Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Programming control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-24
2003-03-25
Vo, Nguyen T. (Department: 2682)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Programming control
C455S524000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06539220
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a program updating apparatus for a radio base station and method as the same, which update a program of a radio base station used in a private wireless telephone using a private branch switching unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
New services such as a character communication and the like, are developed one after another, as a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) service. Usually, an addition of a new service requires a change of a program for a radio base station (CS). Typically, the radio base station is installed at a place, such as a ceiling or the like, which is difficult for a hand to reach, by considering the characteristic of an electrical wave transmission. For this reason, once it is installed, it is difficult to carry out a program change work, such as a change of ROM and the like. So, several program download methods are proposed in order to update a program of a radio base station.
An example of a program download method to a conventional radio base station is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 7-87543) (a first conventional technique). In this conventional method, in order to carry out a program download at a high speed, a high speed line is installed between the base stations, and a download program is transferred on this high speed line.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-40189) (a second conventional technique) discloses a method in which a host computer transfers a download program to a radio base station and then the radio base station sequentially transfers a program to a next radio base station.
The first conventional technique has a problem that when a new program to be downloaded is transferred in a master base station, it requires an external memory as well as a high speed line.
Also, the second conventional technique has the following problem. That is, it requires a host computer. Moreover, a radio base station carrying out the download sequentially downloads a program to a next radio base station. Thus, if there are a large number of radio base stations, a period corresponding to the number is needed.
The present invention is accomplished in view of the above mentioned problems. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station program download method which can easily update a program for many radio base stations in a short time without requiring a special facility.
The following techniques are disclosed.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 6-105352) discloses a download method to a base station in a mobile switch system, as follows. The mobile switch system containing a plurality of base stations, base station controllers, mobile switches, monitors and control terminals connected to the monitors is used to prepare interface converters in the monitors and the mobile switches for carrying out the relay processes between the control terminals and the base station controllers. Then, an interface switch is carried out in a lower layer. After completion of connection of the lower layer, the control terminal carries out a communication control in a layer. The preparation of the download between the control terminal and the base station controller is checked to then send out a download file from the control terminal.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-224286) discloses a method for updating a system file of a mobile communication system and the base stations thereof, as follows. At least one file transfer base station is prepared at each of blocks, each having a plurality of base stations. A system file is transmitted from a maintenance apparatus through a fixing network to each file transfer base station. The file transfer base station receiving the system file sequentially transfers the system file through the fixing network to the other base stations in each block.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 243446) discloses a multi-base station download method, as follows. In a simple type portable telephone system of a multi-base station method, at a time of download, a higher rank apparatus reports a download instruction of a master base station and a slave base station to the master base station. The master base station reports a download start instruction to respective slave base stations. Accordingly, when the master base station and the respective slave base stations establish a download data link between the higher rank apparatus and them and then receive the download data and further validate a reception download data and thereby detect a normal reception, the slave base station reports a download result information to the master base station, and then the master base station reports the end of the downloads of the master base station and the slave base station to the higher rank apparatus. Thus, the downloads become possible in the master base station and the slave base station, respectively, individually and simultaneously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the conventional program updating apparatus for a radio base station. An object of the present invention is to provide a program updating apparatus for a radio base station which can easily update a program for many radio base station in short time without requiring special facility.
In order to achieve an aspect of the present invention, a program updating apparatus for a radio base station includes a plurality of non-management radio base stations wherein each of the plurality of non-management radio base stations has a first program and a management radio base station storing a second program to which the first program is updated, and wherein the management radio base station transmits the second program to at least one of the plurality of non-management radio base stations such that the first program is updated to the second program, and the non-management radio base station having the second program, as a first master radio base station transmits the second program to another of the plurality of non-management radio base stations as a first slave radio base station which does not have the second program such that the first program is updated to the second program.
In this case, the first slave radio base station receiving the second program from the first master radio base station as a second master radio base station transmits the second program to another of the plurality of non-management radio base stations as a second slave radio base station which does not have the second program.
Also in this case, each of the first and second master radio base station has a master right, and the master right is propagated such that all of the plurality of non-management radio base stations undergoes the master radio base station
Further in this case, at a substantially same time when the first master radio base station transmits the second program to the first slave radio base station the first master radio base station as a second master radio base station transmits the second program to the first slave radio base station as a second slave radio base station
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, a program updating apparatus further includes a switching unit to which each of the plurality of non-management radio base stations and the management radio base station are connected, and wherein the switching unit has a management table and refers to the management table to connect each of the plurality of non-management radio base stations and the management radio base station and the management table has a first memory area in which an identification number data assigned to each of the plurality of non-management radio base stations is stored and a second memory area in which a data indicative of a state of each of the plurality of non-management radio base stations is stored, the state data indicating whether or not the non-management radio base station has the second program and whether or not the non
Gorin Shigeru
Sakai Hiroshi
McGinn & Gibb PLLC
NEC Corporation
Vo Nguyen T.
LandOfFree
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