JP2004328524A - Zone specifying system and zone specifying method of wireless lan terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the lowering of security in specifying a zone of a wireless LAN terminal, and to easily search a connection desiring terminal and a usage-desired terminal. <P>SOLUTION: A zone specifying system is provided with a zone specifying device 200 comprising a plurality of directional antennas 204 and 205 enabling communication with wireless LAN terminals 100 existing in communicable ranges 210 and 211; a wireless LAN communication device 203 that performs communication with the wireless LAN terminal 100 via the antennas; a storage 202 for storing information obtained from the wireless LAN terminal 100; and a CPU 201 for drive-control the wireless LAN communication device 203 and the storage 202. A zone where the wireless LAN terminal 100 exists is specified by the directional antennas 204 and 205. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an area specifying system and an area specifying method for a wireless LAN terminal, and more particularly to an area specifying system and an area specifying method for a wireless LAN terminal having a plurality of directional antennas.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional wireless LAN system, as described in Patent Document 1, a LAN system in which a master station and a plurality of slave stations are connected by a wireless line is known.
[0003]
Further, as described in Patent Document 2, a wireless device such as a master station includes a control unit having a CPU and a memory, an antenna unit including a plurality of directional antennas, and a wireless transmitting and receiving circuit unit. Wireless devices are also known.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-65668 (pages 1 and 2, FIG. 1)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2000-115041 (page 3, FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional wireless LAN system, technology has been improved so that radio waves can be transmitted farther. However, the following problems have been caused by radio waves reaching farther.
[0006]
The first problem is that a terminal owned by the user can be seen from an external wireless LAN terminal such as an adjacent company or house, and communication can be performed. As a result, security degradation due to external intrusion occurs.
[0007]
The second problem is that a large number of terminals unrelated to the user are displayed on the screen of the list of wireless LAN terminals, and it is difficult to find a terminal to use. In short, even if you want to connect to the terminal in front of you, you need to search for the desired terminal from terminals that are within a few tens of meters around. In addition, in the case of devices of the same model number, there is a case where it is not possible to distinguish them on the screen, and there is a problem that it is not possible to know whether or not the terminal is correct unless the connection is made.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to provide a zone specifying system and a zone specifying method for a wireless LAN terminal that can prevent such a decrease in security and can easily search for a terminal to be connected or a terminal to be used.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention includes a plurality of directional antennas for enabling communication with a wireless LAN terminal existing in a communicable range, and the wireless LAN terminal via the plurality of directional antennas. An area specifying device including a wireless LAN communication device that communicates with the wireless LAN communication device, a storage device that stores information obtained from the wireless LAN terminal, and a CPU that controls driving of the wireless LAN communication device and the storage device. Wherein the area where the wireless LAN terminal is located is specified by the plurality of directional antennas.
[0010]
Further, the area specifying method for a wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention receives a signal from the wireless LAN terminal using the first and second directional antennas of the area specifying apparatus, and stores received data together with the reception time. And a third step of comparing whether or not the received data and the reception time are the same and determining whether or not the wireless LAN terminal is present in the same area. The fourth step of storing in the local device list of the storage device when the terminal is in the same area in the third step, and the terminal is not in the same area in the third step In some cases, after the fifth step of deleting from the in-area device list and after the fourth step, it is determined whether or not the signal received by the area identification device is an inquiry for area information. The sixth step, and if the area inquiry is not performed in the sixth step, the process is terminated as it is; if the area inquiry is performed, the area identification value information is transmitted to the wireless LAN terminal. And a step.
[0011]
Further, in the area specifying method for a wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention, after the area identification value is transmitted and received between the area specifying apparatus and the first wireless LAN terminal, the first wireless LAN terminal transmits the first area to the first wireless LAN terminal. When the wireless LAN terminal receives the control signal, the first wireless LAN terminal makes an inquiry to the area specifying device, and based on the inquiry, the area specifying device makes an inquiry to the first wireless LAN terminal. Transmitting and receiving a zone identification value, and after receiving the zone identification value, the first wireless LAN terminal determines whether the second wireless LAN terminal is present in the zone, If it is within the area, accepting the control signal from the second wireless LAN terminal if it is within the area.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an area specifying system for specifying the physical location of each wireless LAN terminal existing inside the network using an area specifying device in a network constructed by wireless LAN terminals. It is. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the area specifying system according to the present embodiment includes an area specifying device 200 and a plurality of wireless LAN terminals 100, 110, and 120. One network is constructed by the plurality of wireless LAN terminals 100, 110, and 120. In this network, the position of the fixed or movable wireless LAN terminal 100 is fixed or movable. It is specified by the area specifying device 200.
[0014]
First, the wireless LAN terminal 100 includes a computer 101 operating under program control, an input device 102 for a user to input information, a display device 103 for displaying information to the user, and a storage device 104 for storing information processed by the CPU 101. And a wireless LAN communication device 105 that performs wireless communication, and an omnidirectional antenna 106 that transmits a signal from the wireless LAN communication device 105 and receives a signal from another wireless LAN terminal. The wireless LAN terminals 110 and 120 are also configured by the same device as the wireless LAN terminal 100 described above.
[0015]
On the other hand, the area specifying device 200 includes a computer 201 that operates under program control, a storage device 202 that stores information processed by the CPU 201, a wireless LAN communication device 203 that performs wireless communication, and a wireless LAN communication device 203. , And two directional antennas 204 and 205 for transmitting signals from other wireless LAN terminals. These directional antennas 204 and 205 have communication ranges 210 and 211, respectively. Although the directional antenna 205 is disposed outside the area specifying device 200 for convenience, it may be connected to the wireless LAN communication device 203 of the area specifying apparatus 200 wirelessly.
[0016]
Normally, the directional antennas 204 and 205 have a range 210 and 211 in which radio waves can be transmitted and received only in front of the antennas. Therefore, when the directional antennas 204 and 205 are arranged with their transmitting and receiving sides facing each other, 2 Between the two antennas 204 and 205, there is an area where both antennas can transmit and receive radio waves. Therefore, when a certain wireless LAN terminal (for example, 100) transmits a radio wave, if the radio wave can be received by both the directional antenna 204 and the directional antenna 205, the wireless LAN terminal that has emitted the radio wave It can be seen that it is between the directional antenna 204 and the directional antenna 205.
[0017]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, by using the area specifying device 200 to specify the location where the wireless LAN terminal 100 is present, access from a wireless LAN terminal outside the specific area is rejected, When displaying the list, it is possible to devise, for example, to display only terminals in a specific area.
[0018]
For example, as described above, the directional antenna 204 has the communicable range 210, the directional antenna 205 has the communicable range 211 similarly, and these two communicable ranges overlap. That is, the communicable range 210 has a conical spread to the right of the directional antenna 204 and covers the wireless LAN terminals 100, 110, and 120. The communicable range 211 has a conical shape extending to the left side of the directional antenna 205 and covers the wireless LAN terminals 100 and 110.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of identification when identification values are given to the wireless LAN terminal and the communicable range in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a wireless LAN device such as the wireless LAN terminal 120 has a device identification value for identifying each wireless LAN device. For example, the device identification value of the wireless LAN terminal 100 is 100, the device identification value of the wireless LAN terminal 110 is 110, and the device identification value of the wireless LAN terminal 120 is 120. As these device identification values, device-specific values such as a media access control (MAC) address are used. Further, the area identification device 200 has an area identification value 200, and also uses a value unique to the area identification apparatus such as a MAC address.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a basic processing flowchart of the area specifying device in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, when specifying the area of the wireless LAN terminal 100 using the area specifying apparatus 200, first, the wireless LAN terminal 100 transmits a signal using the wireless LAN communication apparatus 105 and the omni-directional antenna 106 (step). A1).
[0021]
On the other hand, the area identification device 200 receives the signal from the terminal 100 using the directional antenna 204 and the wireless LAN communication device 203, and stores the received signal in the storage device 202 together with the reception time (step A2). Similarly, the area identification device 200 receives a signal using the directional antenna 205 and the wireless LAN communication device 203, and stores the signal in the storage device 202 together with the reception time (step A3).
[0022]
Next, in the area specifying device 200, the signal received by the directional antenna 204 and the reception time are compared with the signal received by the directional antenna 205, and if they are the same, the wireless LAN which is the transmission source of the signal is compared. The terminal 100 is found to be in the area with the area identification value 200 (step A4). If it is determined that the wireless LAN terminal 100 is in the area, the apparatus identification value 100 of the signal transmission source is stored in the in-area apparatus list provided in the storage device 202 (step A5). ). The in-area device list stores the device identification values of all the device terminals identified as being present in the area.
[0023]
In the above-described area specifying system, the wireless LAN terminal 100 can inquire the area specifying apparatus 200 about the area where the specific apparatus is present. That is, when the received signal is an inquiry about the information on the area (step A6), the area specifying apparatus 200 determines whether or not the apparatus identification value 100 of the designated wireless LAN terminal 100 is included in the in-area apparatus list. Is returned, and if it is included, the area identification value 200 is returned to the wireless LAN terminal 100 (step A7). As a result, the wireless LAN terminal 100 receives the area identification value 200 from the area specifying device 200 (Step A8).
[0024]
Further, when it is determined that the signal received in step A4 is out of the area, the apparatus identification value 100 of the wireless LAN terminal 100 that transmitted the signal is searched from the in-area apparatus list in the storage device 202, If it exists, it is deleted from the local device list (step A9). At this time, for example, when a signal is transmitted from the wireless LAN terminal 120, NO is determined in step A4, and the process of step A9, that is, the flow is performed.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a rejection process when communication from outside the area occurs in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, in the process of rejecting communication from outside the area, first, when the wireless LAN terminal 100 is powered on (step B1), the wireless LAN terminal 100 inquires in which area the wireless LAN terminal 100 is located (step B2). In response to this, the area specifying device 200 receives the inquiry (step B3) and transmits the area identification value of the area specifying device 200 (step B4). Thereafter, wireless LAN terminal 100 receives the area identification value (step B5). The processes of steps B2 to B5 have the same contents as steps A1 to A9 in the flow of FIG. 3 described above.
[0026]
Here, it is assumed that the wireless LAN terminal 110 has transmitted a control signal to control the wireless LAN terminal 100 (step B6). As a result, the wireless LAN terminal 100 that has received the control signal receives the control signal from the wireless LAN terminal 110 (Step B7).
[0027]
Next, the wireless LAN terminal 100 inquires of the area specifying device 200 about the area where the wireless LAN terminal 110 that is the source of the received control signal is present (step B8). When the area specifying device 200 receives the inquiry from the wireless LAN terminal 100 (step B9), the area specifying device 200 checks the area in which the wireless LAN terminal 110 exists with respect to the wireless LAN terminal 100, and determines the area identification value 200. Is returned (step B10). Thereby, the wireless LAN terminal 100 receives the signal from the area identification device 200 (Step B11). The processing of steps B8 to B11 has the same contents as steps A1 to A9 in the flow of FIG. 3 described above.
[0028]
Further, the wireless LAN terminal 100 determines whether or not the area where the wireless LAN terminal 110 is located is the same as its own area (step B12). If the area is the same, the control received in step B6 described above. The signal is accepted (step B13). If the area where the wireless LAN terminal 110 is present is different in step B12, the process ends without doing anything. That is, in the case of a control signal from the wireless LAN terminal 120, the flow becomes NO in step B12, and the control process ends without performing the process in step B13.
[0029]
The above is the rejection processing flow when communication from outside the area occurs. Next, automatic connection of devices in the area will be described.
[0030]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the automatic connection processing of the devices in the area in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, upon automatic connection from a terminal in the same area, the wireless LAN terminal 100 acquires its own area from the area specifying device 200 when the power is turned on (step C1) (step C2). Steps C1 to C2 are the same as steps B1 to B5 in FIG. 4 described above.
[0031]
Next, the wireless LAN terminal 100 searches for nearby wireless LAN terminals (step C3). For all the found wireless LAN terminals, the existing area is acquired by the area specifying device 200, and only the terminals in the same area as the user are extracted. At this time, if the service provided by each terminal can be acquired, the service is acquired, and only the terminal providing the service desired to be used is extracted (step C4).
[0032]
Further, as a result of extracting the terminals in the same area, it is determined whether there is only one terminal in the same area (step C5). A connection is made to the terminal (step C6). However, in step C5, when there is not only one remaining terminal, that is, when there are zero or more terminals, the automatic connection process ends without performing step C6.
[0033]
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying device for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the present embodiment is an example in which four directional antennas are provided in the area specifying device, and the directional antenna 206 and the directional antenna 206 in the first example of FIG. The directional antenna 207 is added. Note that a configuration using three or more directional antennas is also conceivable when, for example, narrowing the transmittable / receivable area.
[0034]
FIG. 7 is a terminal list display screen diagram for distinguishing terminals existing within a radio wave reach in the area specifying device for explaining the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the present embodiment is a screen on wireless LAN terminal 100 that uses area specifying device 200 to display a list of terminals existing within a radio wave reachable range. The terminal list 300 is displayed on the wireless LAN terminal 100 by dividing the inside and outside of the area by using the area identification device 200. That is, as terminals in the area, there are a first television, a first mobile phone, a printer, and a PDA, and their model numbers are ○ or ○, respectively. In addition, as terminals outside the area, there are a second television and second and third mobile phones, and their model numbers are respectively XXX and XXX. As described above, the terminals may be displayed for each area, and the terminals in the same area may be highlighted.
[0035]
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the present embodiment is a case where there are a plurality of zone specifying devices 200 and 210. That is, in addition to the first wireless LAN system including the wireless LAN terminals 100 and 110, the area specifying device 200, and the directional antennas 204 and 205, the wireless LAN terminals 120, 130, and 140, and the area specifying device There is a second wireless LAN system that includes a wireless communication system 210 and directional antennas 214 and 215. Here, the communicable range of the zone identification device 200 has a value of zone identification value 200, and wireless LAN terminals 100 and 110 exist in this zone. Similarly, the communicable range of the area identification device 210 has a value of an area identification value 210, and wireless LAN terminals 120, 130, and 140 exist in this area. However, the wireless LAN terminal 150 does not belong to any area.
[0036]
For example, when the wireless LAN terminal 100 wants to communicate only with the wireless LAN terminal in the same area as itself, the area identification value of the communication partner is acquired, and if the area identification value is 200, communication is performed. In the case of this example, communication with only the wireless LAN terminal 110 becomes possible.
[0037]
When it is desired to communicate with both the wireless LAN terminals in the area 200 and the area 210, the area identification devices 200 and 210 are inquired about the area identification value of the communication partner. In this case, communication with the wireless LAN terminals 110, 120, 130, and 140 becomes possible. In the present embodiment, communication can normally be performed only in one conference room, and in some cases, communication can be performed across two conference rooms.
[0038]
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the present embodiment is a case where a plurality of area specifying devices 200 and 210 overlap. While the above-described example of FIG. 8 is adjacent to two areas, FIG. 9 is a case where one area includes another area.
[0039]
For example, such a configuration can be used in a case where communication is desired only in the conference room and a case where communication is desired only in the conference room and only for each table.
[0040]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list display screen of terminals existing within a radio wave reach range when a plurality of zone specifying devices are used in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, in the present embodiment, a plurality of zone specifying devices 200 and 210 are used, and a terminal to be managed is determined for each of the zone specifying devices 200 and 210. Here, a screen for displaying a map 301 of terminals existing within a radio wave reach range is shown. For example, the terminal map 301 uses a plurality of area specifying apparatuses 200 and 210 and is controlled for each of the area specifying apparatuses 200 and 210. Devices are mapped.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention uses the area specifying device having a plurality of directional antennas to specify the area of the wireless LAN terminal transmitting the radio wave, and There is an effect that the area where the transmitting wireless LAN terminal exists can be specified.
[0042]
Further, the present invention can ignore or reject a signal from a wireless LAN terminal existing in a specific area, and thus has the effect of increasing security in the wireless LAN terminal.
[0043]
Further, according to the present invention, the terminal which is located in the same area as the terminal operated by the user can be distinguished by the area specifying device, so that the operation of selecting the existing wireless LAN terminal can be simplified. That is, if all the wireless LAN terminals within the range of the wireless communication can be connected, the user can select from the list of many displayed terminals even though he / she wants to connect to the terminal in front of him / her. Although it is necessary to search for a terminal, the present invention eliminates this need.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a zone specification system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of identification when an identification value is given to each of a wireless LAN terminal and a communicable range in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a basic processing flowchart of the area specifying device in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a rejection process when communication from outside the area occurs in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an automatic connection process of the devices in the area in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying device for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a terminal list display screen for distinguishing terminals existing within a radio wave reach range in an area specifying device for describing a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an area specifying system of a wireless LAN terminal for explaining a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list display screen of terminals existing within a radio wave reach range when a plurality of area specifying devices are used in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 Wireless LAN terminals 101, 201 CPU
102 input device 103 display device 104, 202 storage device 105, 203 wireless LAN communication device 106 omnidirectional antenna 200, 210 area specifying device 204, 205, 206, 207, 214, 215 directional antenna 300 terminal list 301 terminal map

Claims (8)

A plurality of directional antennas for enabling communication with a wireless LAN terminal present in a communicable range; a wireless LAN communication device for communicating with the wireless LAN terminal via the plurality of directional antennas; An area specifying device including a storage device for storing information obtained from the wireless LAN terminal, and a CPU for controlling the operation of the wireless LAN communication device and the storage device; An area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal, wherein the area is specified by the plurality of directional antennas. 2. The area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the area specifying devices are provided, and the communicable ranges are set independently or overlap each other. The wireless LAN terminal includes an input device, a display device, a storage device, a wireless LAN communication device, and an omnidirectional antenna, and performs communication only when supplemented by the plurality of directional antennas of the area identification device. The area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein the system is enabled. 2. The area specifying system for a wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of directional antennas of the area specifying device are arranged to face each other such that the communicable ranges face each other. 2. The area identification system for a wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein an area identification value is set for the communicable range of the area identification device. First and second steps of receiving a signal from a wireless LAN terminal using first and second directional antennas of an area specifying device, and storing received data together with the reception time in a storage device; A third step of comparing whether or not the received data and the received time are the same, and determining whether the wireless LAN terminal is present in the same area; A fourth step of storing in the local device list of the storage device when there is, and a fifth step of deleting from the local device list if the terminal is not in the same region in the third step. A sixth step of, after the fourth step, determining whether or not the signal received by the area specifying device is an inquiry about area information; and If not, the process is terminated as it is. However, in the case of an area inquiry, a seventh step of transmitting area identification value information to the wireless LAN terminal is included. Area identification method. Upon automatic connection in the same area, the wireless LAN terminal obtains its own area from the area specifying device when the power is turned on, and after obtaining this area, the wireless LAN terminal transmits the wireless LAN Performing a terminal search, obtaining an existing area by the area specifying device for all the found wireless LAN terminals, and extracting only the terminal in the same area as the terminal; and after passing through the extraction step Determining whether there is only one terminal in the area. If the number of the terminals is only one in the determination step, the terminal is connected to the terminal in the area. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the area is specified. When the first wireless LAN terminal receives a control signal from a second wireless LAN terminal after transmitting and receiving an area identification value between the area specifying device and the first wireless LAN terminal, Making an inquiry to the area identification device from the wireless LAN terminal, transmitting and receiving an area identification value from the area identification device to the first wireless LAN terminal based on the inquiry; After the reception, the first wireless LAN terminal determines whether or not the second wireless LAN terminal is present in the area. And accepting the control signal from the second wireless LAN terminal.

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