JP5372087B2 - Interference control method, control apparatus, and base station apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an interference control method which can reduce interference between base stations. <P>SOLUTION: In a cellular communication system comprising femtocell base station 3, 4, and a control station 1, an interference control method controlling interference between the femtocell base station 3 and 4 is provided. The control station 1 designates time zone for transmission stop processing and measurement of interference power to the femtocell base station 3 and 4. The femtocell base station 3 and 4 perform the transmission stop processing and the measurement of interference power in the designated time zone and report the measurement result to the control station 1. Based on the measurement result acquired from the femtocell base station 3 and 4, the control station 1 calculates setting value for each of the femtocell base station 3 and 4 to enable downlink transmission with interference reduced in the system and notifies the femtocell base station 3 and 4 of the setting values. The femtocell base station 3 and 4 update their own settings based on the notified setting values. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an interference control method for controlling interference between a plurality of base stations constituting a cellular communication system.

  Cellular communication is a wireless communication system that is currently widely deployed around the world. In such cellular communication, a technique for improving frequency utilization efficiency is used in order to accommodate many terminals and communication traffic in a limited frequency band that can be used in the system. For example, in the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) method widely used in the third generation method, each cell (base station) is separated by a spread code, and all cells use the same carrier frequency, thereby using the frequency. Improves efficiency. However, while improving the frequency utilization efficiency, there is a problem that interference occurs between adjacent cells in the downlink transmission frequency band.

  As one countermeasure against the interference problem, there is a method of reducing the cell size by reducing the power transmitted by each base station and further reducing the cell radius. However, this method is an effective method for improving the frequency utilization efficiency because the power (interference power) reaching the adjacent cell is weak, but on the other hand, the cell radius becomes small, so that high speed is achieved on the terminal side. When moving, the number of handovers between cells increases, the frequency of call disconnection increases, and the current consumption increases. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the installation cost increases because it is necessary to increase the number of arrangements to cover the same area on the base station side.

  Currently, there is a new cell form called femtocell. It is a cell in which an ultra-compact base station that can be widely deployed in a range of several tens of meters in each home or office is installed, and it is assumed that transmission power is suppressed to about several tens of mW. A base station (femtocell base station) directed to the femtocell is assumed to be connected to the base station network via a dedicated line or through a public network (general broadband line). A femtocell base station is generally assumed to be installed independently of a coverage area of a general base station (macrocell base station) having a large cell widely deployed for cellular communication. And femtocell base stations may use the same carrier frequency.

  If the macro cell and the femto cell use the same frequency band, interference becomes a problem. In general, a macrocell base station is required to be expanded so as to fill a surface in order to expand a communicable area, and transmission power and antenna arrangement are considered. Therefore, when deploying femtocells, it is generally required to take measures to suppress the occurrence of interference on the femtocell base station side so as to suppress as much as possible the interference given to the cellular communication area by the macrocell.

  Specifically, the femtocell base station itself checks for the presence of base stations performing transmission using the same frequency band in the surroundings, and controls the carrier frequency and transmission power value used by the own station according to the result The technique is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. When a base station to be installed is started up, before transmitting a downlink transmission radio wave from the base station, observation is performed in a frequency band used for downlink transmission, and a carrier frequency and transmission power value used for downlink transmission are determined. In addition, the above-mentioned observation is performed again to update the determination contents so as to cope with the environmental change due to the expansion of surrounding base stations.

JP 2008-270915 A

  However, according to the above conventional technique, the number of base stations that determine the carrier frequency and the transmission power value by measurement is limited to one. Therefore, when there are a plurality of base stations, there is a problem that it is impossible to accurately measure and determine the carrier frequency and the transmission power value. Specifically, when a plurality of base stations perform measurement independently, the base station that performs measurement cannot determine whether another base station is transmitting. For example, measurement may be performed under the condition that a plurality of other base stations are transmitting in one base station, and measurement may be performed under the condition that other base stations are not transmitting in another base station. Although it is conceivable, the optimum carrier frequency and transmission power value in each base station cannot be accurately determined even if measurement results obtained under different measurement conditions are used.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when a plurality of base stations are connected, it is possible to accurately measure interference power between base stations and reduce interference between base stations. It is an object to obtain a simple interference control method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an interference control method for controlling interference between base station apparatuses in a cellular communication system including a plurality of base station apparatuses and control apparatuses. The control device instructs the plurality of base station devices to specify a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and measurement of interference power; and An interference power measurement step that performs transmission stop processing and measurement of interference power in Step 1, a measurement result report step in which the plurality of base station devices report measurement results in the interference power measurement step to the control device, and the control device Based on the measurement results obtained from the plurality of base station apparatuses, a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system is calculated for each base station apparatus A constant value calculating step, a setting value notifying step in which the control device notifies the calculated setting values to the plurality of base station devices, and the plurality of base station devices, based on the notified setting values. And an update step for updating the setting.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that interference between base stations can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of macro cell base stations and femto cell base stations. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control station. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a femtocell base station. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of downlink interference power measurement. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of downlink interference power measurement. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control operation based on the measurement result of the interference power. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of downlink interference power measurement. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control operation based on the measurement result of the interference power.

  Embodiments of an interference control method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a macro cell base station and a plurality of femto cell base stations are arranged adjacent to each other / superimposed in the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a control station, 2 is a macro cell base station, 20 is a range (macro cell) in which communication with the macro cell base station 2 is possible, 3 and 4 are femto cell base stations, and 30 and 40 are femto cell base stations 3. 4 shows a range (femtocell) that can be communicated with each of 4. In FIG. 1, since the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 are arranged close to each other, the femtocells 30 and 40 overlap each other, and the macrocell 20 further overlaps so as to cover the femtocells 30 and 40. doing.

  The control station 1 is connected to the macrocell base station 2 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 respectively, and performs control related to exchange of transmission / reception data and transmission / reception of the base station. Here, it is assumed that the control station 1 assigns the same frequency band as a frequency used for transmission / reception to all the base stations of the macrocell base station 2 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the control station 1. The control station 1 includes a measurement time zone instruction unit 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, and a set value calculation unit 13. The measurement time zone instructing unit 11 instructs the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 the time zone for stopping transmission and the time zone for measuring downlink interference power. The transmission / reception unit 12 communicates with the base station 2 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4. The setting value calculation unit 13 calculates setting values necessary for downlink transmission in the femtocell base stations 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the femtocell base station 3. The femtocell base station 3 includes an interference power measurement unit 31, a transmission / reception unit 32, and a setting unit 33. The interference power measurement unit 31 measures downlink interference power from surrounding base stations. The transmission / reception unit 32 communicates with the control station 1 and the base station 2. The setting unit 33 sets a transmission power value and the like. Note that the femtocell base station 4 also has the same configuration as the femtocell base station 3.

  In the present embodiment, a method for measuring the interference power received by the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 in the downlink frequency band from the surrounding base stations, that is, the received power in the downlink frequency band will be described. When the base station measures the received power in the downlink frequency band, in order to exclude the downlink transmission power generated by itself from the measurement target, the base station generally stops the downlink transmission.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. 4A shows the downlink transmission power of the three base stations in FIG. 1, FIG. 4B shows the downlink reception operations of the two femtocell base stations 3 and 4, respectively, and the horizontal axis Indicates the passage of time. Note that the macrocell base station 2 is always performing downlink transmission (FIG. 4A).

  Here, when the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 measure the downlink interference power, the control station 1 stops downlink transmission with respect to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 so that the respective downlink transmission stop times overlap. Is instructed (FIG. 4A). This transmission stop time period may be an arbitrary time or may be adjusted to a time reference related to downlink transmission, for example, a unit such as a slot or a frame. Since only the downlink signal from the macrocell base station 2 is transmitted in the transmission stop period, the control station 1 instructs the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 to measure the downlink interference power at this timing. (FIG. 4B).

  Next, an interference power measurement process in the control station 1 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of downlink interference power measurement.

  First, in the control station 1, the measurement time zone instruction unit 11 instructs the plurality of femtocell base stations 3 and 4 to perform downlink interference power measurement at the same timing (step S1). At this time, the measurement time zone instruction unit 11 of the control station 1 specifically instructs the timing when the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 stop downlink transmission and measure downlink interference power.

  Based on an instruction from the control station 1, in the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the transmission / reception unit 32 stops downlink transmission (step S2), and the interference power measurement unit 31 measures downlink interference power (step S3). The operation performed by the interference power measurement unit 31 of the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 is as described based on FIG. The transmitter / receiver 32 of the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 reports the downlink interference power measurement result to the control station 1 (step S4).

  In the control station 1, the transmission / reception unit 12 receives the measurement result from the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, and the setting value calculation unit 13 sets necessary for downlink transmission based on the measurement result from the femtocell base stations 3 and 4. A value is calculated (step S5). Then, the transmission / reception unit 12 notifies the set value to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 (step S6). The set value necessary for downlink transmission is a value set to reduce interference generated between the macro cell base station 2 and the femto cell base stations 3 and 4, and includes, for example, a transmission frequency, a transmission power (maximum value). Etc.), transmission code number, transmission timing information, transmission antenna information, transmission coding rate information, etc., which are the same as conventional ones.

  In the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the transmission / reception unit 32 receives the setting value calculated by the control station 1, and the setting unit 33 updates the setting of the own station based on the setting value acquired from the control station 1. Then, transmission is resumed with the settings updated by the transmission / reception unit 32 (step S7).

  When the control station 1 performs the control shown in FIG. 5 on the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 receive interference from the downlink transmission signal from one femtocell base station. Therefore, it is possible to accurately measure the interference power due to downlink transmission from the macrocell base station 2.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of femtocell base stations 3 and 4 perform downlink transmission stop and downlink interference power measurement simultaneously under the control of the control station 1. As a result, since the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 can accurately measure the downlink interference power without affecting each other, the control station 1 It is possible to calculate a set value necessary for downlink transmission with high accuracy.

  Note that the control station 1 can periodically perform the above-described processing by periodically instructing the femtocell base stations 3 and 4.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of femtocell base stations, control is performed so as not to overlap downlink transmission stop time and interference power measurement time. A different part from Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. 6A shows the downlink transmission power of the three base stations in FIG. 1, FIG. 6B shows the downlink reception operations of the two femtocell base stations 3 and 4, respectively, and the horizontal axis Indicates the passage of time.

  Here, when the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 measure the downlink interference power, the control station 1 performs downlink transmission to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 so that the respective stop times of downlink transmission do not overlap. The stop is instructed (FIG. 6A). Since the downlink signal is transmitted from the macro cell base station 2 and the other femto cell base station in the transmission stop period, the control station 1 measures the downlink interference power with respect to the femto cell base stations 3 and 4 at this timing. To instruct (FIG. 6B).

  Next, an interference power measurement process in the control station 1 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of downlink interference power measurement.

  First, in the control station 1, the measurement time zone instruction unit 11 instructs the plurality of femtocell base stations 3 and 4 to perform downlink interference power measurement at different timings (step S11). Here, specific individual instructions are not performed, and the downlink transmission is measured for the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 at the instructed timing, and the downlink interference power is measured. It is well known to continue.

  Since there are a plurality of femtocell base stations to be instructed, the measurement time zone instructing unit 11 of the control station 1 initializes the femtocell base station number counter (in this case, variable n) provided in the control station 1. (Step S12). Since two femtocell base stations 3 and 4 are targeted, n = 1 is substituted. And the measurement time slot | zone instruction | indication part 11 instruct | indicates a transmission stop with respect to the femtocell base station 3 applicable to femtocell base station number # 1.

  In the femtocell base station 3, the transmission / reception unit 32 stops downlink transmission based on an instruction from the control station 1 (step S13), and the interference power measurement unit 31 measures downlink interference power (step S14). The transmission / reception unit 32 reports the measurement result of the downlink interference power to the control station 1 (step S15). Thereafter, the transmission / reception unit 32 of the femtocell base station 3 resumes downlink transmission in the state of downlink transmission setting before the transmission is stopped (step S16).

  The measurement time zone instruction unit 11 of the control station 1 confirms whether the femtocell base station number #n is the last (step S17). Since it is not the last here (step S17: No), the measurement time slot | zone instruction | indication part 11 sets it as n = n + 1 (step S18). Then, the processes from step S13 to step S16 are performed between the control station 1 and the femtocell base station 4 corresponding to the next femtocell base station number # 2.

  The measurement time zone instruction unit 11 of the control station 1 confirms again whether the femtocell base station number #n is the last (step S17). Since it is the last here (step S17: Yes), in the control station 1, the setting value calculation unit 13 calculates the setting value necessary for downlink transmission based on the measurement results from the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 ( In step S5), the transmission / reception unit 12 notifies the set value to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 (step S6).

  In the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the setting unit 33 updates the setting of the own station based on the setting value acquired from the control station 1, and transmission is resumed with the setting updated by the transmission / reception unit 32 (step S7).

  When the control station 1 performs the control shown in FIG. 7 for the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 receive downlinks from all base stations that perform downlink transmission around the own station. It becomes possible to measure the interference power due to transmission more accurately.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, under the control of the control station 1, the plurality of femtocell base stations 3 and 4 perform downlink transmission stop and downlink interference power measurement at timings that do not overlap each other. As a result, the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 can accurately measure the downlink interference power including the influence of mutual interference. Therefore, in the control station 1, the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 It is possible to calculate a set value necessary for downlink transmission with high accuracy.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the present embodiment, a method for calculating a set value with higher accuracy using the measurement results according to the first and second embodiments will be described. A different part from Embodiment 1, 2 is demonstrated.

  Specifically, the femtocell base station 3 will be described. In the measurement of the interference power according to the second embodiment, the downlink transmission power (interference power) from all the neighboring base stations, that is, the sum of the downlink interference powers arriving from the macrocell base station 2 and the femtocell base station 4 can be measured. In the measurement of the interference power according to mode 1, it is possible to measure the downlink interference power that arrives only from the macrocell base station 2. Therefore, the interference power received by the femtocell base station 3 from the femtocell base station 4 can be obtained by subtracting the latter measurement result from the former measurement result.

  Similarly, the interference power received by the femtocell base station 4 from the femtocell base station 3 can also be obtained. Therefore, the control station 1 can measure the amount of downlink interference power exerted by each other among the plurality of femtocell base stations in FIG. By using these values, the control station 1 can set the transmission power and the transmission frequency in the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 more appropriately (so as not to cause further downlink interference).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control operation based on the measurement result of the interference power. First, in the control station 1, the set value calculation unit 13 causes the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 to perform downlink transmission stop and downlink interference power measurement simultaneously by the processing of the flowcharts S1 to S4 in FIG. Measurement result (hereinafter referred to as measurement result (1)) is acquired (step S21). Next, the setting value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 performs different timings when the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 perform downlink transmission stop measurement and downlink interference power measurement according to the processing of the flowcharts S11 to S18 of FIG. The measurement result (hereinafter referred to as measurement result (2)) obtained at step S22 is acquired (step S22).

  The set value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 calculates the downlink interference power received by the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 based on the acquired measurement results (1) and (2) (step S23). Specifically, for femtocell base stations 3 and 4, (A) the downlink interference power value received by each femtocell base station only from the macrocell base station 2, (B) each femtocell base station is a surrounding base station, The downlink interference power value received from the macrocell base station 2 and all of the other femtocell base stations, and (C) the downlink interference power value received by each femtocell base station from the other femtocell base stations are calculated.

  (A) is a measurement result (1), (B) is a measurement result (2). Further, (C) can be obtained from “(B)-(A)”, that is, “measurement result (2) −measurement result (1)”.

  Based on various interference power values calculated for the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the set value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 calculates a setting value necessary for downlink transmission to be notified to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 ( In step S5), the transmission / reception unit 12 notifies the set value to the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 (step S6).

  In the femtocell base stations 3 and 4, the setting unit 33 updates the setting of the own station based on the setting value acquired from the control station 1, and transmission is resumed with the setting updated by the transmission / reception unit 32 (step S7).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control station 1 receives each of the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 based on the measurement results of the two interference powers acquired from the femtocell base stations 3 and 4. The downlink interference power value was calculated in detail. As a result, the control station 1 can calculate a set value necessary for downlink transmission with higher accuracy.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
In the first to third embodiments, the case where the number of femtocell base stations is two has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to the case where there are three or more femtocell base stations. In the present embodiment, portions different from the first to third embodiments will be described in the case where the number of femtocell base stations is three.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the downlink transmission power of each base station and the timing of the downlink reception operation. The control content which the control station 1 performs with respect to the femtocell base station 3 and 4 and the femtocell base station 5 which is not illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown. 9A shows downlink transmission power in four base stations, and FIG. 9B shows downlink interference reception operations of three femtocell base stations 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Indicates the passage of time.

  Here, when the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 measure the downlink interference power, the control station 1 performs “femtocell base station transmission stop timing = downlink interference power measurement timing”. Two base stations are overlapped, and control is performed so that only one femtocell base station performs downlink transmission and becomes a measurement target from another femtocell base station.

  During this time, since downlink interference arriving from only one femtocell base station that is transmitting by a femtocell base station that is not performing downlink transmission can be measured, this is performed for all femtocell base stations. Thereby, the control station 1 can obtain | require each interference power which each femtocell base station exerts on other femtocell base stations.

  Next, an interference power measurement process in the control station 1 and the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing of downlink interference power measurement.

  First, in the control station 1, the measurement time zone instruction unit 11 instructs the plurality of femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 to perform downlink interference power measurement at different timings (step S31). Here, specific individual instructions are not performed, and the downlink transmission power is measured for the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 by stopping the downlink transmission at the instructed timing, and in other time zones. It is well known to continue the transmission.

  Since there are a plurality of femtocell base stations to be instructed, the measurement time zone instructing unit 11 of the control station 1 initializes the femtocell base station number counter (in this case, variable n) provided in the control station 1. (Step S32). Since three femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 are targeted, n = 1 is substituted. Then, the measurement time zone instruction unit 11 instructs the femtocell base stations 4 and 5 other than the femtocell base station 3 corresponding to the femtocell base station number # 1 to stop transmission.

  In the femtocell base stations 4 and 5, the transmission / reception unit 32 stops downlink transmission based on an instruction from the control station 1 (step S33), and the interference power measurement unit 31 measures downlink interference power (step S34). ), The transmission / reception unit 32 reports the measurement result of the downlink interference power to the control station 1 (step S35). Thereafter, the transmission / reception units 32 of the femtocell base stations 4 and 5 resume downlink transmission in the state of downlink transmission setting before the transmission is stopped (step S36).

  The measurement time zone instruction unit 11 of the control station 1 confirms whether the femtocell base station number #n is the last (step S37). Here, since it is not the last (step S37: No), the measurement time zone instructing unit 11 sets n = n + 1 (step S38). Then, the processes from step S33 to S36 are performed between the control station 1 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 5 other than the femtocell base station 4 corresponding to the next femtocell base station number # 2.

  The measurement time zone instructing unit 11 of the control station 1 confirms again whether the femtocell base station number #n is the last (step S37). Here, since it is not the last (step S37: No), the measurement time zone instructing unit 11 sets n = n + 1 (step S38). Then, the processes from step S33 to S36 are performed between the control station 1 and the femtocell base stations 3 and 4 other than the femtocell base station 5 corresponding to the next femtocell base station number # 3.

  The measurement time zone instructing unit 11 of the control station 1 confirms again whether the femtocell base station number #n is the last (step S37). Since it is the last here (step S37: Yes), a measurement is complete | finished.

  When the control station 1 performs the control shown in FIG. 10 for the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5, the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 have specific bases that perform downlink transmission around the own station. It becomes possible to measure the interference power due to downlink transmission from the station more accurately.

  Thus, when there are three femtocell base stations, various interference powers can be obtained as in Embodiment 3 by acquiring the interference power measurement results due to downlink transmission from a specific base station. .

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control operation based on the measurement result of the interference power. First, in the control station 1, the setting value calculation unit 13 performs downlink transmission stop and downlink interference power measurement simultaneously for all femtocell base stations by the processing of the flowcharts S1 to S4 in FIG. In this case, the measurement result (measurement result (1)) is acquired (step S41). Next, the setting value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 performs downlink transmission stop and downlink interference power measurement at different timings by all the femtocell base stations by the processing of the flowcharts S11 to S18 of FIG. The measurement result (measurement result (2)) when it is performed is acquired (step S42). Furthermore, the set value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 performs the measurement results of the downlink interference power from a specific femtocell base station (hereinafter, measurement results (3)) by the processes of the flowcharts S31 to S38 in FIG. ) Is acquired (step S43).

  The set value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 calculates the downlink interference power received by the femtocell base stations 3, 4 and 5 based on the acquired measurement results (1) to (3) (step S44). Specifically, for femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5, as in Embodiment 3, (A) the downlink interference power value received by each femtocell base station only from the macrocell base station 2, (B) each femtocell The downlink interference power value received by the cell base station from surrounding base stations, that is, the macro cell base station 2 and all of the other femtocell base stations, (C) the downlink interference power received by each femtocell base station from the other femtocell base stations (D) interference power value received by each femtocell base station from a specific combination of other femtocell base stations and the macrocell base station 2, (E) each femtocell base station has another femtocell A downlink interference power value received from a specific combination of base stations is calculated.

  (A) to (C) can be obtained by the same method as in the third embodiment. As for (D), the downlink interference power value received from a specific combination of other femtocell base stations can be obtained by combining the measurement results (3) for other femtocell base stations. It can be determined by the sum with the measurement result (1). (E) is a combination of measurement results (3) targeting other femtocell base stations.

  The set value calculation unit 13 of the control station 1 sets the set values necessary for downlink transmission to be notified to the femtocell base stations 3, 4, 5 based on various interference power values calculated for the femtocell base stations 3, 4, 5. (Step S5), and the transmission / reception unit 12 notifies the set value to the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 (step S6).

  In the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5, the setting unit 33 updates the setting of the own station based on the setting value acquired from the control station 1, and transmission is resumed with the setting updated by the transmission / reception unit 32 (step S 7). .

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control station 1 can calculate in detail the downlink interference power value received by each femtocell base station even when there are three femtocell base stations to be connected. did. As a result, the control station 1 can calculate a setting value necessary for downlink transmission with higher accuracy even when there are three femtocell base stations to be connected.

  In addition, although the case where there are three femtocell base stations to be connected has been described, the present invention can also be applied to the case where there are four or more femtocell base stations.

  Further, in the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 10, the processing until the femtocell base stations 3, 4, and 5 report the measurement result has been described, but it is also possible to add the processing of steps S <b> 5 to S <b> 7 in FIG. 5. It is. That is, the control station 1 can also calculate a set value based on this measurement result.

  Moreover, in the measurement based on the flowchart of FIG. 10, if all the measurement results (measurement result (3)) and the measurement result (1) of the downlink interference power for other femtocell base stations are used, the measurement result (2 ). Therefore, step S42 can be omitted in the flowchart of FIG. In this case, the amount of calculation for calculating the set value increases, but the number of measurements can be reduced.

  In the measurement based on the flowchart of FIG. 10, one femtocell base station is the measurement target, but a plurality of femtocell base stations can be the measurement target. For example, when there are 10 femtocell base stations, a combination of 2 to 9 femtocell base stations that perform downlink transmission is further selected, and other femtocell base stations that are not selected measure downlink interference power. May be performed.

  As described above, the interference control method according to the present invention is useful for reducing interference of a base station in a cellular communication system, and is particularly suitable for reducing interference when a femtocell base station is included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control station 2 Macrocell base station 3, 4 Femtocell base station 11 Measurement time zone instruction | indication part 12 Transmission / reception part 13 Setting value calculation part 20 Macrocell 30, 40 Femtocell 31 Interference power measurement part 32 Transmission / reception part 33 Setting part

Claims (11)

An interference control method for controlling interference between base station apparatuses in a cellular communication system including a plurality of base station apparatuses and control apparatuses,
The control device determines a first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power, and uses the first time zone as the plurality of base station devices. A first time zone instruction step for instructing to
A first interference power measurement step in which the plurality of base station devices perform transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in the first time zone;
The control device determines a different second time zone for each base station device as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in a time zone other than the first time zone, A second time zone instruction step of instructing a time zone to the plurality of base station devices;
A second interference power measurement step in which the plurality of base station devices perform transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in a second time zone instructed by the control device;
A plurality of base station devices, a measurement result reporting step for reporting the measurement results in the first and second interference power measurement steps to the control device;
A setting value calculating step for calculating a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system for each base station device, based on the measurement results acquired from the plurality of base station devices; ,
A setting value notification step of notifying the plurality of base station devices of the setting value calculated by the control device in the setting value calculation step;
The plurality of base station devices, an update step of updating the setting of the own station based on the notified setting value,
An interference control method comprising: An interference control method for controlling interference between base station apparatuses in a cellular communication system including a plurality of base station apparatuses and control apparatuses,
The control device determines a first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power, and uses the first time zone as the plurality of base station devices. A first time zone instruction step for instructing to
A first interference power measurement step in which the plurality of base station devices perform transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in the first time zone;
The control device determines a second time zone that differs for each base station device as a transmission time zone for the plurality of base station devices in a time zone other than the first time zone, and each different second time zone A second time zone instruction step of instructing the plurality of base station devices;
The plurality of base station devices stop transmission in a time zone other than the second time zone instructed by the own device among the second time zones instructed by the control device to the plurality of base station devices. A second interference power measurement step for processing and measuring interference power;
A plurality of base station devices, a measurement result reporting step for reporting the measurement results in the first and second interference power measurement steps to the control device;
A setting value calculating step for calculating a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system for each base station device, based on the measurement results acquired from the plurality of base station devices; ,
A setting value notification step of notifying the plurality of base station devices of the setting value calculated by the control device in the setting value calculation step;
The plurality of base station devices, an update step of updating the setting of the own station based on the notified setting value,
An interference control method comprising: An interference control method for controlling interference between base station apparatuses in a cellular communication system including a plurality of base station apparatuses and control apparatuses,
The control device determines a first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power, and uses the first time zone as the plurality of base station devices. A first time zone instruction step for instructing to
A first interference power measurement step in which the plurality of base station devices perform transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in the first time zone;
The control device determines a different second time zone for each base station device as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in a time zone other than the first time zone, A second time zone instruction step of instructing a time zone to the plurality of base station devices;
A second interference power measurement step in which the plurality of base station devices perform transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in a second time zone instructed by the control device;
In the time zone other than the first time zone and the time zone other than the second time zone, the control device has a third time zone that is different for each base station device as a transmission time zone of the plurality of base station devices. And a third time zone instruction step for instructing the plurality of base station devices to different third time zones,
The plurality of base station devices stop transmission in a time zone other than the third time zone instructed by the own device among the third time zones instructed by the control device to the plurality of base station devices. A third interference power measurement step for processing and measuring interference power;
The plurality of base station devices, a measurement result reporting step for reporting the measurement results in the first, second and third interference power measurement steps to the control device;
A setting value calculating step for calculating a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system for each base station device, based on the measurement results acquired from the plurality of base station devices; ,
A setting value notification step of notifying the plurality of base station devices of the setting value calculated by the control device in the setting value calculation step;
The plurality of base station devices, an update step of updating the setting of the own station based on the notified setting value,
An interference control method comprising: The control device periodically instructs the base station device for a time period for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement,
The interference control method according to claim 1, 2, or 3. A control device that constitutes a cellular communication system together with a plurality of base station devices,
A first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices is determined as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement, and the first time zone is instructed to the plurality of base station devices. Further, in a time zone other than the first time zone, a different time zone is determined for each base station device as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement, and each different time zone is set to the second time zone. Time zone instruction means for instructing the plurality of base station devices as
A setting value for calculating a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system based on the measurement result of the interference power measured by the plurality of base station devices in the first and second time zones A calculation means;
The measurement result of the interference power measured in the first and second time zones is received from the plurality of base station apparatuses and notified to the set value calculation means, and calculated by the set value calculation means Transmitting / receiving means for transmitting a set value to the plurality of base station devices;
A control device comprising: A control device that constitutes a cellular communication system together with a plurality of base station devices,
A first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices is determined as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement, and the first time zone is instructed to the plurality of base station devices. Further, in a time zone other than the first time zone, a different second time zone is determined for each base station device as a transmission time zone of the plurality of base station devices, Time zone instruction means for instructing a plurality of base station devices;
The plurality of base station devices transmit in the first time zone and a time zone other than the second time zone instructed by the own device among the second time zones instructed by the time zone instruction means. When performing stop processing and interference power measurement and returning measurement results, downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system is realized for each base station device based on the measurement results acquired from the base station devices. Setting value calculating means for calculating a setting value for
A transmission / reception means for receiving the measurement results from the plurality of base station apparatuses and notifying the setting value calculation means, and transmitting the setting values calculated by the setting value calculation means to the plurality of base station apparatuses; ,
A control device comprising: A control device that constitutes a cellular communication system together with a plurality of base station devices,
A first time zone that is the same time zone between base station devices is determined as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement, and the first time zone is instructed to the plurality of base station devices. , In a time zone other than the first time zone, determine a different second time zone for each base station device as a time zone for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement, each different second time zone Instructing a plurality of base station devices, and further, as a transmission time zone of the plurality of base station devices in a time zone other than the first time zone and a time zone other than the second time zone A different third time zone for each time zone, a time zone instruction means for instructing each of the plurality of base station devices to a different third time zone;
In the plurality of base station devices, the first time zone, the second time zone, and a third time zone in which the own device is instructed among the third time zones instructed by the time zone instructing means. When performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in a time zone other than, and returning the measurement result, the base station device performs interference in the system based on the measurement results acquired from the plurality of base station devices. Setting value calculating means for calculating a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced
A transmitter / receiver that receives the measurement results from the plurality of base station devices, and that transmits the setting values calculated by the setting value calculating unit to the plurality of base station devices;
A control device comprising: The time zone instructing unit periodically instructs the plurality of base station devices of time zones for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement,
The control device according to claim 5, 6 or 7. A base station apparatus constituting a cellular communication system together with the control apparatus according to claim 5,
Interference power measuring means for performing transmission stop processing and measuring interference power in the first and second time zones instructed by the control device;
Setting means for updating the setting of the own station based on a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system calculated by the control device;
Transmitting the measurement result of the interference power measured by the interference power measurement means to the control device, and receiving and transmitting the setting value from the control device;
A base station apparatus comprising: A base station apparatus constituting a cellular communication system together with the control apparatus according to claim 6,
Transmission stop processing and interference in the first time zone instructed from the control device and in the second time zone instructed by the control device, other than the second time zone instructed by the own device Interference power measuring means for measuring power;
Setting means for updating the setting of the own station based on a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system calculated by the control device;
Transmitting the measurement result of the interference power measured by the interference power measurement means to the control device, and receiving and transmitting the setting value from the control device;
A base station apparatus comprising: A base station apparatus constituting a cellular communication system together with the control apparatus according to claim 7,
A first time zone instructed from the control device, a second time zone, and a third time zone instructed by the control device other than a third time zone instructed by the own device; Interference power measurement means for performing transmission stop processing and interference power measurement in
Setting means for updating the setting of the own station based on a setting value for realizing downlink transmission with reduced interference in the system calculated by the control device;
Transmitting the measurement result of the interference power measured by the interference power measurement means to the control device, and receiving and transmitting the setting value from the control device;
A base station apparatus comprising:

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