WIRELESS BASE STATION AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING THE SAME

• US 20130336188A1
• Filed: 02/16/2012
• Published: 12/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, NEC Communication Systems Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC Communication Systems Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Yomo, Hiroyuki, Kondo, Yoshihisa, Tang, Suhua, Obana, Sadao, Ito, Tetsuya, Matsumoto, Akira, Yoshimura, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,521,613 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wireless base station (1) includes a wakeup device (13) and a main device (14). When the main device (14) is in a sleep mode, the wakeup device (13) is connected to the antenna (11). Then, when the wakeup device (13) receives a wakeup signal for activating the wireless base station (1) from a terminal device assigned to the wireless base station (1) in a communication band used for wireless communication with the terminal device and when the information for identifying a wireless base station to be activated contained in the received wakeup signal is identical with the identification information of the wireless base station (1), the wakeup device (13) outputs a driving signal to the main device (14). The main device (14) transitions from the sleep mode to an operating mode in response to the driving signal from the wakeup device (13).

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. A wireless base station comprising:

a main device regularly transmitting a management frame for managing a terminal device, having an operating mode in which the main device communicates wirelessly with the terminal device and a sleep mode in which the main device is not capable of communicating wirelessly with the terminal device, and transitioning from the operating mode to the sleep mode when it has not communicated wirelessly with the terminal device in a certain period of time or when no terminal device is assigned to the wireless base station; and

a wakeup device configured, when the main device is in the sleep mode and when the wakeup device receives, from a first terminal device starting access to the main device, a wakeup signal for causing the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode, to cause the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode,

wherein the wakeup device receives the wakeup signal from the first terminal device in the same frequency band as that used by the main device for wireless communication, the wakeup signal having been modulated by a modulation technique with a transmission rate lower than that for data transmission and reception by the main device in the operating mode, the wakeup signal containing information identifying a wireless base station to be activated by the first terminal device, and demodulates the received wakeup signal to cause the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode.

9. The wireless base station according to claim 7, wherein, if the main device is to transition from the operating mode to the sleep mode when a terminal device is assigned to the wireless base station, the main device transmits, to every terminal device assigned to the wireless base station, a query signal for querying whether the main device is allowed to transition to the sleep mode and, if the every terminal device permits the main device to transition to the sleep mode, transitions to the sleep mode.

11. The wireless base station according to claim 7, wherein the sleep mode includes a plurality of sleep levels,

wherein the main device includes:

a wireless communication module wirelessly communicating with the terminal device in the operating mode,

a wire communication module connected to a network via a cable, and

a host system controlling the wireless communication module and the wire communication module, and

wherein the wireless communication module, the wire communication module and the host system are separately powered off or enter the sleep mode according to the sleep levels.

13. A wireless communication system comprising:

the wireless base station according to claim 7, and

a terminal device transmitting the wakeup signal to the wireless base station when the terminal device starts wireless communication with the wireless base station when the wireless base station is in the sleep mode.

15. The wireless communication system according to claim 13, wherein the terminal device modulates, by means of a wireless LAN modulation technique, the wakeup signal with a length that provides information for identifying the wireless base station, and transmits it to the wireless base station.

8. A wireless base station comprising:

a main device regularly transmitting a management frame for managing a terminal device, having an operating mode in which the main device communicates wirelessly with the terminal device and a sleep mode in which the main device is not capable of communicating wirelessly with the terminal device, and transitioning from the operating mode to the sleep mode when it has not communicated wirelessly with the terminal device in a certain period of time or when no terminal device is assigned to the wireless base station; and

a wakeup device configured, when the main device is in the sleep mode and when the wakeup device receives, from a first terminal device starting access to the main device, a wakeup signal for causing the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode, to cause the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode,

wherein the wakeup device receives the wakeup signal from the first terminal device, the wakeup signal having a length that provides information for identifying a wireless base station to be activated by the first terminal device, and demodulates the received wakeup signal to cause the main device to transition from the sleep mode to the operating mode.

10. The wireless base station according to claim 8, wherein, if the main device is to transition from the operating mode to the sleep mode when a terminal device is assigned to the wireless base station, the main device transmits, to every terminal device assigned to the wireless base station, a query signal for querying whether the main device is allowed to transition to the sleep mode and, if the every terminal device permits the main device to transition to the sleep mode, transitions to the sleep mode.

12. The wireless base station according to claim 8, wherein the sleep mode includes a plurality of sleep levels,

wherein the main device includes:

a wireless communication module wirelessly communicating with the terminal device in the operating mode,

a wire communication module connected to a network via a cable, and

a host system controlling the wireless communication module and the wire communication module, and

wherein the wireless communication module, the wire communication module and the host system are separately powered off or enter the sleep mode according to the sleep levels.

14. A wireless communication system comprising:

the wireless base station according to claim 8, and

a terminal device transmitting the wakeup signal to the wireless base station when the terminal device starts wireless communication with the wireless base station when the wireless base station is in the sleep mode.

16. The wireless communication system according to claim 14, wherein the terminal device modulates, by means of a wireless LAN modulation technique, the wakeup signal with a length that provides information for identifying the wireless base station, and transmits it to the wireless base station.