JP2005192145A - Communication area inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect the communication area between opposite two stations for simply performing radio communication on a desk. <P>SOLUTION: When an inspection condition input section 11 inputs inspection conditions including the position information of first and second stations to be communicated, a Fresnel zone calculating section 12 calculates the Fresnel zone between the first and second stations, based on the inputted inspection conditions; a site information searching section 13 for searching a site directly below the calculated Fresnel zone; a building information searching section 14 searches the building information of a building in the searched site; and an obstruction determination section 15 determines the presence or absence of a building that may be within the Fresnel zone, based on the searched building information. A result output section 16 outputs a result in which a communication trouble occurs, and a result in which no communication troubles occur, when there are buildings that may be within the Fresnel zone and when there are no buildings within the Fresnel zone, respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication area inspection apparatus that inspects a communication area, and more particularly to a communication area inspection apparatus that inspects a communication area between two opposing stations that perform wireless communication.

Wireless LANs (Local Area Networks) that do not require wiring and do not require wiring costs have been increasing in capacity, and their demand is expanding in various fields.
In recent years, a quasi-millimeter wave band / millimeter wave can be directly connected between a slave station (hereinafter referred to as a fixed station) such as an office / home and a parent station (hereinafter referred to as a base station) of a telecommunications carrier or between fixed stations. FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) system that enables high-capacity information communication by connecting wirelessly using a band and optical wireless LAN using a high frequency band of 300 THz or more are attracting attention. ing.

  Since such a wireless LAN uses a highly directional frequency band, if there is an obstacle between two stations that perform wireless communication, a communication failure occurs. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to install an antenna on the roof of a building and face each other so that an obstacle does not enter between the two antennas.

  On the other hand, the base station based on the positional information of the receiving device and the transmitting device so that communication is possible even if the communication between the receiving device of the base station and the transmitting device of the mobile unit is interrupted for some reason. There has been a technique for automatically adjusting the antenna direction of the receiving apparatus to the direction of the transmitting apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Also, as a technology for detecting obstacles, in the car navigation field, the current position information is checked against map information including the height, and it is determined whether there are obstacles that interfere with progress in the direction of travel. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-158608 (paragraph numbers [0007] to [0010], FIG. 1) JP 2002-340567 (paragraph numbers [0035] to [0038], FIG. 1)

  However, in the past, since the possibility of communication failure cannot be inspected in advance, for example, when newly installing a fixed station, communication between the two stations can be performed by actually measuring the radio field intensity at the antenna installation site. There was a problem that it was time consuming to check whether it was possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication area inspection apparatus that can easily inspect a communication area between two opposed stations that perform wireless communication on a desk.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, in a communication area inspection apparatus for inspecting a communication area between two opposing stations that perform wireless communication, as shown in FIG. An inspection condition input unit 11 for inputting an inspection condition including station position information, and a Fresnel zone calculation unit 12 for calculating a Fresnel zone between the first station and the second station based on the input inspection condition. Based on the found building information If there is an obstacle determination unit 15 that determines the presence or absence of a building that falls within the Fresnel zone, and a building that falls within the Fresnel zone, the result that a communication failure occurs is entered into the Fresnel zone. Without a building , Communication failure and the result output unit 16 for outputting a result indicating that does not occur, the communication area inspection apparatus 10, characterized in that it comprises a provided.

  According to the above configuration, when the inspection condition input unit 11 inputs the inspection condition including the position information of the first station and the second station to be communicated, the Fresnel zone calculation unit 12 is based on the input inspection condition. 2 calculates the Fresnel zone between the first station and the second station, the site information search unit 13 searches for the site directly under the calculated Fresnel zone, and the building information search unit 14 The obstacle determination unit 15 determines the presence or absence of a building that falls within the Fresnel zone based on the searched building information. The result output unit 16 outputs a result that a communication failure occurs if there is a building that enters the Fresnel zone, and a result that a communication failure does not occur if there is no building that enters the Fresnel zone. To do.

  The present invention calculates the Fresnel zone between two stations that perform wireless communication, searches for buildings in the premises directly under the Fresnel zone, and causes a communication failure depending on whether or not those buildings enter the Fresnel zone. Therefore, it is possible to examine the installation location on the desk more precisely and easily without going to the site.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a communication area inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The communication area inspection device 10 includes an inspection condition input unit 11, a Fresnel zone calculation unit 12, a site information search unit 13, a building information search unit 14, an obstacle determination unit 15, and a result output unit 16.

An outline of the function of each functional block will be described.
The inspection condition input unit 11 inputs inspection conditions such as position information of two opposing stations (base station or fixed station) to be communicated and the frequency of radio waves to be used.

The Fresnel zone calculation unit 12 calculates a Fresnel zone between two stations based on the input inspection conditions.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a Fresnel zone.

  As shown in the figure, the Fresnel zone 40 is an elliptical region between the antennas A and B when the fixed station 31 is arranged with respect to the base station 30, for example. If there is an obstacle in this area, it will interfere with communication.

As the position information of the base station 30 and the fixed station 31, for example, the three-dimensional coordinates of the antenna positions P ₁ and P ₂ are determined by the address and the height of the antennas A and B (height from the ground).
In the Fresnel zone 40, when there is a point P such as a line segment P ₁ P = d1 and a line segment PP ₂ = d2 on the line segment P ₁ P ₂ connecting the antennas A and B, the Fresnel zone 40 at the point P The radius H is expressed by the following equation.

Note that λ is the wavelength of the radio wave used for wireless communication.
Further, n is a dimensionless number, and the Fresnel zone 40 when n = 1 is referred to as a first Fresnel zone, the second Fresnel zone when n = 2, and the third Fresnel zone when n = 3. As n increases, the radius H of the Fresnel zone 40 also increases. In the present embodiment, it is desirable to calculate the Fresnel zone 40 with n = 2 or n = 3.

The site information search unit 13 searches for a site directly under the calculated Fresnel zone 40 with reference to a map DB (database) 21a.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a part of the map DB.

  As shown in the figure, the address of the site, the coordinates of the representative point (x, y) representing the site, and the side of the site represented by the coordinates (x_1, y_1), (x_2, y_2) of the two points are the map DB 21a. Stored.

  The building information search unit 14 uses the building information in the searched site, the building drawing DB 22a, the information about the building to be constructed, specifically, the building information in which the building application is submitted. Is searched with reference to the building application DB 22b.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a part of the architectural drawing DB or the architectural application DB.
As shown in the figure, the address indicating the location of the building, the building name, and the coordinates of the two points (x_1, y_1, z_1), the side of the building represented by (x_2, y_2, z_2) (hereinafter referred to as parts), etc. Is stored in the building drawing DB 22a or the building application DB 22b as building information.

The obstacle determination unit 15 determines the presence or absence of a building that falls within the Fresnel zone based on the searched building information.
The result output unit 16 indicates that a communication failure occurs if there is a building that falls within the Fresnel zone 40, and a result that no communication failure occurs if there is no building that falls within the Fresnel zone 40. Is output to a display (not shown), for example.

The site information search unit 13 may search the city planning area DB 21b instead of the map DB 21a.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the city planning area DB.

  In city planning, areas are classified by use area, altitude area, semi-fire prevention area, and the like. Such city planning area names (area names) include Type 1 low-rise residential areas, Type 2 low-rise residential areas, Type 1 medium and high-rise residential areas, Type 2 medium and high-rise residential areas, and Industrial areas. and so on. Here, the first and second type low-rise residence-only areas have a maximum height of 10 m, and the rest are unlimited.

Further, the city planning area DB 21b stores the address of the area and each side of the area represented by two coordinates (x_1, y_1) and (x_2, y_2).
Hereinafter, an outline of the operation of the communication area inspection apparatus 10 will be described.

  When the inspection condition input unit 11 inputs the position information of the two stations (base station or fixed station) facing each other and the frequency of the radio wave to be used, the Fresnel zone calculation unit 12 based on the inspection condition, The Fresnel zone 40 as shown in FIG. 2 is calculated. The site information search unit 13 searches the map DB 21a for a site that is directly below the Fresnel zone 40 based on the calculated Fresnel zone 40. The site information search unit 13 may search for a city planning area that is directly below the Fresnel zone 40 with reference to the city planning area DB 21b.

  When a site that is directly under the Fresnel zone 40 is searched using the map DB 21a, the building information search unit 14 next refers to the building drawing DB 22a and the building application DB 22b, and the building currently existing on the site. Search the building information of the building to be built.

  When a building existing on a site directly under the Fresnel zone 40 and a building to be constructed are searched, the obstacle determination unit 15 determines whether there is a building existing in the Fresnel zone 40 calculated by the Fresnel zone calculation unit 12. Determine.

  On the other hand, referring to the city planning area DB 21b, when a city planning area that is directly below the Fresnel zone 40 is searched, the obstacle determination unit 15 uses the maximum height that can be built in the city planning area. It is determined whether there is a possibility that a building will exist in the Fresnel zone 40 in the future.

  Finally, if the result output unit 16 determines that there is a building that enters the Fresnel zone 40 by the above operation, a result indicating that a communication failure occurs under the condition input by the inspection condition input unit 11. If it is determined that there is no building that falls within the Fresnel zone 40, a result indicating that a communication failure does not occur is output and displayed on a display (not shown), for example.

Next, a hardware configuration example of the communication area inspection apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of this invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration example of the communication area inspection apparatus.

  The communication area inspection device 10 is, for example, a PC (personal computer), a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 10b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10c, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 10d, a graphic processing. The unit 10e, an input I / F (Interface) 10f, a communication I / F 10g, and the like are connected to each other via a bus 10h.

Here, the CPU 10a controls each unit according to the ROM 10b, the program stored in the HDD 10d, and various data.
The ROM 10b stores basic programs and data executed by the CPU 10a.

The RAM 10c stores programs being executed by the CPU 10a and data being calculated.
The HDD 10d stores an OS (Operation System) executed by the CPU 10a and various application programs.

  For example, a display 51 is connected to the graphic processing unit 10e as a display device, and an image, text, or the like is displayed on the screen of the display 51 in accordance with a drawing command from the CPU 10a.

A mouse 52 and a keyboard 53 are connected to the input I / F 10f, and information input by the user is received and transmitted to the CPU 10a via the bus 10h.
The communication I / F 10g transmits / receives information to / from various databases as illustrated in FIG. 1 via the network 60 configured by, for example, a LAN.

  The CPU 10a performs processing in each functional block shown in FIG. 1 while expanding the program stored in the HDD 10d or the ROM 10b in the RAM 10c. 1 uses the input I / F 10f as the function of the inspection condition input unit 11, the communication I / F 10g as the function of the site information search unit 13 and the building information search unit 14, and the graphic processing unit 10e as the function of the result output unit 16. And executed under the control of the CPU 10a.

The map DB 21a, the city planning area DB 21b, the building drawing DB 22a, and the building application DB 22b may be built in the HDD 10d of the communication area inspection device 10.
Next, details of processing performed in the communication area inspection apparatus 10 will be described with reference to a hardware configuration example of FIG.

First, a process when performing a communication area inspection in consideration of a current building or a building planned to be built will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the communication area inspection process.

Step S10: Input of inspection conditions First, the input I / F 10f inputs inspection conditions such as the position of two stations that perform wireless communication and the height of the antenna by the user operating the mouse 52 and the keyboard 53.

FIG. 8 is an example of an inspection condition input screen displayed on the display.
As shown in the figure, as inspection conditions, the communication date and time for performing wireless communication, the location of the wireless antenna, the frequency of the used radio wave, and the like are input as position information of the two stations performing wireless communication.

  When inputting the installation location of the wireless antenna, for example, the addresses where the antenna A and the antenna B are installed may be directly input. However, as shown in FIG. 8, a map is displayed simultaneously with the inspection condition input screen. Then, by using the mouse 52 and placing the mouse cursor 71 at the position of the two stations to be examined on the map and clicking to select, the address may be automatically determined. Further, the height is input for each of the antennas A and B. Height is the height from the ground. Also, input the frequency of the radio wave used for wireless communication.

To confirm the input of these inspection conditions, the input confirmation button 72 is pressed by operating the mouse 52 or the like.
Step S11: Fresnel zone calculation Based on the inspection conditions input in the process of step S10, the CPU 10a calculates the three-dimensional coordinate values of the antenna positions P ₁ and P ₂ of the two stations, the input address, the antenna A, By calculating from the height of B, the Fresnel zone 40 as shown in FIG. 2 is calculated.

Step S12: Project Fresnel Zone to Ground Coordinates FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the projection of Fresnel zone to ground coordinates.
The CPU 10a projects the calculated Fresnel zone 40 onto the ground coordinates. Here, the area 40 a is an area directly below the Fresnel zone 40.

Step S13: Searching for a site touching the projected Fresnel zone The CPU 10a searches the map DB 21a for a site touching the projected Fresnel zone (area 40a) as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 9, it can be seen that the sites 81, 82, 83, 84, and 85 are sites that touch the area 40a.

Step S14: Select a building in the searched site The CPU 10a refers to the architectural drawing DB 22a and the building application DB 22b, and builds a building that is existing or is scheduled to be constructed on the searched site 81, 82, 83, 84, 85. Search and select DB 22a and building application DB 22b.

Step S15: Select the building part closest to the straight line connecting the two stations. In the selected building, the straight line connecting the two stations, specifically, the antenna position P ₁ of the antenna A and the antenna position P _{2 of the} antenna B. The building part closest to the line segment P ₁ P ₂ connecting the _two is selected.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the Fresnel zone and building parts.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the architectural drawing DB 22a and the building application DB 22b, the building is represented by a plurality of parts. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the building 90 is represented by parts 90-1, 90-2, 90-3,. Among the buildings 90, the building component that has the shortest distance h from the line segment P ₁ P ₂ , for example, the component 90-1 is selected.

Step S16: the building is whether the Fresnel zone determination CPU10a is selected in step S15, between the most segment P ₁ P building component 90-1 Nearby ₂ and line segment P ₁ P ₂ among the building 90 The distance h is compared with the radius H of the Fresnel zone 40. If H <h, it is determined that the building 90 does not enter the Fresnel zone 40, and the process proceeds to step S17. The building 90 is determined to enter the Fresnel zone 40, and the process proceeds to step S18.

Step S17: Determination of whether or not all buildings have been examined The CPU 10a determines whether or not the processing described in steps S15 and S16 has been performed for all the buildings in the site searched in step S13. . Here, if all the buildings have been examined, the process proceeds to step S19. If all the buildings have not been examined, the process returns to step S14, another building in the site is selected, and the processes of steps S15 to S17 are repeated.

Step S18: Output that a communication failure has occurred In the process of step S16, if a building that falls within the Fresnel zone 40 is detected, the CPU 10a outputs a message indicating that a communication failure has occurred to the display 51 to indicate the communication area. End inspection.

Step S19: Output that communication failure does not occur If all the buildings in the searched site do not enter the Fresnel zone, the CPU 10a outputs to the display 51 that communication failure does not occur and communicates. End the area inspection.

FIG. 11 is an example of an inspection result screen displayed on the display.
For example, the inspection result output screen is displayed at the bottom of the inspection condition input screen shown in FIG. As an inspection result, whether or not there is a building that impedes communication is displayed at the communication date and time when performing wireless communication input on the inspection condition input screen. If there is a building that becomes an obstacle, for example, an x mark 73 may be displayed at the position of the building on the map as shown in the figure. On this map, for example, the user can refer to the information on the building that becomes an obstacle by clicking the mouse cursor 71 on the x mark 73 and clicking. Thereby, the user can refer to whether a building existing at present becomes an obstacle or a building to be built becomes an obstacle. When a building to be constructed becomes an obstacle, the building completion information is displayed as the building information in addition to the address of the building to be built and the maximum height.

  When a building that becomes an obstacle is detected, in addition to the inspection result, as a means for avoiding a communication obstacle, a countermeasure such as how many meters the antenna height should be increased may be displayed.

Also, by pressing the re-input button 74, the inspection conditions can be re-input.
Next, processing when performing a communication area inspection considering a city plan will be described using a flowchart.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the communication area inspection process considering the city plan.
The processing from step S20 to step S22 is the same as the processing from step S10 to S12 described above with reference to FIG.

Step S23: Search for city planning area touching projected Fresnel zone FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the Fresnel zone projected on the ground coordinates and the city planning area.
The CPU 10a searches the city planning area DB 21b to search for a city planning area that touches the Fresnel zone (area 40a) projected on the ground coordinates. In the case shown in FIG. 13, the city planning area 101 is searched.

Step S24: Acquisition of height information When the city planning area 101 is searched in the processing of step S23, the CPU 10a can recognize the maximum height from the classification (area name) of the city planning area DB 21b as shown in FIG. Get height information. If the city planning area 101 is a first type low-rise residential area, for example, the maximum height is 10 m.

Step S25: Determination of whether or not there is a possibility that the building will enter the Fresnel zone FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the Fresnel zone and the buildings in the city planning area.
For example, as shown in FIG. 13, if the Fresnel zone 40 covers a city planning area 101, the height from the ground to the Fresnel zone 40 in that area is obtained. As shown in FIG. 14, the minimum height to the Fresnel zone 40 in the city planning area 101 is D_min and the maximum height is D_max. Let d_max.

  The CPU 10a compares d_max with D_min. If D_min> d_max, the CPU 10a determines that the building 110 that can be built in the searched city planning area 101 does not enter the Fresnel zone 40, and performs the process of step S26. If D_min ≦ d_max, it is determined that the building 110 may enter the Fresnel zone 40, and the process proceeds to step S27.

Step S26: Output that the communication failure does not occur If the building 110 that can be constructed in the searched city planning area 101 does not enter the Fresnel zone 40, the CPU 10a displays that the communication failure does not occur. To check the communication area.

  Step S27: When a building that falls within the Fresnel zone 40 is detected, the CPU 10a outputs to the display 51 that a communication failure has occurred and ends the inspection of the communication area.

FIG. 15 is an example of an inspection result screen displayed on the display.
For example, the inspection result output screen is displayed at the bottom of the inspection condition input screen shown in FIG. As an inspection result, the city planning area designated as the communication area to be searched is displayed, the restricted height of the city planning area, and the like, and whether there is a failure in wireless communication is displayed. The city planning area may be displayed on the map.

Also, by pressing the re-input button 74, the inspection conditions can be re-input.
Finally, the details of the database used in the embodiment of the present invention will be summarized.
FIG. 16 is a diagram summarizing examples of information serving as a basis of data managed in various databases.

  The data managed by the building application DB 22b is created based on, for example, a building application filed with a local government when building a building. The building application includes a building guide map, a layout map, a floor plan for each floor, and the like for specifying the building address, maximum height, and building parts used in the processing of the embodiment of the present invention.

  The data managed in the city planning area DB 21b is created based on, for example, a city plan diagram. The city planning map is divided into areas such as a use area, an altitude area, a semi-fire prevention area, and the like, and has information such as a maximum height that can be constructed, which is used in the processing of the embodiment of the present invention.

The data managed by the map DB 21a is created based on, for example, public maps managed by the Legal Affairs Bureau. The public map has the coordinate values of the site used in the processing of the embodiment of the present invention.
The data managed by the architectural drawing DB 22a is created based on, for example, building drawings managed by the Legal Affairs Bureau. Information on building parts used in the processing according to the embodiment of the present invention is extracted from the building drawings.

Various databases used in the processing according to the embodiment of the present invention can be created based on the information shown in FIG.
Thus, according to the communication area inspection apparatus 10 of the embodiment of the present invention, the Fresnel zone 40 between the two stations performing wireless communication is calculated, and a building in the site immediately below the Fresnel zone 40 is searched, Whether or not those buildings enter or not enter the Fresnel zone 40 will determine whether or not a communication failure has occurred, so you can easily examine the installation location of fixed stations, etc. on the desk without going to the site. Is possible.

  Moreover, since not only the building currently in the communication area but also the building planned to be built and the city plan are considered, the communication area can be inspected in consideration of the possibility of a communication failure that may occur in the future.

  In the above description, the height of the antenna is assumed to be the height from the ground. For example, when one of the two stations where the antenna is installed is located in a hilly area where the altitude is higher than the other, the altitude of the antenna is Will change. Therefore, the communication area inspection device 10 may calculate the Fresnel zone in consideration of the altitude above sea level where the station is installed.

In the above description, the communication area in the case of only two stations is inspected. However, the following modifications are possible.
For example, when a new fixed station is installed, if it is desired to know which base station to communicate with to prevent a failure from occurring among a plurality of base stations, the inspection conditions for one fixed station and a plurality of base stations And the communication area is inspected by the same process as described above for each of the fixed station and the plurality of base stations. From among them, a base station that can communicate without causing a failure may be selected, and for example, an antenna direction for communicating with the base station may be presented to the user on an inspection result output screen.

  The present invention is used, for example, for examining a communication area when wireless communication is performed between buildings.

It is a functional block diagram of the communication area inspection apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a Fresnel zone. It is the figure which illustrated a part of map DB. It is the figure which illustrated some architectural drawing DB or building application DB. It is the figure which illustrated a part of city planning area DB. It is a hardware structural example of a communication area inspection apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of a communication area inspection process. It is an example of the inspection condition input screen displayed on a display. It is a figure which shows the projection to the ground coordinates of a Fresnel zone. It is the schematic which shows the positional relationship of a Fresnel zone and building components. It is an example of the test result screen displayed on a display. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the communication area inspection process which considered the city plan. It is a figure which shows the Fresnel zone projected on the ground coordinate, and a city planning area. It is the schematic which showed the relationship between a Fresnel zone and the building of a city planning area. It is an example of the test result screen displayed on a display. It is the figure which put together the example of the information used as the foundation of the data managed by various databases.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Communication area inspection apparatus 11 Inspection condition input part 12 Fresnel zone calculation part 13 Site information search part 14 Building information search part 15 Obstacle determination part 16 Result output part 21a Map DB
21b City Planning Area DB
22a Architectural drawing DB
22b Building application DB

Claims (3)

In a communication area inspection device that inspects a communication area between two opposing stations that perform wireless communication,
An inspection condition input unit for inputting an inspection condition including position information of the first station and the second station to be communicated;
A Fresnel zone calculator for calculating a Fresnel zone between the first station and the second station based on the input inspection conditions;
A site information search unit for searching a site directly under the calculated Fresnel zone;
A building information search unit for searching for building information of the building in the searched site;
Based on the searched building information, an obstacle determination unit that determines the presence or absence of the building that falls within the Fresnel zone;
If there is a building that falls within the Fresnel zone, a result indicating that a communication failure will occur; if there is no building that falls within the Fresnel zone, a result indicating that no communication failure will occur. An output section;
A communication area inspection apparatus comprising:   The communication area inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the building information search unit searches for the building information of a building scheduled to be constructed in the site. The site information search unit searches for a city planning area directly under the Fresnel zone,
2. The communication area according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle determination unit determines whether or not a searched building having a maximum height allowed in the city planning area falls within the Fresnel zone. Inspection device.

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