Method and a Radio Base Station for Handling of Data Traffic

• US 20120289224A1
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Hallberg, Helene, Österling, Jacob
• Granted Patent: US 9,148,850 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/143 Downlink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/223 predicting future states of the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/367 Power values between minimum and maximum limits, e.g. dynamic range
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement (130) in a radio base station (10) for handling data traffic within a cell of the radio base station (10), which radio base station (10) is comprised in a telecommunications network. The arrangement comprises a determining unit (131) arranged to determine a maximum power, which maximum power indicates available power to radio base station (10). In addition, the arrangement comprises a comparing unit (132) arranged to compare the maximum power to a threshold power value, and a handling unit (133) arranged to handle data traffic served by the radio base station (10) according to a shaper rule when the maximum power is below the first threshold power value. The shaper rule is defined to handle data traffic in such a way that an amount of data traffic transmitted over a time period is reduced consuming less power of the radio base station (10) than if the data traffic is handled according to a basic rule when the maximum power is above the threshold power value.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A method in a radio base station for handling data traffic within a cell of the radio base station, wherein the radio base station is included in a telecommunications network and the method comprises:

determining a maximum power, indicating an available power to radio base station;

comparing the maximum power to a threshold power value; and

handling data traffic served by the radio base station according to a shaper rule when the maximum power is below the threshold power value, which shaper rule is defined to handle data traffic so that an amount of data traffic transmitted over a time period is reduced, thereby consuming less power of the radio base station than would have been consumed if the data traffic were handled according to a basic rule used when the maximum power is above the threshold power value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the radio base station is at least partly power supplied from an off-grid power source, and wherein the step of determining the maximum power comprises calculating an expected power generation of the off-grid power source over a second time period and accounting for the expected power generation when determining the maximum power.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the expected power generation is based on a current power generation of the off-grid power source.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the expected power generation is based on a prediction of power generation that is based on a forecast for the off-grid power source.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the maximum power takes an available generated power into account.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the maximum power takes a fuse rating of a fuse in the radio base station into account.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining an amount of data traffic to be transmitted; and

calculating a required power consumption required to handle the amount of data traffic to be transmitted is such transmission is performed in accordance with the rule for handling data traffic that is presently in use by the radio base station;

wherein the threshold power value is based on the required power consumption.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein determining the amount of data traffic is based on at least one of:

a buffer load in a transmit buffer of the radio base station;

analysis of the amount of data traffic from a preset previous time period;

a preset value stored in the radio base station; and

a forecast of the amount of data traffic received from an operation and maintenance node in the telecommunications network.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein an alternate current network supplies the radio base station with power, and wherein a power failure of the alternate current network triggers said determining of the maximum power, and further wherein said determining is based on an available battery energy reserve at the power failure.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein a second threshold power value is preset and the data traffic is handled according to a second rule when the available power reserve goes below the second threshold power value, wherein the second rule is configured so that the data traffic handling consumes less power of the radio base station than would be consumed by handling data traffic according to the shaper rule, based on transmitting less data traffic over the period of time than would be transmitted according to the shaper rule.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein rule-based handling of data traffic to reduce power consumption limits the amount of data transmitted by the radio base station, based on the radio base station performing at least one of:

discarding data traffic with a low priority; and

modifying the configuration of the radio base station to a lower performance configuration.

25. An arrangement that is configured for handling data traffic within a cell of a radio base station operating in a telecommunications network, said arrangement comprising:

a determining unit configured to determine a maximum power that indicates available power to radio base station;

a comparing unit arranged to compare the maximum power to a threshold power value; and

a handling unit arranged to handle data traffic served by the radio base station according to a shaper rule when the maximum power is below the first threshold power value, wherein the shaper rule is defined to handle data traffic so that an amount of data traffic transmitted over a time period is reduced, thereby consuming less power at the radio base station than would have been consumed if the data traffic were handled according to a basic rule that is used by the radio base station for handling data traffic when the maximum power is above the threshold power value.

26. The arrangement of claim 25, wherein the arrangement comprises part of said radio base station.