JP2024173233A - SCHEDULING SYSTEM, TERMINAL DEVICE, SCHEDULING DEVICE, AND SCHEDULING PROGRAM - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent causing an insufficient communication band between a terminal device and a base station.SOLUTION: A scheduling system includes a terminal device and a scheduling device. The terminal device includes: a first acquisition unit that obtains base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected; a second acquisition unit that obtains use state information indicating a use state of communication by the terminal device; and a transmission unit that transmits both the base station information obtained by the first acquisition unit and the use state information obtained by the second acquisition unit, to the scheduling device. The scheduling device includes: a reception unit that receives both the base station information and the use state information which are transmitted from the terminal device; and a scheduling unit that creates a transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station, on the basis of the base station information and the use state information which are received by the reception unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

This disclosure relates to a scheduling system, a terminal device, a scheduling device, and a scheduling program.

Mobile communications (hereinafter also referred to as "cellular communications") using the fifth generation mobile communications system (5G), fourth generation mobile communications system (4G), etc. are expected to be utilized in industrial applications such as managing sensor information in factories or commercial facilities (hereinafter referred to as "industrial facilities").

Patent document 1 discloses the wireless update of control software (firmware) in wireless communication devices for cellular communication (FOTA: Firmware Over-The-Air).

Special Publication No. 2007-521555 JP 2019-200620 A

Cellular communications use portable terminal devices (mobile stations) such as mobile phones and smartphones, and the base station to which a terminal device is connected changes depending on the location of the terminal device. In contrast, terminal devices used in industrial facilities are generally placed in a fixed location, and even if they are moved, they are limited to a small area within the facility. For this reason, the base station connected to a terminal device basically does not change. Therefore, when multiple terminal devices are connected to one base station and each terminal device simultaneously downloads large amounts of data such as firmware, there is a risk that the communication bandwidth between the terminal devices and the base station will become congested.

A scheduling system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a terminal device and a scheduling device that creates a transmission plan for transmitting data to the terminal device, the terminal device including a first acquisition unit that acquires base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected, a second acquisition unit that acquires usage status information indicating the usage status of communication by the terminal device, and a transmission unit that transmits the base station information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the usage status information acquired by the second acquisition unit to the scheduling device, the scheduling device including a receiving unit that receives the base station information and the usage status information transmitted from the terminal device, and a scheduling unit that creates the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the base station information and the usage status information received by the receiving unit.

This disclosure makes it possible to reduce congestion in the communication bandwidth between terminal devices and base stations.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a scheduling system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a GW device according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the scheduling system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of base station information. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the usage status information. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection state between a base station and a GW device. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result by the analysis unit. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a first example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a second example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. FIG. 9C is a diagram showing a third example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a FW update control process by the GW device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an update data providing process by the server according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the scheduling process. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a communication procedure in the scheduling system according to the embodiment.

Overview of the embodiments of the present disclosure
Below, an overview of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

(1) The scheduling system according to this embodiment includes a terminal device and a scheduling device that creates a transmission plan for transmitting data to the terminal device. The terminal device includes a first acquisition unit that acquires base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected, a second acquisition unit that acquires usage status information indicating the usage status of communication by the terminal device, and a transmission unit that transmits the base station information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the usage status information acquired by the second acquisition unit to the scheduling device. The scheduling device includes a receiving unit that receives the base station information and the usage status information transmitted from the terminal device, and a scheduling unit that creates the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the base station information and the usage status information received by the receiving unit. This makes it possible to create a transmission plan that suppresses congestion of communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station.

(2) In the above (1), the scheduling unit may create the transmission plan so as to avoid time overlap of transmission of the data to a plurality of terminal devices connected to the base station. This makes it possible to suppress congestion of the communication band between the terminal devices and the base station.

(3) In the above (1) or (2), the scheduling device may further include an identification unit that identifies the base station to which the terminal device is connected based on the base station information, and an analysis unit that analyzes the communication status at each time in the base station identified by the identification unit based on the usage status information, and the scheduling unit may create the transmission plan based on the communication status at each time in the base station obtained as a result of the analysis by the analysis unit. This makes it possible to create a transmission plan that suppresses congestion of the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station based on the communication status at each time in the base station.

(4) In the above (3), the scheduling unit may create the transmission plan in which the scheduled transmission time of the data to the terminal device is allocated to a time when the communication usage rate of the base station is low in the hourly communication status of the base station. This makes it possible to allocate the scheduled transmission time of the data to the terminal device while avoiding the time when the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station is tight.

(5) In the above (3) or (4), the analysis unit may identify a time when the communication usage rate in the base station is high, and determine the identified time as a time limit for limiting the transmission of the data to the terminal device. In this way, by allocating a scheduled time for transmitting data to the terminal device within the time limit, it is possible to prevent congestion of the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station.

(6) In any one of (1) to (5) above, the scheduling unit may determine the transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be either a first transmission speed or a second transmission speed lower than the first transmission speed based on the usage status information, and create the transmission plan based on the determined transmission speed. This makes it possible to determine the transmission speed of data to the terminal device depending on the usage status of communication by the terminal device.

(7) In the above (6), the usage status information may include at least one of the reception strength and reception quality of radio waves in the terminal device. This makes it possible to determine the transmission speed of data to the terminal device based on at least one of the reception strength and reception quality of radio waves in the terminal device.

(8) In the above (6) or (7), the scheduling unit may determine whether the communication volume of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is a time when the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, may determine the transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be the first transmission speed. This makes it possible to transmit data in a short time at the high first transmission speed.

(9) In the above (8), when there is a time during which the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, the scheduling unit may allocate a scheduled transmission time for the data to the terminal device to the time during which the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value. This makes it possible to transmit data in a short time during a time when the communication volume is low.

(10) In any one of (6) to (9) above, the scheduling unit may determine whether the communication volume of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is no time when the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, determine the transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be the second transmission speed. In this way, by transmitting data over a long period of time at the slow second transmission speed, it is possible to suppress the impact on communication in the terminal device that always communicates at a certain communication volume or more.

(11) In the above (5), the scheduling unit may determine whether the communication volume of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is no time when the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, may allocate the scheduled data transmission time for the terminal device to a time that includes the time limit. This makes it possible to flexibly allocate the scheduled data transmission time for a terminal device that always communicates at a certain communication volume or more, ignoring the time limit.

(12) In any one of (1) to (11) above, the base station information includes band-in-use information indicating a frequency band used by the base station, and the scheduling unit determines whether the base station is a specific base station that communicates with the terminal device using a first carrier and a second carrier simultaneously based on the band-in-use information in the base station information, and if the base station is the specific base station, creates the transmission plan in which a first scheduled transmission time, which is a scheduled transmission time of the data to be assigned to the first terminal device, overlaps with a second scheduled transmission time, which is a scheduled transmission time of the data to be assigned to the second terminal device. This makes it possible to efficiently transmit data to the first terminal device and the second terminal device that are capable of transmitting data by carrier aggregation.

(13) A terminal device according to this embodiment is a terminal device that receives data via a base station, and includes a first acquisition unit that acquires base station information for identifying the base station to which the terminal device is connected, a second acquisition unit that acquires usage status information indicating the usage status of communication by the terminal device, and a transmission unit that transmits the base station information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the usage status information acquired by the second acquisition unit to a scheduling device that creates a transmission plan for transmitting data to the terminal device. This makes it possible to provide the scheduling device with base station information and usage status information used to create a transmission plan that suppresses congestion of the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station.

(14) The scheduling device according to this embodiment is a scheduling device that creates a transmission plan for transmitting data to a terminal device, and includes a receiving unit that receives, from the terminal device, base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected and usage status information indicating the usage status of communication by the terminal device, and a scheduling unit that creates the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the base station information and the usage status information received by the receiving unit. This makes it possible to create a transmission plan that reduces congestion of the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station.

(15) The scheduling program according to this embodiment is a scheduling program for creating a transmission plan for transmitting data to a terminal device, and causes a computer to execute the steps of receiving, from the terminal device, base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected and usage status information indicating the usage status of communication by the terminal device, and creating the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the received base station information and usage status information. This makes it possible to create a transmission plan that reduces congestion of the communication bandwidth between the terminal device and the base station.

The present disclosure can be realized not only as a scheduling system having the above-mentioned characteristic configuration, a terminal device and scheduling device included in the scheduling system, and a scheduling program that causes a computer to function as a scheduling device, but also as a computer program that causes a computer to function as a terminal device, a part or all of the terminal device being realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit, and a part or all of the scheduling device being realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit.

<Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure>
Hereinafter, the details of the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that at least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any desired manner.

[1. Scheduling System]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a scheduling system according to an embodiment.

The scheduling system 10 includes a server 100 and gateway devices (hereinafter also referred to as "GW devices") 400_1, 400_2, and 400_11. In the following description, the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, ..., 400_11 are collectively referred to as "GW devices 400."

Base stations 300_1 and 300_2 are LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G wireless base stations. In the following description, base stations 300_1 and 300_2 are also collectively referred to as "base station 300."

The GW devices 400_1, 400_2, and 400_11 are, for example, communication terminals of a fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G). The GW devices 400_1 and 400_2 are connected to the network 200 via the base station 300_1. The GW device 400_11 is connected to the network 200 via the base station 300_2. Note that "connection" here includes not only physical connection but also logical connection.

A plurality of sensors 500 are connected to each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, and 400_11. The sensors 500 are, for example, cameras, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, human presence sensors, pressure sensors, and vibration sensors. The GW devices 400_1, 400_2, and 400_11 and the sensors 500 are placed in facilities such as factories and commercial facilities. The GW devices 400 and the sensors 500 are connected, for example, by a LAN (Local Area Network). The sensors 500 transmit data obtained by measurement (hereinafter referred to as "sensor data") to the GW device 400. The GW device 400 uploads the sensor data transmitted from the sensors 500 to a database (not shown) connected to the network 200.

The server 100 is connected to the network 200. The server 100 is a FOTA server that stores firmware for the GW device 400. The server 100 communicates with the GW device 400 and provides the GW device 400 with a service for downloading update data used to update the firmware. The server 100 is an example of a "scheduling device", and the update data is an example of "data". The GW device 400 is an example of a "terminal device".

2. Server Configuration
2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server according to an embodiment. The server 100 includes a processor 101, a non-volatile memory 102, a volatile memory 103, and a communication interface (I/F) 104.

The volatile memory 103 is, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The non-volatile memory 102 is, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk, a read only memory (ROM), etc. The non-volatile memory 102 stores a scheduling program 110, which is a computer program, and data used to execute the scheduling program 110. Each function of the server 100 is realized by the processor 101 executing the scheduling program 110.

The scheduling program 110 is a computer program for scheduling the planned download time of update data to the GW device 400 (hereinafter, "download" is also referred to as "DL").

The processor 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). However, the processor 101 is not limited to a CPU. The processor 101 may be a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processor 101 is, for example, a multi-core processor. The processor 101 may be a single-core processor. The processor 101 may be, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In this case, the ASIC or the programmable logic device is configured to be capable of executing the same processing as the scheduling program 110.

The communication I/F 104 is, for example, an Ethernet interface ("Ethernet" is a registered trademark). The communication I/F 104 is connected to the network 200. The server 100 can communicate with the GW device 400 via the communication I/F 104.

The non-volatile memory 102 includes a base station database (hereinafter, the database is also referred to as "DB") 111, a terminal DB 112, and a firmware (hereinafter, the firmware) database 113.

The base station DB 111 stores information about the base stations. More specifically, the base station DB 111 stores base station information, which is information for identifying a base station, in association with the ID of the GW device 400 connected to the base station (hereinafter also referred to as "terminal ID"). The base station information includes, for example, a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) and a CELL ID. The PLMN is information for identifying the operator that operates the base station 300, and the first three digits are the MCC (Mobile Country Code). The CELL ID is information for identifying the base station 300.

The terminal DB 112 stores information (usage status information) indicating the usage status of communication between the GW device 400 and the base station 300. More specifically, the terminal DB 112 stores the usage status information in association with the terminal ID of the GW device 400. The usage status information includes bandwidth usage information, RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), and RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality). The bandwidth usage information is information indicating the bandwidth usage status by the GW device 400 over a predetermined period, for example, one day, and is specifically information indicating the amount of communication per specific unit of time (for example, per hour). The RSRP is information indicating the reception strength of radio waves from the base station 300 at the GW device 400. The RSRQ is information indicating the reception quality of radio waves from the base station 300 at the GW device 400.

The terminal DB 112 may include, for example, FW information for identifying the current firmware of the GW device 400. The FW information includes, for example, the name and version of the firmware.

FWDB113 stores update data. In other words, FWDB113 stores new firmware data.

The server 100 schedules the planned download times of the update data to the GW devices 400, and creates a DL plan indicating the planned DL times of the update data to each GW device 400. The non-volatile memory 102 stores the created DL plan 114.

[3. Configuration of GW device]
3 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a GW device according to an embodiment. The GW device 400 includes a processor 401, a non-volatile memory 402, a volatile memory 403, a first communication I/F 404, and a second communication I/F 405.

The volatile memory 403 is, for example, a semiconductor memory such as an SRAM or a DRAM. The non-volatile memory 402 is, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk, a ROM, etc. The non-volatile memory 402 stores a control program 410, which is a computer program, and data used to execute the control program 410. Each function of the GW device 400 is realized by the processor 401 executing the control program 410.

The control program 410 is a computer program for providing the server 100 with information necessary for scheduling the planned download time of update data.

The processor 401 is, for example, a CPU. However, the processor 401 is not limited to a CPU. The processor 401 may be a GPU. The processor 401 is, for example, a multi-core processor. The processor 401 may be a single-core processor. The processor 401 may be, for example, an ASIC or a programmable logic device such as an FPGA. In this case, the ASIC or the programmable logic device is configured to be capable of executing the same processing as the control program 410.

The first communication I/F 404 is, for example, a wireless communication interface that complies with 5G or LTE. The first communication I/F 404 includes a wireless antenna and is capable of wireless communication with the base station 300.

The second communication I/F 405 is an Ethernet interface. The second communication I/F 405 is connected to a LAN. The GW device 400 can communicate with the sensor 500 via the second communication I/F 405.

The GW device 400 acquires the base station information 411 and usage status information 412 described above, and stores the acquired base station information 411 and usage status information in the non-volatile memory 402. When the GW device 400 downloads the update data 413 from the server 100, it stores the downloaded update data 413 in the non-volatile memory.

[4. Functions of the Scheduling System]
Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functions of the scheduling system according to the embodiment. Although one GW device 400 is shown in Fig. 4, each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, ..., 400_11 has the same functions.

When the processor 101 executes the scheduling program 110, the functions of the receiving unit 121, the identifying unit 122, the analyzing unit 123, the scheduling unit 124, the notifying unit 125, and the providing unit 126 are realized in the server 100. When the processor 401 executes the control program 410, the functions of the first acquiring unit 421, the second acquiring unit 422, the transmitting unit 423, the requesting unit 424, and the updating unit 425 are realized in the GW device 400.

The first acquisition unit 421 acquires base station information 411. This information is used to identify the base station 300 to which the GW device 400 is connected.

Figure 5 shows an example of base station information. As described above, base station information 411 includes a PLMN and a CELL ID.

The PLMN is information for identifying the cellular network of a telecommunications carrier and is also carrier identification information. More specifically, the PLMN includes a Mobile Country Code (MCC), which is a code representing a country or region, and a Mobile Network Code (MNC), which is a code representing a telecommunications carrier, and the telecommunications carrier can be identified by a combination of the MCC and MNC. The CELL ID is information for identifying the base station 300. If the base station 300 complies with 5G, the CELL ID is an NCI (NR (New Radio) Cell IDentifier), and if the base station 300 complies with LTE, the CELL ID is an ECI (E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) Cell IDentifier).

The base station information 411 may include band-in-use information. The band-in-use information is information indicating the frequency band used by the base station.

In a specific example, the band information includes ARFCN, band, and bandwidth. ARFCN (Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number) is a number assigned to the frequency band (channel) used by the base station 300. If the base station 300 complies with 5G, the ARFCN is NR-ARFCN, and if the base station 300 complies with LTE, the ARFCN is EARFCN (E-UTRAN ARFCN). The band is the frequency band used by the base station 300. For example, if the band is n77, it indicates 3.3 GHz to 4.2 GHz, and if the band is n257, it indicates 26.5 GHz to 29.5 GHz. The bandwidth is the difference between the highest frequency and the lowest frequency that the base station 300 can use. For example, if the base station 300 uses a frequency band from 3.6 GHz to 3.7 GHz, the bandwidth is 100 MHz.

When the base station 300 supports carrier aggregation, the band-in-use information is information indicating multiple frequency bands used in carrier aggregation. That is, when two frequency bands are used, the band-in-use information includes the ARFCN, band, and bandwidth of the first frequency band, and the ARFCN, band, and bandwidth of the second frequency band.

When the GW device 400 is started, it establishes a connection with the mobile communication network via the base station 300. When this connection is established, the base station 300 notifies the GW 400 of the PLMN, CELL ID, and bandwidth information used. When the connection is established, the first acquisition unit 421 acquires the PLMN, CELL ID, and bandwidth information used of the base station 300 to which the GW device is connected.

Returning to FIG. 4, the second acquisition unit 422 acquires the usage information 412.

Figure 6 shows an example of usage status information. As described above, usage status information 412 includes bandwidth usage information, RSRP, and RSRQ.

For example, the second acquisition unit 422 acquires bandwidth usage information by sequentially recording the communication volume between the GW device 400 and the base station 300 and aggregating the communication volume for a predetermined period, for example, every hour. The first communication I/F 404 has a function for measuring RSRP and RSRQ. The second acquisition unit 422 acquires the RSRP and RSRQ measured by the first communication I/F 404.

Returning to FIG. 4, the transmission unit 423 transmits the base station information 411 acquired by the first acquisition unit 421 and the usage status information 412 acquired by the second acquisition unit 422 to the server 100.

The receiver 121 receives base station information 411 and usage status information 412 transmitted from the GW device 400.

The identification unit 122 identifies the base station 300 to which the GW device 400 is connected based on the base station information 411.

The analysis unit 123 analyzes the communication status at each time in the base station 300 identified by the identification unit 122 based on the usage status information 412.

The analysis of the communication status of the base station 300 by the analysis unit 123 will be described below. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the connection status between the base station and the GW device. In FIG. 7, the area shown by the dashed line is the communication area 310 of the base station 300_1. In the example shown in FIG. 7, GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 are connected to the base station 300_1.

Each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 transmits base station information 411 and usage status information 412. All of the base station information 411 transmitted from the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 is information for identifying the base station 300_1. The identification unit 122 identifies the base station 300_1 based on the base station information 411 transmitted from each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10.

The usage status information transmitted from each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 indicates the usage status of communication in each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10. For example, the usage status information 412 transmitted from the GW device 400_1 includes bandwidth usage information, RSRP, and RSRQ in the GW device 400_1, and the usage status information 412 transmitted from the GW device 400_2 includes bandwidth usage information, RSRP, and RSRQ in the GW device 400_2.

The analysis unit 123 aggregates the bandwidth usage information transmitted from each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10, and analyzes the communication status at the base station 300_1.

For example, the analysis unit 123 accumulates the communication volume of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 for each hour, and calculates the communication volume for each hour of the base station 300_1. That is, the analysis unit 123 accumulates the communication volume of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 in the 0:00 hour to calculate the communication volume of the base station 300_1 in the 0:00 hour. The analysis unit 123 calculates the communication volume of the base station 300_1 in the 1 o'clock hour by accumulating the communication volumes of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 in the 1 o'clock hour.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the analysis results by the analysis unit. In Figure 8, the horizontal axis indicates the time of day. For example, the analysis unit 123 compares the communication volume of base station 300_1 for each hour calculated as described above with a predetermined reference value. The analysis unit 123 can identify a time when the communication volume is less than the reference value as a first hour, which is a time when the communication usage rate of the base station is low, and can identify a time when the communication volume is equal to or greater than the reference value as a second hour, which is a time when the communication usage rate of the base station is high.

The analysis unit 123 can determine the first time as normal time that does not restrict downloading of update data, and the second time as the time limit that restricts downloading of update data. In FIG. 8, the unshaded portions indicate normal time, and the shaded portions indicate time limits. That is, in the example of FIG. 8, normal time is from midnight to 9:00, time limit is from 9:00 to 12:00, normal time is from 12:00 to 14:00, time limit is from 14:00 to 20:00, and normal time is from 20:00 to 24:00.

Returning to FIG. 4, the scheduling unit 124 creates a DL plan 114 for downloading update data 413 to the GW device 400 via the base station 300 based on the base station information 411 and usage status information 412 received by the receiving unit 121. The DL plan 114 is an example of a "transmission plan."

In one specific example, the scheduling unit 124 creates the DL plan 114 to avoid time overlaps in downloading update data to multiple GW devices 400 connected to the base station 300.

For example, the scheduling unit 124 creates the DL plan 114 based on the hourly communication conditions at the base station 300 obtained as the analysis result by the analysis unit 123.

Specifically, the scheduling unit 124 creates a DL plan 114 that assigns a scheduled DL time for update data to the GW device 400 during normal time in the hourly communication status of the base station 300. The scheduled DL time is an example of a "scheduled transmission time."

For example, the scheduling unit 124 determines the DL speed of the update data for the GW device 400 to be either the normal speed or the limited speed based on the usage status information 412 of the GW device 400. The limited speed is a speed lower than the normal speed. For example, the limited speed is a speed that is a fraction of the normal speed. In one example, the normal speed is 5 Mbps and the limited speed is 1 Mbps. The scheduling unit 124 creates the DL plan 114 based on the determined DL speed.

In a specific example, the scheduling unit 124 can determine the DL speed for the GW device 400 based on at least one of the RSRP and the RSRQ.

For example, the scheduling unit 124 compares the RSRP with a first reference value. The first reference value is one reference value of the RSRP. If the RSRP is equal to or greater than the first reference value, the scheduling unit 124 determines that the communication conditions of the GW device 400 are good, and can determine the DL speed to be the normal speed. If the RSRP is less than the first reference value, the scheduling unit 124 determines that the communication conditions of the GW device 400 are not good, and can determine the DL speed to be the limited speed. The first reference value is, for example, -120 dBm.

For example, the scheduling unit 124 compares the RSRQ with a second reference value. The second reference value is one reference value of the RSRQ. If the RSRQ is equal to or greater than the second reference value, the scheduling unit 124 determines that the communication conditions of the GW device 400 are good, and can determine the DL speed to be the normal speed. If the RSRQ is less than the second reference value, the scheduling unit 124 determines that the communication conditions of the GW device 400 are not good, and can determine the DL speed to be the limited speed. The second reference value is, for example, -13 dB.

In another example, the scheduling unit 124 determines whether the communication volume of the GW device 400 at each time is equal to or greater than a third reference value based on the usage status information 412. If there is a time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the scheduling unit 124 can determine the DL speed for the GW device 400 to be the normal speed. Furthermore, if there is a time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the scheduling unit 124 can assign the planned DL time for update data for the GW device to the time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value.

On the other hand, if there is no time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the scheduling unit 124 can determine the DL speed for the GW device 400 to be the limit speed. Furthermore, if there is no time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the scheduling unit 124 can assign the planned DL time for update data for the GW device 400 to a time that includes the limit time.

Furthermore, the scheduling unit 124 can identify a time period during which the communication volume is less than the third reference value based on the usage status information 412 of the GW device 400. For example, the scheduling unit 124 can identify a time period during which the communication volume is less than the third reference value for consecutive periods. The scheduling unit 124 determines that a GW device 400 for which there is a time period between 4:00 and 8:00 during which the communication volume is less than the third reference value for consecutive periods is a GW device 400 with low activity in the morning. The scheduling unit 124 determines that a GW device 400 for which there is a time period between 20:00 and 24:00 and between 0:00 and 4:00 during which the communication volume is less than the third reference value for consecutive periods is a GW device 400 with low activity in the evening.

For example, for a GW device 400 with low activity in the morning, the scheduling unit 124 can assign the scheduled DL time to the morning hours (the time period between 4:00 and 8:00). For example, for a GW device 400 with low activity in the evening, the scheduling unit 124 can assign the scheduled DL time to the evening hours (the time period between 8:00 and midnight and the time period between 12:00 and 4:00).

A specific example of scheduling of DL planned times by the scheduling unit 124 will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the terminal numbers of GW devices 400_1, 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, and 400_10 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, respectively. It is assumed that there is a time when the communication volume is less than the third reference value for GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, and there is no time when the communication volume is less than the third reference value for GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 6 and 10.

The scheduling unit 124 determines the DL speeds of the GW devices 400 for terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 to be the normal speeds. The scheduling unit 124 determines the DL speeds of the GW devices 400 for terminal numbers 6 and 10 to be the limited speeds.

The scheduling unit 124 determines that the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 are low-operation GW devices 400 in the morning. The scheduling unit 124 determines that the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 4, 5, and 9 are low-operation GW devices 400 in the evening.

Figure 9A is a diagram showing a first example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. In Figure 9A, the horizontal axis shows the time of day.

The scheduling unit 124 estimates the time required to download update data for each of the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, which are GW devices 400 that have a time when the communication volume is less than the third reference value, based on the normal speed and the amount of update data. For example, the scheduling unit 124 estimates the time required to download update data for each of the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 to be 1 hour. The scheduling unit 124 can determine the time required to download update data to be the time calculated from the normal speed and the amount of update data plus a margin of time.

The scheduling unit 124 assigns the scheduled DL times of the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 to normal time. In FIG. 9A, the numbers indicate the terminal numbers, and the square frames with the terminal numbers indicate the scheduled DL times assigned to the GW devices 400 with those terminal numbers.

More specifically, the scheduling unit 124 assigns the scheduled DL time of each of the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8, which are GW devices 400 with low operation during the morning hours, to the morning hours.

In the example of FIG. 9A, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_1 of terminal number 1 is assigned to the time slot from 4:00 to 5:00. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_2 of terminal number 2 is assigned to the time slot from 5:00 to 6:00. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_3 of terminal number 3 is assigned to the time slot from 6:00 to 7:00. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_7 of terminal number 7 is assigned to the time slot from 7:00 to 8:00. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_8 of terminal number 8 is assigned to the time slot from 8:00 to 9:00.

The scheduling unit 124 assigns the scheduled DL time of each of the GW devices 400 with terminal numbers 4, 5, and 9, which are GW devices 400 with low operation during the nighttime hours, to the nighttime hours.

In the example of FIG. 9A, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_4 of terminal number 4 is assigned to the time slot from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_5 of terminal number 5 is assigned to the time slot from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_9 of terminal number 9 is assigned to the time slot from 11 p.m. to midnight.

The scheduling unit 124 estimates the time required to download the update data for each GW device 400 of terminal numbers 6 and 10, which is a GW device 400 for which there is no time when the communication volume is less than the third reference value, based on the speed limit and the data volume of the update data. For example, the scheduling unit 124 estimates that the time required to download the update data for each GW device 400 of terminal numbers 6 and 10 is 8 hours. The scheduling unit 124 can determine the time required to download the update data to be a value obtained by adding a margin to the time calculated from the speed limit and the data volume of the update data.

The scheduling unit 124 can assign the DL planned time of the GW device 400 of terminal numbers 6 and 10, which does not have a time period during which the communication volume is less than the third reference value, to a time period that includes the time limit.

In the example of FIG. 9A, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_6 of terminal number 6 is assigned to the time slots from 0:00 to 4:00 and 9:00 to 13:00. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_10 of terminal number 10 is assigned to the time slots from 13:00 to 21:00.

In the example of FIG. 9A, the DL scheduled times of all GW devices 400 are assigned so as not to overlap. This makes it possible to prevent congestion of communication capacity at base station 300_1.

The speed limit is set to a speed that is sufficiently slower than the normal speed. Downloading update data at the speed limit has little effect on other communications during that time. For this reason, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400 of terminal numbers 6 and 10, which downloads update data at the speed limit, may overlap with the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400 of terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, which downloads update data at the normal speed.

Figure 9B is a diagram showing a second example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. In Figure 9B, the horizontal axis shows the time of day.

In the example of FIG. 9B, the scheduled DL time of the GW devices 400 for terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 is the same as that in FIG. 9A. In the example of FIG. 9B, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_4 for terminal number 4 is assigned to the time slot from 20:00 to 21:00. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_5 for terminal number 5 is assigned to the time slot from 21:00 to 22:00. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_9 for terminal number 9 is assigned to the time slot from 22:00 to 23:00.

The scheduling unit 124 can assign the DL scheduled times of the GW devices 400 of terminal numbers 6 and 10, which do not have any time periods when the communication volume is less than the third reference value, to a time period that includes the DL scheduled times of the GW devices 400 of terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, which do have any time periods when the communication volume is less than the third reference value.

In the example of FIG. 9B, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_6 of terminal number 6 is assigned to the time slot from 0:00 to 8:00. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_10 of terminal number 10 is assigned to the time slot from 12:00 to 20:00.

In the example of FIG. 9B, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_6 with terminal number 6 overlaps with the scheduled DL times of GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, and 400_7 with terminal numbers 1, 2, 3, and 7. This allows the scheduled DL time of GW 400 to be set flexibly.

Returning to FIG. 4, the scheduling unit 124 determines, based on the band-in-use information in the base station information 411, whether the base station 300 communicates with the GW device 400 using the first carrier and the second carrier simultaneously, i.e., whether the base station 300 is a specific base station that supports carrier aggregation. For example, if the band-in-use information includes information indicating multiple frequency bands, the scheduling unit 124 can determine that the base station 300 is a specific base station that supports carrier aggregation.

When the base station 300 is a specific base station, the scheduling unit 124 can create a DL plan 114 that overlaps the planned DL time of the update data to be assigned to the first GW device (e.g., GW device 400_1) with the DL time of the update data to be assigned to the second GW device (e.g., GW device 400_2).

Let us consider a case where base station 300_1 supports carrier aggregation. Figure 9C is a diagram showing a third example of a DL plan created by the scheduling unit. In Figure 9C, the horizontal axis indicates the time of day.

In the example of FIG. 9C, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_1 of terminal number 1 and the GW device 400_2 of terminal number 2 is assigned to the time slot from 4:00 to 5:00. That is, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_1 of terminal number 1 overlaps with the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_2 of terminal number 2. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_3 of terminal number 3 and the GW device 400_7 of terminal number 7 is assigned to the time slot from 5:00 to 6:00. That is, the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_3 of terminal number 3 overlaps with the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_7 of terminal number 7. The scheduled DL time of the GW device 400_8 of terminal number 8 is assigned to the time slot from 6:00 to 7:00.

In the example of FIG. 9C, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_4 of terminal number 4 and GW device 400_5 of terminal number 5 are assigned to the time slot from 20:00 to 21:00. In other words, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_4 of terminal number 4 and the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_5 of terminal number 5 overlap. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_9 of terminal number 9 is assigned to the time slot from 21:00 to 22:00.

In the example of FIG. 9C, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_6 of terminal number 6 is assigned to the time slots from midnight to 4:00 and from 6:00 to 10:00. In other words, in the time slot from 6:00 to 7:00, the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_8 of terminal number 8 and the scheduled DL time of GW device 400_6 of terminal number 6 overlap. The scheduled DL time of GW device 400_10 of terminal number 10 is assigned to the time slot from 10:00 to 18:00.

As described above, for base station 300 that supports carrier aggregation, it is possible to schedule DL scheduled times taking carrier aggregation into consideration. In the example of FIG. 9C, the number of overlaps of DL scheduled times is set to 2, but this is not limited to this. For example, the number of overlaps of DL scheduled times can be determined according to the number of frequency bands used in base station 300.

Returning to FIG. 4, the notification unit 125 notifies each GW device 400 of the start time of the DL scheduled time (hereinafter also referred to as the "DL start time") determined by the scheduling unit 124. For example, the notification unit 125 can notify the GW device 400 for which the DL scheduled time has been determined of the corresponding DL start time.

When the DL start time notified by the server 100 arrives, the request unit 424 sends a DL request for the update data to the server 100.

When the provider 126 receives a download request for update data from the GW device 400, it obtains the update data 413 from the FWDB 113 and downloads the obtained update data 413 to the GW device 400.

The update unit 425 updates the firmware using the update data 413 downloaded from the server 100.

5. Operation of the Scheduling System
The operation of the scheduling system 10 according to the embodiment will be described below.

The processor 401 of the GW device 400 can execute the following FW update control process by executing the control program 410. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the FW update control process by the GW device according to the embodiment.

When the GW device 400 is started, the GW device 400 establishes a connection with the base station 300. When the connection is established, the base station 300 transmits base station information 411 to the GW device 400. The GW device 400 acquires (receives) the base station information 411 transmitted from the base station 300 (step S101).

The processor 401 of the GW device 400 sequentially measures the amount of communication with the base station 300. For example, the processor 401 tally up the amount of communication for one day every hour and generate bandwidth usage information.

The first communication I/F 404 of the GW device 400 measures the RSRP and RSRQ. The processor 401 generates (acquires) usage status information 412 composed of bandwidth usage information, RSRP, and RSRQ (step S102). The RSRP and RSRQ included in the usage status information 412 may be measured instantaneous values or may be average values of measured values over a certain period of time.

The processor 401 sends an inquiry as to whether or not update data 413 exists (hereinafter, "existence inquiry") to the server 100 (step S103). The existence inquiry includes the above-mentioned base station information 411 and usage status information 412, and the terminal ID of the GW device 400.

The server 100 transmits a response to the existence query. The processor 401 determines whether the response received from the server 100 indicates that update data exists (step S104). If the response from the server 100 indicates that update data does not exist (NO in step S104), the FW update control process ends.

If the response from the server 100 indicates that update data exists (YES in step S104), the processor 401 receives the DL start time from the server 100 (step S105).

The processor 401 determines whether the DL start time has arrived (step S106). If the DL start time has not arrived (NO in step S106), the processor 401 executes step S106 again.

If the DL start time has arrived (YES in step S106), the processor 401 sends a DL request for the update data 413 to the server 100 (step S107).

When the server 100 receives the DL request for the update data 413, it starts downloading the update data 413 to the requesting GW device 400. The GW device 400 receives the update data 413 (step S108).

When the download of the update data 413 is complete, the processor 401 executes the firmware update using the update data 413 (step S109). This completes the FW update control process.

The processor 101 of the server 100 can execute the following update data provision process by executing the scheduling program 110. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an update data provision process by the server according to the embodiment.

The server 100 receives an inquiry about the existence of update data from each GW device 400 (step S201). The processor 101 registers the base station information 411 contained in the received inquiry in the base station DB 111, and registers the usage status information 412 in the terminal DB 112 (step S202).

The processor 101 refers to the FWDB 113 and determines whether or not update data 413 exists (step S203).

If the update data 413 does not exist (NO in step S203), the processor 101 transmits a response indicating that the update data 413 does not exist to the querying GW device 400 (step S204). This ends the update data provision process.

If update data 413 exists (YES in step S203), the processor 101 sends a response indicating that update data 413 exists to the querying GW device 400 (step S205).

The processor 101 identifies the base station 300 to which the GW device 400 is connected based on the received base station information 411 (step S206).

The processor 101 analyzes the communication status at each time in the identified base station 300 based on the usage status information 412 received from one or more GW devices 400 (step S207).

Next, the processor 101 executes the scheduling process (step S208).

Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the scheduling process.

First, the processor 101 groups the GW devices 400 according to the base stations 300 and whether or not they support carrier aggregation (step S221). That is, one group is formed by the GW devices 400 connected to the same base station 300. One group is formed by the GW devices 400 connected to a base station 300 (specific base station) that supports carrier aggregation.

The processor 101 determines the DL speed of each GW device 400 for each group (step S222). That is, the processor 101 compares the RSRP with a first reference value, and if the RSRP is equal to or greater than the first reference value, determines the DL speed of the GW device 400 to be the normal speed. If the RSRP is less than the first reference value, the processor 101 determines the DL speed of the GW device 400 to be the limited speed. The processor 101 compares the RSRQ with a second reference value, and if the RSRQ is equal to or greater than the second reference value, determines the DL speed of the GW device 400 to be the normal speed. If the RSRQ is less than the second reference value, the processor 101 determines the DL speed of the GW device 400 to be the limited speed. Here, the processor 101 determines the DL speed to be the normal speed when either the RSRP is equal to or greater than the first reference value or the RSRQ is equal to or greater than the second reference value, and determines the DL speed to be the restricted speed when neither the RSRP is equal to or greater than the first reference value nor the RSRQ is equal to or greater than the second reference value is satisfied.

In step S222, the processor 101 further determines whether the communication volume of the GW device 400 at each time is equal to or greater than a third reference value based on the usage status information 412. If there is a time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the processor 101 determines the DL speed for the GW device 400 to be the normal speed. If there is no time when the communication volume of the GW device 400 is less than the third reference value, the processor 101 determines the DL speed for the GW device 400 to be the limited speed.

Next, the processor 101 estimates the maximum DL speed through the base station 300 based on the bandwidth information (step S223).

The processor 101 determines the DL planned time for each GW device 400 for each group (step S224). When the DL planned times for all GW devices 400 in one group have been determined, the processor 101 creates a DL plan 114 for that group (base station 300). When the DL plans 114 for all groups have been created, the scheduling process ends.

Returning to FIG. 11, the processor 101 notifies the GW device 400 of the DL start time (step S209).

When the DL start time arrives, the GW device 400 transmits a DL request for the update data 413 to the server 100. The processor 101 determines whether or not a DL request for the update data 413 has been received (step S210). If a DL request for the update data 413 has not been received (NO in step S210), the processor 101 executes step S210 again.

When a DL request for the update data 413 is received (YES in step S210), the processor 101 starts downloading the update data 413 to the requesting GW device 400 (step S211). When the download of the update data 413 is completed, the update data provision process ends.

Figure 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure in a scheduling system according to an embodiment.

The GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, ... establish a connection with the base station 300 (steps S11, S12, S13). When the base station 300 establishes the connection, it transmits the base station information 411 to the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, ... (steps S14, S15, S16). Note that while FIG. 13 shows the establishment of the connection between the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, ... and the base station 300 as occurring at the same time, in reality the establishment of the connection with the base station 300 is performed at an arbitrary time for each of the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, ....

The GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, ... transmit a query about the existence of the update data 413 to the server 100 (steps S17, S18, S19). The query about the existence of the update data 413 is made periodically, for example.

The server 100 transmits a response to the inquiry about the existence of the update data 413 (steps S20, S21, S22). FIG. 13 shows an example in which firmware update data 413 exists for GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, etc.

The server 100 identifies the base station 300 based on the base station information 411 (step S23) and analyzes the communication status of the base station 300 (step S24). The server 100 then executes a scheduling process (step S25).

The server 100 notifies the GW devices 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, etc. of the DL start time (steps S26, S27, S28).

When the DL start time arrives, the GW device 400_1 transmits a DL request for the update data 413 (step S29). When the server 100 receives the DL request, it downloads the update data 413 (step S30). The GW device 400_1 updates the firmware with the downloaded update data 413 (step S31). Similarly, when the DL start time arrives, the GW devices 400_2, 400_3, ... transmit DL requests for the update data 413 (steps S32, S35). The server 100 downloads the update data 413 to the GW devices 400_2, 400_3, ... (steps S33, S36). The GW devices 400_2, 400_3, ... update their firmware with the downloaded update data 413 (steps S34, S37).

[6. Modifications]
In the above embodiment, the target of downloading is the firmware update data 413, but is not limited to this. Data to be downloaded to a plurality of GW devices 400 does not have to be the update data 413.

In the above embodiment, the terminal device is the GW device 400, but this is not limited to this. Any mobile communication terminal device used in an industrial facility does not have to be the GW device 400.

In the above-described embodiment, the server 100 functions as a scheduling device that schedules the DL scheduled time, but this is not limited to the above. A server other than the FOTA server may function as the scheduling device, or one of the GW devices 400 may function as the scheduling device.

In the above-described embodiment, the DL speed of the update data 413 is determined to be either the normal speed or the limited speed, but this is not limited to this. For example, the DL speed may be determined in multiple stages or without stages. For example, if the past communication volume at the scheduled DL time of the GW device 400 is small, the DL speed can be increased, and if the communication volume is large, the DL speed can be decreased.

[7. Supplementary Notes]
The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the above-described embodiments, and includes the meaning equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope thereof.

10 Scheduling system 100 Server (scheduling device)
101 Processor 102 Non-volatile memory 103 Volatile memory 104 Communication interface (communication I/F)
110 Scheduling program 111 Base station database (base station DB)
112 Terminal database (Terminal DB)
113 Firmware Database (FWDB)
114 Download Plan (DL Plan, Transmission Plan)
121 Receiving unit 122 Identifying unit 123 Analyzing unit 124 Scheduling unit 125 Notifying unit 126 Providing unit 200 Network 300, 300_1, 300_2 Base station 310 Communication area 400, 400_1, 400_2, 400_3, 400_4, 400_5, 400_6, 400_7, 400_8, 400_9, 400_10, 400_11 Gateway device (GW device, terminal device)
401 Processor 402 Non-volatile memory 403 Volatile memory 404 First communication interface (first communication I/F)
405 Second communication interface (second communication I/F)
410 Control program 411 Base station information 412 Usage status information 413 Update data 421 First acquisition unit 422 Second acquisition unit 423 Transmission unit 424 Request unit 425 Update unit 500 Sensor

Claims (15)

A terminal device;
A scheduling device for creating a transmission plan for transmitting data to the terminal device;
Equipped with
The terminal device
a first acquisition unit that acquires base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected;
A second acquisition unit that acquires usage status information indicating a usage status of communication by the terminal device;
a transmission unit that transmits the base station information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the usage status information acquired by the second acquisition unit to the scheduling device;
Including,
The scheduling device comprises:
a receiving unit for receiving the base station information and the usage status information transmitted from the terminal device;
a scheduling unit that creates the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the base station information and the usage status information received by the receiving unit;
Including,
Scheduling system. the scheduling unit creates the transmission plan so as to avoid a time overlap of transmission of the data to a plurality of terminal devices connected to the base station.
The scheduling system of claim 1 . The scheduling device comprises:
an identification unit that identifies the base station to which the terminal device is connected based on the base station information;
an analysis unit that analyzes a communication status for each time period in the base station identified by the identification unit based on the usage status information;
Further comprising:
the scheduling unit creates the transmission plan based on a communication status for each hour in the base station obtained as a result of the analysis by the analysis unit.
The scheduling system of claim 1 . the scheduling unit creates the transmission plan in which a scheduled time for transmitting the data to the terminal device is allocated to a time when a usage rate of the communication in the base station is low in a communication status in each hour in the base station.
The scheduling system of claim 3 . The analysis unit identifies a time period during which communication usage rate in the base station is high, and determines the identified time period as a time limit for limiting transmission of the data to the terminal device.
The scheduling system of claim 3 . the scheduling unit determines, based on the usage status information, a transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be either a first transmission speed or a second transmission speed lower than the first transmission speed, and creates the transmission plan based on the determined transmission speed.
The scheduling system of claim 1 . The usage status information includes at least one of a reception strength and a reception quality of a radio wave in the terminal device.
The scheduling system of claim 6. the scheduling unit determines whether or not the communication amount of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is a time during which the communication amount of the terminal device is less than the reference value, determines the transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be the first transmission speed.
The scheduling system of claim 6. the scheduling unit, when there is a time during which the communication amount of the terminal device is less than the reference value, allocates a scheduled transmission time of the data to the terminal device to the time during which the communication amount of the terminal device is less than the reference value.
The scheduling system of claim 8. the scheduling unit determines whether or not the communication volume of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is no time when the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, determines the transmission speed of the data to the terminal device to be the second transmission speed.
The scheduling system of claim 6. the scheduling unit determines whether or not the communication volume of the terminal device at each time is equal to or greater than a certain reference value based on the usage status information, and if there is no time during which the communication volume of the terminal device is less than the reference value, allocates a scheduled transmission time of the data to the terminal device to a time period including the time limit.
The scheduling system of claim 5 . The base station information includes band information indicating a frequency band used by the base station,
the scheduling unit determines whether the base station is a specific base station that communicates with the terminal device using a first carrier wave and a second carrier wave simultaneously, based on the used band information in the base station information, and if the base station is the specific base station, creates the transmission plan in which a first scheduled transmission time, which is a scheduled transmission time of the data to be assigned to a first terminal device, overlaps with a second scheduled transmission time, which is a scheduled transmission time of the data to be assigned to a second terminal device.
The scheduling system according to any one of claims 1 to 11. A terminal device for receiving data via a base station,
a first acquisition unit that acquires base station information for identifying the base station to which the terminal device is connected;
A second acquisition unit that acquires usage status information indicating a usage status of communication by the terminal device;
a transmission unit that transmits the base station information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the usage status information acquired by the second acquisition unit to a scheduling device that creates a transmission plan for transmitting data to the terminal device;
Equipped with
Terminal device. A scheduling device for creating a transmission plan for transmitting data to a terminal device, comprising:
a receiving unit that receives, from the terminal device, base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected and usage status information indicating a usage status of communication by the terminal device;
a scheduling unit that creates the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the base station information and the usage status information received by the receiving unit;
Equipped with
Scheduling device. A scheduling program for creating a transmission plan for transmitting data to a terminal device, comprising:
On the computer,
receiving, from the terminal device, base station information for identifying a base station to which the terminal device is connected and usage status information indicating a usage status of communication by the terminal device;
generating the transmission plan for transmitting the data to the terminal device via the base station based on the received base station information and the usage status information;
In order to execute
Scheduling program.

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