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

Abstract

To suppress degradation in communication quality due to radio interference and other factors or occurrence of excess power consumption by wireless base stations in operation when the number of wireless terminals in a wireless area is lower than expected, provided is a wireless communication system, which includes a plurality of wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, the wireless communication system comprising: a calculation unit configured to calculate operation state patterns for the plurality of wireless base stations, the operation state patterns depending on states of the wireless terminals in the wireless area; an acquisition unit configured to acquire the states of the wireless terminals in the wireless area; and a control unit configured to control operation states of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the states of the wireless terminals acquired by the acquisition unit on the basis of the operation state patterns.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] For example, in an environment where a large number of wireless terminals gather at high density, such as in a stadium, a lecture hall, or an event venue, a technique of arranging wireless base stations at high density in order to increase the wireless communication capacity in the space is known (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

[0004] In conventional technology, the operating status of a wireless base station remains constant even if the number of wireless terminals changes during the operation of a wireless area. Therefore, when the number of wireless terminals is less than the expected maximum number of terminals, the surplus wireless base station remains operational, leading to problems such as a decrease in communication quality due to radio interference or excessive power consumption of the wireless base station.

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention have been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and suppress the deterioration of communication quality due to radio interference, etc., or the generation of excess operating power consumption of wireless base stations, etc., when the number of wireless terminals in a wireless area is less than expected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a wireless communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, wherein wireless terminals in the wireless area Corresponding to numbers, The plurality of wireless base stations The operating status of each is calculated, and the calculated operating status of each of the multiple wireless base stations is combined with the number of wireless terminals. Operating status patterns to remember A calculation unit configured to measure the wireless terminals within the wireless area number An acquisition unit configured to acquire the operating state pattern of the wireless terminal acquired by the acquisition unit number The system includes a control unit configured to control the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations accordingly. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to embodiments of the present invention, when the number of wireless terminals in a wireless area is less than expected, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of communication quality due to radio interference, etc., or the generation of unnecessary operating power consumption of wireless base stations. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example configuration of the wireless communication system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure illustrates the problems and the overview of the process according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of the processing of the wireless communication system according to Example 1. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of an operating state pattern according to Example 1. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example configuration of the wireless communication system according to Example 2. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of the processing of the wireless communication system according to Example 2. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows an example of the processing of the wireless communication system according to Example 3. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the computer hardware configuration according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (this embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are merely examples, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0010] <Example of a wireless communication system configuration> Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 includes, for example, a plurality of wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... installed in a wireless area 100, and a control device 10 that controls the plurality of wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... In the following description, when referring to any wireless base station among the wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ..., the term "wireless base station 20" will be used.

[0011] (Configuration of wireless base stations) The wireless base station 20 has a computer configuration, and by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium or the like on the computer, for example, a wireless communication unit 21, an information transmission unit 22, a communication control unit 23, an operating state control unit 24, a communication unit 25, etc. are realized. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0012] The wireless communication unit 21 executes wireless communication processing for performing wireless communication with a plurality of wireless terminals 30-1, 30-2, etc. using a predetermined wireless communication method such as 5G (5th Generation) or LTE (Long Term Evolution) according to the control by the communication control unit 23.

[0013] The information transmission unit 22 executes information transmission processing for transmitting information indicating the state of wireless terminals such as the number of wireless terminals 30 connected to its own station (wireless base station 20) to the control device 10 via the communication unit 25.

[0014] The communication control unit 23 executes communication control processing for controlling the wireless communication unit 21 so as to perform wireless communication with a wireless terminal 30 within the coverage area of its own station among a plurality of wireless terminals 30-1, 30-2,... within the wireless area 100.

[0015] The operating state control unit 24 executes operating state control processing for setting the wireless base station 20 to an "operating state" for performing wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30 or a "non-operating state" with less power consumption than the "operating state" and not performing wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30 according to the control from the control device 10. Here, the non-operating state may be, for example, a state in which the wireless base station 20 is set to a sleep state, or a state in which the transmission of radio waves by the wireless communication unit 21 is stopped, etc. The non-operating state may be any method as long as it has less power consumption than the operating state and does not perform wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30.

[0016] The communication unit 25 connects the wireless base station 20 to the communication network 2 and executes transmission processing for transmitting and receiving various control information, for example, with the control device 10.

[0017] (Configuration of the control device) The control device 10 is, for example, an information processing device having a computer configuration or a system including a plurality of computers. The control device 10 realizes a communication unit 11, a calculation unit 12, an acquisition unit 13, a control unit 14, a storage unit 15, etc. by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium or the like on a computer included in the control device 10. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0018] The communication unit 11 connects the control device 10 to the communication network 2 and executes communication processing for communicating with a plurality of radio base stations 20-1, 20-2,... or a calculation device 500 to be described later.

[0019] The calculation unit 12 executes a calculation process for calculating operation state patterns of a plurality of radio base stations 20-1, 20-2,... according to the number of radio terminals 30 in the radio area 100. For example, the calculation unit 12 calculates an operation state pattern indicating whether or not to operate each of the plurality of radio base stations 20-1, 20-2,... according to the number of radio terminals 30 in the radio area 100.

[0020] Preferably, the calculation unit 12 calculates an operation state pattern that can accommodate the radio terminal 30 corresponding to the number of radio terminals 30 in the radio area 100 and has the minimum number of radio base stations 20 to be operated.

[0021] The acquisition unit 13 executes an acquisition process for acquiring the number of radio terminals in the radio area 100. For example, the acquisition unit 13 collects the number of radio terminals 30 connected to the radio base station 20 from each of the plurality of radio base stations 20-1, 20-2,... and calculates the total number of the collected radio terminals 30 to calculate the number of radio terminals in the radio area 100.

[0022] Based on the operating state pattern, the control unit 14 executes control processing to control the operating state of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 acquired by the acquisition unit 13.

[0023] The memory unit 15 is implemented, for example, by a program executed by a computer provided in the control device 10, and a storage device provided in the computer, and performs storage processing to store the operating state pattern 16, etc., calculated by the calculation unit 12.

[0024] (Overview of the problem and its resolution) Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the problems and processing overview according to this embodiment. In the wireless area 210 in Figure 2 where there are many wireless terminals, multiple wireless base stations 20 are installed so that multiple wireless terminals 30 can perform wireless communication with a predetermined communication quality (e.g., throughput).

[0025] In conventional technology, as shown in Figure 2 for the wireless area (conventional) 220 when the number of wireless terminals is small, the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20 remains constant even when the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 220 decreases. Therefore, in conventional technology, when the number of wireless terminals 30 is less than the assumed maximum number of terminals, the surplus wireless base stations 20 become operational, leading to problems such as a decrease in communication quality due to radio interference or excessive power consumption of the wireless base stations 20.

[0026] Therefore, the control device 10 dynamically controls the operating status of multiple radio base stations 20-1 to 20-9 according to the number of radio terminals 30 in the radio area 230, based on an operating status pattern 16 that stores the operating status of multiple radio base stations 20-1 to 20-9 according to the number of radio terminals 30 in the radio area 230. For example, the operating status pattern 16 stores that if there are 6 radio terminals 30, radio base stations 20-3, 20-4, and 20-9 will be in an operational state, and the other radio base stations 20-1, 20-2, 20-5 to 20-8 will be in an inoperable state. As a result, the control device 10 controls only radio base stations 20-3, 20-4, and 20-9 to be in an operational state among the multiple radio base stations 20-1 to 20-9, as shown in the radio area 230 (in this embodiment) when the number of radio terminals is small in Figure 2. In Figure 2, the white radio base station 20 indicates that the radio base station 20 is in an inoperable state.

[0027] As a result, according to the wireless communication system 1 of this embodiment, when the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 230 is less than expected, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of communication quality due to radio interference, etc., or the generation of excess operating power consumption of the wireless base station 20.

[0028] <Processing flow> Next, the flow of the control method for the wireless communication system 1 according to this embodiment will be explained by illustrating several embodiments.

[0029] [Example 1] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing performed by the wireless communication system 1 according to Embodiment 1. This process shows an example of the processing performed by the wireless communication system 1 when operating the wireless area 100 in the wireless communication system 1 as shown in Figure 1.

[0030] In step S301, the calculation unit 12 determines, for example, whether the operating state pattern 16 has been calculated when starting operation of the wireless area 100. For example, the calculation unit 12 determines that the operating state pattern 16 has been calculated if a valid operating state pattern 16 is stored in the storage unit 15. If the operating state pattern 16 has been calculated, the calculation unit 12 proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, if the operating state pattern 16 has not been calculated, the calculation unit 12 executes the processing in steps S311 to S314 (hereinafter referred to as the operating state pattern calculation process).

[0031] When the process moves to step S311, the calculation unit 12 sets the number of wireless terminals n to the maximum number of terminals that can be accommodated in the wireless area 100. Here, the maximum number of terminals is a design value (design condition) that indicates the maximum number of wireless terminals 30 that can be accommodated in the wireless area 100. The maximum number of terminals is stored in advance in the storage unit 15, etc., by, for example, an administrator or designer.

[0032] In step S312, the calculation unit 12 determines whether the number of wireless terminals n is 0 or less. If the number of wireless terminals n is not 0 or less, the calculation unit 12 proceeds to step S313. On the other hand, if the number of wireless terminals n is 0 or less, the calculation unit 12 terminates the calculation process for the operating state pattern 16 and proceeds to step S302.

[0033] When the process moves to step S313, the calculation unit 12 calculates the operating status of each wireless base station 20 corresponding to the number of wireless terminals n, and stores the calculated operating status of each wireless base station 20 together with the number of wireless terminals n in the operating status pattern 16.

[0034] The operational status of each wireless base station 20 can be calculated, for example, by using the locations of wireless base stations 20 already installed in the wireless area 100 as candidate installation locations for the wireless base stations 20, and applying known wireless base station placement design techniques. For example, the calculation unit 12 may set the wireless base station 20 located at the installation location calculated using known placement design techniques as "operational" and the other wireless base stations 20 as "non-operational".

[0035] As a specific example, the calculation unit 12 calculates the required communication bandwidth within the wireless area 100 based on the number of wireless terminals n. The calculation unit 12 also determines the number of wireless base stations 20 needed to obtain the required communication bandwidth within the wireless area 100. Furthermore, the calculation unit 12 determines which wireless base stations 20 to set to operational status so that the entire wireless area 230 can be covered with the number of wireless base stations 20 determined.

[0036] In step S314, the calculation unit 12 subtracts calculation step N (where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1) from the number of wireless terminals n, and returns the process to step S312.

[0037] Through the processing in steps S311 to S314, the calculation unit 12 can calculate, for example, an operating state pattern 16 as shown in Figure 4.

[0038] Figure 4 shows an example of an operating state pattern according to Embodiment 1. In the example in Figure 4, the operating state pattern 16 stores the operating status (operating or not operating) of multiple radio base stations 20-1 to 20-9 corresponding to the number of radio terminals n. For example, the operating state pattern 16 shown in Figure 4 indicates that when the number of radio terminals n is 2N or less, only radio base station 20-5 is operated, and the other radio base stations 20-1 to 20-4 and 20-6 to 20-9 are not operated. Also, the operating state pattern 16 shown in Figure 4 indicates that when the number of radio terminals n is greater than 2N and 3N or less, radio base stations 20-4 and 20-6 are operated, and the other radio base stations 20-1 to 20-3, 20-5, and 20-7 to 20-9 are not operated.

[0039] Note that the operating state pattern 16 shown in Figure 4 is just one example. The operating state pattern 16 may store information on the wireless base stations 20 to be operated, or information on the wireless base stations 20 that will not be operated (deactivated), depending on the number of wireless terminals n. In this case, the control device 10 can use, for example, the information on multiple wireless base stations 20 within the wireless area 100 and the operating state pattern 16 to determine whether or not to operate each of the multiple wireless base stations 20-1 to 20-9.

[0040] Now, let's return to Figure 3 and continue explaining the flowchart. When we move to step S302, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100. For example, the acquisition unit 13 collects the number of wireless terminals 30 connected to its own station (wireless base station 20) from each wireless base station 20, and sums up the number of collected wireless terminals 30 to determine the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100.

[0041] In step S303, the control unit 14 sets the operating status of multiple radio base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of radio terminals 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16 stored in the memory unit 15. For example, the control unit 14 acquires the operating status (operating or not operating) of multiple radio base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... corresponding to the number of radio terminals 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, from the operating status pattern 16 as shown in Figure 4. The control unit 14 also transmits an operating status change instruction to the radio base station 20 that needs to change its operating status, according to the acquired operating status of the multiple radio base stations 20-1, 20-2, ...

[0042] Upon receiving an instruction to change the operating status, the operating status control unit 24 of the radio base station 20 sets the operating status of its own station (radio base station 20) to either operational or inoperable, in accordance with the instruction to change the operating status received from the control device 10.

[0043] In step S304, the control device 10 determines whether or not to terminate the operation of the wireless area 100. For example, the control device 10 determines to terminate the operation of the wireless area 100 when the predetermined termination date and time for the wireless area 100 arrives, or when it receives a termination instruction for the wireless area 100 from an external device, etc.

[0044] If the operation of wireless area 100 is not terminated, the control device 10 proceeds to step S305. On the other hand, if the operation of wireless area 100 is terminated, the control device 10 terminates the process shown in Figure 3. In this case, the control device 10 may, if necessary, set multiple wireless base stations 20 to a "non-operational" state.

[0045] When the process moves to step S305, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100. This process can be the same as the process in step S302.

[0046] In step S306, the control unit 14 determines whether it is necessary to control the operating status of the multiple wireless base stations 20. For example, if the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 is within a preset range where control of the operating status is unnecessary, the control unit 14 determines that control of the operating status is unnecessary. On the other hand, if the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 is outside a preset range where control of the operating status is unnecessary, the control unit 14 determines that control of the operating status is necessary. If control of the operating status is necessary, the control unit 14 moves the process to step S307. On the other hand, if control of the operating status is not necessary, the control unit 14 returns the process to step S304.

[0047] When the process moves to step S307, the control unit 14 updates the operating status of multiple radio base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... based on the operating status pattern 16 stored in the memory unit 15, according to the number of radio terminals 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13. For example, the control unit 14 sends an operating status change instruction to a radio base station 20 that needs to change its operating status, in the same manner as the process in step S303. After executing the process in step S307, the control unit 14 returns to step S304.

[0048] As shown in Figure 3, the acquisition unit 13 periodically acquires the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100. The control unit 14 also dynamically controls the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... in accordance with the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16.

[0049] [Example 2] In Example 1, an example was described in which the control device 10 has a calculation unit 12 that calculates an operating state pattern 16. However, this is just one example, and the control device 10 may also store in advance an operating state pattern 16 calculated by another information processing device in a storage unit 15.

[0050] Figure 5 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to Example 2. In the example in Figure 5, the wireless communication system 1 according to Example 2 has a calculation device 500 in addition to the system configuration of the wireless communication system 1 described in Figure 1.

[0051] The calculation device 500 is an information processing device having the configuration of a computer, or a system including multiple computers. The calculation device 500 realizes the communication unit 501, calculation unit 12, setting unit 502, and storage unit 503, etc., by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium. At least some of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0052] The communication unit 501 connects the calculation device 500 to the communication network 2 and performs communication processing to communicate with the control device 10.

[0053] The calculation unit 12 corresponds to the calculation unit 12 that was present in the control device 10 described in Figure 1. The calculation unit 12 performs a calculation process to calculate the operating state patterns 16 of the multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... in the same manner as in Embodiment 1. In Embodiment 2, the control device 10 does not necessarily have a calculation unit 12.

[0054] The setting unit 502 executes a setting process to set the operating state pattern 16 calculated by the calculation unit 12 to the control device 10. The operating state pattern 16 set by the setting unit 502 to the control device 10 is stored in the storage unit 15 of the control device 10.

[0055] The memory unit 503 is implemented, for example, by a program executed by a computer provided in the calculation device 500, and a storage device provided in the computer, and performs storage processing to store the operating state pattern 16, etc., calculated by the calculation unit 12.

[0056] Note that the system configuration of the wireless communication system 1 according to Embodiment 2 shown in Figure 5 is just one example. For example, at least a part of the communication unit 501, calculation unit 12, setting unit 502, and storage unit 503 may be implemented by a program executed on a virtual machine or the like in the cloud.

[0057] <Processing flow> Figure 6 shows an example of the processing of a wireless communication system according to Embodiment 2. This processing shows an example of the processing that the wireless communication system 1 performs when operating the wireless area 100 in the wireless communication system 1 shown in Figure 5. Note that the processing in steps S601 to S606 in Figure 6 is the same as the processing in steps S302 to S307 described in Figure 3, so a detailed explanation of the similar processing content is omitted here.

[0058] In step S601, the acquisition unit 13 acquires, for example, the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100 when starting operation of the wireless area 100.

[0059] In step S602, the control unit 14 sets the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of wireless terminals 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16 that has been previously stored in the storage unit 15.

[0060] In step S603, the control device 10 determines whether or not to terminate the operation of the wireless area 100. If the operation of the wireless area 100 is not terminated, the control device 10 proceeds to step S604. On the other hand, if the operation of the wireless area 100 is terminated, the control device 10 terminates the process shown in Figure 6.

[0061] When the process moves to step S604, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the number of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100.

[0062] In step S605, the control unit 14 determines whether it is necessary to control the operating status of the multiple wireless base stations 20. If it is necessary to control the operating status, the control unit 14 moves the process to step S606. On the other hand, if it is not necessary to control the operating status, the control unit 14 returns the process to step S603.

[0063] When the process moves to step S606, the control unit 14 updates the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of wireless terminals 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16 stored in the memory unit 15. After executing the process in step S606, the control unit 14 returns the process to step S603.

[0064] As shown in Figure 6, the control device 10 can dynamically control the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100, similar to the first embodiment.

[0065] [Example 3] In Examples 1 and 2, the control device 10 controlled the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100. However, the control device 10 is not limited to this, and may dynamically control the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to, for example, the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100.

[0066] In this case, instead of the operating state patterns 16 of multiple wireless base stations 20 corresponding to the number of wireless terminals n as shown in Figure 4, the control device 10 pre-stores in the storage unit 15 operating state patterns 16 of multiple wireless base stations 20 corresponding to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminals 30.

[0067] Furthermore, the calculation unit 12 calculates an operating state pattern 16 for multiple wireless base stations 20 according to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30, instead of an operating state pattern 16 for multiple wireless base stations 20 according to the number of wireless terminals n.

[0068] For example, the calculation unit 12 calculates the required communication bandwidth within the wireless area 100 from the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30. The calculation unit 12 also determines the number of wireless base stations 20 needed to obtain the required communication bandwidth within the wireless area 100. Furthermore, the calculation unit 12 determines which wireless base stations 20 to set to an operational state so that the entire wireless area 230 can be covered with the number of wireless base stations 20 determined. By performing this process for each amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30, the calculation unit 12 can calculate multiple operational state patterns 16 of wireless base stations 20 according to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30. However, the method for calculating multiple operational state patterns 16 of wireless base stations 20 according to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30 is not limited to this.

[0069] <Processing flow> Figure 7 shows an example of processing in the wireless communication system according to Embodiment 2. This processing shows an example of the processing that the wireless communication system 1 executes when operating the wireless area 100 in the wireless communication system 1 as shown in Figure 5. It is assumed that the storage unit 15 of the control device 10 has in advance stored multiple operating state patterns 16 of wireless base stations 20 corresponding to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30 as described above. Also, a detailed explanation of the processing content, which is the same as the processing described in Figures 3 and 6, is omitted here.

[0070] In step S701, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the amount of communication traffic of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100, for example, when starting operation of the wireless area 100. For example, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the amount of communication traffic of wireless terminals 30 connected to itself (wireless base station 20) from each wireless base station 20, and calculates the amount of communication traffic of wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100 by summing up the acquired communication traffic amounts.

[0071] In step S702, the control unit 14 sets the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16 that has been previously stored in the storage unit 15.

[0072] In step S703, the control device 10 determines whether or not to terminate the operation of the wireless area 100. If the operation of the wireless area 100 is not terminated, the control device 10 proceeds to step S704. On the other hand, if the operation of the wireless area 100 is terminated, the control device 10 terminates the process shown in Figure 7.

[0073] When the process moves to step S704, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the amount of communication traffic from the wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100.

[0074] In step S705, the control unit 14 determines whether it is necessary to control the operating status of the multiple wireless base stations 20. For example, the control unit 14 determines that it is not necessary to control the operating status if the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 is within a preset range where it is not necessary to control the operating status. On the other hand, the control unit 14 determines that it is necessary to control the operating status if the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 is outside a preset range where it is not necessary to control the operating status. If it is necessary to control the operating status, the control unit 14 moves the process to step S706. On the other hand, if it is not necessary to control the operating status, the control unit 14 returns the process to step S703.

[0075] When the process moves to step S706, the control unit 14 updates the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the amount of communication traffic of the wireless terminal 30 acquired by the acquisition unit 13, based on the operating status pattern 16 stored in the memory unit 15. After executing the process in step S706, the control unit 14 returns the process to step S703.

[0076] As shown in Figure 7, the control device 10 dynamically controls the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... in accordance with the amount of communication traffic from wireless terminals 30 within the wireless area 100.

[0077] As described above, according to this embodiment, the control device 10 dynamically controls the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20-1, 20-2, ... according to the status (number, amount of communication traffic, etc.) of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the number of wireless terminals 30 in the wireless area 100 is less than expected, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of communication quality due to radio interference, etc., or the generation of unnecessary operating power consumption of wireless base stations.

[0078] The wireless communication system 1 according to this embodiment has been described above, but the wireless communication system 1 according to this embodiment can be modified and applied in various ways.

[0079] For example, in the embodiments described above, the control device 10 was described as controlling the operating status of multiple wireless base stations 20. However, the control device 10 may achieve similar effects by various means such as turning the power of the multiple wireless base stations 20 ON / OFF or putting them to sleep / waking them up. For example, the control device 10 may turn the transmission of radio waves from each wireless base station 20 ON / OFF while the multiple wireless base stations 20 are operating.

[0080] Furthermore, although the above embodiments were described assuming a single wireless communication method, this embodiment can also be applied to a wireless communication system 1 in which wireless base stations 20 of different wireless communication methods are arranged in combination.

[0081] Furthermore, the functions of the control device 10 may be possessed by any of the multiple wireless base stations 20.

[0082] <Example Hardware Configuration> (Hardware configuration of control device, wireless base station, and computing device) The control device 10, wireless base station 20, and calculation device 500 according to this embodiment include, for example, a computer 1000 hardware configuration as shown in Figure 8.

[0083] Figure 8 shows an example of the hardware configuration of computer 1000 according to this embodiment. In the example in Figure 8, computer 1000 includes a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage device 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, and bus B, etc.

[0084] The processor 1001 is a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that realizes various functions by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium (recording medium). The memory 1002 is a storage medium (recording medium) that can be read by the computer 1000, and includes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The storage device 1003 is a storage medium (recording medium) that can be read by the computer, and may include, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), various optical discs, and magneto-optical discs, etc.

[0085] The communication device 1004 includes one or more pieces of hardware (communication devices) for communicating with other devices via a wireless or wired network. For example, the communication device 1004 includes a wireless communication device for wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 21, and communication devices for connecting each device to the communication network 2 by the communication units 11, 25, 501, etc.

[0086] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., an input / output device such as a touch panel display).

[0087] Bus B is connected to all of the above components in common and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals. Note that the processor 1001 is not limited to a CPU, but may be, for example, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0088] (supplement) The control device 10, wireless base station 20, and calculation device 500 in this embodiment are not limited to being implemented by dedicated devices, but may also be implemented by a general-purpose computer. In that case, the program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be loaded into a computer system and executed. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as the OS and peripheral devices.

[0089] Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" includes various storage media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and hard disks built into computer systems. In addition, "computer-readable recording media" may also include those that dynamically hold programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs over networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, and those that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside computer systems that act as servers or clients in such cases.

[0090] Furthermore, the above program may be intended to implement only a part of the functions described above, or it may be intended to implement the above functions in combination with programs already recorded in the computer system, or it may be implemented using hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0091] <Effects of the Embodiment> According to this embodiment, when the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area is less than expected, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of communication quality due to radio interference, etc., or the generation of unnecessary operating power consumption of the wireless base station.

[0092] <Summary of Embodiments> This specification discloses at least the following wireless communication methods and wireless communication systems: (Section 1) A wireless communication system including multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, A calculation unit configured to calculate the operating state patterns of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the state of wireless terminals within the wireless area, An acquisition unit configured to acquire the status of the wireless terminal within the wireless area, A control unit configured to control the operating state of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the state of the wireless terminal acquired by the acquisition unit based on the operating state pattern, A wireless communication system having the following features. (Section 2) The status of the wireless terminal includes the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area. The wireless communication system according to paragraph 1, wherein the operating state pattern includes information that determines whether or not to operate each of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area. (Section 3) The state of the aforementioned wireless terminal includes the amount of communication traffic of wireless terminals within the aforementioned wireless area. The wireless communication system according to paragraph 1, wherein the operating state pattern includes information that determines whether or not to operate each of the plurality of wireless base stations in accordance with the amount of communication traffic of wireless terminals within the wireless area. (Section 4) The wireless communication system according to any one of the first to third paragraphs, wherein the calculation unit calculates the operating state pattern corresponding to the state of the wireless terminals in the wireless area, the minimum number of wireless base stations capable of accommodating the wireless terminals and being operated. (Section 5) The acquisition unit periodically acquires the status of wireless terminals within the wireless area. The control unit dynamically controls the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the status of the wireless terminals within the wireless area acquired by the acquisition unit. A wireless communication system as described in any of paragraphs 1 to 3. (Section 6) A control device for controlling multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, A calculation unit configured to calculate the operating state patterns of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the state of wireless terminals within the wireless area, An acquisition unit configured to acquire the status of the wireless terminal within the wireless area, A control unit configured to control the operating state of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the state of the wireless terminal acquired by the acquisition unit based on the operating state pattern, A control device having (Section 7) A method for controlling multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, Computers A calculation process for calculating the operating state patterns of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the state of the wireless terminals within the wireless area, A process for acquiring the status of the wireless terminal within the wireless area, A control process that controls the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the status of the wireless terminal acquired in the acquisition process based on the operating status pattern, A control method for executing this. (Section 8) A program that causes a computer to execute the control method described in paragraph 7.

[0093] Although this embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention as described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0094] 1. Wireless communication system 10 Control device 12 Calculation Section 13 Acquisition Department 14 Control Unit 16 Operating Status Patterns 20, 20-1, 20-2 Wireless base stations 30, 30-1, 30-2 Wireless terminals 100 Wireless Area 1000 computers< / url:>

Claims

1. A wireless communication system including multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, A calculation unit is configured to calculate the operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations corresponding to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area, and to store the calculated operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations together with the number of wireless terminals in an operating status pattern. An acquisition unit configured to acquire the number of wireless terminals within the wireless area, A control unit configured to control the operating state of the plurality of wireless base stations in accordance with the number of wireless terminals acquired by the acquisition unit based on the operating state pattern, A wireless communication system having the following features.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the operating state pattern that minimizes the number of wireless base stations capable of accommodating and operating the wireless terminals, corresponding to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area.

3. The acquisition unit periodically acquires the number of wireless terminals within the wireless area. The control unit dynamically controls the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations according to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area acquired by the acquisition unit. The wireless communication system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A control device for controlling multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, A calculation unit is configured to calculate the operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations corresponding to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area, and to store the calculated operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations together with the number of wireless terminals in an operating status pattern. An acquisition unit configured to acquire the number of wireless terminals within the wireless area, A control unit configured to control the operating state of the plurality of wireless base stations in accordance with the number of wireless terminals acquired by the acquisition unit based on the operating state pattern, A control device having

5. A method for controlling multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, Computers A calculation process that calculates the operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations corresponding to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area, and stores the calculated operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations together with the number of wireless terminals in an operating status pattern. A process for obtaining the number of wireless terminals within the wireless area, A control process that controls the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations in accordance with the number of wireless terminals acquired in the acquisition process based on the operating status pattern, A control method for executing this.

6. In a wireless communication system including multiple wireless base stations installed in a wireless area, On the computer, A calculation process that calculates the operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations corresponding to the number of wireless terminals in the wireless area, and stores the calculated operating status of each of the plurality of wireless base stations together with the number of wireless terminals in an operating status pattern. A process for obtaining the number of wireless terminals within the wireless area, A control process that controls the operating status of the plurality of wireless base stations in accordance with the number of wireless terminals acquired in the acquisition process based on the operating status pattern, A program that executes something.

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