Shared device, slave device, management device, communication relay system and program

Abstract

To provide a communication relay device, wireless communication device, management device, communication relay system, and computer program that can grasp a use status of a system of each communication carrier.SOLUTION: A communication relay device of an embodiment includes a first communication unit, a first detection unit, a second communication unit, a second detection unit, and a tallying unit. The first communication unit receives signals from a base station of a first communication carrier. The first detection unit detects a communication signal addressed to a mobile station from the signals received by the first communication unit. The second communication unit receives signals from a base station of a second communication carrier. The second detection unit detects a communication signal addressed to a mobile station from the signals received by the second communication unit. The tallying unit tallies an amount of communication resources which are used for each communication carrier on the basis of, a detection result of the first detection unit and a detection result of the second detection unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention comprises: shared Device, Handset , management device, communication relay system, and program Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Optical repeater systems have been known for some time to enable indoor use of mobile communication terminal devices such as mobile phones and smartphones. Such optical repeater systems relay communications, and by connecting multiple slave units (RUs) to a single master unit (MU) connected to a radio base station, they effectively expand the communication area of the radio base station, covering a wide indoor area such as that of a large commercial facility or office building.

[0003] In recent years, a model has begun to be introduced in which multiple telecommunications carriers share a single optical repeater system. In such a system, because multiple telecommunications carriers share the same system, it has been necessary to provide each telecommunications carrier with, for example, individual information about the system's alarms.

[0004] On the other hand, while each telecommunications carrier has its own individual information regarding the usage status of the system (connection time, number of connected users, etc.), the operators who operate the shared equipment of the optical repeater system were unable to grasp how much each telecommunications carrier was using the system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-6163 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2005 / 039211 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-65977 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 6602813 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a system that can grasp the usage status of each communication carrier's system. shared Device, Handset , management device, communication relay system, and program to provide Located in . [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A communication relay device according to an embodiment includes a first communication unit, a first detection unit, a second communication unit, a second detection unit, and a counting unit. The first communication unit receives a signal from a base station of a first communication carrier, the first detection unit detects a communication signal addressed to a mobile station from the signal received by the first communication unit, the second communication unit receives a signal from a base station of a second communication carrier, the second detection unit detects a communication signal addressed to the mobile station from the signal received by the second communication unit, and the counting unit counts the amount of communication resource usage for each communication carrier based on the detection results of the first detection unit and the second detection unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall schematic configuration of a communication relay system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing in detail a part of the configuration of a master unit of the communication relay system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 3 is a diagram showing an example of information on a downstream signal detected by the parent device shown in FIG. 2; [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing in detail a part of the configuration of a slave unit of the communication relay system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 5 is a diagram showing an example of information on an upstream signal detected by the slave unit shown in FIG. 4; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing in detail a part of the configuration of a management device of the communication relay system shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the communication relay system shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information obtained in the communication relay system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A communication relay system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The communication relay system described below is, for example, a distributed antenna system (DAS), but can also be applied to a system that complies with eCPRI of the ORAN (Open Radio Access Network).

[0010] DAS is used to expand wireless communication areas by distributing radio waves from wireless base station equipment via optical fiber, etc., in special locations where it is difficult to install wireless base station equipment for mobile communication networks and where radio waves are difficult to reach (e.g., inside tunnels, shopping malls, underground shopping malls, factories, stadiums, stations, and other structures, sparsely populated or overcrowded areas, areas where it is difficult or restricted to build steel towers, event venues, etc.).

[0011] FIG. 1 shows an example of the schematic configuration of a communication relay system according to one embodiment. As shown in this figure, the communication relay system includes a master unit (MU) 100 connected to base station devices BSa, BSb, . . . BSm operated by telecommunications carriers A, B, . . . M, respectively, slave units (RU) 200-1 to 200-n, and an element management system (EMS) 300.

[0012] The base station devices BSa, BSb, ... BSm are base station devices operated by each of the telecommunications carriers A, B, ... M, and are accommodated in a core device (not shown) of a core network such as 5G (5th Generation) or LTE (registered trademark) (Long-Term Evolution) operated by each of the telecommunications carriers.

[0013] The core network controls the radio access network between base station devices BSa, BSb, ... BSm and mobile stations UEa, UEb, ... UEm, bundles traffic, and exchanges it with external networks (such as the Internet and external telephone networks), and is equipped with a core device as its hub. The core device performs, for example, authentication and security management, session management, policy control, packet forwarding, etc.

[0014] Furthermore, the mobile stations UEa, UEb, ... UEm are smartphones or mobile phones owned by subscribers who have subscribed to the services provided by each of the telecommunications carriers A, B, ... M, and communicate using communication resources (such as frequency bands) allocated to each of the telecommunications carriers to which they have subscribed.

[0015] In the following description, the mobile station UEa may be referred to as "mobile station UEa of communication carrier A" to indicate the communication carrier to which the service is subscribed. Similarly, the mobile stations UEb...UEm may be referred to as mobile stations UE...UEm of communication carriers B...M.

[0016] The master unit 100 serves as a communication relay device that connects mobile stations UEa, UEb...UEm of each communication carrier, which are connected via slave units 200-1 to 200-n, to base station devices BSa, BSb...BSm of each communication carrier so that they can communicate with each other. Note that when the master unit MU is connected to slave units 200-1 to 200-n by an optical communication line, it is also generally referred to as an "optical repeater."

[0017] The slave devices 200-1 to 200-n can transmit and receive radio signals for any of the communication carriers, i.e., can perform radio communication with mobile stations UEa, UEb...UEm of any of the communication carriers. More specifically, the slave devices 200-1 to 200-n transmit radio signals from base station devices BSa, BSb...BSm sent via the master device MU, and also transmit radio signals received from mobile stations UEa, UEb...UEm to base station devices BSa, BSa...BSm of the corresponding communication carriers via the master device MU.

[0018] The management device 300 is a server device that communicates with the base unit 100 via the network NW and manages the communication relay system, and controls each device in the communication relay system and monitors its status based on information from the base unit 100.

[0019] The management device 300 is also connected to client terminals CL-1 to CL-l, and provides the client terminals CL-1 to CL-l with information about the operational status of the communication relay system, and controls the communication relay system and processes information (such as aggregating data and generating display data) in accordance with requests and instructions from the client terminals CL-1 to CL-l.

[0020] The client terminals CL-1 to CL-l are terminal devices such as personal computers, equipped with a man-machine interface, which accept instructions from an operator via an input device and send the instructions to the management device 300, or process information provided by the management device 300 and present information about the communication relay system to the operator via a monitor or the like.

[0021] Next, the base device 100 will be described. Fig. 2 shows an example of a schematic configuration of the base device 100. The base device 100 includes communication units 110a-110m, signal conversion units 120a-120m, mapping units (Mappers) 131-1-131-n, demapping units (DeMappers) 132-1-132-n, RU interface units 141-14n, EMS interface unit 150, control unit 160, and storage unit 170.

[0022] The communication unit 110a is connected to the base station device BSa of the communication carrier A via a wired line, and is an interface for communicating with this base station device BSa.

[0023] The communication unit 110a then performs signal processing such as signal amplification, filtering, and down-conversion on the downlink RF signal transmitted from the base station apparatus BSa, and outputs the resulting baseband signal to the signal conversion unit 120a.

[0024] On the other hand, the communication unit 110a performs signal processing such as up-conversion, filtering, and signal amplification on the upstream analog signal sent from the signal conversion unit 120a, and transmits the RF signal obtained thereby to the base station apparatus BSa.

[0025] The same applies to the communication units 110b to 110m. That is, the communication units 110b to 110m are connected to base station devices BSb to BSm of communication carriers B to M, respectively, via wired lines, and are interfaces for communicating with the connected base station devices.

[0026] The communication units 110b...110m then perform signal processing such as signal amplification, filtering, and down-conversion on the downstream RF signals sent from the base station devices BSb...BSm of each telecommunications carrier, and output the resulting baseband signals to the signal conversion units 120b...120m, respectively.

[0027] On the other hand, the communication units 110b...110m perform signal processing such as up-conversion, filtering, and signal amplification on the upstream analog signals sent from the signal conversion units 120b...120m, and transmit the resulting RF signals to the connected base station devices BSb...BSm, respectively.

[0028] As described above, signal conversion unit 120a is connected to communication unit 110a, and is also connected to mapping units 131-1 to 131-n and demapping units 132-1 to 132-n.

[0029] The same applies to the signal conversion units 120b to 120m. That is, the signal conversion units 120b to 120m are connected to the communication units 110b to 110m, respectively, as described above, and are also connected to the mapping units 131-1 to 131-n and the demapping units 132-1 to 132-n, respectively.

[0030] Each of the signal conversion units 120a to 120m includes an A / D conversion unit (A / D) 121, a signal detection unit (DET) 122, a distribution unit 123, a synthesis unit 124, and a D / A conversion unit (D / A) 125. As described above, the signal conversion units 120a to 120m have the same configuration, and therefore, only the signal conversion unit 120a corresponding to telecommunications carrier A will be described below. However, those skilled in the art will easily understand that the signal conversion units 120b to 120m correspond to telecommunications carriers B to M, respectively, by rearranging the following explanation.

[0031] The A / D converter 121 receives a baseband signal derived from an RF signal transmitted from the base station device BSa of the communication carrier A from the communication unit 110a, and performs A / D conversion on this baseband signal to obtain a downstream digital signal.

[0032] The signal detection unit 122 is for detecting the amount of communication resources used by communication carrier A in the base station 100 (hereinafter referred to as traffic volume), and detects the downlink digital signal output from the A / D conversion unit 121, and periodically determines whether or not the RF signal sent from the base station device BSa of communication carrier A includes a downlink signal used for communication with the mobile station UEa, and outputs the result of this determination as the detection result to the control unit 160. Note that, as an example of the detection method, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6524010 can be considered.

[0033] Similarly, the signal detectors 122 of the signal converters 120b to 120m are for detecting the amounts of communication resources used in the base unit 100 by the corresponding communication carriers B to M, respectively.

[0034] Specifically, the signal detector 122 of the signal converter 120a outputs a Hi-level signal when it determines that the RF signal from the base station device BSa of the communication carrier A contains a communication signal addressed to the mobile station UEa of the communication carrier A, and outputs a Lo-level signal when it determines that the RF signal does not contain a communication signal addressed to the mobile station UEa of the communication carrier A. The same applies to the signal detectors 122 of the signal converters 120b...120m.

[0035] 3, (a) shows the result of determination for base station device BSa of communication carrier A, and (b) shows the result of determination for base station device BSb of communication carrier B. As shown in this figure, the signal detectors 122 of the signal converters 120a and 120b each output a detection signal indicating the traffic volume for each communication carrier. This detection result (detection signal) is output to the control unit 160.

[0036] Distribution section 123 distributes (copies) the downstream digital signal output from A / D conversion section 121 into n signals, and outputs the distributed n downstream digital signals to mapping sections 131-1 to 131-n, respectively.

[0037] The combining unit 124 receives the upstream digital signals of the communication carrier A from the demapping units 132-1 to 132-n described later, combines the input upstream digital signals into one digital signal, and outputs the combined signal to the D / A conversion unit 125.

[0038] The D / A converter 125 D / A converts the digital signal input from the combiner 124 to generate an upstream analog signal, and outputs the signal to the communication unit 110a.

[0039] The mapping unit 131-1 is associated with the slave device 200-1, and can receive as input downstream signals of communication carriers A to M from the distribution units 123 of the signal conversion units 120a to 120m. The mapping unit 131-1 then generates a downstream signal by mapping the input downstream signal in, for example, a CPRI format, and outputs the generated downstream signal to the RU interface unit 141.

[0040] The same is true for mapping units 131-2 to 131-n, which generate the same downlink signals. That is, mapping units 131-2 to 131-n are associated with slave units 200-2 to 200-n, respectively, and can receive downlink signals from telecommunications carriers A to M from distributors 123 of signal converters 120a to 120m. Mapping units 131-2 to 131-n then map the input downlink signals in, for example, a CPRI format to generate downlink signals, and output the signals to RU interface units 142 to 14n.

[0041] The demapping unit 132-1 is associated with the slave device 200-1, and can receive an uplink signal from the RU interface unit 141, which will be described later. This uplink signal is a signal obtained by mapping the uplink signals of communication carriers A to M in, for example, a CPRI format.

[0042] The demapping unit 132-1 then demaps the mapped uplink signals and outputs the corresponding uplink signals for each communication carrier to each combiner 124 of the signal converters 120a...120m. Of the demapped signals, a control signal from the slave device 200-1 addressed to the master device 100 is decoded into control data and then output to the control unit 160.

[0043] The same applies to demapping units 132-2 to 132-n. That is, demapping units 132-2 to 132-n are respectively associated with slave units 200-2 to 200-n, and can receive upstream signals from RU interface units 142 to 14n, which will be described later. These upstream signals are signals obtained by mapping upstream signals from communication carriers A to M in, for example, a CPRI format.

[0044] Then, the demapping units 132-2 to 132-n demap the mapped uplink signals, respectively, and output the corresponding uplink signals for each communication carrier to the combining units 124 of the signal conversion units 120a to 120m. Note that, among the demapped signals, control signals sent from the slave units 200-2 to 132-n to the master unit 100 are demodulated into control data and then output to the control unit 160.

[0045] The RU interface unit 141 is an optical communication interface associated with the slave unit 200-1, and performs optical communication with the slave unit 200-1 through an optical communication line.

[0046] That is, the RU interface unit 141 converts the electrical downstream communication signal input from the mapping unit 131-1 into an optical signal and transmits it to the slave unit 200-1 via the optical communication line, and also receives the optical signal sent from the slave unit 200-1 via this optical communication line, converts it into an electrical upstream communication signal, and outputs it to the demapping unit 132-1.

[0047] The same applies to the RU interface units 142 to 14n. That is, the RU interface units 142 to 14n are optical communication interfaces associated with the slave units 200-2 to 200-n, and perform optical communication with the slave units 200-2 to 200-n via optical communication lines.

[0048] That is, the RU interface units 142...14n convert the electrical downstream communication signals input from the mapping units 131-2...131-n into optical signals and transmit them to the slave units 200-2...200-n, respectively, via the optical communication line, and also receive the optical signals sent from the slave units 200-2...200-n, respectively, via this optical communication line, convert them into electrical upstream communication signals, and output them to the demapping units 132-2...132-n.

[0049] The EMS interface unit 150 is a communication interface for communicating with the management device 300 via a network NW. The network NW may be the Internet, a private network, or a combination of multiple networks.

[0050] Control unit 160 is a control circuit that combines a processor and a memory, and the processor operates in accordance with the control program and control data stored in the memory to realize various processes and controls. Specifically, control unit 160 supervises and controls each unit of parent device 100 and each unit of child devices 200-1...200-n in accordance with requests and instructions from management device 300, and transmits acquired information to management device 300 as necessary.

[0051] In addition, the control unit 160 has a control function for realizing the above-mentioned communication relay, and has a function for detecting the occurrence of failures or malfunctions in the parent device 100 or the child devices 200-1 to 200-n and notifying the management device 300. In addition, the control unit 160 also functions as an aggregation unit 160a that aggregates the traffic volume for each of the telecommunications carriers A to M, and a reporting unit 160b that transmits the aggregated data aggregated by the aggregation unit 160a to the management device 300 and reports it.

[0052] The memory unit 170 is a storage device that uses semiconductor memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc., and various data is read and written by the control unit 160 for control and processing. For example, the memory unit 170 stores downstream traffic data 170a, downstream aggregated data 170b, and upstream aggregated data 170c.

[0053] Next, slave units 200-1 to 200-n will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows a schematic configuration of slave unit RU1. Since slave units 200-2 to 200-n have the same configuration as slave unit 200-1, detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the following description, when slave unit 200 is referred to, the description applies to all of slave units 200-1 to 200-n.

[0054] The slave device 200 includes an MU interface unit 210, a demapping unit (DeMapper) 220, a D / A conversion unit (D / A) 230, a radio unit 240, an antenna 250, an A / D conversion unit (A / D) 260, a signal detection unit (DET) 270, a mapping unit (Mapper) 280, a control unit 290, and a memory unit 291.

[0055] The MU interface unit 210 performs optical communication with the base station 100 via an optical communication line. Specifically, the MU interface unit 210 of the slave station 200-1 receives an optical signal sent from the RU interface unit 141 of the base station 100 via the optical communication line, converts it into an electrical downstream communication signal, and outputs it to the demapping unit 220, and also converts an electrical upstream communication signal input from a mapping unit 280 (described later) into an optical signal and transmits it to the RU interface unit 141 of the base station 100 via the optical communication line.

[0056] Similarly, the MU interface unit 210 provided in each of the slave units 200-2...200-n receives optical signals sent from the RU interface units 142...14n of the base unit 100 via the optical communication line, and converts the electrical upstream communication signals input from the mapping unit 280 into optical signals and transmits them to the RU interface units 142...14n of the base unit 100 via the optical communication line.

[0057] The demapping unit 220 demaps the signal mapped by the parent device 100 , extracts the necessary digital IQ signals, and outputs them to the D / A conversion unit 230 .

[0058] Specifically, the demapping unit 220 of the slave device 200-1 demaps the signal mapped in the CPRI format by the mapping unit 131-1 of the master device 100, extracts the necessary digital IQ signal, and outputs it to the D / A conversion unit 230.

[0059] Similarly, the demapping unit 220 included in each of the slave units 200-2 . . . 200-n demaps the signals mapped in the CPRI format by the mapping units 131-2 .

[0060] The D / A conversion unit 230 performs D / A conversion on the digital IQ signal extracted by the demapping unit 220 to generate a downstream analog signal, and outputs it to the radio unit 240 .

[0061] The radio unit 240 performs signal processing such as up-conversion, filtering, and signal amplification on the downlink analog signal output from the D / A conversion unit 230, and transmits the resulting RF signal to mobile stations UEa, UEb, ... UEm, etc. via the antenna 250.

[0062] Meanwhile, the radio unit 240 may receive as input uplink RF signals transmitted from mobile stations UEa, UEb, . . . UEm, etc., via the antenna 250. The radio unit 240 then performs signal processing such as signal amplification, filtering, and down-conversion on the input RF signals, and outputs the resulting baseband signals to the A / D conversion unit 260.

[0063] The A / D converter 260 receives a baseband signal derived from an uplink RF signal transmitted from the mobile stations UEa, UEb, . . . UEm, etc., as input from the radio unit 240, and performs A / D conversion on this baseband signal to obtain a digital signal.

[0064] The signal detection unit 270 is for detecting the amount of communication resources used (hereinafter referred to as traffic volume) by each of the telecommunications carriers A to M in the handset 200, and detects the uplink digital signal output from the A / D conversion unit 260, and determines at a predetermined period whether or not the signal includes an uplink signal sent from the mobile stations UEa to UEm of the telecommunications carriers A to M, and outputs this determination result to the control unit 290 as the detection result.

[0065] More specifically, when the signal detection unit 270 determines that a communication signal from the mobile station UE is included for each of the communication carriers A to M, it outputs a Hi level signal, and when it determines that a communication signal from the mobile station is not included, it outputs a Lo level signal.

[0066] 5, (a) shows the determination result for mobile station UEa, and (b) shows the determination result for mobile station UEb, and signal detection unit 270 outputs detection signals indicating the traffic volume for each of communication carriers A to M. This detection result (detection signal) is output to control unit 290.

[0067] Mapping section 280 generates an uplink signal by mapping an uplink digital signal based on an RF signal received from mobile stations UEa, UEb, ... UEm, for example, in a CPRI format, and outputs the uplink signal to MU interface section 210. Mapping section 280 also maps a control signal modulated with control data provided by control section 290, which will be described later, to base unit 100 along with the above digital signal.

[0068] The control unit 290 is a control circuit that combines a processor and a memory, and the processor operates in accordance with the control program and control data stored in the memory to realize various processes and controls. Specifically, the control unit 290 controls each unit of the slave device 200 in accordance with instructions from the base device 100, connects mobile stations UEa, UEb...UEm that are wirelessly connected to the slave device 200 to the base device 100, and relays communications.

[0069] In addition to the control function of relaying communication as described above, the control unit 290 also has the function of detecting failures or malfunctions in the slave unit 200 and notifying the master unit 100. It also functions as a counting unit 290a that counts the upstream traffic volume for each of the telecommunications carriers A to M, and a reporting unit 290b that transmits the counted data counted by the counting unit 290a to the master unit 100 and reports it.

[0070] The memory unit 291 is a storage device that uses a semiconductor memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and various data is read and written by the control unit 290 for control and processing, and stores, for example, upstream traffic data 291a.

[0071] Next, the management device 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 shows a schematic configuration of the management device 300. The management device 300 includes an MU interface unit 310, a CL interface unit 320, a storage unit 330, and a control unit 340.

[0072] The MU interface unit 310 is a communication interface that communicates with the base unit 100 via the network NW. The CL interface unit 320 is a communication interface that communicates with the client terminals CL-1 to CL-l.

[0073] The storage unit 330 is a storage device that stores information about the communication relay system, and stores, for example, a station information database 331 and a usage status database 332. The station information database 331 stores information about each station (base unit 100, slave units 200-1 to 200-n) of the communication relay system. The usage status database 332 stores information about the traffic volume for each of the communication carriers A to M sent from the base unit 100. Control unit 340 is a control circuit combining a processor and a memory, and the processor operates in accordance with the control program and control data stored in the memory to realize various processes and controls. Specifically, control unit 340 accepts requests and instructions from client terminals CL-1 to CL-l, issues instructions to each station (parent device 100 and child devices 200-1 to 200-n) in accordance with these requests and instructions to perform control, determines the operating status (e.g., occurrence of a failure or fault) based on information sent from each station, generates information on the operating status related to communication relay, and provides it to client terminals CL-1 to CL-l.

[0074] In addition to the function of managing the operational status of the communication relay described above, the control unit 340 also functions as a counting unit 340a that counts the aggregated data reported from the parent unit 100, and a creation unit 340b that creates display information that visually shows the results of the counting by the counting unit 340a.

[0075] Next, the operation of the communication relay system will be described. In the following explanation, the detailed control of normal communication relay will be omitted, and the usage status aggregation process for aggregating the usage status of the systems of each of the communication carriers A to M will be described.

[0076] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a sequence of a usage status aggregation process between parent device 100, child device 200, and management device 300. Note that, for the sake of simplicity, Fig. 7 shows only child device 200, but in reality, child devices 200-1 to 200-n exist, and each of child devices 200-1 to 200-n executes the same process.

[0077] First, when the management device 300 is instructed by a client terminal CL (one of CL-1 to CL-1) to start a usage status aggregation process, the management device 300 requests the master device 100 via the network NW to detect the usage status of the systems of each of the telecommunications carriers A to M (sequence S701). This request indicates an aggregation period T (for example, 72 hours or 168 hours), which is the unit of time for which aggregation is to be performed.

[0078] In response to this, upon receiving the detection request from the management device 300, the parent device 100 transmits the detection request to the child device 200 via the optical communication line (sequence S702). Specifically, upon receiving the request from the management device 300 via the network NW, the control unit 160 (counting unit 160a) of the parent device 100 multiplexes a control signal requesting detection and transmits it via the optical communication line to each of the child devices 200-1 to 200-n via the RU interface units 141 to 14n. Note that this control signal indicates the counting period T.

[0079] In response to the request, the base station 100 starts detecting downlink signals of the communication carriers A to M (sequence S703). Specifically, the control unit 160 (counting unit 160a) of the base station 100 controls the signal detection units 122 of the signal conversion units 120a to 120m to start detecting downlink signals transmitted from the base station devices BSa to BSm of the communication carriers A to M.

[0080] As a result, the signal detectors 122 of the signal converters 120a to 120m detect whether or not a downlink signal used for communication is included in the downlink signals transmitted from the corresponding base station devices BSa to BSm, and the time (time) at which the downlink signal was included, i.e., the downlink traffic status, and notify the control unit 160 of the detection result. The control unit 160 (counting unit 160a) records the notified information in the storage unit 170 as downlink traffic data 170a.

[0081] On the other hand, upon receiving the control signal from the base device 100, the handset 200 starts detecting uplink signals of the communication carriers A to M (sequence S704). Specifically, the control unit 290 (counting unit 290a) of the handset 200 controls the signal detection unit 270 to start detecting uplink signals that may be transmitted from the mobile stations UEa, UEb to UEm that subscribe to the communication carriers A to M, respectively.

[0082] As a result, each signal detection unit 270 of each of the slave devices 200-1 to 200-n detects whether or not an uplink signal transmitted from the mobile stations UEa, UEb to UEm is included and the time (time) at which the signal was included, i.e., the status of the uplink traffic, and notifies the detection result to the control unit 290. The control unit 290 (counting unit 290a) records the notified information in the storage unit 291 as uplink traffic data 291a.

[0083] Eventually, every time a predetermined time (a time shorter than T) has elapsed since the start of traffic detection, the base station 100 generates downstream aggregate data 170b by aggregating the downstream traffic data 170a recorded in the storage unit 170 (sequence S705).

[0084] Specifically, the control unit 160 (counting unit 160a) reads out the downstream traffic data 170a recorded in the storage unit 170, counts the data for each of the telecommunications carriers A to M, generates downstream counted data 170b, and records the data in the storage unit 170.

[0085] Similarly, when a predetermined time (shorter than T) has elapsed since the start of traffic detection, each of the slave units 200-1 to 200-n generates upstream aggregated data by aggregating the upstream traffic data 291a recorded in the memory unit 291 (sequence S706) and transmits the data to the master unit 100 (sequence S707).

[0086] Specifically, control unit 290 (counting unit 290a) of each of terminals 200-1 to 200-n reads out upstream traffic data 291a recorded in storage unit 291, and generates upstream counted data counted for each of communication carriers A to M.

[0087] Then, control unit 290 (reporting unit 290b) transmits the above upstream aggregated data to parent device 100 via MU interface unit 210. In response, control unit 160 (aggregation unit 160a) of parent device 100 receives the upstream aggregated data from each of child devices 200-1 to 200-n, and records it in storage unit 170 as upstream aggregated data 170c.

[0088] Thereafter, when a counting period T or more has elapsed since the start of detection (sequence S703), the master device 100 aggregates the downstream aggregated data 170b and the upstream aggregated data 170c recorded in the storage unit 170 to generate report data (sequence S708). Specifically, the control unit 160 (counting unit 160a) generates report data by aggregating the downstream aggregated data 170b and the upstream aggregated data 170c recorded in the storage unit 170.

[0089] Subsequently, the parent device 100 transmits the report data to the management device 300 (sequence S709). Specifically, the control unit 160 (reporting unit 160b) of the parent device 100 transmits the report data to the management device 300 via the EMS interface unit 150.

[0090] Thereafter, sequences S710 to S714 are periodically executed. Note that sequences S710, S711, S712, S713, and S714 are the same as the above-described sequences S705, S706, S707, S708, and S709, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0091] When management device 300 receives report data in sequence S709 or sequence S714, the following process is executed: That is, control unit 340 of management device 300 records the report data received via MU interface unit 310 in usage status database 332.

[0092] Thereafter, for example, in response to a request from client terminal CL-1, report data is read from usage database 332, and based on this report data, display information is created that visually shows the traffic volume of each of telecommunications carriers A to M for each aggregation period T, corresponding to time.

[0093] Various GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) and CLIs (Character User Interfaces) for displaying information on the client terminals CL-1 to CL-l are possible. Fig. 8 shows an example of the above-mentioned display information, which shows the fluctuations and proportions of traffic for each telecommunications carrier in relation to time over a 72-hour aggregation period T. Such display information is generated by the management device 300 and provided to the client terminal CL-1, which then displays the above-mentioned display information to the operator.

[0094] As described above, in the communication relay system configured as above, base station 100 monitors downlink signals sent from base station devices BSa to BSm of each of communication carriers A to M, and detects the downlink traffic volume for each communication carrier, while slave devices 200-1 to 200-n monitor uplink signals sent from mobile stations UEa to UEm that have subscribed to services provided by each of communication carriers A to M, respectively, and detects the uplink traffic volume for each communication carrier, and base station 100 generates report data that tally uplink and downlink traffic volumes for each communication carrier and transmits the report data to management device 300. Therefore, according to the communication relay system configured as above, it is possible to grasp the usage status of communication resources in the communication relay system of each communication carrier based on the report data.

[0095] It should be noted that this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, a configuration in which some components are omitted from all of the components shown in the embodiments can also be considered. Furthermore, components described in different embodiments can be appropriately combined.

[0096] For example, in the above embodiment, the upstream traffic volume is counted by slave devices 200-1 to 200-n, but this is not limiting. For example, slave devices 200-1 to 200-n may detect the upstream traffic volume and notify master device 100, which may then count the traffic volume.

[0097] In the above embodiment, the parent device 100 generates the report data, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the parent device may notify the management device 300 of the amount of downstream traffic detected by the parent device, and the child devices 200-1 to 200-n may notify the management device 300 of the amount of upstream traffic detected by the parent device 100, and the control unit 340 of the management device 300 may tally up the amounts of downstream and upstream traffic.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the signal detection unit 122 and the signal detection unit 270 determine the presence or absence of a communication signal in order to investigate the amount of communication resource usage in the base unit 100 and the handset 200, and based on the determination result, the control unit 160 and the control unit 290 detect the amount of traffic from time. Instead of this, for example, the amount of data for each communication carrier may be detected. It goes without saying that various other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 100... base unit, 110a to 110m... communication unit, 120a to 120m... signal conversion unit, 121... A / D conversion unit, 122... signal detection unit, 123... distribution unit, 124... synthesis unit, 125... D / A conversion unit, 131-1 to 131-n... mapping unit, 132-1 to 132-n... demapping unit, 141 to 14n... RU interface unit, 150... EMS interface unit, 160... control unit, 160a... aggregation unit, 160b... reporting unit, 170... memory unit, 170a... downstream traffic data, 170b... downstream aggregation data, 170c... upstream aggregation data, 200-1 to 200-n... child units, 210... MU interface unit, 22 0...demapping unit, 230...D / A conversion unit, 240...radio unit, 250...antenna, 260...A / D conversion unit, 270...signal detection unit, 280...mapping unit, 290...control unit, 290a...counting unit, 290b...reporting unit, 291...memory unit, 291a...uplink traffic data, 300...management device, 310...MU interface unit, 320...CL interface unit, 330...memory unit, 331...station information database, 332...usage status database, 340...control unit, 340a...counting unit, 340b...creation unit, BSa to BSm...base station devices, CL-1 to CL-1...client terminals, UEa to UEm...mobile stations.

Claims

1. A shared device including a first communication unit connected to a first base station of a first telecommunications carrier and a second communication unit connected to a second base station of a second telecommunications carrier, a first interface unit connected to a first slave unit that wirelessly communicates with a mobile station via a first optical communication line; a second interface unit connected to a second slave unit that wirelessly communicates with the mobile station via a second optical communication line; a first detector that receives a downlink signal from the first base station and detects the amount of communication resources used in the shared device by the first carrier; a second detection unit that receives a downlink signal from the second base station and detects the amount of communication resources used in the shared device by the second carrier; a counting unit that counts the amount of communication resources used by the first telecommunications carrier and the amount of communication resources used by the second telecommunications carrier; A shared device comprising:

2. a first mapping unit that generates a downlink communication signal by mapping a downlink signal from the first base station and a downlink signal from the second base station in a predetermined format; a second mapping unit that maps a downlink signal from the first base station and a downlink signal from the second base station in a predetermined format to generate a downlink communication signal; the first interface unit converts a downstream communication signal from the first mapping unit into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the first slave unit via the first optical communication line; 2. The duplexer according to claim 1, wherein the second interface unit converts a downstream communication signal from the second mapping unit into an optical signal and transmits the optical signal to the second slave unit via the second optical communication line.

3. 3. The shared device according to claim 1, further comprising a reporting unit that reports the results of the counting by said counting unit to an external device.

4. A handset includes a shared device having a first communication unit connected to a base station of a first telecommunications carrier and a second communication unit connected to a base station of a second telecommunications carrier, and the shared device includes an interface unit connected to the shared device via an optical communication line, The antenna and a radio unit that receives an uplink radio signal through the antenna; a detection unit that detects the amount of communication resources used by the first communication carrier in the handset by determining whether or not the signal received by the radio unit includes an uplink signal from a mobile station subscribing to a service of the first communication carrier, and that detects the amount of communication resources used by the second communication carrier in the handset by determining whether or not the signal received by the radio unit includes an uplink signal from a mobile station subscribing to a service of the second communication carrier; a counting unit that counts the amount of communication resources used by the first communication carrier and the amount of communication resources used by the second communication carrier;

5. The slave unit according to claim 4 , further comprising a reporting unit that reports the results of the counting performed by said counting unit to an external device.

6. A management device that manages a communication relay system including a shared device having a first communication unit connected to a base station of a first telecommunications carrier and a second communication unit connected to a base station of a second telecommunications carrier, a receiving unit that receives a report of a usage amount of communication resources in the shared device for each communication carrier from the shared device; a counting unit that counts the reports received by the receiving unit; a creating unit that creates display information that visually shows the results of the aggregation by the aggregation unit; A management device comprising:

7. a shared device having a first communication unit connected to a first base station of a first telecommunications carrier and a second communication unit connected to a second base station of a second telecommunications carrier; a slave unit having an interface unit connected to the shared device via an optical communication line; a management device; The shared device is a first interface unit connected to a first slave unit that wirelessly communicates with a mobile station via a first optical communication line; a second interface unit connected to a second slave unit that wirelessly communicates with the mobile station via a second optical communication line; a first detector that receives a downlink signal from the first base station and detects the amount of communication resources used in the shared device by the first carrier; a second detection unit that receives a downlink signal from the second base station and detects the amount of communication resources used in the shared device by the second carrier; a counting unit that counts the amount of communication resources used by the first telecommunications carrier and the amount of communication resources used by the second telecommunications carrier; Equipped with The slave unit is The antenna and a radio unit that receives an uplink radio signal through the antenna; a detection unit that detects the amount of communication resources used by the first communication carrier in the handset by determining whether or not the signal received by the radio unit includes an uplink signal from a mobile station subscribing to a service of the first communication carrier, and that detects the amount of communication resources used by the second communication carrier in the handset by determining whether or not the signal received by the radio unit includes an uplink signal from a mobile station subscribing to a service of the second communication carrier; a counting unit that counts the amount of communication resources used by the first telecommunications carrier and the amount of communication resources used by the second telecommunications carrier; The management device a receiving unit that receives a report of a usage amount of communication resources in the shared device for each communication carrier from the shared device; a counting unit that counts the reports received by the receiving unit; a creating unit that creates display information that visually shows the results of the aggregation by the aggregation unit; A communication relay system comprising:

8. A program including instructions for causing a computer to function as the shared device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. A program including instructions for causing a computer to function as the slave device according to claim 4 or 5.

10. A program comprising instructions for causing a computer to function as the management device according to claim 6.

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