noise on the subscriber station side 501 Base station antenna 502 Subscriber station antenna 511 Base station antenna duplexer 512 Subscriber side antenna duplexer

Claims

1. a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines; a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines; A communication system in which communication is performed between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels, a first line switching device that switches the first communication line connected to the first station device; a second line switching device that switches the second communication line connected to the second station device; a wireless channel allocation means for allocating a wireless communication channel from among the plurality of wireless communication channels to communication between the first communication line and the second communication line; the first line switching device transmits to the second line switching device a port number signal indicating a port number through which a signal is input from the first communication line to the first line switching device; the second line switching device specifies a port number of the second line switching device to be connected to the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal; The first line switching device and the second line switching device switch the first communication line connected to the first station device and the second communication line connected to the second station device so that communication is performed via the wireless communication channel assigned by the wireless channel assignment means between the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the second line switching device identified by the second line switching device.

2. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless channel allocation means allocates the wireless communication channel based on one or both of the number of lines that can be accommodated by the first station device and the second station device corresponding to the wireless communication channel and the communication quality of the wireless communication channel.

3. a first station device accommodating a plurality of first communication lines; a second station device accommodating a plurality of second communication lines; a first line switching device that switches the first communication line connected to the first station device; a second line switching device that switches the second communication line connected to the second station device, a communication method for communicating between the first station device and the second station device via a plurality of wireless communication channels, comprising: a step of the first line switching device transmitting a port number signal indicating a port number through which a signal is input from the first communication line to the first line switching device to the second line switching device; a step of the second line switching device specifying a port number of the second line switching device to be connected to the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal; an allocating step of allocating one of the plurality of wireless communication channels to communication between the first communication line and the second communication line; a step of switching the first communication line connected to the first station device and the second communication line connected to the second station device so that communication is performed via the wireless communication channel assigned in the assignment step between the port number of the first line switching device indicated by the port number signal and the port number of the second line switching device identified by the second line switching device.

4. 4. The communication method according to claim 3, wherein the allocation step allocates the wireless communication channel based on one or both of the number of lines that can be accommodated by the first station device and the second station device corresponding to the wireless communication channel and the communication quality of the wireless communication channel.

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