Mobile communication system and base station apparatus therefor

• US 6,047,176 A
• Filed: 12/30/1996
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizuno, Tomoo, Sakamoto, Masayuki, Yamagishi, Katsumi, Tateishi, Toru, Iwasaki, Kazunori, Sekiya, Kunihiko, Murano, Katsumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuan T.
• Application Number:
  US08/765,310
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/430, 455/434, 455/446, 455/450, 455/452, 455/511, 455/517, 455/515, 455/524, 455/443, 370/329, 370/330
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/10 Dynamic resource partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

In a mobile communication system according to this invention, an integrated control apparatus (ISa1) is arranged between a plurality of base stations (CSa1, CSa1, . . . ) arranged in an area with a low traffic density, and a public digital network (INW), the integrated control apparatus (ISa1) accommodates I'"'"' lines of the base stations (CSa1, CSa1, . . . ), the integrated control apparatus (ISa1) and the public digital network are connected via I'"'"' lines having a smaller number of channels than the total number of channels of the I'"'"' lines, and the integrated control apparatus (ISa1) performs various kinds of control for call origination/termination with the base stations (CSa1, CSa1, . . . ).

Claims

1. A mobile communication system, which comprises a plurality of mobile communication networks which independently operate in service areas formed in a predetermined region to include a common portion, and in which said plurality of mobile communication networks exchange control signals between a base station and mobile stations using specific slots at different specific frequencies assigned in advance as control channels, and exchange communication information using a plurality of slots at other frequencies as communication channels, said mobile communication system comprising:

at least one shared base station equipped on the common portion of the service areas of the plurality of mobile communication networks, said shared base station comprising means for time-divisionally setting the control channels assigned in advance to the plurality of mobile communication networks, and performing transmission/reception operations of control signals with mobile stations of the corresponding mobile communication network using the control channels.

2. A mobile communication system according to claim 1, wherein said shared base station comprises means for independently and variably setting transmission powers of the control signals in units of mobile communication networks.

3. A mobile communication system according to claim 1, wherein said shared base station comprises means for assigning a specific communication slot of a plurality of communication slots constituting a time-division multiplexed frame as an exclusive slot for a specific mobile communication network.

4. A mobile communication system according to claim 3, wherein said shared base station varies the specific communication slot to be assigned to the specific mobile communication network in correspondence with a time band.

5. A mobile communication system according to claim 3, wherein said shared base station varies the specific communication slot to be assigned to the specific mobile communication network in correspondence with a traffic amount of the specific mobile communication network.

6. A base station apparatus used in a mobile communication system, which comprises a plurality of mobile communication networks which independently operate in service areas formed in a predetermined region to include a common portion, and in which said plurality of mobile communication networks exchange control signals between said base station apparatus and mobile stations using specific slots at different specific frequencies assigned in advance as control channels, and exchange communication information using a plurality of slots at other frequencies as communication channels, said base station apparatus comprising:

means for time-divisionally setting the control channels assigned in advance to the plurality of mobile communication networks, and performing transmission/reception operations of control signals with mobile stations of the corresponding mobile communication network using the control channels.

7. A mobile communication system in which a plurality of base stations are distributed, and connect mobile stations located in radio zones formed by the base stations to at least a public digital network to allow communications, said mobile communication system comprising:

an integrated control apparatus arranged between a plurality of selective base stations selected from the plurality of base stations, and the public digital network,

said integrated control apparatus comprising;

a first network interface for exchanging information with the public digital network via a first line;

a plurality of base station interfaces for respectively exchanging information with said plurality of selective base stations via second lines; and

control means for selectively connecting said plurality of selective base stations and the public digital network via the respective interfaces in accordance with call origination/termination of the mobile stations to allow information transmission.

8. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said integrated control apparatus comprises a second network interface for exchanging information with the public digital network or another digital network via a third line, and

said control means selectively performs processing for selecting the first line and generating a call onto the public digital network in accordance with a call origination request from the mobile station, and processing for selecting the third line and generating a call onto the public digital network or the other digital network.

9. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said integrated control apparatus comprises a third network interface for exchanging information with the public analog network via a fourth line, and

said control means selectively performs processing for selecting the first line and generating a call onto the public digital network in accordance with a call origination request from the mobile station, and processing for selecting the fourth line and generating a call onto the public analog network.

10. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said integrated control apparatus comprises a fourth network interface for exchanging information with a private branch exchange network, an office line of which is connected to at least one of the public digital network and a public analog network, via an extension of the private branch exchange network, and

said control means selectively performs processing for selecting the first line and generating a call onto the public digital network in accordance with a call origination request from the mobile station, and processing for selecting the extension of the private branch exchange network and generating a call onto the public digital network or the public analog network via the extension via the private branch exchange network.

11. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said integrated control apparatus comprises:

a third network interface for exchanging information with the public analog network via a fourth line; and

a fourth network interface for exchanging information with a private branch exchange network, an office line of which is connected to at least one of the public digital network and a public analog network, via an extension of the private branch exchange network, and

said control means selectively performs processing for selecting the first line and generating a call onto the public digital network in accordance with a call origination request from the mobile station, processing for selecting the fourth line and generating a call onto the public analog network, and processing for selecting the extension of the private branch exchange network and generating a call onto the public digital network or the public analog network via the extension via the private branch exchange network.

12. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said control means discriminates a use state of the first line in accordance with a call origination request from the mobile station, and selects one of the plurality of call origination processing operations on the basis of the discrimination result.

13. A mobile communication system according to claim 7, wherein said control means discriminates in accordance with a call origination request of the mobile station whether or not a called party of the call origination request corresponds to another mobile station located in one of radio zones of said plurality of selective base stations connected to the own integrated control apparatus, and when it is determined that the called party corresponds to said other mobile station, said control means loopback-connects said other mobile station and a calling mobile station in said integrated control apparatus.

14. A mobile communication system in which a plurality of base stations are distributed and connect mobile stations located in radio zones formed by the base stations to at least a public digital network to allow communications, and an integrated control apparatus is arranged between a plurality of selective base stations selected from the plurality of base stations, and the public digital network, wherein each of said selective base stations comprises:

a radio circuit unit for exchanging information with the mobile station via a radio line; and

an integrated control apparatus interface for exchanging the information exchanged by said radio circuit unit with said integrated control apparatus via a second line, and

said integrated control apparatus comprises;

a first network interface for exchanging information with the public digital network via a first line;

a plurality of base station interfaces for respectively exchanging information with said plurality of selective base stations via second lines; and

control means for executing at least control processing associated with a radio connection between the mobile station and the selective base station in accordance with call origination/termination of the mobile station, and control processing associated with a connection between the selective base station and the public digital network.

15. An integrated control apparatus arranged between a plurality of base stations which form radio zones in different regions and connect mobile stations located in the radio zones with at least a public digital network to allow communications, and the public digital network, said integrated control apparatus comprising:

a first network interface for exchanging information with the public digital network via a first line;

a plurality of base station interfaces for respectively exchanging information with said plurality of selective base stations via second lines; and

control means for selectively connecting said plurality of selective base stations and the public digital network via the respective interfaces in accordance with call origination/termination of the mobile stations to allow information transmission.

16. A base station apparatus used in a mobile communication system which comprises a plurality of base station apparatuses which are distributed in a service area and are connected to at least a public digital network via a plurality of lines, and a plurality of mobile stations which are selectively connected to the base station apparatuses via radio lines in radio areas respectively formed by the base station apparatuses, said base station apparatus comprising:

a plurality of radio units for divisionally forming a plurality of subareas in the radio area formed by said base station apparatus, and exchanging information with mobile stations present in the subareas via the radio lines;

a database for forming and storing, in units of subareas, management information associated with mobile stations present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus; and

an integrated control unit, which is connected to said plurality of radio units, and which, when an incoming call associated with the mobile station present in the radio area is generated, executes predetermined control associated with the incoming call of the mobile station in units of subareas on the basis of the management information stored in said database.

17. A base station apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said database comprises:

first movement monitoring means for monitoring a movement from the mobile station present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus to another radio area, and a movement from another radio area to the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus;

second movement monitoring means for monitoring a movement of the mobile station present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus between different subareas; and

position registration control means for performing registration and erasing processing of the management information including position information of the mobile station on the basis of monitoring results from said first and second movement monitoring means.

18. A base station apparatus according to claim 16, wherein when said first and second movement monitoring means do not continuously detect a signal from the mobile station, the management information of which is registered, for not less than a predetermined period of time, said position registration control means erases the management information of said mobile station.

19. A base station apparatus according to claim 17, wherein when an incoming call response from the mobile station, the management information of which is registered, is not detected, said position registration control means erases the management information of said mobile station.

20. A base station apparatus according to claim 17, wherein when said second movement monitoring means detects that the mobile station, the management information of which is registered, has moved to a specific subarea, said position registration control means erases the management information of said mobile station.

21. A base station apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said integrated control unit comprises:

means for, when an incoming call to the mobile station comes from the public digital network, specifying the subarea where said mobile station is present on the basis of the management information of said mobile station registered in said database; and

means for causing the radio unit corresponding to the subarea specified by said means to transmit an incoming call signal.

22. A base station apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said integrated control unit comprises:

means for, when a call origination request arrives from the mobile station via the radio unit, discriminating based on the management information registered in said database whether or not a called party corresponds to another mobile station present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus; and

means for, when said means determines that the called party corresponds to the other mobile station present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus, performing processing for loopback-connecting the called mobile station and a calling mobile station in the own base station apparatus, and for, when said means determines that the called party is not present in the radio area formed by the own base station apparatus, performing processing for transferring the call origination request to the public digital network.

23. A base station apparatus according to claim 22, wherein when said apparatus comprises a function of performing an authentication procedure of the calling mobile station which issues a call origination request with respect to a control management apparatus connected to the public digital network,

said integrated control unit omits execution of the authentication procedure when the calling mobile station and the called mobile station are loopback-connected in the own base station apparatus.

24. A base station apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said position registration control means comprises means for changing divisional management information at predetermined time intervals, which information is used for divisionally managing the subareas to cause the mobile station, the management information of which is registered, to transmit a signal to said base station apparatus within a predetermined period of time, and is stored in said first and second movement monitoring means.