Patent Publication Number: US-6704548-B2

Title: Video/audio alarm processing apparatus for base station manager in mobile radio communication system

Description:
This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 09/195,562 filed Nov. 19, 1998 U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,046. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system. In particular, the present invention relates to a video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus for a base station manager based on a workstation whereby the base station manager can process trouble state data of base station controllers and base stations, and produce video and audio alarms in accordance with the grade of the trouble state data. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, in a mobile radio communication system, a call message including the identification number of a calling mobile unit which attempts a call through a call control channel of a base station is transmitted to a called mobile unit, and a speech path is provided between the calling and called mobile units if a response is received from the called mobile unit. 
     However, in case of performing the call communications utilizing the mobile radio communication protocol regulated by Electronic Industries Association (EIA), the mobile unit may fail to receive the call message transmitted from the base station in a special condition, and thus the call communications between the terminating and originating mobile units may not be performed. Also, troubles of the function and connection/disconnection of circuit boards which constitutes the base station controller or the base station system, troubles of the physical paths through which the data communications are performed, or troubles caused by the connection/disconnection of various kinds of cables may occur. 
     In order to monitor such system troubles, the base station manager in a mobile radio communication system is provided with a trouble processing block for receiving the trouble state data from the respective base station controllers and base stations affiliated in the base station manager and outputting a trouble state message to a display screen provided in the workstation, and an audio alarm processing device for processing and outputting an audio alarm to a loudspeaker in the workstation. 
     Specifically, in order to monitor the trouble state of the base station controllers and base stations during the system operation, the conventional audio alarm processing device outputs the trouble state message provided from the base station manager to the display screen, and processes the audio alarm to drive the loudspeaker in the base station manager. 
     However, the conventional audio alarm processing device has the drawback that since it processes and outputs the audio alarm to the loudspeaker, it is difficult to identify the grade of the current trouble state of the system. It is also difficult to monitor the system trouble state at a remote place far apart from the base station manager. 
     Also, a base station manager may be provided with no loudspeaker in accordance with the kind of the workstation, and the monitoring of the system trouble state cannot be accurately achieved by such a base station manager having no loudspeaker. 
     Meanwhile, apparatuses for displaying the video alarm for the trouble state of the base station controllers and base stations with processing an audio alarm have been proposed. These apparatuses have the problems that separate constituent elements should be added, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system which can identify the grade of the trouble state of the base stations and base station controllers, and inform the trouble state to a user visibly and audibly in accordance with the identified grade of the trouble state. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system whereby the trouble state of the respective systems can be easily monitored from various remote places besides the place where the base station manager is located. 
     Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the video/audio alarm processing method for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system for receiving and processing data transmitted from a plurality of base station controllers and base stations as video and audio alarms comprises the steps of converting the data received from the base station controllers and base stations into parallel data and storing the converted data so that trouble state data of the base station controllers and base stations is classified by grades, judging whether the trouble state data exists or not in the stored data, and if it is judged that the trouble state data exists, producing the video and audio alarms in accordance with the classified grade of the trouble state data. 
     It is preferable that the grade of the video and audio alarms corresponding to the grade of the trouble state data is classified into emergent, important, and general alarms, respectively. Also, the video alarm may be classified by colors, i.e., red, yellow, and green according to the grade of the trouble state data. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system including an interworking processor board assembly for receiving and processing data transmitted from a plurality of base station controllers and base stations as video and audio alarms, the interworking processor board assembly comprising a trouble state detecting section for receiving the data of a predetermined number of bits transmitted from the base station controllers and the base stations and detecting existence of trouble state data, a video/audio control section for generating control clocks of a predetermined speed and control signals for the process of the video and audio alarms in accordance with an input of the detected trouble state data, a data transmitting section for converting and transmitting the data received from the trouble state detecting section in accordance with the control clock and the control signal generated from the video/audio control section, a plurality of video/audio alarm sections for producing video and audio alarms in accordance with a trouble state grade of the trouble state data, an interface section for interfacing the data transmitted from the data transmitting section to the video/audio alarm sections and interfacing message data responding to the transmitted data outputted from the video/audio alarm sections, and a data receiving section for converting and transmitting to the trouble state detecting section the responding message received through the interface section in accordance with the control clock and the control signal generated from the video/audio control section. 
     Preferably, the trouble state detecting section comprises a central processing unit and its peripheral device for receiving and processing the data transmitted from the base station controllers and base stations, a data buffer for buffering the data received from the central processing unit and the responding message received from the data receiving section, and a transmission data detecting unit for detecting whether the trouble state data exists in the data buffered by the data buffer. 
     Preferably, the video/audio control section comprises a transmission/reception control unit for generating a control signal for controlling transmission/reception of the trouble state data if the existence of the trouble state data is detected by the trouble state detecting section, a transmission/reception clock generating unit for generating transmission and reception clocks of a predetermined speed in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit, and a loopback control unit for monitoring an operating state of the video/audio alarm sections through the interface section and providing a detected result to the data receiving section. 
     Preferably, the data transmitting section comprises a transmission buffer for buffering the data received from the trouble state detecting section in accordance with the control signal from the video/audio control section, a transmission latch for latching the data buffered by the transmission buffer in accordance with the control signal from the video/audio control section, and a parallel/serial conversion unit for converting the data received from the transmission latch into serial data in accordance with the transmission clock provided from the video/audio control section and providing the converted serial data to the interface section. 
     Preferably, the data receiving section comprises a serial/parallel conversion unit for converting the responding message received from the interface section and the operating state data of the video/audio alarm sections received from the video/audio control section into parallel data in synchronization with the reception clock from the video/audio control section, a receiving latch for latching the converted parallel data for a predetermined time in accordance with the control signal from the video/audio control section, and a receiving buffer for buffering the latched parallel data in accordance with the control signal from the video/audio control section and outputting the buffered data to the trouble state detecting section as state information of the video/audio alarm sections. 
     According to the video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager for managing the trouble state of the base station controllers and base stations, the system trouble state is classified by grades and then informed to the user as the video and audio alarms, resulting in that the user can easily identify the trouble state grade of the respective systems and thus take the necessary process according to the identified trouble state grade. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention: 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a conventional audio alarm processing device for a base station manager. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the base station manager incorporating the video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an algorithm diagram incorporating the video/audio alarm processing method for a base station manager according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a conventional audio alarm processing device for a base station manager in a mobile radio communication system for receiving and processing trouble state data from the base station controllers and the base stations. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the base station manager  102 , which is an upper level system of the base station controllers  101  and the base stations  100 , takes charge of the state monitoring function of the systems such as a program downloading to the respective base station controllers and base stations, traffic statistical process, collection and report of the trouble state of the respective systems. 
     The interworking processor board assembly  102   a  provided in the base station manager  102  is a card packaged in the workstation which is the basis of the base station manager  102 , and takes charge of the matching function between the network and the workstation of the mobile radio communication system. 
     A base station manager  102  can receive 12 base station controllers  101  at maximum, and a base station controller  101  can receive 48 base stations  100  at maximum. 
     The trouble state data of the respective base stations  100  and base station controllers  101  is transferred to the base station manager  102  through the network composed of the base stations  100 , base station controllers  101  and base station manager  102 . 
     The trouble processing block in the base station manager  102  receives and manages the trouble state data of the lower level systems through the above described process, and outputs the trouble state data to the display screen provided in the workstation. Also, if an audio alarm is required with respect to the trouble state as above, the trouble processing block processes and outputs the audio alarm to the loudspeaker. 
     However, the conventional audio alarm processing device has the drawback that it is difficult to identify the grade of the trouble state of the system, and thus an effective alarm process cannot be achieved. 
     The video/audio alarm processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to various data transmitting and receiving devices which remotely transmit data. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the video/audio alarm processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention applied to a data transmitting and receiving device for remotely transmitting and managing data, and especially to the mobile radio communication system. 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the base station manager incorporating the video/audio alarm processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an algorithm diagram incorporating the video/audio alarm processing method for a base station manager according to the present invention. 
     Referring to FIG.  3 . the video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager according to the present invention includes an interworking processor board assembly  102   a  for receiving and processing data transmitted from a plurality of base station controllers  101  and base stations  100  as video and audio alarms. 
     The interworking processor board assembly  102   a  comprises a trouble state detecting section  108  for receiving the data of 8 bits transmitted from the base station controllers  101  and the base stations  100  and detecting existence of trouble state data, a video/audio control section  107  for generating a control clock of a speed of 1200 bps and a control signal for the process of the video and audio alarms in accordance with an input of the detected trouble state data, a data transmitting section  105  for converting and transmitting the 8-bit data received from the trouble state detecting section  108  in accordance with the control clock and the control signal generated from the video/audio control section  107 , a plurality of video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  for producing video and audio alarms in accordance with a trouble state grade of the trouble state data, an interface section  104  for interfacing the serial data transmitted from the data transmitting section  105  to the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  and interfacing message data of a speed of 1200 bps responding to the transmitted data outputted from the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n , and a data receiving section  106  for converting and transmitting to the trouble state detecting section  108  the responding message received through the interface section  104  in accordance with the control clock and the control signal generated from the video/audio control section  107 . 
     The trouble state detecting section  108  comprises a central processing unit  108   a  and its peripheral device for receiving and processing the data transmitted from the base station controllers  101  and base stations  100  so that trouble state data of the base station controllers  101  and base stations  100  is classified by grades and colors, a data buffer  108   b  for bidirectionally buffering and outputting the 8-bit parallel data received from the central processing unit  108   a  and the responding message received from the data receiving section  106 , and a transmission data detecting unit  108   c  for detecting whether the trouble state data exists in the 8-bit data buffered by the data buffer  108   b.    
     The video/audio control section  107  comprises a transmission/reception control unit  107   a  for generating a control signal for controlling transmission/reception of the trouble state data if the existence of the trouble state data is detected by the trouble state detecting section  108 , a transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b  for generating transmission/reception clocks of a speed of 1200 bps in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a , and a loopback control unit  107   c  for monitoring an operating state of the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  through the interface section  104  and providing a detected result to the data receiving section  106 . 
     The data transmitting section  105  comprises a transmission buffer  105   a  for buffering in a first-in first-out manner the 8-bit parallel data received from the trouble state detecting section  108  in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  of the video/audio control section  107 , a transmission latch  105   b  for latching the 8-bit parallel data buffered by the transmission buffer  105   a  in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  of the video/audio control section  107 , and a parallel/serial conversion unit  105   c  for converting the 8-bit parallel data received from the transmission latch  105   b  into serial data in accordance with the transmission clock generated from the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b  of the video/audio control section  107  and providing the converted serial data to the interface section  104 . 
     The data receiving section  106  comprises a serial/parallel conversion unit  106   a  for converting the responding message received from the interface section  104  and the operating state data of the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  received from the loopback control unit  107   c  of the video/audio control section  107  into parallel data in synchronization with the reception clock generated from the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b , a receiving latch  106   b  for latching the converted parallel data for a predetermined time in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  of the video/audio control section  107 , and a receiving buffer  106   c  for buffering in a first-in first-out manner the latched parallel data in accordance with the control signal from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  of the video/audio control section  107 , interrupting the central processing unit  108   a  of the trouble state detecting section  108 , and outputting the buffered data to the central processing unit  108   a  of the trouble state detecting section  108  through the data buffer  108   b  as state information of the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n.    
     The video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  display the video alarm classified by colors such as red, yellow, and green in accordance with the grade of the trouble state data. 
     The operation of the video/audio alarm processing apparatus for a base station manager according to the present invention as constructed above will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to  4 . 
     The interworking processor board assembly  102   a  provided in the base station manager  102  to drive the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  is a system matching card packaged in the workstation which is the basis of the base station manager  102 , and takes charge of data communications between the workstation and an external system, i.e., the mobile radio communication system by electrically matching the workstation and the external system through the interface section  104  such as RS-422. 
     The central processing unit  108   a  and its peripheral device in the trouble state detecting section  108  comprises a 32-bit microprocessor such as MC68030, a clock generating circuit required for operating the microprocessor, and a memory for storing therein basic programs, and performs the internal function control of the interworking processor board assembly  102   a , the sparc and data communication function of the workstation. 
     The trouble state data received from the base station controllers  101  and the base stations  100  is converted into 8-bit parallel data so that the trouble state data is classified by grades and colors and the video and audio alarms are produced, being classified into emergent, important, and general alarms, respectively, in accordance with the grade of the trouble state data. The 8-bit parallel data is stored in the transmission buffer  105   a  of the data transmission section  105  through the data buffer  108   b  such as a bidirectional buffer of the trouble state detecting section  108  (step S 1  of FIG.  4 ). 
     The transmission data detecting unit  108   c  detects whether the trouble state data exists in the 8-bit parallel data stored in the transmission buffer  105   a  (step S 2  of FIG.  4 ). 
     If it is detected that the trouble state data exists in the 8-bit parallel data stored in the transmission buffer  105   a , this existence of the trouble state data is informed to the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  of the video/audio control section  107 . 
     The transmission/reception control unit  107   a  receives the trouble state data from the transmission data detecting unit  108   c , outputs the video and audio alarms to the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  accordingly, and generates a control signal for controlling the function required for informing the responding message data received from the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  to the central processing unit  108   a.    
     If the existence of the trouble state data is informed from the transmission data detecting unit  108   c , the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  generates and transmits control signals to the transmission latch  105   b , the transmission buffer  105   a , the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b , and the receiving latch  106   b  of the data receiving section  106  so that the 8-bit parallel data is read out from the transmission buffer  105   a  such as a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer and then temporarily stored in the transmission latch  105   b.    
     The transmission latch  105   b  reads out the data byte by byte, i.e., by 8 bits from the transmission buffer  105   a  in accordance with the control signal generated from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a  and temporarily stores the data therein before the parallel/serial conversion. 
     Meanwhile, the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b  generates the transmission clock signal of 1200 bps, which is required for converting the 8-bit parallel trouble state data into serial data based on the clock generating information received from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a , and required for transmitting the serial data to the video/audio alarm sections  103   a - 103   n , and provides the transmission clock signal to the parallel/serial conversion unit  105   c  of the data transmission section  105 . 
     The transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b  also generates the data reception clock signal for receiving the responding message transmitted from the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  at a speed of 1200 bps after a 2-clock period of the transmission clock signal when the 8-bit serial trouble state data is transmitted at the transmitting speed of 1200 bps, and provides the reception clock signal to the serial/parallel conversion unit  106   a  of the data receiving section  106 . 
     The parallel/serial conversion unit  105   c  of the data transmitting section  105  reads cut the 8-bit data temporarily stored in the transmission latch  105   b , and converts the 8-bit parallel data into serial data in synchronization with the transmission clock signal of 1200 bps transmitted from the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b.    
     The interface section  104  such as RS-485 converts the serially converted trouble state data to meet the electrical standard of RS-485, and drives the alarm displays classified by colors such as red, yellow, and green in accordance with the grade of the trouble state data as well as driving the loudspeaker in the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  to visibly and audibly inform the trouble state to the user (steps S 3  and S 4 ). 
     Also, the interface section  104  converts the responding message received from the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  into a TTL (transistor transistor logic) electric level, and transmits the converted data to the serial/parallel conversion unit  106   a  of the data receiving section  106 . 
     The serial/parallel conversion unit  106   a  converts the serial data inputted from the interface section  104  into the parallel data in synchronization with the reception clock of 1200 bps generated from the transmission/reception clock generating unit  107   b  of the video/audio control section  107 , and temporarily stores the parallel data in the receiving latch  106   b.    
     The receiving buffer  106   c  reads out the 8-bit parallel data temporarily stored in the receiving latch  106   b  in accordance with the control signal generated from the transmission/reception control unit  107   a , and stores therein the data in a FIFO manner. 
     At this time, if the responding data of at least one byte received from the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  exists in the receiving buffer  106   c , the receiving buffer  106   c  sends an interrupt request signal to the central processing unit  108   a , and informs the existence of the data in the receiving buffer  106   c.    
     In response to the interrupt request, the central processing unit  108   a  reads out the data in the receiving buffer  106   c  through the data buffer  108   b , and thus recognizes the operating state of the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n.    
     The loopback control unit  107   c  of the video/audio control section  107  performs the loopback function that it reads out through the receiving buffer  106   c  the data stored in the transmission buffer  105   a  by the central processing unit  108   a  so as to check if the video/audio alarm sections  103   a ˜ 103   n  operate in a normal state. 
     Meanwhile, according to the present invention, the trouble state of the respective systems can be easily monitored from various remote places besides the place where the base station manager is located. 
     As described above, according to the video/audio alarm processing method and apparatus according to the present invention, the base station manager for managing the trouble state of a plurality of base station controllers and base stations classifies the system trouble state by grades and produces the video alarm classified by colors such as red, yellow, and green, resulting in that the user can easily identify the trouble state and the trouble state grade of the respective systems and thus take the necessary process according to the identified trouble state grade. In addition, since the base station manager can be connected to 6 video/audio alarm devices at maximum by a daisy chain, the system trouble state can be easily monitored from various remote places besides the place where the base station manager is located. 
     While the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.