COMMUNICATION CONTROL APPARATUS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

• US 20180270764A1
• Filed: 05/14/2018
• Published: 09/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: FURUICHI, Sho, Sawai, Ryo, Kimura, Ryota, Uchiyama, Hiromasa, Usui, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 10,448,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/345 Interference values signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR] H04B17/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/373 Predicting channel quality or other radio frequency [RF] parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/143 Downlink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/228 using past power values or information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/244 Interferences in heterogeneous networks, e.g. among macro and femto or pico cells or other sector / system interference [OSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/343 taking into account loading or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/362 Aspects of the step size
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/386 centralized, e.g. when the radio network controller or equivalent takes part in the power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference

Abstract

[Object] To achieve both prevention of harmful interference and promptness of power allocation under conditions in which multiple secondary systems may be managed.

[Solution] Provided is a communication control apparatus including: a calculation unit configured to calculate a transmit power to be allocated, including a nominal transmit power and a margin for interference avoidance, for one or more secondary systems that secondarily use frequency channels protected for a primary system; and a determination unit configured to determine a variation in a number of secondary systems, and cause the calculation unit to adjust the margin for interference avoidance on a basis of the determined variation.

Claims

1. A communication control apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

allocate a transmit power, including a margin for interference avoidance, for one or more secondary systems that secondarily use frequency channels allocated to a primary system;

determine a variation in a number of one or more secondary systems;

adjust the allocated transmit power when the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems is greater than a threshold value; and

signal information related to the allocated transmit power to the one or more secondary systems.

2. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to periodically calculate the transmit power for the one or more secondary systems.

3. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate the transmit power for the one or more secondary systems based on information reported by the one or more secondary systems.

4. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is further configured to:

determine a method to adjust the allocated transmit power according to a condition dependent on the number of one or more secondary systems;

determine whether to recalculate a previously calculated transmit power or adjust the previously calculated transmit power by adjusting a margin for interference avoidance based on the variation; and

adjust the allocated transmit power based on the determined method.

5. The communication control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to recalculate the previously calculated transmit power in a case of the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems falling below a threshold value, and adjust the previously calculated transmit power in another case of the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems exceeding the threshold value.

6. The communication control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the threshold value is configured in advance in a manner that an estimated calculation time dependent on the number of one or more secondary systems does not exceed an allowed calculation time.

7. The communication control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the threshold value is configured dynamically in a manner that an estimated calculation time dependent on the number of one or more secondary systems does not exceed an allowed calculation time.

8. The communication control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems is calculated based on the number of one or more secondary systems at a point in time when the transmit power is last recalculated.

9. The communication control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems is calculated based on the number of one or more secondary systems at an immediately previous point in time when the transmit power is recalculated or adjusted.

10. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of one or more secondary systems is based on one or both of a number of master devices and a number of slave devices in the one or more secondary systems.

11. The communication control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the numbers of master and slave devices are calculated by including weights depending on a device configuration.

12. The communication control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the device configuration includes at least one of antenna height, a transmit power, and a frequency channel to be used.

13. The communication control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to additionally determine whether to recalculate the previously calculated transmit power or adjust the previously calculated transmit power according to a condition dependent on at least one from among a reference point for interference calculation, a frequency channel to be secondarily used, a device antenna height, and an interference level from other systems.

14. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate an adjustment of a margin for interference avoidance by estimating a variation in an interference quantity based on the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems.

15. The communication control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the circuitry is further configured to estimate the variation in the interference quantity by using a table defining mappings between the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems and the variation in the interference quantity.

16. The communication control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the circuitry is further configured to estimate the variation in the interference quantity based on an assumption that the number of one or more secondary systems and the interference quantity are proportional.

17. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

have an authority to allocate the transmit power to the one or more secondary systems; and

in a case in which other secondary systems are managed by another communication control apparatus, acquire information indicating a number of the other secondary systems that are managed by the another communication control apparatus having authority to allocate other transmit power and that should be considered in transmit power allocation from the communication control apparatus.

18. The communication control apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

the communication control apparatus has the authority to allocate the transmit power to the one or more secondary systems within a first geographical region;

and

the another communication control apparatus has another authority to allocate the other transmit power to the other secondary systems within a second geographical region.

19. The communication control apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the second geographical region is neighboring geographical region of the first geographical region.

20. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to adjust a margin for interference avoidance by setting the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems to a greater-than-actual virtual value.

21. The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an allocated transmit power for each secondary system additionally includes a margin for reducing signaling overhead,

the circuitry is further configured to refrain from signaling an adjustment of a margin for interference avoidance in a case of the adjustment of the margin for interference avoidance falling below the margin for reducing signaling overhead included in the allocated transmit power.

22. A communication control apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

communicate with a master device of one or more secondary systems that secondarily use frequency channels allocated to a primary system; and

signal, based on information acquired from a data server that calculates a transmit power to be allocated for the one or more secondary systems including a margin for interference avoidance adjusted when a variation in a number of one or more secondary systems is greater than a threshold value, information related to transmit power allocation to the master device.

23. The communication control apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

calculate the transmit power to be allocated for each master device from a base value and an adjustment of the margin for interference avoidance; and

signal information related to transmit power allocation to the master device.

24. A wireless communication apparatus that operates and manages a secondary system that secondarily uses a frequency channel allocated to a primary system, the wireless communication apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

receive signaling of information related to an allocated transmit power from a data server that calculates the allocated transmit power for the secondary system including a margin for interference avoidance adjusted when a variation in a number of one or more secondary systems is greater than a threshold value; and

control wireless communication between the wireless communication apparatus and one or more terminal apparatuses according to the allocated transmit power indicated by the information.

25. A communication control apparatus, which has an authority to allocate a transmit power to one or more secondary systems, comprising:

circuitry configured to;

in a case in which other secondary systems are managed by another communication control apparatus, acquire information indicating a number of the other secondary systems that are managed by the another communication control apparatus having authority to allocate other transmit power and that should be considered in transmit power allocation from the communication control apparatus;

allocate the transmit power, including a margin for interference avoidance, for the one or more secondary systems that secondarily use frequency channels allocated to a primary system;

determine a variation in a number of one or more secondary systems;

adjust the allocated transmit power when the variation in the number of one or more secondary systems is greater than a threshold value; and

signal information related to the allocated transmit power to the one or more secondary systems.