Wireless communication system, wireless communication device, wireless communication method, and wireless communication program

Abstract

This wireless communication system includes a base station, a terminal station connected with the base station by a plurality of communication routes, and a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the plurality of communication routes between the base station and the terminal station. The wireless communication device comprises: an information collection unit that collects auxiliary information respectively from the base station, the terminal station, and wireless stations included in the plurality of communication routes; a communication quality determination unit that, on the basis of the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit, determines whether a prescribed communication quality is satisfied by each of the plurality of communication routes between the base station and the terminal station; a power consumption calculation unit that, on the basis of the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit, calculates the power consumption for a communication route determined to satisfy the prescribed communication quality by the communication quality determination unit; and a communication route determination unit that determines the optimal communication route to be a communication route with the lowest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] In recent years, in order to meet the increasing demand for mobile traffic, heterogeneous networks (HetNets) have been introduced in which a large number of small cells are deployed in areas where users are densely concentrated, in addition to conventional macrocells. In HetNets, multiple small cells with different transmission power and relatively narrow coverage areas are deployed within a macrocell with a wide coverage area, and the load of the macrocell is distributed to the small cells, thereby increasing the number of users that can be accommodated.

[0003] However, the high density and random deployment of small cells and their uncoordinated operation have caused various problems, the most significant of which is the increase in power consumption.

[0004] For this reason, in HetNet, power saving by user-centered base station (BS) clustering (base station cooperation) has been studied.

[0005] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of power saving achieved by conventional base station clustering centered on a user 103. In Fig. 6, a two-layer HetNet 100 is configured by combining a macro base station 101 and a pico base station 102.

[0006] 6, two layers of base station clusters are formed: a large gray base station cluster 111 for the macro base station 101 and a small gray base station cluster 112 for the pico base station 102, with the user 103 at the center of each. That is, the base station cluster 111, which is the cooperative area of ​​the macro base station 101, and the base station cluster 112, which is the cooperative area of ​​the pico base station 102, are formed with the user 103 at the center. Note that the cluster areas are circular (dashed lines) when formed using average power, but in reality, as shown in FIG. 6, they become irregular, non-circular (solid lines) due to fading coefficients and the like.

[0007] According to such an example of power saving through base station clustering centered on a conventional user 103, cooperative transmission from multiple base stations is intended to optimize frequency utilization efficiency and power consumption by transmitted radio waves (see, for example, non-patent document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0008] [Non-Patent Document 1] W. Nie, et al., "User-centric cross-tier base station clustering and cooperation in heterogeneous networks: Rate improvement and energy saving," IEEE JSAC, 2016. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] However, conventional power-saving methods based on user-centered base station clustering do not take into account the power consumption of the entire network. Furthermore, to achieve power savings, it is necessary to consider not only the power consumption due to radio wave emissions, but also the power consumption due to analog circuits and calculation processing (digital signal processing). It is also necessary to consider optimal values ​​according to parameters and communication characteristics that depend on the situation, such as whether terminals are mobile, the communication distance, and user clustering.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for optimizing routing control by taking into consideration the communication characteristics and power consumption of the entire network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A wireless communication system according to one embodiment includes a base station, a terminal station connected to the base station via multiple communication paths, and a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station. The wireless communication device is characterized by including an information collection unit that collects auxiliary information from the base station, the terminal station, and the wireless stations included in the multiple communication paths, a communication quality determination unit that determines whether each of the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit, a power consumption calculation unit that calculates the power consumption of the communication path that is determined by the communication quality determination unit to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit, and a communication path determination unit that determines the communication path with the lowest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit to be the optimal communication path.

[0012] A wireless communication device according to one embodiment is a wireless communication device in a wireless communication system having a base station, a terminal station connected to the base station via multiple communication paths, and a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station, and is characterized in that the wireless communication device comprises: an information collection unit that collects auxiliary information from each of the base station, the terminal station, and the wireless stations included in the multiple communication paths; a communication quality determination unit that determines whether each of the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; a power consumption calculation unit that calculates the power consumption of the communication path that is determined by the communication quality determination unit to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; and a communication path determination unit that determines the communication path with the lowest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit to be the optimal communication path.

[0013] A wireless communication method according to one embodiment is a wireless communication method performed by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication system having a base station, a terminal station connected to the base station via multiple communication paths, and a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station, and is characterized in that the wireless communication method collects auxiliary information from each of the base station, the terminal station, and the wireless stations included in the multiple communication paths, determines based on the collected auxiliary information whether each of the multiple communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality, calculates based on the collected auxiliary information the power consumption of the communication path determined to satisfy the predetermined communication quality, and determines the communication path with the lowest calculated power consumption to be the optimal communication path.

[0014] A wireless communication program according to one aspect causes a computer to execute the processing of the wireless communication method described above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technique for optimizing routing control by taking into consideration the communication characteristics and power consumption of the entire network. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a central station in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation performed by a central station in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a specific state of each wireless station and each communication path when the central station executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 5] 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a processing circuit included in a central station in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of power saving achieved by conventional user-centric base station clustering. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of a wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, a wireless communication method, and a wireless communication program disclosed herein will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following embodiments, a wireless communication system will be described as an example of the wireless communication system, the wireless communication device, the wireless communication method, and the wireless communication program disclosed herein.

[0018] <Configuration of one embodiment> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system 1 includes a first terminal station 11, a second terminal station 12, a first base station 21, a second base station 22, a regenerative relay station 31, a non-regenerative relay station 32, and a central station 41. In the following description, when some or all of these are collectively referred to, they are also referred to as "wireless stations."

[0019] In wireless communication system 1, the above-mentioned wireless stations are interconnected to enable wireless communication, and toll station 41 and the remaining wireless stations are connected to enable transmission and reception of information. In Fig. 1, the outer semi-ellipse indicates the entire area covered by toll station 41, and the central ellipse indicates the area where toll station 41 is currently collecting information and performing routing control, for example. Also, straight lines indicate the transmission and reception of information, and thin ellipses with diagonal lines indicate communication paths or candidate communication paths. In wireless communication system 1, toll station 41 collects predetermined auxiliary information from each wireless station and performs routing control, as will be described later.

[0020] The first terminal station 11 and the second terminal station 12 are, for example, mobile communication terminals owned by users (not shown). The first terminal station 11 and the second terminal station 12 are connected by a plurality of communication paths. In FIG. 1, the first terminal station 11 and the toll station 41 are connected by a straight line, which shows a situation in which information is being transmitted and received. In addition, in FIG. 1, thin ellipses with diagonal lines indicate candidate communication paths between the first terminal station 11 and the first base station 21 and candidate communication paths between the first terminal station 11 and the second base station 22. On the other hand, in FIG. 1, the second terminal station 12 is not connected to the toll station 41 by a straight line, which shows a situation in which the second terminal station 12 is not connected to the toll station 41 (no information is being transmitted and received), and the candidate communication paths indicated by the thin ellipses with diagonal lines are not shown.

[0021] The first base station 21 and the second base station 22 are base stations that perform wireless communication with the first terminal station 11 or the second terminal station 12 via any of a plurality of communication paths. In Fig. 1, a plurality of communication paths between the first base station 21 and the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11 are shown. Note that in this embodiment, the first base station 21 and the second base station are different in device performance, etc., and for example, the device calibration accuracy and analog circuit power consumption are different from each other.

[0022] The regenerative repeater station 31 is a repeater station that employs a relay method in which, for example, a received signal is demodulated, re-modulated, and then transmitted. In Fig. 1, as candidates for the communication path between the first terminal station 11 and the first base station 21, a communication path in which the first terminal station 11 and the first base station 21 are directly connected, and a communication path in which the first terminal station 11 and the first base station 21 are connected via the regenerative repeater station 31 are shown.

[0023] The non-regenerative relay station 32 is, for example, a relay station that adopts a relay method in which a received signal is once converted to an intermediate frequency, amplified, and then converted again before being transmitted. In Fig. 1, as candidates for the communication path between the first terminal station 11 and the second base station 22, a communication path in which the first terminal station 11 and the second base station 22 are directly connected, and a communication path in which the first terminal station 11 and the second base station 22 are connected via the non-regenerative relay station 32 are shown.

[0024] As shown by the straight lines in FIG. 1, the toll station (wireless communication device) 41 is connected to each wireless station so as to be able to transmit and receive signals and information. The toll station 41 collects information from each wireless station connected thereto, and performs routing control for communication paths based on the collected information. Details of the routing control will be described later. The toll station 41 may have the functions of a normal base station, such as those possessed by the first base station 21 and the second base station 22. The toll station 41 is an example of a "wireless communication device."

[0025] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of toll station 41 in wireless communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1. Note that in Fig. 2, the general configuration of toll station 41 is omitted from the illustration. Note that the configurations of wireless stations other than toll station 41 are general configurations, so explanation and illustration are omitted. Note that the straight lines in Fig. 2 indicate multiple candidate communication paths.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the central station 41 includes a transmitter / receiver 51 and a routing controller 52.

[0027] The transmitter / receiver 51 is connected to each wireless station so as to be able to transmit and receive signals and information to and from the wireless stations. The transmitter / receiver 51 transmits and receives information, control instructions, and the like to and from each wireless station in accordance with instructions from the routing control unit 52. Note that in FIG. 2, the connection between the transmitter / receiver 51 and each wireless station is not shown.

[0028] The routing control unit 52 has a processor 91 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that operates by executing a program. The routing control unit 52 operates the processor 91 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, by executing a predetermined program stored in a memory 92 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, to comprehensively control the operation of the central station 41. The routing control unit 52 is connected to each unit of the central station 41, for example, by a bus (system bus) (not shown) or the like, so as to enable input and output of various information.

[0029] Furthermore, the routing control unit 52 operates a processor 91 (described later) by executing a predetermined program stored in a memory 92 (described later), and functions as the following units. The routing control unit 52 functions as an information collection unit 61, a communication quality determination unit 62, a power consumption calculation unit 63, a communication path determination unit 64, and a communication path control unit 65, for example. Note that each of these functions may be realized by hardware 93 (described later) (see FIG. 5).

[0030] The information collection unit 61 collects predetermined auxiliary information from each of the wireless stations included in the multiple communication paths between the first base station 21, the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11 via the transmission / reception unit 51.

[0031] Here, the predetermined auxiliary information may include, for example, at least one of information on the communication quality of each wireless station and information on delay time, and the information on delay time may include at least one of transmission delay and processing delay.

[0032] Furthermore, the specified information may include, for example, at least one of information regarding power consumption due to radio wave emission from each radio station, information regarding power consumption by analog circuits, and information regarding power consumption due to calculation processing (digital signal processing).

[0033] Here, the power consumption due to radio wave emission is, for example, energy due to radio wave emission. The power consumption due to radio wave emission may take into account, for example, the communication distance. The power consumption due to analog circuits is, for example, thermal energy that can be estimated from the operating state of an amplifier. The power consumption of analog circuits may take into account, for example, device performance. The operating state of an amplifier may be estimated from, for example, the back-off value of an amplifier. The power consumption due to calculation processing (digital signal processing) is, for example, thermal energy consumed by the calculation processing. The power consumption due to calculation processing may take into account, for example, channel fading information, device calibration information, and compensation calculation costs based on these.

[0034] The communication quality determination unit 62 acquires, from the information collection unit 61, predetermined auxiliary information collected from each wireless station by the information collection unit 61. Then, based on the acquired predetermined auxiliary information, the communication quality determination unit 62 determines whether each of the plurality of communication paths between the first base station 21 and the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11 satisfies a predetermined communication quality (required communication quality). For example, based on at least one of information on communication quality and information on delay time among the acquired auxiliary information, the communication quality determination unit 62 determines whether each of the plurality of communication paths satisfies a predetermined communication quality. Note that the delay time may take into account at least one of a transmission delay, a processing delay, etc.

[0035] The power consumption calculation unit 63 acquires, from the communication quality determination unit 62, information on communication paths determined by the communication quality determination unit 62 to satisfy a predetermined communication quality among a plurality of communication paths between the first base station 21 and the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11. The power consumption calculation unit 63 also acquires, from the information collection unit 61, predetermined auxiliary information collected from each wireless station by the information collection unit 61. Then, based on the predetermined auxiliary information acquired from the information collection unit 61, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of each communication path determined by the communication quality determination unit 62 to satisfy the predetermined communication quality.

[0036] The power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption by taking into account at least one of the acquired auxiliary information, such as information on power consumption due to radio wave emission of each radio station, information on power consumption of analog circuits, and information on power consumption due to calculation processing. As described above, the power consumption due to radio wave emission may take into account the communication distance, and the power consumption due to analog circuits may take into account device performance. Furthermore, the power consumption due to calculation processing may take into account channel fading information, device calibration information, and compensation calculation costs based on these.

[0037] The communication path determination unit 64 acquires, from the power consumption calculation unit 63, information on the power consumption of each communication path whose power consumption has been calculated by the power consumption calculation unit 63. Then, the communication path determination unit 64 compares the acquired information on the power consumption of each communication path, and determines that the communication path with the smallest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit 63 is the optimal communication path.

[0038] The power consumption calculation unit 63 and the communication path determination unit 64 may calculate the power consumption and select the optimal communication path (optimization calculation) in consideration of power consumption due to radio wave emission by wireless transmission, power consumption by analog circuits, power consumption due to calculation processing (digital signal processing), etc. Alternatively, the power consumption calculation unit 63 and the communication path determination unit 64 may calculate the power consumption and select the optimal communication path (optimization calculation) in consideration of parameters that depend on the situation (for example, whether the first terminal station 11 is moving, communication distance, user clustering, etc.).

[0039] The communication path control unit 65 acquires, from the communication path determination unit 64, information on the optimal communication path determined by the communication path determination unit 64. Then, the communication path control unit 65 outputs the acquired information on the optimal communication path to the related wireless station via the transmission / reception unit 51. That is, the communication path control unit 65 outputs, to the related wireless station via the transmission / reception unit 51, information on the control result of the routing control performed by the routing control unit 52.

[0040] <Operation of one embodiment> Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation performed by central station 41 in wireless communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The flowchart in Fig. 3 is started, for example, when routing control is performed by central station 41. The flowchart shown in Fig. 3 will be described below.

[0041] In step S1, the information collection unit 61 of the routing control unit 52 acquires the above-mentioned predetermined auxiliary information from the first terminal station 11, the first base station 21, the second base station 22, the regenerative relay station 31, and the non-regenerative relay station 32 (from each wireless station) via the transceiver unit 51.

[0042] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the specific status of each wireless station and each communication path when the central station 41 executes the flowchart shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4, the central station 41 collects information and controls routing for each wireless station.

[0043] 4, the information collection unit 61 acquires auxiliary information from the first base station 21 indicating that the device calibration accuracy is lower and the analog circuit power consumption is lower than a predetermined value, for example. The information collection unit 61 also acquires auxiliary information from the second base station 22 indicating that the device calibration accuracy is higher and the analog circuit power consumption is higher than a predetermined value, for example.

[0044] Returning to Figure 3, in step S2, the communication quality determination unit 62 of the routing control unit 52 determines whether each of the multiple communication paths satisfies a predetermined communication quality (required communication quality) based on predetermined auxiliary information acquired from the information collection unit 61.

[0045] 4, the communication quality determination unit 62 determines whether or not each of the plurality of communication paths (1) to (4) between the first base station 21 and the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11 satisfies a predetermined communication quality (required communication quality). Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the communication quality determination unit 62 determines that all of the plurality of communication paths (1) to (4) satisfy the predetermined communication quality.

[0046] Returning to FIG. 3, in step S3, the power consumption calculation unit 63 of the routing control unit 52 calculates the power consumption of each communication path that has been determined by the communication quality determination unit 62 to satisfy a predetermined communication quality.

[0047] 4, the power consumption calculation unit 63 acquires from the communication quality determination unit 62 information that all of the multiple communication paths (1) to (4) between the first base station 21 and the second base station 22 and the first terminal station 11 shown in FIG. 4 satisfy a predetermined communication quality. The power consumption calculation unit 63 also acquires collected predetermined auxiliary information from the information collection unit 61. Then, based on the acquired predetermined auxiliary information and information obtained based on the predetermined auxiliary information, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of each of the communication paths (1) to (4) determined to satisfy the predetermined communication quality.

[0048] That is, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of communication path (1) by taking into account, for example, information based on predetermined auxiliary information that the device performance of the first base station 21 is poor but that compensation can be made at low calculation cost between the regenerative relay station 31 and the first terminal station 11. Furthermore, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of communication path (2) by taking into account, for example, information based on the predetermined auxiliary information that the device performance of the first base station 21 is poor but that compensation cannot be made by the non-regenerative relay station 32 and that the calculation cost of compensation is high for the first terminal station 11. Furthermore, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of communication path (3) by taking into account, for example, information based on the predetermined auxiliary information that the analog circuit power consumption of the second base station 22 is high. Furthermore, the power consumption calculation unit 63 calculates the power consumption of communication path (4) by taking into account, for example, information based on the predetermined auxiliary information that the power consumption of radio wave emission is high due to a long communication distance.

[0049] Returning to Figure 3, in step S4, the communication path determination unit 64 of the routing control unit 52 compares the power consumption information of each communication path obtained from the power consumption calculation unit 63, and determines the communication path with the lowest power consumption to be the optimal communication path.

[0050] For example, in the example shown in Fig. 4, the communication path determination unit 64 compares the overall power consumption of communication paths (1) to (4) that satisfy a predetermined communication quality, and determines that the overall power consumption is (1) < (2) < (3) < (4), as shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the communication path determination unit 64 determines that communication path (1) is the optimal communication path because communication path (1) has the smallest overall power consumption.

[0051] Returning to Fig. 3, in step S5, the communication path determination unit 64 of the routing control unit 52 outputs information on the optimal communication path acquired from the communication path determination unit 64 to the related wireless station via the transmitter / receiver 51, thereby terminating the flowchart shown in Fig. 3. That is, the communication path control unit 65 outputs information on the control result of the routing control to the related wireless station via the transmitter / receiver 51, thereby terminating the flowchart shown in Fig. 3.

[0052] 4, the communication path control unit 65 acquires information that the communication path (1) is the optimal communication path that satisfies a predetermined communication quality and has the lowest power consumption from the communication path determination unit 64. Then, the communication path control unit 65 outputs information on the optimal communication path (information on the control result of routing control) to, for example, the first base station 21, the regenerative repeater station 31, and the first terminal station 11, which are related to the communication path (1).

[0053] <Effects of one embodiment> 1 to 4, routing control can be optimized by taking into consideration the communication characteristics and power consumption of the entire network, thereby reducing the power consumption of the entire network.

[0054] That is, according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the central station 41 collects auxiliary information from each wireless station and, based on the collected auxiliary information, selects an optimal communication route that satisfies a predetermined communication quality and has the lowest power consumption. In this case, the central station 41 performs optimization calculations, taking into account power consumption due to radio wave emissions from wireless transmissions, power consumption by analog circuits, power consumption due to calculation processing, and the like. Furthermore, the central station 41 calculates power consumption and selects an optimal communication route (optimization calculations), taking into account parameters that depend on the situation (e.g., whether the first terminal station 11 is moving, communication distance, user clustering, etc.). As a result, according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the communication characteristics and power consumption of the entire network are taken into consideration, and routing control can be optimized. This, in turn, reduces power consumption throughout the network.

[0055] <Hardware configuration example> 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of processing circuitry 90 included in central station 41 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The functions described above are realized by processing circuitry 90. In one aspect, processing circuitry 90 includes at least one processor 91 and at least one memory 92. In another aspect, processing circuitry 90 includes at least one dedicated hardware 93.

[0056] When the processing circuit 90 includes a processor 91 and a memory 92, each function is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. At least one of the software and firmware is written as a program. At least one of the software and firmware is stored in the memory 92. The processor 91 realizes each function by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 92.

[0057] When the processing circuitry 90 comprises dedicated hardware 93, the processing circuitry 90 may be, for example, a single circuit, multiple circuits, a programmed processor, or a combination thereof. Each function is implemented by the processing circuitry 90.

[0058] Each function of central station 41 may be partially or entirely implemented by hardware, or may be implemented as a program executed by a processor. That is, central station 41 can be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be stored in a storage medium or provided over a network.

[0059] <Supplementary information on the implementation form> 1 to 5, one aspect of the present disclosure has been described using the wireless communication system 1 and the central station (wireless communication device) 41 included therein as an example, but the present disclosure can also be realized as a wireless communication method in which processing steps are performed in each unit of the central station (wireless communication device) 41.

[0060] The present disclosure can also be realized as a wireless communication program that causes a computer to execute the processing steps in each unit of the central station (wireless communication device) 41.

[0061] The present disclosure can also be realized as a storage medium (non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) on which a wireless communication program is stored. The wireless communication program can be stored and distributed on removable media such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. The wireless communication program may be uploaded to a network via a network interface (not shown) of the central station (wireless communication device) 41, or may be downloaded from the network and stored in memory 92, for example.

[0062] The features and advantages of the embodiments will be apparent from the above detailed description. It is intended that the claims encompass the features and advantages of the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. Furthermore, any improvements and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the inventive embodiments be limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate improvements and equivalents within the scope of the disclosed embodiments may be utilized. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1...wireless communication system; 11...first terminal station; 12...second terminal station; 21...first base station; 22...second base station; 31...regenerative relay station; 32...non-regenerative relay station; 41...central station (wireless communication device); 51...transmitter / receiver; 52...routing control unit; 61...information collection unit; 62...communication quality determination unit; 63...power consumption calculation unit; 64...communication path determination unit; 65...communication path control unit; 90...processing circuit; 91...processor; 92...memory; 93...hardware; 100...two-layer HetNet; 101...macro base station; 102...pico base station; 103...user; 111...base station cluster; 112...base station cluster

Claims

1. A base station; a terminal station connected to the base station via a plurality of communication paths; a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station; A wireless communication system having: The wireless communication device an information collection unit that collects auxiliary information from the base station, the terminal station, and wireless stations included in the plurality of communication paths; a communication quality determination unit that determines whether each of the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; a power consumption calculation unit that calculates power consumption of a communication path that is determined by the communication quality determination unit to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; a communication path determination unit that determines the communication path with the smallest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit as an optimal communication path; A wireless communication system comprising:

2. 2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, the wireless stations included in the plurality of communication paths are at least one of regenerative repeater stations and non-regenerative repeater stations, The information collecting unit collects the auxiliary information from the base station, the terminal station, and at least one of the regenerative repeater station and the non-regenerative repeater station. A wireless communication system comprising:

3. 2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, the auxiliary information includes at least one of information related to communication quality and information related to delay time; The communication quality determination unit determines whether each of the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies the predetermined communication quality based on at least one of information related to the communication quality and information related to the delay time. A wireless communication system comprising:

4. 2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, the auxiliary information includes at least one of information regarding power consumption due to radio wave emission, information regarding power consumption by an analog circuit, and information regarding power consumption due to calculation processing; The power consumption calculation unit calculates the power consumption of the communication path determined by the communication quality determination unit to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on at least one of information regarding the power consumption due to the radio wave emission, information regarding the power consumption of the analog circuit, and information regarding the power consumption due to the calculation process. A wireless communication system comprising:

5. 5. The wireless communication system according to claim 4, The power consumption due to the radio wave emission takes into consideration the communication distance, The power consumption of the analog circuit takes into account device performance, The power consumption due to the calculation process takes into account channel fading information, device calibration information, and the compensation calculation cost based on these. A wireless communication system comprising:

6. A base station; a terminal station connected to the base station via a plurality of communication paths; a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station; A wireless communication device in a wireless communication system having The wireless communication device an information collection unit that collects auxiliary information from the base station, the terminal station, and wireless stations included in the plurality of communication paths; a communication quality determination unit that determines whether each of the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; a power consumption calculation unit that calculates power consumption of a communication path that is determined by the communication quality determination unit to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on the auxiliary information collected by the information collection unit; a communication path determination unit that determines the communication path with the smallest power consumption calculated by the power consumption calculation unit as an optimal communication path; A wireless communication device comprising:

7. A base station; a terminal station connected to the base station via a plurality of communication paths; a wireless communication device that performs routing control for the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station; A wireless communication method performed by a wireless communication device in a wireless communication system having The wireless communication method includes: collecting auxiliary information from the base station, the terminal station, and wireless stations included in the plurality of communication paths; determining whether each of the plurality of communication paths between the base station and the terminal station satisfies a predetermined communication quality based on the collected auxiliary information; Calculating the power consumption of the communication path determined to satisfy the predetermined communication quality based on the collected auxiliary information; The communication route with the lowest calculated power consumption is determined to be the optimal communication route. A wireless communication method comprising:

8. A method for causing a computer to execute the processing of the wireless communication method according to claim 7. A wireless communication program characterized by:

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