APP Driven Base Station Man
Contents
1. 0019 FIG 5 illustrates a communication device commu nicating with a common communication unit in accordance with exemplary embodiments 0020 FIG 6 illustrates a method in accordance with exemplary embodiments 0021 FIG 7 illustrates a user equipment in accordance with exemplary embodiments and 0022 FIG 8 illustrates a method in accordance with exemplary embodiments DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0023 The various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the figures in which like parts are identified with the same reference characters 0024 The various aspects of the invention will now be described in greater detail in connection with a number of exemplary embodiments To facilitate an understanding of US 2013 0137366 A1 the invention many aspects of the invention are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by elements of a computer system or other hardware capable of executing programmed instructions It will be recognized that in each of the embodiments the various actions could be performed by specialized circuits e g analog and or discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function by one or more processors programmed with a suitable set of instruc tions or by a combination of both The term circuitry con figured to perform one or more described actions is used herein to refer to any such embodiment i e one or more specialized circuits and or2. example Receiving means 710 processor 720 memory 730 and transmitting means 740 may be interconnected via a bus 750 0046 Inoneembodiment in order for the processor 720 to be able to perform the steps illustrated in FIG 6 memory 730 comprises a computer program CP 735 with computer pro gram modules which when run by the processor 720 causes the user equipment 700 to perform all or some of the steps illustrated in FIG 6 0047 Mobile device based Apps i e mobile applications may also be utilized in some embodiments to analyze i e interpret the received codes and to make recommendations of appropriate actions to be taken The base station may also be referred to as a network node The user equipment or communication device and various other devices highlighted in exemplary embodiments may be compliant with the digital living network alliance DLNA standards to facilitate interoperability 0048 In other embodiments a method 800 of detecting errors in a communication network is disclosed The opera tional state of a plurality of components of the network may be monitored at 810 A user equipment or communication device may be detected at 820 A wireless communication link may be established with the communication device at 830 The monitored state may be communicated to the user equipment via the wireless communication link at 840 The communicated state information may be displayed on the user equipment in a natural languag
3. status of the unit comparing the received information with an information source interpreting the received information based on the comparison and recommending an appropriate action based on errors determined by the interpretation 0013 In accordance with a further exemplary embodi ment a method of detecting errors in a communication net work is disclosed The method comprises monitoring an operational state ofa plurality of components of the commu nication system detecting a user equipment communicating the represented monitored state to the user equipment via a wireless communication link and displaying the represented monitored state on the user equipment BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0014 The objects and advantages ofthe invention will be understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which 0015 FIG 1 illustrates a communication device commu nicating with an outdoor base station in accordance with exemplary embodiments 0016 FIG 2 illustrates a communication device commu nicating with a single PIU Plug In Unit of a base station in accordance with exemplary embodiments 0017 FIG 3 illustrates a communication device commu nicating with a mast mounted base station in accordance with exemplary embodiments 0018 FIG 4 illustrates a communication device commu nicating with a single unit of a mast mounted base station in accordance with exemplary embodiments
4. the device may be utilized to obtain a greater understanding ofthe codes than what can be conveyed by the status panels of units of a base station 0028 The units of a base station may be implemented in various arrangements such as those illustrated in FIGS 1 5 for communicating with a communication device In FIG 1 base station 1000 may be an outdoor base station 0029 A wireless communication link may be established between base station 1000 and a communication device 100 More specifically base station 1000 may comprise a plurality of units such as the plug in unit PIU 2000 as illustrated in FIG 2 A wireless communication link may be established between the communication device 100 and PIU 2000 0030 While base station 1000 of FIG 1 is illustrated with anopen door the door can also be closed while permitting or maintaining wireless communication between base station 1000 and communication device 100 Furthermore base sta tion 1000 may be located at ground level or can be located on the rooftop of a building 0031 A base station may also be implemented as a mast mounted unit such as on mast 3000 as illustrated in FIG 3 More specifically a plurality of units such as units 3100 3200 and 3300 that are part of the base station may be mounted on the mast As illustrated in FIG 4 a wireless communication link may be established between communi cation device 100 and mast mounted unit 4000 representing May 30 2013
5. with it The panel may indicate the operational status of the corresponding unit The status can be represented by a code or the illumination of one or more of a combination of light emitting diodes LEDs of various colors e g green yellow red and blue A green LED may indicate proper functioning of all units A combination of blinking yellow LEDs may indicate different errors in the unit s 0005 Since the interface between a service engineer and the base station where the status is displayed is based on a limited number of LEDs the service engineer may not know all the codes or combination of LEDs that represent various conditions of the units 0006 Insuch situations the simplest solution is to replace the unit The replacement of units can be an expensive propo sition as the replaced i e removed unit is typically sent to a repair center and if no problems are found it is sent back to the unit owner Units that are determined not to have any problems i e so called no fault found or NFF and returned to the owner are usually the most expensive units for the owner 0007 In some settings the units are not easily accessible as they may be protected from for example vandalism etc The units can also be not easily accessible if mounted on a mast 0008 What is desired therefore is an improved mecha nism for interpreting detected operational states of various units comprising a base station SUMMARY 0009 It should b
6. US 2013 0137366 A1 Patent Application Publication May 30 2013 Sheet 4 of 4 US 2013 0137366 A1 700 FIG 7 800 810 820 Establish wireless communication link 830 Communicate 840 monitored state Display state in natural language 850 FIG 8 US 2013 0137366 A1 APP DRIVEN BASE STATION MAN MACHINE INTERFACE TECHNICAL FIELD 0001 The invention is related to network operations and more particularly to interpreting detected errors in network equipment BACKGROUND 0002 Base stations in mobile telecommunication systems are well known network supervising system or operational support system OSS of a base station monitors the activity within a telecommunications network If traffic disruptions are encountered within the network the OSS can for example restart the equipment that facilitates communica tion within the network 0003 In many cases however this is inadequate in cor recting problems within the network and a site visit to a base station by a service engineer or technician is needed Initially the engineer typically checks for physical defects or damages to the base station If no physical defect or damage is detected the individual units that form or are part of the base station may be evaluated The functional units can include radio units RUs digital units DUs and power distribution devices for example 0004 Each of these units has a fault indication panel asso ciated
7. US 20130137366A1 as United States a2 Patent Application Publication o Pub No US 2013 0137366 A1 Sch n 43 Pub Date May 30 2013 54 APP DRIVEN BASE STATION H04W 88 02 2009 01 MAN MACHINE INTERFACE H04B 5 00 2006 01 52 U S CI 75 Inventor Lennart Sch n Sundbyberg SE USPE e 455 41 1 455 566 455 67 13 73 Assignee Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson publ Stockholm SE 57 ABSTRACT 21 Appl No 13 305 457 22 Filed Nov 28 2011 A user equipment includes a transceiver for communicating with a base station via a wireless communication link a Publication Classification memory for storing information corresponding to units of the base station a processor for interpreting an error message 51 Int CI received from a unit of the base station by comparing the H04B 1 38 2006 01 received message with the stored information and a display H04W 24 00 2009 01 for displaying the error in a natural language 1000 Patent Application Publication May 30 2013 Sheet 1 of 4 US 2013 0137366 A1 100 1000 2000 3000 100 FIG 3 Patent Application Publication May 30 2013 Sheet 2 of 4 US 2013 0137366 A1 4000 FIG 4 5500 Patent Application Publication 600 May 30 2013 Sheet 3 of 4 Establish Communication 610 Obtain Information 620 Compare Received Information With 630 Information Source Interpret Received Information 640 Appropriate Acti FIG 6
8. any of units 3100 3200 and 3300 The communication link may be established while the communication device 100 is at ground level and not on the mast 0032 The units within a base station are typically shielded and therefore direct physical access to the equipment is not desirable Each unit may therefore have a transceiver and an antenna for communicating the operational status as a radio signal to communication device 100 The units may also submit their identity The antenna may not be shielded The units could respond to commands to determine proper func tioning of the units In some instances problems with the units may result from a loose cable which can be corrected easily The unit may then be tested by transmitting a signal a testing program for example by the communication device to the unit The unit may respond by indicating its proper func tioning via an appropriate code 0033 In some embodiments a transceiver antenna may not be desirable for each unit ofa base station In such imple mentation each of the units may include ports such as a universal serial bus USB a RJ 45 or a similar port The port may facilitate a wired connection of the units at a base station via a hub to a transceiver and an antenna Each unit within the base station may submit its operational status to the transceiver via the hub In addition to the operational status the identity of the individual submitting unit may also be sent to the c
9. e i e plain text illustra tions or a combination thereof as described above 0049 The communication between the communication device and the units of the base station may be secured using known authentication methods Authentication keys for units that are to be tested may be made available to an authorized communication device prior to use of the communication device in obtaining information from the units When the communication device gets in close proximity of a unit to be evaluated the pre stored key may be recognized and commu nication may be established between a communication device and the units of the base station 0050 In some embodiments the various LED combina tions indicated on status panels of the units of a base station may be displayed on the communication device That is the information may be replicated or emulated on the display of the communication device This may include utilizing a com bination of colors such as red green yellow and blue or any other colors The status can also be transmitted as a code for display in a natural language 0051 Exemplary embodiments as described above may be equally applicable for other mast mounted devices such as antennas antenna line devices ALDs and devices compris ing radio communication equipment capable of performing more advanced tasks in the radio communication network such as remote radio units RRUs An ALD is a generic term for an addressable physical devic
10. e such as an antenna driver or amplifier particular ALD can be identified by its global unique identifier 0052 Exemplary embodiments may also be applicable in capsule sites or tower tubes such as for example masts and or towers where the base station is placed within the mast at the top at the bottom or at another level within the mast Exemplary embodiments may also be utilized to detect errors in base stations implementing antenna integrated radio AIR US 2013 0137366 A1 Embodiments as described herein may be implemented within GSM 3G or LTE 4G standards utilizing network nodes NodeBs eNodeBs etc 0053 Several advantages may be realized by exemplary embodiments The number of returned units can be reduced The error or status messages can be clearly described in the communication device so more advanced fault handling i e more than simply replacing units for example can be accom plished on site Written manuals can be avoided The need for training on constantly changing and expanding code is obvi ated The service engineer need not use an electrical connec tor The UE or communication device can be updated with new manuals or latest changes over a network The devices can provide a direct link to a central service locations for on line help As described above links may also be provided to enable ordering parts via a click to buy or similar button on a user interface and therefore obviate the need for havin
11. e emphasized that the terms comprises and comprising when used in this specification are taken to specify the presence of stated features integers steps or components but the use of these terms does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features integers steps components or groups thereof 0010 In accordance with an exemplary embodiment a user equipment is disclosed The user equipment comprises a transceiver for communicating with a base station via a May 30 2013 wireless communication link a memory for storing informa tion corresponding to units of the base station a processor for interpreting an error message received from a unit of the base station by comparing the received message with the stored information and a display for displaying the error 0011 Inaccordance with another exemplary embodiment a network node is disclosed The network node comprises a plurality of units for indicating an operational state of the network and a transceiver for communicating the indication via a wireless communication link wherein the indication is an error code 0012 In accordance with yet another exemplary embodi ment a method for detecting errors in a communication net work is disclosed The method comprising the steps of estab lishing a communication link by a user equipment with a unit of a base station obtaining information from the unit the information corresponding to an operational
12. e of claim 8 wherein each of the units are associated with a transceiver 10 The network node of claim 8 further comprising a common communication device connected to each of the units and to the transceiver wherein the common com munication device receives the operational state indica tion from each of the units 11 The network node of claim 10 wherein the units further comprise a USB port for connecting to the common commu nication device 12 The network node of claim 10 wherein the units further comprise a RJ 45 port for connecting to the common com munication device 13 The network node of claim 10 wherein the indication received from the common communication device units includes an identity of the unit associated with the received information 14 The network node of claim 10 wherein the indication received from the units includes an identity of the unit 15 The network node of claim 8 wherein the wireless communication link is one of Bluetooth WiFi and near field communication NFC 16 The network node of claim 8 wherein the units are shielded from radio signal interference 17 The network node of claim 8 wherein the transceiver communicates via the communication link to a user equip ment 18 A method for detecting errors in a communication network the method comprising the steps of establishing a communication link by a user equipment with a unit of a base station obtaining information from the un
13. entral transceiver antenna i e central for that base station for transmitting a radio signal to communication device 100 0034 As illustrated in FIG 5 units 5100 5200 and 5300 corresponding to units 3100 3200 and 3300 of FIG 3 may submit their respective operational status to transceiver 5500 The connection between each of the units 5100 5200 and 5300 and transceiver 5500 may be a wired connection for example A wireless communication link may be established between transceiver 5500 and communication device 100 0035 Transceiver 5500 may include a log of operational status information received from each of units 5100 5200 and 5300 This information may be accessed by communication device 100 In some embodiments the units may be pro grammed to either provide the operational status periodically or when a problem is detected and or encountered If no problem exists and the units are programmed to provide this information periodically the units can also communicate a positive code to communication device 100 or to transceiver 5500 indicating that no problems exist The communication device can instruct transceiver 5500 to obtain information from units 5100 5200 and 5300 in some embodiments 0036 Inthe embodiment described with reference to FIG 5 communication device 100 can instruct transceiver 5500 based on analyzing information received from the transceiver to establish a link between communication device 100 and any fau
14. g to write down part numbers or having to order from the office etc Such functionality as described in exemplary embodi ments may also be used as a distinguishing selling point to operators 0054 Ifanupgradeoccurson the site a new download can be sent to the service engineer or to his or her communication device so the latest information is obtained Safety of the service engineers can also be increased as climbing can be avoided to access mast mounted base stations 0055 Due to the prevalent use of communication devices the ease of use provided by exemplary embodiments ensures that the communication device will be used more readily as the increased efficiency reduces the need for service person nel to replace units due information that is limited or in a format that is not easily comprehended 0056 The invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments However it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to embody the invention in specific forms other than those of the embodi ment described above The described embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way The scope ofthe invention is given by the appended claims rather than the preceding description and all varia tions and equivalents which fall within the range ofthe claims are intended to be embraced therein What is claimed is 1 A user equipment comprising a transceiver for c
15. ication device 100 may retrieve or obtain operational status information from the unit at 620 The information can be retrieved based on a request from communication device 100 or upon establishing the commu nication link An identity of the unit providing the code may also be received 0041 The retrieved information e g a code may be searched for within a reference source at 630 The source may be pre stored in device 100 in some embodiments If the code cannot be matched with information pre stored in device 100 device 100 may access a database at a network location for the reference source This network location may be accessible via the internet for example The reference source may include for example a user manual for the particular unit or for the base station The reference source can also simply be a table of codes and their associated meaning s and or conditions etc The reference source can also be downloaded to the communication device 0042 An interpretation for the code may be obtained at 640 The interpretation may result in obtaining a description ofthe received code s in a form that is readily comprehended by service personnel such as in plain text an illustration drawings images etc or a combination thereof For pur poses of simplification the term natural language is used herein to indicate plain text illustrations or the combination thereof 0043 Based on the interpretation an appropriate action ma
16. it the information cor responding to an operational status of the unit comparing the received information with an information source interpreting the received information based on the com parison and recommending an appropriate action based on errors deter mined by the interpretation 19 The method of claim 18 wherein the information source is stored within the user equipment 20 The method of claim 18 wherein the information source is at a network accessible location 21 The method of claim 18 wherein the interpretation comprises displaying an error in the operation of the unit in a natural language 22 The method of claim 18 further comprising obtaining information from the units via a common com munication unit connected to a plurality of the units of the base station 23 The method of claim 22 further comprising instructing the common communication unit to communi cate with one unit of the plurality of units US 2013 0137366 A1 24 The method of claim 23 further comprising providing instructions to be communicated by the common communication unit to the one unit of the plurality of units to correct errors associated with the one of the plurality of units 25 The method of claim 22 further comprising submitting a test program to the one unit ofthe plurality of units 26 The method of claim 18 wherein the operational status information is an indication ofa defect in a part ofthe unit and the a
17. lty unit within the units 5100 5200 and 5300 This may result in communication utilizing both the wireless link between communication device 100 and transceiver 5500 and wired connection between transceiver 5500 and units 5100 5200 and 5300 0037 One unit ofa base station such as 3100 3200 3300 of FIG 3 can communicate with communication device 100 atatime Communication device 100 may be a mobile device such as a smartphone or a portable computing device such as a tablet a notebook or a similar device with wireless commu nication capability 0038 The wireless interface between communication device 100 and the units may be Wi Fi Bluetooth near field US 2013 0137366 A1 communication NFC or a similar type of communication protocol The communication device 100 can also communi cate with the units via normal connection such as GSM WCDMA LTE etc 0039 The codes received from the individual units 3100 3200 3300 or from the transceiver 5500 may be interpreted by accessing code information that is available to communi cation device 100 0040 A method in accordance with exemplary embodi ments may be described with reference to FIG 6 A commu nication device or user equipment UE 100 may establish a wireless communication link with a unit at 610 The unit may bea single one of a plurality of units at a base station such as units 3100 3200 3300 of FIG 3 or it may be a transceiver 8500 of FIG 5 Commun
18. ommunicating with a base station via a wireless communication link amemory for storing information corresponding to units of the base station a processor for interpreting an error message received from a unit of the base station by comparing the received message with the stored information and a display for displaying the error in a natural language 2 The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the transceiver communicates with a unit of the base station 3 The user equipment of claim 2 wherein the communi cation with the unit of the base station is an authenticated communication 4 The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the transceiver communicates with a common communication device con nected to a plurality of units of the base station 5 The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the transceiver further communicates with a remote location to download an application for providing a user interface on the user equip ment May 30 2013 6 The user equipment of claim 5 wherein the user inter face is for displaying the interpreted error message 7 The user equipment of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication link is one of Bluetooth WiFi and near field communication NFC 8 A network node comprising a plurality ofunits for indicating an operational state ofthe network and a transceiver for communicating the indication via a wire less communication link wherein the indication is an error code 9 The network nod
19. one or more programmed proces sors 0025 Moreover the invention can additionally be consid ered to be embodied entirely within any form of computer readable carrier such as solid state memory magnetic disk or optical disk containing an appropriate set of computer instructions that would cause a processor to carry out the techniques described herein Thus the various aspects of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and all such forms are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention For each ofthe various aspects ofthe invention any such form of embodiments as described above may be referred to herein as logic configured to perform a described action or alternatively as logic that performs a described action 0026 Inexemplary embodiments methods apparatus and systems are disclosed for interpreting detected operational status ofunits within a base station Exemplary embodiments may provide on the fly interpretation of various error codes associated with the operational status of a plurality of units that are part of a base station 0027 A communication device having wireless commu nication capability for communicating with the various units ofa base station to obtain the operational status codes of the units is disclosed In exemplary embodiments an applica tion for interpreting the status codes may be made available to or stored in the device The computing or processing capabilities of
20. ppropriate action comprises recommending obtaining a replacement part 27 The method of claim 26 further comprising ordering the replacement part via a link on the user interface 28 The method of claim 27 wherein the link is a click to buy link 29 A method of detecting errors in a communication net work the method comprising the steps of monitoring an operational state of a plurality of compo nents of the communication system detecting a user equipment communicating the monitored state to the user equipment via a wireless communication link and displaying the monitored state on the user equipment in a natural language 30 The method of claim 29 wherein the monitored state is displayed as at least one of text an image and graphics 31 The method of claim 29 wherein the displayed moni tored state emulates at least one light emitting diode LED having at least one of a plurality of colors de RO GROS He D May 30 2013
21. y be taken at 650 The interpretation may provide links to other network locations or to other portions of a user manual where the appropriate action s may be specified This may include resetting the unit i e powering down the unit and then powering up the unit or requesting that it be replaced for example In some instances where an intermittent contact between units may show up as errors and become critical for operators the units need not be replaced This may also include having links in the interpretation enabling the service personnel to easily order the appropriate correct spare parts 0044 An exemplary user equipment 700 such as commu nication device 100 for example is illustrated in FIG 7 UE 700 may include inter alia a receiving means 710 a proces sor 720 a computer readable medium 730 in the form of memory and a transmitting means 740 The receiving means and the transmitting means may be combined and referred to asatransceiverora communication interface The transceiver or the communication interface may include separate receiv ing and transmitting modules 0045 Receiving means 710 may receive information from individual units 3100 3200 3300 of FIG 3 or from trans ceiver 5500 of FIG 5 for example Processor 720 may compare the received information with information pre May 30 2013 stored in memory 730 and determine an appropriate action Transmitting means 740 may transmit a reset command for
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