Wireless communication apparatus, wireless communication network and software upgrading method

• US 7,751,808 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kurata, Ryosuke, Okita, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim; Wesley L
• Application Number:
  US12/250,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20090042554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/423, 455436-453, 455/456.5, 455/524, 455/525, 455/561, 455/419, 455/562.1, 370/329, 370/330, 370/331, 370/332, 370/341, 717168-173
• 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 base station apparatus having a plurality of sectors, each of sectors have their own areas in which radio waves can reach and a part of which are overlapped with each other and communicating with a wireless terminal in the sectors and a wired communication network, the base station apparatus comprises:

an apparatus management portion that manages the entire base station apparatus based on control signals from a network management device in the wired communication network;

antennas for each of the plurality of sectors; and

sector control portions for each of the plurality of sectors,

wherein each of, the sector control portions comprises;

a wireless interface that transmits and receives wireless signals through corresponding antenna;

a communication processing portion that processes signals which is transmitted and received by the wireless interface;

a memory that stores a software for controlling the wireless interface and the communication processing portion; and

a CPU that controls the wireless interface and the communication processing portion in response to an instruction from the apparatus management portion by using the software stored in the memory,

wherein when the apparatus management portion receives an upgrading request to upgrade software from the network management device, at a state in which a new software for upgrading has been transferred from the network management device to the base station apparatus,

wherein the apparatus management portion does not perform a software upgrading processing for each of the sector control portions at the same time, controls the each of the sector control portions to change their own cover areas which radio waves can reach such that one of the sectors no longer provides the communication services to perform the software upgrading processing by reducing a transmission power to a predetermined lowest value and other sectors provide the communication services to continue the communication services which have been performed at the upgrading sector and, performs the software upgrading processing for each of the sector control portions sequentially,

wherein the CPU of the sector control portion is adapted to perform the software upgrading processing in accordance with a control by the apparatus management portion,

wherein the CPU requests the wireless interface to reduce the transmission power of the sector control portion by a predetermined rate of the power reduction,

wherein the wireless interface reduces the transmission power in response to the request and, notifies the CPU of the transmission power value after the transmission power reduction,

wherein the CPU, in accordance with the notification, determines if the notified transmission power value reaches the predetermined lowest value of the transmission power or not,

wherein the CPU, in a case that the transmission power value does not reaches the lowest value, further requests to reduce the transmission power by the predetermined rate of the power reduction, and

wherein the CPU, in a case that the transmission power value reaches the lowest value, finishes the reduction of the transmission power, performs a reset processing and a load processing of the new software for upgrading and, performs a processing of gradually increasing the transmission power, thereby performs the software upgrade processing.

2. A base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a state that the communication services are no longer provided at the sector is achieved by reducing the transmission power to the lowest value.

3. A base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base station apparatus has a first and a second and a third sectors,

wherein the apparatus management portion controls the each of the sector control portions such that one of the sectors no longer provides the communication services to perform the software upgrading processing and other sectors provide the communication services and, performs the software upgrading processing for the sector control portions in order of the first and the second and the third sectors.

4. A base station apparatus having a plurality of sectors, each of sectors have their own areas in which radio waves can reach and a part of which are overlapped each other and communicating with a wireless terminal in the sectors and a wired communication network, the base station apparatus comprises:

an apparatus management portion that manages the entire base station apparatus based on control signals from a network management device in the wired communication network; and

sector control portions that control communication of the sector for each of the plurality of sectors,

wherein when the apparatus management portion receives an upgrading request to upgrade software,

wherein the apparatus management portion does not perform a software upgrading processing for each of the sector control portions at the same time, controls the each of the sector control portions to change their own cover areas which radio waves can reach such that one of the sectors no longer provides the communication services to perform the software upgrading processing by reducing the transmission power to the predetermined lowest value and other sectors provide the communication services to continue the communication services which have been performed at the upgrading sector and, performs the software upgrading processing for each of the sector control portions sequentially,

wherein the CPU of the sector control portion is adapted to perform the software upgrading processing in accordance with a control by the apparatus management portion,

wherein the CPU requests the wireless interface to reduce the transmission power of the sector control portion by a predetermined rate of the power reduction,

wherein the wireless interface reduces the transmission power in response to the request and, notifies the CPU of the transmission power value after the transmission power reduction,

wherein the CPU, in accordance with the notification, determines if the notified transmission power value reaches the predetermined lowest value of the transmission power or not,

wherein the CPU, in a case that the transmission power value does not reaches the lowest value, further requests to reduce the transmission power by the predetermined rate of the power reduction, and

wherein the CPU, in a case that the transmission power value reaches the lowest value, finishes the reduction of the transmission power, performs a reset processing and a load processing of the new software for upgrading and, performs a processing of gradually increasing the transmission power, thereby performs the software upgrading processing.