1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically measuring direction, slope, and height of a mobile communication base station antenna to accurately correct an error of the antenna position.
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known in the art, a communication enterprise has arranged a plurality of mobile communication base station antennas to individual fields to maintain a smooth communication mode in association with mobile communication terminals such as cellular and PCS phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and notebook computers accessing a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), etc.
The mobile communication base station antenna changes a communication state of the mobile communication terminal according to its direction, inclination, and height. In order to measure resource information of the antenna, an administrator or manager must directly climb up the base station antenna installed at common or multistory buildings, measure an azimuth angle on the basis of magnetic north using a compass at the antenna position, and manually measure the degree of tilt or inclination of the antenna by visually recognizing a scale line at which a mechanical needle of a measuring instrument is positioned.
However, the aforementioned measurement scheme for manually measuring an azimuth angle and an inclination of the mobile communication base station antenna requires the administrator to arbitrarily and manually determine the azimuth angle using the compass, and also requires the administrator to recognize the degree of inclination by visually checking a low-precision scale mark indicated on an installation frame of the antenna, resulting in the creation of an incorrect or irregular measurement result due to a difference in administrator's dexterity or personal measurement method.
Furthermore, in the case where the administrator attempts to simulate a communication state caused by a difference in direction and inclination of a current base station antenna, he or she has difficulty in recognizing correct resource information of the mobile communication base station antenna, resulting in difficulty in carrying out the simulation.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for three-dimensionally measuring resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna using a distance/angle measurement device, such that it can automatically measure resource information associated with azimuth angle, distance, and inclination of the antenna.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for measuring resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna that enables resource information about the mobile communication base station antenna to be outputted in real time, and enables antenna position to be easily corrected based upon the real-time output information.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a method for resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna, comprising the steps of: a) measuring distance and angle of a mobile communication base station antenna when an azimuth angle to magnetic north is determined, and calculating three-dimensional coordinates; b) calculating azimuth angle and inclination information of the antenna based upon the three-dimensional coordinates; and c) calculating an error value of a position of the antenna based upon the calculated azimuth angle and inclination information of the antenna.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for measuring resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna, comprising: an antenna measuring instrument spaced apart from a mobile communication base station antenna at a predetermined distance, for measuring distance and angle associated with the antenna, and calculating three-dimensional coordinates associated with the measured distance and angle; and a control terminal for calculating azimuth angle and inclination of the antenna based upon the antenna coordinates calculated by the antenna measuring instrument, and displaying the calculated azimuth angle and inclination.
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Now, preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings.
As shown in
The antenna measuring instrument 100 includes a lightwave distance measurement device or a laser distance measurement device, a three-dimensional coordinate measurement device, etc., and three-dimensionally measures information (i.e., X, Y, and Z coordinates of points located on an antenna panel or cover) of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 at a predetermined position spaced apart from the mobile communication base station antenna 300 installed at a common or multistory building.
The control terminal 200 may be equal to either one of a variety of terminals, each having a specific software program for measuring resource information of the antenna, for example, a PDA, mobile phone, hand-held computer, notebook computer, etc. The control terminal 200 receives data measured by the antenna measuring instrument 100, calculates an azimuth angle to magnetic north, an inclination, and a height from the ground, and outputs the calculated results in real time.
The control terminal 200 can graphically output in real time the measurement results of the azimuth angle to magnetic north, inclination, and height of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 on its display screen, transmit the measurement results to a remote site via a communication module, and print them using an additional printer.
As shown in
The control terminal 200 includes a key entry unit 22, an I/O unit 24, a second memory 26, a third memory 28, a microprocessor 30, a display unit 40, and a wireless modem module 42.
The digital compass 10 of the antenna measuring instrument 100 determines an azimuth reference to magnetic north to measure an inclination of the mobile communication base station antenna 300. The distance measurement unit 12 measures individual distances from four points located on a panel of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 using either a lightwave distance measurement scheme or a laser distance measurement scheme. The angle measurement unit 14 is composed of an electronic theodolite (i.e., a goniometer), and measures vertical and horizontal angles of the mobile communication base station antenna 300.
The distance measurement unit 12 transmits a lightwave or laser signal having a specific wavelength λ and a specific frequency f to the mobile communication base station antenna 300 as shown in
The first memory 16 receives distance and angle information of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 from the distance measurement unit 12 and the angle measurement unit 14, stores the received distance and angle information, and at the same time stores three-dimensional coordinates calculated by the distance and angle information.
The CPU 18 receives distance and angle information of individual points on a panel of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 from the distance measurement unit 12 and the angle measurement unit 14, and calculates three-dimensional coordinates of individual points using the received distance and angle information of the points.
In this case, as shown in
P(X,Y,Z)=(xo+r·sin θz·cos θh,yo+r·cos θz·sin θ·cos θz+Ih) [Equation 1]
where, xo,yo,zo is a reference origin, θh is an azimuth angle, θz is a zenith angle, and Ih is an instrument height.
The I/O unit 20 is connected to the I/O unit 24 of the control terminal 200 by wire or wirelessly, and transmits coordinate data of individual points calculated by the operation process of the CPU 18 to the control terminal 200.
The key entry unit 22 of the control terminal 200 enables a user to enter a desired key signal to measure the azimuth angle and inclination of the mobile communication base station antenna 300. The I/O unit 24 is connected to the I/O unit 20 of the antenna measuring instrument 100 by wire or wirelessly, and receives coordinate values of individual points of the antenna panel by communicating with the CPU 18 of the antenna measuring instrument 100.
The second memory 26 stores an antenna resources measurement program for measuring an azimuth angle to magnetic north and inclination of the mobile communication base station antenna 300. The third memory 28 stores the measurement information of the antenna resources (i.e., the azimuth angle and inclination) and a variety of setup information to measure/output the antenna resources.
The microprocessor 30 operates the antenna resources measurement program of the second memory 26, receives coordinate values of individual points from the antenna measuring instrument 100, calculates an azimuth angle (i.e., XY angle), an inclination Z and a height H, and displays the calculated data on the display unit 40.
The microprocessor 30 for use with an antenna resources measurement program includes an XY angle (i.e., an azimuth angle) calculator 34, a Z-inclination calculator 36, and an H-height calculator 38. Upon receiving coordinate values of individual points on the panel of the mobile communication base station antenna 300, the XY angle calculator 34 calculates an XY angle of the antenna 300, the Z-inclination calculator 36 calculates a Z-inclination of the antenna 300, and the H-height calculator 38 calculates an H-height of the antenna 300.
In this case, when measuring individual points of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 using the antenna measuring instrument 100, the microprocessor 30 can calculate a variety of three-dimensional coordinates (x1,y1,z1), (x2,y2,z2), (x3,y3,z3) and (x4,y4,z4) of individual points as shown in
Referring to
Upon receiving a control signal from the microprocessor 30, the display unit 40 visually displays measurement results of the azimuth angle and inclination of the antenna and their measurement results.
The wireless modem module 42 gains access to a mobile communication network, and transmits antenna resource information calculated by the microprocessor 30 to an antenna management system (not shown) positioned at a remote site.
While the microprocessor 30 operating the antenna resources measurement program, if a user clicks on a specific button “Antenna” positioned at a lower part of the display unit 40's screen of the control terminal 200 as shown in
In this case, if the user clicks on a specific button denoted by “TX setup” to set up the TX antenna, a prescribed message indicative of the TX antenna setup is displayed as shown in
If the measurement operation associated with the RX antenna has been completed, the microprocessor 30 controls the display unit 40 to display an azimuth angle error (i.e., a difference value) and an inclination error of the RX antenna on the basis of the TX antenna, as shown in
If the azimuth angle error of the RX antenna on the basis of the TX antenna is determined to be an allowable error, the microprocessor 30 displays a specific window needed to query whether measurement data of the RX antenna will be stored, as shown in
The microprocessor 30 stores measurement data completely measured in the form of a file such as *.CSV, such that it enables the measurement data to be used for a data editing program such as an Microsoft (MS) Excel, etc.
Operations of the aforementioned present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to
As shown in
In this case, the microprocessor 30 of the control terminal 200 calculates XY angle (i.e., azimuth angle), Z-inclination, and H-height information of the antenna upon receiving coordinate values of individual points of the antenna panel from the antenna measuring instrument 100, and selectively displays the calculated XY angle, Z-inclination, and H-height information on the display unit 40 at step S13.
Thereafter, the microprocessor 30 compares the calculated XY angle (i.e., azimuth angle) with a predetermined reference azimuth angle, compares the calculated Z-inclination with a predetermined inclination, and graphically displays the comparison results on the display unit 40 at step S14. In the case of measuring the RX antenna, the predetermined reference azimuth angle may be an azimuth angle associated with the TX antenna, and the predetermined reference inclination may be an inclination associated with the TX antenna.
The microprocessor 30 determines if there is an error in the measurement data upon receiving the comparison results at step S15. In more detail, the microprocessor 30 determines if an error in position or attitude of the measured antenna is in a predetermined allowable range at step S15.
If there is an error in the measurement data at step S15, the microprocessor 30 enables an administrator to adjust direction and inclination information of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 by referring to the comparison results of angle and inclination information displayed on the display unit 40 at step S16. Distance and angle of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 are re-measured by the distance measurement unit 12 and the angle measurement unit 14 of the antenna measuring instrument 100, and the CPU 18 re-calculates XYZ coordinate values of individual points located on the measured antenna panel at step S17.
The microprocessor 30 calculates an XY angle equal to an azimuth angle, and a Z-inclination of the re-measured antenna at step S13, compares the calculated XY angle (i.e., azimuth angle) with a predetermined reference azimuth angle, compares the calculated Z-inclination with a predetermined reference inclination at step S14, and thereby determines if there is an error in the measurement data from the comparison results at step S15.
If it is re-determined that there is an error in the measurement data of the mobile communication base station antenna 300, the antenna is re-adjusted at step S16, distance and angle of the antenna are measured at step S17, and azimuth angle and inclination of the antenna are calculated at step S13. The microprocessor 30 compares the calculated information with reference information at step S14, and determines if there is an error in the measurement data at step S15.
A method for calculating the azimuth angle using the antenna resources measurement program will hereinafter be described with reference to
The microprocessor 30 determines if entry data associated with individual points located on the panel of the mobile communication base station antenna 300 measured by the antenna measuring instrument 100 is effective or not at step S30. If it is determined that the entry data associated with the points is effective at step S30, the microprocessor 30 calculates a direction vector Ū=(a,b,c) (i.e., a vector perpendicular to the plane of antenna panel) of a plane containing third, fourth, fifth and sixth points from among 6 points at step S31.
The microprocessor 30 determines if the value of c indicative of a Z-axis direction component of the direction vector is higher than “0” at step S32. If it is determined that the value of c is the same or less than “0” at step S32, the microprocessor 30 converts the value of the direction vector into its reverse value denoted by (Ū=−Ū=(−a,−b,−c)) at step S33. Provided that the value of c of the direction vector is less than “0” even though the mobile communication base station antenna 300 is arranged to be tilted forward at a predetermined angle (e.g., 15°) on the basis of a Z-axis, the microprocessor 30 determines the aforementioned phenomenon caused when the antenna measuring instrument 100 measures the back side of the antenna panel, such that it must convert the direction vector to its reverse value to set up a normal direction vector value.
However, if it is determined that the value of c is higher than “0” according to the determination result at step S32, the microprocessor 30 determines that the antenna measuring instrument 100 has measured the front side of the antenna, and calculates a direction vector Ō=(Ox,Oy,Oz) associated with first and second measurement points acting as reference lines at step S34.
The microprocessor 30 calculates azimuth angles θŪ and θŌ of the direction vectors Ū=(a,b,c) and Ō=(0x,0y,0z) in a X-Y plane at step S35, and determines if the azimuth angle θŪ of the direction vector of a plane containing third, fourth, fifth and sixth measurement points from among 6 points is less than the other azimuth angle θŌ of the direction vector passing first and second measurement points at step S36.
If it is determined that the azimuth angle θŪ of the direction vector of the plane containing third, fourth, fifth and sixth measurement points is higher than the other azimuth angle θŌ of the direction vector passing first and second measurement points at step S36, the microprocessor 30 calculates the azimuth angle using a predetermined equation “θ=θŪ−θŌ” at step S37. Otherwise, if it is determined that the azimuth angle θŪ of the direction vector of the plane containing the third, fourth, fifth and sixth measurement points is the same or less than the other azimuth angle θŌ of the direction vector passing first and second measurement points at step S36, the microprocessor 30 calculates the azimuth angle using a predetermined equation “θ=2π−(θŌ−θŪ)” at step S38. In more detail, the aforementioned operations of the steps S36˜S38 indicate that the microprocessor 30 differently carries out the azimuth angle operation of the direction vector according to specific information indicating whether the direction vector of the plane containing the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth measurement points is tilted to the right or left of the other direction vector passing the first and second measurement points. In other words, the microprocessor 30 calculates the azimuth angle of the antenna on the basis of a reference direction vector, such that the azimuth angle of the antenna is calculated to be in a prescribed range from 0 to 2π.
As apparent from the above description, a method and apparatus for measuring resource information of a mobile communication base station antenna according to the present invention automatically measures a variety of resource information of the antenna, for example, an azimuth angle, an inclination, and a height, etc., and displays/manages the measurement data in real time, such that it can correctly measure the antenna resource information from anywhere a user can see the antenna whereas the conventional manual measurement scheme requires the administrator or manager to experience physical labor. Therefore, the present invention prevents a base station from being unnecessarily and repeatedly installed upon receiving data of the antenna more efficiently and correctly measured, resulting in a cost-effective system, more effective management of the base station antenna, and an available communication performance simulation.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2003-0017824 | Mar 2003 | KR | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040214567 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |