Power saving method and apparatus for radio base station

Claim 2

A power saving method for a radio base station in a mobile communications system using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) format, comprising the steps of: a) discriminating between an occupied time slot and an idle time slot in a frame to produce a discrimination signal; and b) switching a power control signal for a receiver between a first state and a second state in time slots depending on the discrimination signal; wherein the mobile communications system uses a multi-channel time-division multiple-access/time-division duplex (TDMA/TDD) format and the radio base station is comprised of a plurality of pairs of receiver and transmitter corresponding to different channels, wherein the step a) comprises the steps of, discriminating between a control channel and a communication channel based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a first discrimination signal; discriminating between presence and absence of communication based on a received-signal strength for each time slot to produce a second discrimination signal; discriminating between transmission timing and reception timing based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a third discrimination signal; and calculating the discrimination signal from the first to third discrimination signals.

Claim 3

The power saving method according to claim 1 , wherein the step b) comprises the steps of: switching the power control signal to the first state at timing of the occupied time slot; and switching the power control signal to the second state at timing of the idle time slot.

Claim 4

The power saving method according to claim 2 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be powered off.

Claim 5

The power saving method according to claim 2 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be in a standby mode.

Claim 6

A power saving apparatus for a radio base station in a mobile communications system using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) format, comprising: a discriminator for discriminating between an occupied time slot and an idle time slot in a frame to produce a discrimination signal; and a controller for switching a power control signal for the receiver between a first state and a second state in time slots depending on the discrimination signal; wherein the mobile communications system uses a multichannel time-division multiple-access/time-division duplex (TPMA/TDD) format and the radio base station is comprised of a plurality of pairs of receiver and transmitter corresponding to different channels, wherein the discriminator comprises: a first discriminator for discriminating between a control channel and a communication channel based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a first discrimination signal; a second discriminator for discriminating between presence and absence of communication based on a received-signal strength for each time slot to produce a second discrimination signal; a third discriminator for discriminating between transmission timing and reception timing based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a third discrimination signal; and a logic calculator for calculating the discrimination signal from the first to third discrimination signals.

Claim 7

A power saving apparatus for a radio base station in a mobile communications system using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) format, comprising: a discriminator for discriminating between an occupied time slot and an idle time slot in a frame to produce a discrimination signal; and a controller for switching a power control signal for the receiver between a first state and a second state in time slots depending on the discrimination signal; wherein the mobile communications system uses a multichannel time-division multiple-access/time-division duplex (TPMA/TDD) format and the radio base station is comprised of a plurality of pairs of receiver and transmitter corresponding to different channels, wherein the discriminator comprises: a first discriminator for discriminating between a control channel and a communication channel based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a first discrimination signal; a second discriminator for discriminating between presence and absence of communication based on a received-signal strength for each time slot to produce a second discrimination signal; a third discriminator for discriminating between transmission timing and reception timing based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a third discrimination signal; and a logic calculator for calculating the discrimination signal from the first to third discrimination signals.

Claim 8

The power saving apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the controller switches the power control signal to the first state at timing of the occupied time slot and switches the power control signal to the second state at timing of the idle time slot.

Claim 9

The power saving apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be powered off.

Claim 10

The power saving apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be in a standby mode.

Claim 11

A radio base station in a mobile communications system using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) format, comprising: a radio section including a plurality of receivers; a power supply for supplying power to the radio section; a discriminator for discriminating between an occupied time slot and an idle time slot in a frame to produce a discrimination signal; and a controller for switching a power control signal between a first state and a second state in time slots depending on the discrimination signal, wherein the power control signal causes the power supply to operate; wherein the mobile communications system uses a multichannel time-division multiple-access/time-division duplex (TPMA/TDD) format and the radio base station is comprised of a plurality of pairs of receiver and transmitter corresponding to different channels, wherein the discriminator comprises: a first discriminator for discriminating between a control channel and a communication channel based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a first discrimination signal; a second discriminator for discriminating between presence and absence of communication based on a received-signal strength for each time slot to produce a second discrimination signal; a third discriminator for discriminating between transmission timing and reception timing based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a third discrimination signal; and a logic calculator for calculating the discrimination signal from the first to third discrimination signals.

Claim 12

A radio base station in a mobile communications system using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) format, comprising: a radio section including a plurality of receivers; a power supply for supplying power to the radio section; a discriminator for discriminating between an occupied time slot and an idle time slot in a frame to produce a discrimination signal; and a controller for switching a power control signal between a first state and a second state in time slots depending on the discrimination signal, wherein the power control signal causes the power supply to operate; wherein the mobile communications system uses a multichannel time-division multiple-access/time-division duplex (TPMA/TDD) format and the radio base station is comprised of a plurality of pairs of receiver and transmitter corresponding to different channels, wherein the discriminator comprises: a first discriminator for discriminating between a control channel and a communication channel based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a first discrimination signal; a second discriminator for discriminating between presence and absence of communication based on a received-signal strength for each time slot to produce a second discrimination signal; a third discriminator for discriminating between transmission timing and reception timing based on the TDMA/TDD format to produce a third discrimination signal; and a logic calculator for calculating the discrimination signal from the first to third discrimination signals.

Claim 13

The radio base station according to claim 9 , wherein the controller switches the power control signal to the first state at timing of the occupied time slot and switches the power control signal to the second state at timing of the idle time slot.

Claim 14

The radio base station according to claim 10 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be powered off.

Claim 15

The radio base station according to claim 10 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on and the second state causes the receiver to be in a standby mode.

Claim 16

The radio base station according to claim 9 , wherein each of the receivers comprises: an analog signal section including a radio-frequency amplifier for amplifying a radio-frequency analog signal, a frequency converter for converting the radio-frequency analog signal to an intermediate-frequency analog signal by mixing it with a local oscillation signal, and an intermediate-frequency amplifier for amplifying the intermediate-frequency analog signal; a frequency synthesizer for generating the local oscillation signal; and a modem section including a demodulator for demodulating the high-frequency analog signal to produce a digital signal and a decoder for decoding the digital signal to produce received data, wherein the controller switches the power control signal to the first state at timing of the occupied time slot and switches the power control signal to the second state at timing of the idle time slot.

Claim 17

The radio base station according to claim 13 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on; and the second state causes the analog signal section of the receiver to be powered off and the frequency synthesizer and the modem section to be in a standby mode.

Claim 18

The power saving apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the receiver comprises: an analog signal section including a radio-frequency amplifier for amplifying a radio-frequency analog signal, a frequency converter for converting the radio-frequency analog signal to an intermediate-frequency analog signal by mixing it with a local oscillation signal, and an intermediate-frequency amplifier for amplifying the intermediate-frequency analog signal: a frequency synthesizer for generating the local oscillation signal: and a modem section including a demodulator for demodulating the high-frequency analog signal to produce a digital signal and a decoder for decoding the digital signal to produce received data, wherein the controller switches the power control signal to the first state at timing of the occupied time slot and switches the power control signal to the second state at timing of the idle time slot.

Claim 19

The power saving apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the first state causes the receiver to be powered on; and the second state causes the analog signal section of the receiver to be powered off and the frequency synthesizer and the modem section to be in a standby mode.