WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND SOFTWARE UPGRADING METHOD

• US 20110171947A1
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koichi Okita, Ryosuke Kurata
• Original Assignee: Koichi Okita, Ryosuke Kurata
• Inventors: Kurata, Ryosuke, Okita, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,285,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42136 Administration or customisation of services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A base station control portion 200 selects one or plural signals from signals received by plural settable communication paths in accordance with the state of the wave. A wireless communication apparatus 110 communicates with a wireless terminal 300 and a wired communication network. When the wireless communication apparatus 110 receives a request for upgrading software from a network management device 250, the wireless communication apparatus 110 controls the state of the transmission wave of a wireless interface so as to switch a communication path in which communication services are being provided to another wireless communication apparatus 110 without blackouts, rewrites the set software to software having been received through a wired interface in advance, returns the state of the transmission wave of the wireless interface and upgrades software without blackouts of the supply of communication services to the wireless terminal 300.

Claims

1. A software upgrading method for base station apparatus in a wireless communication system which has a plurality of base station apparatuses each having a plurality of sectors, sector control portions for controlling each of sectors and a device control portion for controlling the base station apparatuses and, a network management device maintaining and managing the base station apparatuses,

wherein software to be upgraded includes a control program of the sector control portion, and

wherein the software upgrading method including the steps of:

transmitting, from the network management device, upgrading requests to upgrade software to the base station apparatuses which are objects of software upgrading, after transferring a new software for upgrading to the plurality of base station apparatuses which are objects of software upgrading in the wireless communication system;

selecting, in the plurality of base station apparatuses receiving the upgrading requests to upgrade software, by each of the device control portions thereof, one sector among from the plurality of the sectors in a predetermined order, controlling the sectors which are not selected to prohibit performing a software upgrading processing at the same time, after that, reducing a transmission power by controlling the sector control portion of selected sector, checking no calls are connecting to the selected sector and, controlling such that the software of the sector control portion of the selected sector is upgraded, thereby, simultaneously performing the software upgrading for selected sectors of the plurality of base station apparatuses which are objects of software upgrading in the wireless communication system.