JP6872652B6 - Display method in wireless communication device and wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication device and a display method in the wireless communication device.

In recent years, in response to the rapid increase in traffic demand, the introduction of a small base station that communicates using the millimeter wave band has been studied in order to secure a bandwidth of 1 GHz or more. For example, a communication system (sometimes called a heterogeneous network) in which a plurality of small base stations are provided in a communication area of a base station that communicates using a microwave band is assumed.

Since such a small base station uses a millimeter wave band, the propagation loss is larger than that in the microwave band, and it is difficult to extend the reach of radio waves.

Base stations and terminals (sometimes called "terminal stations" or "STA (Station)") are one method that contributes to overcoming such propagation loss, increasing the communication speed, and expanding the cell area. In, there is a method of performing directivity control (beamforming) using a plurality of antenna elements (antenna arrays). In the method of performing directional control, the own station (base station or terminal) directs the transmitted radio wave in the direction in which the other station exists, so that the radio wave reaches a point farther than the omnidirectional transmission. Therefore, the cell area covered by the own station can be expanded. In addition, since the own station can improve SINR (Signal to Interference-plus-Noise power Ratio) by directivity control, high transmission can be achieved by applying a modulation method and coding rate with high frequency utilization efficiency. Communication can be performed at a high speed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Further, conventionally, in microwave band communication, a display method has been proposed in which a reception quality such as a reception electric field strength is displayed on a terminal so that a user can recognize whether or not communication can be performed at a high transmission speed. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5461607

IEEE 802.11ad-2012 Standard for Information Technology-Telecommunications and Information Exchange between systems-Local and Metropolitan networks-Specific requirements-Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 3: Enhancements for Very High Throughput in the 60 GHz Band

In a wireless network using the millimeter wave band, the terminal performs beamforming training in order to adjust the directivity to the connected base station. However, since radio waves in the millimeter wave band have strong straightness and weakness in shielding, when the radiation angle range of radio waves is narrow, the communication range of the terminal changes by changing at least one of the attitude and direction. It ends up. Therefore, at least one of the postures and directions of the terminal affects the communication quality, but the user does not know in which direction the terminal should be pointed to improve the communication quality.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a wireless communication device that communicates using a millimeter wave band, a wireless communication device that allows a user to recognize at least one of the postures and directions of the device that improves communication quality, and wireless communication. A display method in the device is provided.

The wireless communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is
A first antenna unit that forms a first selected beam from a plurality of beams having different radiation directions by beamforming for communication using a millimeter wave band.
Depending on the radiation direction and reception intensity of the first selected beam, one pattern selected from a larger number of first patterns than the number of different beams in the first plurality of radiation directions is displayed. Display and
To be equipped.

The display method of the wireless communication device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is as follows.
This is a display method for wireless communication devices.
Beamforming for communication using the millimeter wave band forms a first selected beam from a plurality of beams with different radiation directions.
Depending on the radiation direction and reception intensity of the first selected beam, one pattern selected from a larger number of first patterns than the number of different beams in the first plurality of radiation directions is displayed. ..

It should be noted that these comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized by a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, and any of the system, a device, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. It may be realized by various combinations.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the user can be made to recognize the posture and direction of the device for improving the communication quality.

Further advantages and effects in one aspect of the present disclosure will be apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or effects are provided by some embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not all need to be provided in order to obtain one or more identical features. There is no.

The figure which shows an example of a millimeter wave communication system Block diagram showing a terminal configuration example Timing diagram showing an example of beamforming training for terminals A flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit before the display of the first embodiment is performed. The figure which shows the display example in Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the beam transmitted from the terminal which has a plurality of antennas. Block diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal of the second embodiment Timing diagram showing an example of beamforming training of the terminal according to the second embodiment A flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit before the display of the second embodiment is performed. It is a figure which shows the display example in Embodiment 2, FIG. 10A is a figure which shows the display image about the antenna part 1, and FIG. 10B is a figure which shows the display image about the antenna part 2. The figure used to explain the heterogeneous network system that combines microwave communication and millimeter wave communication. Block diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal of the third embodiment A flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit before the display of the third embodiment is performed. FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a display example in the third embodiment, FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a display image when communication using a millimeter wave band is performed, and FIG. 14B is a diagram showing a display image when communication using a microwave band is performed. The figure which shows the display image when there is

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<1> Background to one aspect of the present disclosure First, the background to one aspect of the present disclosure will be described.

In conventional millimeter-wave communication, the terminal sequentially switches the directivity so that the directivity is directed toward the base station, and transmits a signal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a millimeter-wave communication system. FIG. 1 shows millimeter-wave terminal 101 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “terminal” or “STA (Station)”), millimeter-wave base station 102 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “AP (Access Point)”), and AP102. The communication cover area 103 is shown. The directivity directions 104, 105, 106 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "beams") of the radio waves formed by the antenna of the terminal 101 are, for example, K lines (K is an integer of 1 or more, and K = 3 in FIG. 1). ) Is formed, and a number (hereinafter, also referred to as “beam ID”) is assigned to each beam, which is switched by the millimeter wave terminal 101. In FIG. 1, the directivity direction (beam) 104 of the radio wave indicates beam ID = 1, the directivity direction (beam) 105 of the radio wave indicates beam ID = k, and the directivity direction (beam) 106 of the radio wave indicates beam ID = K. Similarly, the AP102 also has a plurality of beams, which can be switched (not shown).

The STA 101 and AP 102 can perform data communication when the STA 101 exists within the communication coverage area 103 of the AP 102, but in order to improve the transmission quality, the transmission quality is the highest between the STA 101 and the AP 102. It is necessary to select a combination of beams that improves the quality.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of STA101. The STA 101 includes an antenna unit 201, a millimeter wave radio unit 202, a control unit 203, a display unit 204, a transmission unit 205, a reception unit 206, and a reception quality measurement unit 207.

When transmitting a frame from the STA 101, the control unit 203 inputs transmission data to the transmission unit 205. The transmission unit 205 converts the input data into a signal format suitable for wireless communication, converts it into a radio signal in the millimeter wave frequency band, and outputs it to the antenna unit 201. Further, the control unit 203 switches the antenna unit 201 to the transmission mode and selects the beam to be used for transmission. The antenna unit 201 switches the directivity to the selected beam and radiates the radio signal input from the transmission unit 205.

When the STA 101 receives the frame, the control unit 203 switches the antenna unit 201 to the reception mode and selects the beam to be used for reception. The antenna unit 201 switches the directivity to the selected beam and outputs the received radio signal to the receiving unit 206. After detecting a frame from the input radio signal, the receiving unit 206 converts it into a signal in a frequency band suitable for signal processing, demodulates it according to a predetermined signal format, and outputs the received data to the control unit 203. Further, based on the signal from the receiving unit 206, the receiving quality measuring unit 207 receives the signal receiving quality (for example, RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indicator) indicating reception strength, signal-to-noise ratio SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), signal). The signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) (Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio) and at least one of the error rates) is measured, and the measurement result is output to the control unit 203. The control unit 203 outputs the information to be displayed on the display 204 based on the input reception data and the information on the reception quality. The display unit 204 displays the input information to the user by means such as a display panel or an indicator.

Prior to data communication, the control unit 203 performs beamforming training for selecting a beam combination having the best transmission quality with the AP102.

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram showing an example of beamforming training. FIG. 3 shows training frames 301, 302, 303, feedback frames 305, and ACK (Acknowledge) frames 306 transmitted by the STA 101. Although the training of STA101 is shown in FIG. 3, AP102 is also trained in the same manner.

First, the STA 101 switches the beam and transmits training frames 301, 302, 303. For example, the STA 101 transmits the training frame 301 with beam ID = 1 (beam 104), the training frame 302 with beam ID = n (beam 105), and the training frame 303 with beam ID = N (beam 106). .. Here, each training frame includes information on the beam ID used for transmission and information on the number of remaining frames indicating how many frames are transmitted after the self-training frame.

When the training frames 301, 302, and 303 can be normally received (received without error), the AP 102 stores the reception quality of the received training frame, the beam ID included in the training frame, and the information on the number of remaining frames. Depending on the beam direction of the STA 101 and the orientation of the STA 101 itself, there are training frames that are difficult to receive normally, but the AP 102 uses the information on the number of remaining frames obtained from the training frames that can be received normally, and the training frame from the STA 101. You can know the transmission period.

After the AP102 detects the end of the training frame transmission period, the beam ID included in the training frame determined to have the best reception quality among the training frames received by the AP102 during the training frame (301 to 303) transmission period from the STA101. (Hereinafter, it may be referred to as "the best sector of STA") is notified to STA 101 by the feedback frame 305.

The STA 101 receives the feedback frame 305 and uses the beam ID indicating the best sector of the notified STA to determine the beam ID having the best reception quality for the transmission from the STA 101 to the AP 102, and the subsequent AP 102. The determined beam is used for communication with.

The STA 101 notifies the AP 102 of the reception response of the feedback frame 305 at the ACK frame 306. This completes the beamforming training.

By the way, the STA 101 and AP 102 use a multi-element (for example, 16 to 64 elements) antenna array as one antenna in order to change the directivity of the beam over a wide angle range. However, when a multi-element antenna array is used, the circuit scale of the wireless unit becomes large, so that it is difficult to mount a terminal that requires small size and low power consumption. Therefore, the range of the radiation angle of the radio wave of the terminal is narrowed, and the range of communication is also changed by changing at least one of the posture and the direction.

Based on these points of interest, the inventors of the present disclosure can indicate to the user that the antenna should be directed toward the base station in order to expand the communicable range of the terminal and improve the communication quality. We considered it to be effective and came to this disclosure.

<2> Embodiment 1
An example of the operation of the millimeter wave terminal according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The terminal (STA) of this embodiment has one antenna, and the beam is formed by one antenna.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit 203 of the STA 101 before the display of the present embodiment is performed. In FIG. 4, S represents a step.

In S401, the STA 101 initiates a connection with the AP 102. For example, the STA 101 detects that the AP 102 has entered the communication coverage area 103 by detecting the beacon frame that the AP 102 is periodically transmitting, and makes a connection request to the AP 102.

The STA 101 starts beamforming training after the connection with the AP102 is completed (S402). As described above, each time the beam is switched, the STA 101 transmits a training frame (S403), receives a feedback frame transmitted from the AP102 (S404), determines the beam to be used for communication with the AP102, and performs beamforming training. Is finished (S405).

After the beamforming training is completed, the data communication period is started, and the STA 101 performs data communication to the AP102 using the determined beam (S406).

Here, the STA 101 measures the reception quality using the reception frame during data communication (S407), and displays the measured reception quality and the determined beam to the user (S408). The STA 101 determines whether or not to terminate the connection in S409, returns to S402 if the connection is not terminated, and terminates the process if the connection is terminated.

FIG. 5 shows a display example of the display pattern displayed by the display unit 204. In the present embodiment, the display unit 204 displays a pattern (dotted line) indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed by the antenna unit 201 and the direction of the beam that is actually formed by the antenna unit 201 (painted in black). To do. In the example of FIG. 5, the STA 101 displays the pattern of the beam radiation direction formed by the antenna unit 201 by dividing the circular sector in the central angle direction (in the example of the figure, the beam radiation direction). The pattern is 5, and the sector is divided into 5 parts in the central angle direction), and the direction of the beam formed by the antenna unit 201 is identified by filling any area of the divided sector. It is displayed as possible.

In addition, the fan shape, which is a pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed, is divided in the radial direction, and as the reception quality increases, the reception quality is displayed by filling the divided region in the radial direction from the center to the outer peripheral direction. ing.

This will be described in detail. FIG. 5 shows a display pattern 501 corresponding to the beam 104 (FIG. 2), a display pattern 502 corresponding to the beam 105, and a display pattern 503 corresponding to the beam 106. The display pattern between the display pattern 501 and the display pattern 502, and between the display pattern 502 and the display pattern 503 is a beam in the direction between the beam 104 and the beam 105, or between the beam 105 and 106 (for example, beam ID = k-). 1 or beam ID = k + 1 or the like), and the fan shape, which is a pattern indicating the radiation direction of a beam that can be formed, may be changed depending on the number of beams.

Also, the number of filled figures in the pattern representing one beam represents the reception quality level. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the display pattern 501 indicates that the beam being formed is a beam 104 and has a reception quality level of 2 (the best reception quality level is 1), and is a pattern represented by a dotted line. Represents a beam that has not been selected (currently not formed by antenna section 201). In addition to the RSSI, SNR, SINR, and error rate mentioned above, the reception quality may be information such as communication speed, throughput, and modulation mode MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) used.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by displaying the direction of the beam formed by the antenna unit 201 and the reception quality on the display unit 204, the user can use either the left or right direction of the terminal he / she owns. It is possible to easily recognize whether or not it is connected to the base station of. Therefore, since the user knows in which direction the terminal should be directed to further improve the communication quality, even if there is a shield or the like, it can be easily avoided and stable communication can be performed.

<3> Embodiment 2
In the first embodiment described above, the display when the terminal (STA) has one antenna and the beam is formed by one antenna has been described. In the present embodiment, a display when a plurality of antennas having different directions in which a beam can be formed is provided will be presented.

Specifically, in the terminal, a plurality of antennas are installed at different angles. Of the plurality of antennas, the antenna 1 is an antenna that radiates radio waves in the front direction of the user when the user operates while looking at the display unit, and the antenna 2 is the rear direction of the user when the user operates while looking at the display unit. It is an antenna that radiates radio waves.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a terminal having a plurality of antennas. In FIG. 6, the terminal (housing) 601 has a radiation direction (main direction) 602 of the antenna 1, beams 603, 604, 605 formed by the antenna 1, a radiation direction (main direction) 606 of the antenna 2, and an antenna 2. The beams 607, 608, 609 and the display unit 610 that can be formed are shown. In the example of FIG. 6, the number of beams K that can be formed by the antenna 1 is 3, and the number of beams M that can be formed by the antenna 2 is 3.

Since the tablet-shaped mobile terminal may be used by the user by hand or on a desk, the antenna is arranged at a position suitable for each usage situation. For example, in a situation where the terminal 601 is placed on a desk with the display unit 610 facing up, it is desirable to use the antenna 2 whose main direction is the radiation direction 606.

The situation where the user holds the terminal 601 by hand and uses the display unit 610 toward the user will be described. It is desirable that the terminal 601 use the antenna 1 whose main direction is the radial direction 602 in a place where the AP is installed above the front of the user (for example, the ceiling). On the other hand, in a place where the AP is installed from directly above the user to above the rear, it is desirable that the terminal 601 uses the antenna 2 whose main direction is the radiation direction 606.

When a plurality of antennas having different directions in which such a beam can be formed are provided, the pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed in each antenna portion and the direction of the formed beam are displayed by displaying. Further convenience is improved.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the terminal 601 of the present embodiment. The terminal 601 includes an antenna unit 1 (701), an antenna unit 2 (702), an antenna switching unit 703, a millimeter wave radio unit 704, a control unit 705, a transmission unit 706, a reception unit 707, and reception quality. It has a measuring unit 708 and. The millimeter-wave radio unit 704 operates in the same manner as the millimeter-wave radio unit 202 of FIG.

When transmitting a frame from the terminal 601, the control unit 705 inputs transmission data to the transmission unit 706. The transmission unit 706 converts the input communication data into a signal format suitable for wireless communication, converts it into a wireless signal in the millimeter wave frequency band, and outputs it to the antenna switching unit 703. The control unit 705 selects either one of the antenna unit 1 (701) and the antenna unit 2 (702), controls the switching of the output path of the radio signal to the antenna switching unit 703, and selects the antenna. Controls the switching of the transmission mode and the selection of the beam used for transmission for the unit. The antenna switching unit 703 outputs a radio signal to the selected antenna unit. The selected antenna unit switches the directivity to the selected beam and radiates the radio signal input from the transmission unit 706 via the antenna switching unit 703.

When the terminal 601 receives a frame, the control unit 705 selects either one of the antenna unit 1 and the antenna unit 2, controls the switching of the radio signal input path to the antenna switching unit 703, and selects the antenna unit 703. The receiving mode is switched to the receiving antenna unit, and the selection of the beam used for reception is controlled. The antenna switching unit 703 outputs the radio signal input from the selected antenna unit to the receiving unit 707. The selected antenna unit switches the directivity to the selected beam, and outputs the received radio signal to the receiving unit 707 via the antenna switching unit 703.

After detecting a frame from the input radio signal, the receiving unit 707 converts it into a signal in a frequency band suitable for signal processing, demodulates it according to a predetermined signal format, and outputs the received data to the control unit 705. Further, the reception quality measuring unit 708 measures the reception quality of the signal based on the signal from the receiving unit 707, and outputs the measurement result to the control unit 705. The control unit 705 outputs information to be displayed on the display unit 610 based on the input signal, the reception quality, and the information regarding the selected antenna unit. The display unit 610 displays the input information to the user by means such as a display panel or an indicator.

Prior to data communication, the control unit 705 performs beamforming training for selecting the beam combination with the best transmission quality with the AP.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing an example of beamforming training performed between the STA 601 using a plurality of antennas and the AP 102. FIG. 8 shows training frames 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806, feedback frames 807, and ACK (Acknowledge) frames 808 transmitted by STA601. Although the training of STA601 is shown in FIG. 8, AP102 is also trained in the same manner.

First, the STA 601 switches the antenna to the antenna 1 (antenna ID = 1), and transmits the training frames 801, 802, and 803 each time the beam of the antenna 1 is switched. For example, the STA 601 transmits the training frame 801 with the antenna ID = 1, beam ID = 1 (beam 603), the training frame 802 with the antenna ID = 1, beam ID = n (beam 604), and the training frame 803. Is transmitted with antenna ID = 1 and beam ID = N (beam 605).

Next, the STA 601 switches the antenna to the antenna 2 (antenna ID = 2), and transmits training frames 804, 805, and 806 each time the beam of the antenna 2 is switched. For example, the STA 601 transmits the training frame 804 with the antenna ID = 2, beam ID = 1 (beam 607), the training frame 805 with the antenna ID = 2, beam ID = m (beam 608), and the training frame 806. Is transmitted with antenna ID = 2 and beam ID = M (beam 609).

Here, each training frame includes information on the antenna ID and beam ID used for transmission, and information on the number of remaining frames indicating how many frames are transmitted after the self-training frame.

When the training frames 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, and 806 can be normally received, the AP102 stores the reception quality of the received training frame, the antenna ID included in the training frame, the beam ID, and the information on the number of remaining frames. To do. Depending on the antenna direction, beam direction of STA601 and the direction of STA601 itself, there are training frames that are difficult to receive normally, but AP102 is based on the information of the number of remaining frames obtained from the training frames that could be received normally, from STA601. You can know the training frame transmission period of.

After detecting the end of the training frame transmission period, the AP102 includes an antenna ID included in the training frame determined to have the best reception quality among the training frames received by the AP102 during the training frame (801 to 806) transmission period from the STA601. And the beam ID (hereinafter, also referred to as “the best sector of STA”) is notified to STA601 by the feedback frame 807.

The STA 601 receives the feedback frame 807, and uses the antenna ID and the beam ID indicating the best sector of the notified STA to obtain the antenna ID and the beam ID having the best reception quality for the transmission from the STA 601 to the AP 102. The determined antenna and beam are used for the subsequent communication with the AP102.

The STA 601 notifies the AP 102 of the reception response of the feedback frame 807 at the ACK frame 808. This completes the beamforming training.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit 705 of the STA 601 until the display of the present embodiment is performed. In FIG. 9, S represents a step.

In S901, the STA 601 initiates a connection with the AP 102. For example, the STA 601 detects that the AP102 has entered the communication coverage area by detecting the beacon frame that the AP102 periodically transmits, and makes a connection request to the AP102.

The STA 601 starts beamforming training after the connection with the AP 102 is completed (S902). As described above, each time the STA601 switches between the antenna and the beam, the STA 601 transmits a training frame (S903), receives a feedback frame transmitted from the AP102 (S904), and transmits the antenna and the beam used for communication with the AP102. It is decided and the beamforming training is completed (S905).

After the beamforming training is completed, the data communication period starts, and the STA 601 performs data communication to the AP102 using the determined antenna and the beam (S906).

Here, the STA 601 measures the reception quality using the reception frame during data communication (S907), and displays the measured reception quality and the determined beam to the user (S908). The STA 601 determines whether or not to terminate the connection in S909, returns to S902 if the connection is not terminated, and terminates the process if the connection is terminated.

FIG. 10 shows a display example of the beam displayed by the display unit 610. In the display of the present embodiment, in addition to the characteristics of the display of the first embodiment described above, a pattern (dotted line) indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed by each antenna portion and a pattern (dotted line) actually formed by each antenna portion are actually formed. The beam direction (painted in black) and is displayed.

This will be described in detail. The display image 610a of FIG. 10A shows a display pattern 1001 corresponding to the beam 603 (FIG. 7), a display pattern 1002 corresponding to the beam 604, and a display pattern 1003 corresponding to the beam 605. The display pattern between the display pattern 1001 and the display pattern 1002, and between the display pattern 1002 and the display pattern 1003 is a beam in the direction between the beam 603 and the beam 604, or between the beam 604 and 605 (for example, beam ID = k-). 1 or beam ID = k + 1 or the like), and the fan shape, which is a pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed by each antenna portion, may be changed depending on the number of beams.

Since the display patterns 1001, 1002, and 1003 represent the use of the antenna 1 (main radiation direction 602), it is assumed that the fan is upward (opposite direction) in order to inform that the direction of the base station is in front of the user. Good.

Further, the display image 610b of FIG. 10B shows a display pattern 1004 corresponding to the beam 607 (FIG. 7), a display pattern 1005 corresponding to the beam 608, and a display pattern 1006 corresponding to the beam 609. The display pattern between the display pattern 1004 and the display pattern 1005, and between the display pattern 1005 and the display pattern 1006 is a beam in the direction between the beam 607 and the beam 608, or between the beam 608 and the beam 609 (for example, beam ID = m). -1 or beam ID = m + 1 or the like), and the fan shape, which is a pattern indicating the radiation direction of a beam that can be formed, may be changed depending on the number of beams.

Since the patterns 1004, 1005, and 1006 represent the use of the antenna 2 (main radiation direction 606), it is preferable to use a pattern in which the fan faces downward (frontward) in order to inform that the direction of the base station is behind the user. ..

Also, the number of filled blocks in the display pattern representing one beam represents the reception quality level. For example, in the example of FIG. 10A, the display pattern 1001 displayed on the display unit 610a indicates that the formed beam is the beam 603 and the reception quality level is 2, and the display pattern represented by the dotted line is Represents a beam that has not been selected (currently not formed by antenna unit 1). In addition to the RSSI, SNR, SINR, and error rate mentioned above, the reception quality may be the communication speed, throughput, modulation mode MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) used, or the like.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by displaying the selected antenna, the direction of the beam formed by the selected antenna, and the reception quality on the display unit 610, the user owns the selected antenna. It is possible to easily recognize which base station the terminal is connected to in the front-rear, left-right direction (that is, which of the front and rear base stations is in addition to the left and right). Therefore, since the user knows in which direction the terminal should be directed to further improve the communication quality, even if there is a shield or the like, it can be easily avoided and stable communication can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the case where the number of antennas is two has been described, but of course, the case where the number of antennas is three or more can also be applied. In short, the pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam that can be formed by each antenna portion and the direction of the formed beam may be displayed.

<4> Embodiment 3
In the present embodiment, in addition to the millimeter-wave band communication as in the above-described first and second embodiments, the display in the case where the communication using the microwave band can be performed will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a heterogeneous network system that combines microwave communication and millimeter wave communication. In FIG. 11, the terminal 1101 is a multi-band terminal and can communicate in both millimeter waves and microwaves. Communication coverage area of millimeter-wave base station 1102, millimeter-wave base station 1102, beam 1104, 1005, 1106 formed by the millimeter-wave antenna of multi-band terminal 1101, microwave base station 1107, communication coverage area of microwave base station 1107. It is 1108. The microwave base station 1107 is, for example, a wireless LAN that uses a 2.4 GHz band or a 5 GHz band.

The multi-band terminal 1101 moves into the communication cover area 1108 and then connects to the microwave base station 1107, moves into the communication cover area 1103, and then connects to the millimeter wave base station 1102 to perform data communication.

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the multi-band terminal 1101. The multi-band terminal 1101 includes a millimeter wave antenna unit 1201, a millimeter wave radio unit 1202, a microwave antenna unit 1203, a microwave radio unit 1204, a control unit 1205, and a display unit 1206. The microwave radio unit 1204 includes a microwave transmission unit 1207, a microwave reception unit 1208, and a microwave reception quality measurement unit 1209.

The millimeter wave antenna unit 1201 is the same as the antenna unit 201 (FIG. 2), and the millimeter wave radio unit 1202 is the same as the millimeter wave radio unit 202 (FIG. 2). Further, when the control unit 1205 connects to the millimeter wave base station 1102 to perform data communication, it is as described above.

When the multi-band terminal 1101 is connected to the microwave base station 1107 for data communication, it operates as follows.

When the microwave frame is transmitted from the multi-band terminal 1101, the control unit 1205 inputs the transmission data to the microwave transmission unit 1207. The microwave transmission unit 1207 converts the input communication data into a signal format suitable for microwave radio communication, converts it into a radio signal in the microwave frequency band, and outputs it to the microwave antenna unit 1203. The control unit 1205 switches the microwave antenna unit 1203 to the transmission mode. The microwave antenna unit 1203 radiates a radio signal input from the microwave transmitter unit 1207, but in general, microwaves are not as straight as millimeter waves, so they are radiated over a wide angle range close to omnidirectional.

When the multi-band terminal 1101 receives the microwave frame, the control unit 1205 switches the microwave antenna unit 1203 to the reception mode. Microwaves are received over a wide angular range that is nearly omnidirectional. The microwave antenna unit 1203 outputs the received microwave band radio signal to the microwave receiving unit 1208. The microwave receiving unit 1208 detects a microwave frame from the input microwave band radio signal, converts it into a signal in a frequency band suitable for signal processing, demodulates it according to a predetermined signal format, and controls the received data. Output to unit 1205. Further, based on the signal from the microwave receiving unit 1208, the microwave receiving quality measuring unit 1209 has a reception quality of the microwave signal (for example, RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indicator) indicating reception strength, signal-to-noise ratio SNR (Signal-)). The to-Noise Ratio), the signal-to-interference-plus-Noise ratio (SINR), and at least one of the error rates) are measured, and the measurement result is output to the control unit 1205.

The control unit 1205 outputs the information to be displayed on the display unit 1206 based on the information regarding the input millimeter wave signal and millimeter wave reception quality and the microwave signal and microwave reception quality. The display unit 1206 displays the input information to the user by means such as a display panel or an indicator.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the control performed by the control unit 1205 of the multi-band terminal 1101 before the display of the present embodiment is performed. In FIG. 13, S represents a step.

In S1301, the control unit 1205 determines the connection destination. When it is determined that the user has moved into the communication coverage area 1108, the user moves to S1311 in order to connect to the microwave base station 1107. If it is determined that the user has moved to the communication coverage area 1103, the user moves to S1302 to connect to the millimeter-wave base station 1102. For example, map information, location information, or the like may be used to determine which communication coverage area the user has moved to, or by receiving a beacon or the like transmitted from the base station. The user may independently switch the connection destination.

In S1302, the multiband terminal 1101 starts connecting to the millimeter wave base station 1102. For example, the control unit 1205 detects that the millimeter-wave base station 1102 has moved into the communication coverage area 1103 by detecting the beacon frame that is periodically transmitted, and makes a connection request to the millimeter-wave base station 1102. ..

After the connection with the millimeter wave base station 1102 is completed, the beamforming training is started (S1303). As described above, each time the beam is switched, a training frame is transmitted (S1304), a feedback frame transmitted from the millimeter wave base station 1102 is received (S1305), and the beam to be used for communication with the millimeter wave base station 1102 is determined. Then, the beam forming training is completed (S1306).

After the beam forming training is completed, the data communication period is started, and the multiband terminal 1101 performs data communication to the millimeter wave base station 1102 using the determined beam (S1307).

Here, the multi-band terminal 1101 measures the millimeter wave reception quality using the reception frame during data communication (S1308), and the beam determined to be the measured millimeter wave reception quality is measured in pattern 1 (FIG. 14A) described later. It is displayed on the display unit 1206 (S1309). The multi-band terminal 1101 determines whether or not to terminate the connection in S1310, returns to S1303 if the connection is not terminated, and terminates the process if the connection is terminated.

On the other hand, in S1311, the multi-band terminal 1101 starts the connection with the microwave base station 1107. For example, the control unit 1205 detects that the microwave base station 1107 has moved into the communication cover area 1108 by detecting the microwave beacon frame transmitted periodically, and requests the microwave base station 1107 to connect. I do.

After the connection with the microwave base station 1107 is completed, the data communication period is started, and the multi-band terminal 1101 performs data communication to the microwave base station 1107 (S1312).

Here, the multi-band terminal 1101 measures the microwave reception quality using the microwave reception frame during data communication (S1313), and displays the measured microwave reception quality in the pattern 3 (FIG. 14B) described later. It is displayed in 1206 (S1314). The multi-band terminal 1101 determines whether or not to terminate the connection in S1315, returns to S1312 if the connection is not terminated, and terminates the process if the connection is terminated.

FIG. 14 shows a display example of the display pattern displayed by the display unit 1206. In the present embodiment, when communication using the millimeter wave band is performed, the display pattern displays the direction of the formed beam (FIG. 14A), while communication using the microwave band is performed. If so, the display pattern displays a radiation pattern that is wider than the millimeter-wave band beam (FIG. 14B). In practice, in the example of FIG. 14, when communicating using the millimeter wave band, the display pattern displays the beam direction and the reception quality level. On the other hand, when communicating using the microwave band, the display pattern displays the reception quality level with a wide radiation pattern because it is omnidirectional.

This will be described in detail. When the multi-band terminal 1101 is connected to the millimeter-wave base station 1102, the multi-band terminal 1101 performs the same display (pattern 1) as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 14A. On the other hand, when the multi-band terminal 1101 is connected to the microwave base station 1107, the multi-band terminal 1101 performs the display shown in FIG. 14B (pattern 3).

The display pattern 1404 shown in FIG. 14B is represented by a filled block having a wider angle range than the display pattern of FIG. 14A in order to represent the omnidirectionality of the microwave. This allows the user to easily identify whether they are connected by millimeter waves or microwaves based on the change in the angle range. Similar to the millimeter wave display pattern 1401 (FIG. 14A), the microwave reception quality may be displayed by the number of filled blocks to indicate the reception quality level.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the selected frequency band, the beam direction, and the reception quality are displayed so as to be identifiable by the user, so that the user can use the multi-band terminal 1101 as a microwave and a millimeter wave. It is possible to easily recognize which frequency band the base station is connected to. Therefore, when the user is connected by millimeter waves, he / she can know which direction the terminal should be directed to improve the communication quality, so that even if there is shielding, stable communication can be performed easily. .. Further, when connected to the microwave, the user can recognize that the communication quality is hardly changed even if any one of the posture and the direction of the multi-band terminal 1101 is changed.

Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure. Understood. In addition, each component in the above embodiment may be arbitrarily combined as long as the purpose of disclosure is not deviated.

In the display examples of FIGS. 5, 10 and 14, the beam direction and reception quality are expressed by filling the corresponding blocks (areas), but the point is that the area corresponding to the beam direction and reception quality is expressed. It may be displayed so that it can be identified by color or pattern. Further, the direction of the beam and the reception quality may be expressed by using a shape other than the fan shape.

In each of the above embodiments, the present disclosure has been described for an example of configuring using hardware, but the present disclosure can also be realized by software in cooperation with hardware.

Further, each functional block used in the description of each of the above embodiments is typically realized as an LSI which is an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit may control each functional block used in the description of the above embodiment and include an input and an output. These may be individually integrated into one chip, or may be integrated into one chip so as to include a part or all of them. Although it is referred to as an LSI here, it may be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration.

Further, the method of making an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by using a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection or setting of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.

Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that replaces an LSI appears due to advances in semiconductor technology or another technology derived from it, the functional blocks may be integrated using that technology. There is a possibility of applying biotechnology.

The wireless communication device of the present disclosure includes a first antenna portion that forms a beam selected from a plurality of first beams by beamforming for communicating using a millimeter wave band, and radiation of the selected beam. A display unit for displaying a first pattern indicating a direction is provided.

In the wireless communication device of the present disclosure, the display unit further displays a second pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam not selected by the first antenna unit among the first plurality of beams. Display using a pattern different from the pattern of 1.

In the wireless communication device of the present disclosure, the display unit displays the first pattern and the second pattern using a plurality of fan shapes, and displays the first pattern in any one of the plurality of fan shapes. Display an area with a different color or pattern from other areas.

In the wireless communication device of the present disclosure, the first pattern further indicates the reception quality by the selected beam.

In the wireless communication device of the present disclosure, the display unit divides the plurality of fan shapes in the radial direction, and the better the reception quality, the more the divided region to be colored or displayed in the arc direction from the central angle.

In the wireless communication device of the present disclosure, the display unit further includes a second antenna unit that forms a beam selected from a plurality of second beams in a radiation direction different from the first antenna unit by the beam forming. Further, a third pattern indicating the radiation direction of the beam selected by the second antenna unit and the radiation of the beam not selected by the second antenna unit among the second plurality of beams. A fourth pattern indicating the direction is displayed.

The wireless communication device of the present disclosure further includes a third antenna unit that performs communication using the microwave band, and the display unit displays the first pattern in communication using the first antenna unit. However, in the communication using the third antenna unit, the fifth pattern indicating the reception quality is displayed.

The display method in the wireless communication device of the present disclosure is a display method in the wireless communication device, in which a beam selected from a plurality of first beams is formed by beamforming for performing communication using a millimeter wave band. A first pattern indicating the radiation direction of the selected beam is displayed.

The present disclosure is suitable for use in mobile communication systems.

101, 601, 1101 terminals (STA)
102, 1102, 1107 Base station (AP)
103, 1103, 1108 Communication coverage area 104, 105, 106, 603, 604, 605, 607, 608, 609, 1104, 1105, 1106 Beam 201, 701, 702 Antenna part 204, 610, 1206 Display part 602, 606 Main Radiation direction 610a, 610b, 1206a, 1206b Display image 1201 Millimeter wave antenna part 1203 Microwave antenna part

Claims (8)

A first antenna unit that forms a first selected beam from a plurality of beams having different radiation directions by beamforming for communication using a millimeter wave band.
Depending on the radiation direction and reception intensity of the first selected beam, one pattern selected from a larger number of first patterns than the number of different beams in the first plurality of radiation directions is displayed. Display and
A wireless communication device comprising. The display unit
Further, a pattern not selected from the first pattern is displayed by using a pattern different from the one pattern selected from the first pattern.
The wireless communication device according to claim 1. The first pattern is
The pattern corresponding to the radiation direction of each of the first plurality of beams having different radiation directions,
The first plurality of beams having different radiation directions include a pattern corresponding to the radiation direction between adjacent beams.
The wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2. The display unit
The first pattern is displayed using a plurality of sectors, and the first pattern is displayed.
The selected pattern is displayed in any region of the plurality of sectors with a different coloring or pattern from the other regions.
The wireless communication device according to claim 2. The display unit
Divide a plurality of sectors in the radial direction, and the better the reception quality, the more the division area to be displayed by coloring or pattern from the central angle to the arc direction.
The wireless communication device according to claim 3. The beamforming further comprises a second antenna portion that forms a second selected beam from a second plurality of different beams in the radial direction different from the first antenna portion.
The display unit further
One pattern selected from a second pattern that is larger than the number of different beams in the second plurality of radiation directions, depending on the radiation direction and reception intensity of the second selected beam.
A pattern not selected from the second pattern and
To display
One pattern selected from the second pattern and a pattern not selected from the second pattern are different patterns.
The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. It further includes a third antenna unit that communicates using the microwave band.
The display unit
In the communication using the first antenna unit, the first pattern is displayed and the first pattern is displayed.
In the communication using the third antenna unit, the third pattern indicating the reception quality is displayed.
The wireless communication device according to claim 1. This is a display method for wireless communication devices.
Beamforming for communication using the millimeter wave band forms a first selected beam from a plurality of beams with different radiation directions.
Depending on the radiation direction and reception intensity of the first selected beam, one pattern selected from a larger number of first patterns than the number of different beams in the first plurality of radiation directions is displayed. ,
Display method.

Images