O-RU and management method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12284062-B2
Application number	US-202117920923-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 24, 2021
Priority date	Dec 24, 2021
Publication date	Apr 22, 2025
Grant date	Apr 22, 2025

Abstract

An Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit (O-RU) including a Radio Frequency (RF) unit and a baseband unit, wherein: the baseband unit includes two or more digital signal processing units; the two or more digital signal processing units are configured to execute digital signal processing with respectively defined higher-level units; and the baseband unit is configured so as to be able to make some of the two or more digital signal processing units execute the digital signal processing and so as to be able to switch between the digital signal processing units that are made to execute the digital signal processing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit (O-RU) comprising:
a Radio Frequency (RF) unit; and
a baseband unit, wherein:
the baseband unit includes two or more digital signal processing units;
the digital signal processing units are configured to execute digital signal processing with respectively defined higher-level units; and
the baseband unit is configured to put some of the digital signal processing units in an operational state to execute the digital signal processing, put other some of the digital signal processing units in a rest state not to execute the digital signal processing and switch the digital signal processing units between the operational state and the rest state.

2. The O-RU according to claim 1 , wherein the respective digital signal processing units are kept in a state of being communicably connected to the respectively defined higher-level units.

3. The O-RU according to claim 1 , wherein the respective digital signal processing units are connected to the same RF unit.

4. The O-RU according to claim 1 , wherein, even if the digital signal processing units that are in the operational state are switched, signals processed by the digital signal processing units are transmitted and received by the same antenna.

5. The O-RU according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a generation unit that generates the two or more digital signal processing units in the baseband unit.

6. The O-RU according to claim 1 , wherein the higher-level units are Open Radio Access Network Distributed Units (O-DUs).

7. The O-RU according to claim 1 , configured so that the digital signal processing units that are in the operational state are selected based on at least configuration information.

8. The O-RU according to claim 1 , configured so that states of the digital signal processing units are switched between the operational state and the rest state by exclusive control between the digital signal processing units.

9. The O-RU according to claim 1 , configured so that states of the digital signal processing units are switched between the operational state and the rest state upon receiving a switching command.

10. The O-RU according to claim 1 , further configured so that the respective digital signal processing units operate by respectively corresponding digital signal processing programs, and states of the digital signal processing units are switched between the operational state and the rest state based on at least a state of the digital signal processing programs.

11. An Open Radio Access Network Radio Unit (O-RU) management method comprising:
a process of generating, on a virtualization infrastructure of an O-RU, multiple digital signal processing units configured to execute digital signal processing with respectively defined higher-level units;
a process of transitioning between states of the respective digital signal processing units so that the respective digital signal processing units are put in an operational state in which the digital signal processing can be executed or in a rest state in which the digital signal processing cannot be executed;
initiating a radio communication process of the O-RU by a first digital signal processing unit that is in the operational state among the multiple digital signal processing units;
receiving a state switching signal in the O-RU;
switching between the operational state and the rest state in the first digital signal processing unit, which responded to the receiving of the state switching signal;
switching between the operational state and the rest state in a second digital signal processing unit that is in the rest state and that is different from the first digital signal processing unit, among the multiple digital signal processing units, which responded to the receiving of the state switching signal; and
initiating a radio communication process of the O-RU by the second digital signal processing unit that is in the operational state among the multiple digital signal processing units.

Assignees

• Rakuten Mobile Inc

Inventors

• NAKAZATO Jin
• Tanaka Saki
• Horiuchi Haruka

Classifications

• H04W84/042

  Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems · CPC title

• H04W88/085

  Access point devices with remote components · CPC title

• H04W92/12

  between access points and access point controllers · CPC title

• H04W24/04

  Arrangements for maintaining operational condition · CPC title

• H04L25/03847 Primary

  Shaping by selective switching of amplifying elements · CPC title