Small Cell Base Station Mode Switching for Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing small base stations, such as femtocells, face challenges in flexible operation due to limited power consumption reduction, as they cannot stop receiving radio waves even when no terminals are present, and restart when terminals enter the cell, limiting their power-saving capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A communication control device and method that acquires measurement results from terminal devices to switch the operation mode of small base stations between a power-consuming mode and a power-saving mode, allowing flexible operation based on conditions, including stopping or restarting wireless communication as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If small base stations continuously receive radio waves to ensure communication availability, then communication reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base station dynamically switches between two operation modes (first mode with full reception capability and second mode with reduced reception capability) based on terminal presence detection. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain communication reliability when terminals are present while reducing power consumption when terminals are absent, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and energy usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the base station by switching between different operation modes with distinct reception characteristics. In the first mode, the base station operates with full reception parameters for reliable communication, while in the second mode, it operates with reduced reception parameters to minimize power consumption, thus resolving the contradiction through parameter adaptation.
2Use of energy by moving object
If small base stations stop receiving radio waves to reduce power consumption, then energy usage decreases, but communication capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection to determine whether a terminal is present in the small cell before switching to the power-saving second mode. This preliminary action ensures that the base station only stops receiving radio waves when it is safe to do so (no terminal present), thereby reducing power consumption without compromising communication capability when terminals are actually present.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from terminal presence detection to control the switching between operation modes. When terminals are detected, the system feedback-indicates switching to the first mode for full communication capability; when terminals are absent, it feedback-indicates switching to the second mode for power saving, thus resolving the contradiction through closed-loop control.
3Reliability
If small base stations restart reception when terminals enter the cell, then communication availability is maintained, but power consumption reduction is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs periodic detection of terminal presence and switches between operation modes based on detection results. This periodic monitoring allows the system to maintain communication availability by restarting reception when terminals enter the cell while maximizing power consumption reduction by keeping the station in the second mode during extended periods when no terminals are present, thus resolving the contradiction between availability and energy loss.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a communication control device including an acquisition unit configured to acquire a result of measurement by a terminal device, and a control unit configured to control switching of an operation mode of a base station of a small cell overlapping with a macro cell partially or wholly based on the result of the measurement. The switching is switching of the operation mode from one of a first mode and a second mode to the other. The first mode is a mode in which the base station can perform wireless communication with a device in the small cell, and the second mode is a mode that consumes less power than the first mode.