US 8,570,891 B2Granted

Wireless communication system, control apparatus, communication method switching method, and program

AssigneesNEC Corporation, NEC Access Technica, Ltd.

InventorsTsukasa Okamoto, Masahiko Yahagi

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Abstract

A wireless communication system includes a plurality of base stations that are capable of switching to either a first communication method or a second communication method and that carry out wireless communication with terminals by the switched communication method and a control apparatus that manages the plurality of base stations. The control apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires information of throughput of each of the plurality of base stations and a switching instruction unit that instructs switching of the current communication method to each of the plurality of base stations when there is a base station in which throughput drops within a fixed interval among the plurality of base stations, and that further instructs re-switching to the communication method that preceded switching to base stations in which throughput dropped from before to after switching communication method among the plurality of base stations.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A wireless communication system that includes a plurality of base stations that are capable of switching to either a first communication method or a second communication method and that carry out wireless communication with terminals by the switched communication method, and a control apparatus that manages said plurality of base stations;

wherein:
each of said plurality of base stations includes:
a first communication unit that carries out wireless communication by said first communication method;
a second communication unit that carries out wireless communication by said second communication method;
a switch unit that switches the communication unit used in wireless communication to either said first communication unit or said second communication unit according to instruction from said control apparatus, and
a throughput measurement unit that measures throughput of its own station and transmits information of throughput that was measured to said control apparatus;
and
said control apparatus includes:
an acquisition unit that acquires information of throughput from each of said plurality of base stations;
and
a switching instruction unit that, when there is among said plurality of base stations a base station in which throughput drops within a fixed interval, instructs switching of the current communication method to each of said plurality of base stations, and further, instructs re-switching to the communication method that preceded switching to, among said plurality of base stations, base stations in which throughput dropped from before to after switching of the communication method,
wherein when all of said plurality of base stations are consolidated to the first communication method or to the second communication method upon said re-switching, said switching instruction unit instructs said re-switching or halts instruction to the base station in which throughput is lowest by the consolidated communication method such that that base station adopts a communication method other than the consolidated communication method.

9 more elements

A control apparatus that manages a plurality of base stations that are capable of switching to either a first communication method or a second communication method and that carry out wireless communication with terminals by a communication method that was switched, comprising:

an acquisition unit that acquires information of throughput of each of said plurality of base stations;
and
a switching instruction unit that, when there is, among said plurality of base stations, a base station in which throughput drops within a fixed interval, instructs switching of the current communication method to each of said plurality of base stations, and further, instructs re-switching to the communication method that preceded switching to, among said plurality of base stations, base stations in which throughput dropped from before to after switching of the communication method,
wherein, when all of said plurality of base stations are consolidated to the first communication method or to the second communication method upon instruction of said re-switching, said switching instruction unit instructs said re-switching or halts instruction to the base station in which throughput is lowest by the consolidated communication method such that that base station adopts a communication method other than the consolidated communication method.

1 more element

A communication method switching method in a control apparatus that manages a plurality of base stations that are capable of switching to either a first communication method or a second communication method and that carry out wireless communication with terminals by the communication method that is switched for switching communication methods of said plurality of base stations, said communication method switching method comprising:

an acquisition step of acquiring information of throughput of each of said plurality of base stations;
a switching instruction step of, when there is among said plurality of base stations a base station in which throughput drops within a fixed interval, instructing switching of the current communication method to each of said plurality of base stations;
and
a re-switching instruction step of further instructing re-switching to the communication method that preceded switching to, among said plurality of base stations, base stations in which throughput dropped from before to after switching communication method, wherein:
said first communication method is a WiMAX communication method;
and
said second communication method is a wireless LAN communication method.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.