JP2017139821A - Radio communication device, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the possibility of selecting a route which includes a relay device having a short remaining drive time.SOLUTION: A radio communication device transmits data to one relay device out of communicable first relay devices among a plurality of relay devices, as a relay destination. The radio communication device acquires, from each of the first relay devices, first information which represents the remaining drive time of each relay device existent on a relay route from the first relay device to the target device, to determine to search for a new route based on the first information, so as to increase the transmission power of a transmitter unit. Using the transmitter unit having the increased transmission power, the radio communication device transmits a request, to receive from all or a part of the second relay devices, which are relay devices receiving the request, each response including second information which represents the remaining drive time of each relay device existent on the relay route from the second relay device to the target device. Based on the second information, the radio communication device selects a data relay destination from the second relay devices.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a wireless communication apparatus and method, and a program.

  Conventionally, in a relay network including a plurality of nodes (relay devices), a method of making it difficult to select a node with a low battery level as a parent node, or a node on a route with a node with a low battery level as a parent node There was a way to make it difficult to select. In any of the methods, when the node that can be selected as the parent node is only the node having the short remaining driving time, the node having the short remaining driving time has to be selected as the parent node.

JP 2006-245854 A JP 2005-244381 A

A. M.M. El-Semmary and M.M. M.M. A. Azim, “Path energy weight: a global energy-aware routing protocol for wireless sensor network.” In Proc. of IFIP WD, Venice, Oct. 2010.

  An embodiment of the present invention aims to reduce the possibility of selecting a relay route including a relay device with a short remaining drive time.

  A wireless communication device as an embodiment of the present invention is a wireless communication device included in a wireless relay network, and includes a determination unit, a transmission unit, a reception unit, and a route selection unit.

The determination unit uses a value based on a first remaining drive time of the relay device existing on a relay route from a plurality of first relay devices included in the wireless relay network to a target device included in the wireless relay network. To determine whether to perform a new route search.

  The transmitting unit transmits data to at least one first relay device included in the plurality of communicable first relay devices among the plurality of relay devices, and the determining unit performs the new route search. If determined, the request information is transmitted by increasing the transmission power of the transmission unit.

  The receiving unit includes a plurality of second relay devices that have received the request information among the plurality of relay devices, and the second relay device that exists on a relay route from each of the second relay devices to the target device. 2 Response information including a value based on the remaining driving time is received.

  The route selection unit selects a data relay destination from the plurality of second relay devices based on the response information.

  The route selection unit may select a data relay destination from second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than a first threshold.

  The transmission unit may further increase transmission power when there is no second relay device having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than the first threshold.

  The path selection unit selects a second relay device having a largest value based on the second remaining drive time when there are a plurality of second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than the first threshold. It may be selected as a relay destination.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication apparatus according to a first embodiment. The conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communication concerning 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the remaining drive time concerning 1st Embodiment. The flowchart of the path | route state determination process concerning 1st Embodiment. The flowchart of the new route search process concerning 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the path | route information list concerning 1st Embodiment. The flowchart of the path | route construction response process concerning 1st Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of parent node selection processing according to the first embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows the entire wireless communication system according to the first embodiment.

  A plurality of wireless communication devices (relay devices) N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, and N6 exist as nodes of the relay network. The node N6 at the final stage of the relay network is a relay target device, and is connected to the aggregation device (target device) 202 via the network 201.

  A communication route (relay route) for transmitting data generated by the wireless communication devices N1 to N6 to the aggregation device 202 is constructed between these wireless communication devices that constitute the relay network. The arrows between the wireless communication apparatuses in the figure represent the relay route. The data relayed to the node N6 of the target device is transferred from the node N6 to the aggregation device 202 via the network 201.

  In this example, the node connected to the network 201 is one of the nodes N6. However, a form in which a plurality of nodes are connected to the network 201, that is, a plurality of target devices function as nodes at the final stage of the relay network. There can also be a form.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the wireless communication apparatus according to the first embodiment. The illustrated configuration can be used as the configuration of each of the wireless communication devices N1 to N6 illustrated in FIG.

  2 includes a reception unit 101, a request processing unit 102, a storage unit 103, a comparison unit 104, a path selection unit (including an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a transmission processing unit) 105, transmission power A control unit 106, a transmission unit 107, a drive time estimation unit 108, and a battery 109 are provided.

  The transmission unit 107 transmits a signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 101 receives a signal wirelessly. As the wireless system, any system can be used according to the usage pattern of the apparatus. The transmission unit 107 transmits data to be transmitted to another wireless communication device that is a relay destination. The data to be transmitted may be data received from another wireless communication device or data measured by a measuring means (not shown) of the device.

  The remaining drive time estimation unit 108 estimates the remaining drive time of the battery 109, that is, the remaining drive time of the present apparatus. The remaining drive time is an evaluation value of the time until the battery 109 is consumed. The remaining drive time can be calculated as shown in Equation 1, for example. However, this estimation method is an example, and another method can be used.

(Formula 1)
Remaining drive time = battery capacity [Ah] * remaining battery [%] / current consumption during transmission [A]
≒ Battery level / 10 ^ (Transmission power setting [dBm] / 10)
The transmission power control unit 106 controls the transmission power (transmission output) of the transmission unit 107.

  The storage unit 103 stores a route information list and data to be transmitted to the relay destination. The route information list and the data may be stored in separate storage units. Data is measured and stored by a measuring means (not shown) connected in the apparatus or connected to the apparatus. For example, data relating to the state of the apparatus such as power consumption of the apparatus and whether or not there is an abnormality in the apparatus, or data relating to the environment around the apparatus such as temperature and acceleration is measured by the measurement unit and stored in the storage unit 103. The data is read from the storage unit 103 and transmitted to the relay destination device at regular intervals from the transmission unit 107 or at a timing requested from the outside.

  The route information list is set from the ID of another wireless communication device that exists in a range capable of communicating with the wireless communication device and the device having the ID to the relay target device (node N6 in the example of FIG. 2). The remaining drive time of the route (set route) is stored. An example of a route information list stored in a certain device is shown in FIG. This device can communicate with the devices A, B, C, and D, and the remaining drive time of the setting path for each device is 10, 100, 1000, and 1, respectively.

  Here, the remaining drive time of the set path is information representative of the remaining drive time of the apparatus existing on the set path (relay path) from the apparatus with the ID to the target apparatus. For example, the information indicates the lowest value (worst value) among the remaining drive times of the devices included in all or part of the set route for the ID. The remaining drive time of the device (parent node) with the ID may be indicated, or the lowest remaining drive time of the device on the path from the parent node to the last node may be indicated. Alternatively, when the number of nodes at the final stage connected to the network is 1, only the path part to the node immediately before the final stage node is targeted, and the drive with the lowest value among the devices on the path part is performed. Time may be employed. Other methods may be used. For example, the average time of the remaining drive time of each device on the path may be used.

  The relay destination (that is, the parent node) of this wireless communication device is set in advance to one of the devices registered in the route information list (for example, the device having the longest remaining drive time for the set route). Alternatively, a configuration is possible in which all devices registered in the route information list are set as the parent node, and one device having the highest remaining drive time of the set route is selected from the parent node every time data is transmitted.

In the following description, it is assumed that one parent node is set in advance unless otherwise specified.
An initial route is constructed by an initial operation of the route selection unit 105 or an operation setting by the user. The initial path construction may be performed without considering the remaining drive time, assuming that the remaining drive time of the battery of each device is sufficient, or the path can be constructed in consideration of the remaining drive time of the apparatus. . In the following, the description will be continued on the assumption that the initial path construction has been completed.

  Here, the details of the remaining drive time of the setting path for the node will be described with reference to FIG.

  Here, for simplicity of explanation, a relay network composed of nodes A, B, C, D, E, F, and Z is assumed. The node Z (not shown) is assumed to be a relay target device. Nodes A, B, and C can communicate with node Z and are child nodes of node Z.

  Each of the nodes D and E can communicate with the nodes A to C, but cannot communicate with the node Z. The remaining drive time of node D is 1200, and the remaining drive time of node E is 500. The nodes D and E have information on the remaining drive time of the setting paths of the nodes A to C. The minimum remaining drive time of a device existing on a path from a certain node to the last node Z is set as the remaining drive time of the setting path for the node. Therefore, the remaining drive time of the set path for the nodes A to C matches the remaining drive time of the nodes A to C themselves.

  Nodes (relay destination candidates) that can be selected as the parent node of node D are A to C, and among these, node C is set as the parent node (relay destination). Node E's relay destination candidates are A to C, and node C is set as the parent node.

  Here, the node F is a node that can communicate with the nodes D and E and cannot communicate with the nodes Z and AC. Consider a case where the node F acquires the remaining drive time of the set path for the node D. Since node D has a route with node C as the parent node, node D notifies node F of the smaller value of the drive time of the set route for node C and its remaining drive time. Since the remaining driving time of the setting path for node C is 1000 and the remaining driving time of node D is 1200, the value of 1000 is notified to node F as the remaining driving time of the setting path for node D. Similarly, the remaining drive time 500 is notified from the node E to the node F as the remaining drive time of the set path for the node E.

  In this way, the node F acquires the remaining drive time of the set route for each of the relay destination candidates (D, E). When an algorithm for selecting a path with a long remaining drive time is employed, the node F selects the node D as a parent node.

  A route selection unit (acquisition unit, determination unit, transmission processing unit) 105 periodically uses a remaining drive time estimation unit 108, a comparison unit 104, a transmission power control unit 106, a transmission unit 107, and a reception unit 101. Starts the route status determination operation. The route selection unit 105 maintains the current parent node (relay destination) or switches to another parent node as a result of performing the route state determination operation.

  The acquisition unit of the route selection unit 105 transmits a remaining drive time acquisition request to the parent node, and acquires the remaining drive time of the currently set route from the parent node. Further, the route selection unit 105 transmits a remaining drive time acquisition request to a communicable node (relay destination candidate) other than the parent node, and acquires the remaining drive time of the set route for the relay destination candidate. The route selection unit 105 adds or overwrites the acquired information to the route information list in the storage unit 103. The remaining drive time may be acquired by a processing unit different from the route selection unit 105 as a process different from the route selection process, periodically or at an arbitrary timing.

  The comparison unit 104 accesses the storage unit 103 under the control of the route selection unit 104 and determines whether the remaining drive time of the current set route of the parent node is smaller than the set value (threshold value). If the drive time is smaller than the set value, it is determined whether the remaining drive time of the set route of the relay destination candidate other than the parent node is smaller than the set value.

The determination unit of the route selection unit 105 determines to perform a new route search when the remaining drive time of the set routes of all relay destination candidates including the current parent node is smaller than the set value. First, the route selection unit 105 causes the transmission power control unit 106 to increase the transmission power (transmission output) of the transmission unit 107, and the transmission processing unit of the route selection unit 105 transmits a route construction request from the transmission unit 107.
The route construction request includes a transmission source ID that is an ID of its own device and a transmission output value after the transmission unit 107 increases. The transmission output value after the increase of the transmission unit 107 may be advertised. In this case, the transmission output value may not be included in the route construction request.

  The route selection unit 105 checks whether a response to the route construction request is received by the reception unit 101 from a device other than the devices registered in the route information list. When a response is received, a device that returns a response that satisfies a condition that the remaining drive time of the set route satisfies a condition larger than the set value is selected as a new relay destination candidate, and a new parent is selected from the relay destination candidates. Select a node (new relay destination).

  If there is no response, or even if there is a response, if there is no device that satisfies such conditions, the output of the transmission unit 107 is increased and the same processing is repeated.

  The route selection unit 105 adds or overwrites information about the device that has returned the response to the route information list in the storage unit 103.

  Note that a response from a device already stored in the list may be ignored (without overwriting the response information). Alternatively, the device that has received the route construction request may be configured not to return a response within a certain period of time after receiving the previous route construction request or receiving the remaining drive time acquisition request.

  Here, it will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3 that the choice of route construction can be increased by increasing the transmission power of the transmission unit 107. When the leftmost node N11 performs wireless communication with a transmission output that reaches within a solid arc, the nodes that can communicate are the two nodes N12 and N13 at the center. That is, the arc is a communicable range. When wireless communication is performed with a transmission output that reaches within the dotted arc by increasing the transmission power of the leftmost node N11, the communicable nodes include the rightmost node N14 in addition to the nodes N12 and N13. The dotted arc indicates the communicable range after the transmission power is increased. Therefore, by increasing the transmission output of radio waves, the number of communicable nodes is increased by 1 to 3 nodes.

  The request processing unit 102 checks whether the receiving unit 101 has received a route construction request. When the route construction request is received, the transmission source ID and the transmission output value included in the route construction request are read.

  The request processing unit 102 determines whether the current transmission output value of the transmission unit 107 is smaller than the read transmission output value. When the current transmission output value is smaller than the read transmission output value and the read value does not exceed the upper limit value, the transmission power control unit 106 is used to set the transmission output of the read value to the transmission unit 107. .

  The request processing unit 102 uses the remaining drive time estimation unit 108 to estimate the remaining drive time of the battery. The request processing unit 102 transmits a route construction response including the remaining drive time of the set route of this apparatus to the transmission source apparatus, with the transmission source ID included in the route construction request as a destination. The remaining drive time may be estimated when a route construction request is received, or the remaining drive time may be periodically estimated and stored in the storage unit. In the example of the method shown in FIG. 4, the remaining drive time of the setting path of the present apparatus is the smaller of the remaining drive time of the own apparatus and the remaining drive time of the setting path of the relay destination. In the case of a method using the remaining drive time of the parent node as the remaining drive time of the setting path, the remaining drive time of the own device may be returned.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation when the route selection unit 105 determines the start of the route state determination operation.

  When the route selection unit 105 periodically determines the start of the route state determination operation, the comparison unit 104 determines whether or not the remaining drive time of the current route of the parent node is smaller than the set value (step S101).

  If the remaining drive time of the current route is smaller than the set value as a result of the determination in step S101, the comparison unit 104 has a remaining drive time of the route for another route, that is, a relay candidate other than the parent node, smaller than the set value. Whether or not (step S102).

  As a result of the determination in step S102, if all remaining drive times of other routes are smaller than the set value, the route selection unit 105 determines to execute a new route search (step S103).

  If the result of determination in step S101 is that the remaining drive time of the current route is greater than or equal to the set value, the current route is maintained (step S104).

If the result of determination in step S102 is that there is a remaining drive time that is greater than or equal to the set value in other routes, that route is set as a new route (step S104).
When there are a plurality of other paths having a remaining drive time equal to or greater than the set value, one path may be selected by an arbitrary method. For example, a method of selecting a route having the longest remaining drive time can be considered.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the new route search operation performed in step S103 of FIG.

  First, the route selection unit 105 determines whether or not the set value of the current transmission output (transmission power) in the transmission unit 107 has reached a settable upper limit value (step S201).

  If the current transmission output has reached the upper limit value as a result of the determination in step S201, the comparison unit 104 selects a node having the longest remaining drive time of the route from the route information list as a parent node (step S202). . A new route is set by setting the node selected in step S202 as a relay destination (step S209).

  As a result of the determination in step S201, when the current transmission output has not reached the upper limit value, the transmission power control unit 106 increases the transmission output of the transmission unit 107 (step S203). Any method can be used for the increase method. For example, it may be increased by a certain value, may be increased by a certain percentage of the current value, or may be increased by other methods.

  When the transmission power control unit 106 increases the transmission output of the transmission unit 107, the transmission unit 107 transmits a route construction request (step S204). The route construction request includes the transmission source ID and the transmission output value of the transmission unit 104.

The route selection unit 105 determines whether a response from a device not registered in the route information list is received by the reception unit 101 as a response to the route construction request (step S205).
If there is no such response, the process returns to step S201 for determining whether the transmission output has reached the upper limit value.

  If such a response is received in step S205, the number of devices that satisfy the condition that the remaining drive time is greater than the set value among the wireless communication devices (terminals) that have returned the response is confirmed (S206). In addition, the information of the device that has returned the response is added to the route information list.

  When two or more wireless communication devices satisfying the condition are selected, one wireless communication device is selected as a parent node from these wireless communication devices (S207). As a selection method, a node having the largest remaining drive time value on the path may be selected, or another method (see FIG. 9) described later can be used. A new route is set by setting the node selected in step S207 as a relay destination (step S209).

  If there is one wireless communication device that satisfies the condition, that wireless communication device is determined as a new parent node (step S208). A new route is set with the node selected in step S208 as the relay destination (step S209).

  If there are no wireless communication apparatuses satisfying the condition, the process returns to step S201 for determining whether the transmission output has reached the upper limit value.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing route construction response processing performed when the wireless communication apparatus receives a route construction request.

  When the receiving unit 101 receives the route construction request, the request processing unit 102 reads the transmission source ID and the transmission output value included in the route construction request (step S301). When the transmission output value is advertised separately, the advertised transmission output value may be used.

  The request processing unit 102 determines whether the current transmission output value of the transmission unit 107 is greater than or equal to the read transmission output value (S302). When the current transmission output value of the transmission unit 107 is smaller than the read transmission output value, it is determined whether the read transmission output value exceeds an upper limit value that can be set in the transmission unit 107 (step S303).

  When the read transmission output value does not exceed the upper limit value, the transmission power control unit 106 sets the transmission power of the read value in the transmission unit 107 (step S304).

  Next, the drive time estimation unit 108 estimates the remaining drive time of the apparatus based on the information on the battery 109 and the setting of the transmission unit 107 (step S305). If it is determined in step S302 that the current transmission output value is greater than or equal to the read transmission output value, the process of step S305 is executed.

  Next, the transmission unit 107 uses the transmission source ID included in the route construction request as a destination, and a route construction response including the smaller value of the remaining drive time estimated in step S305 and the remaining drive time of the parent node. Is transmitted (step S306). As another method, there may be a form including the remaining driving time of the own node.

  If it is determined in step S303 that the read transmission output exceeds the upper limit value, the process ends without transmitting a route construction response.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the parent node selection process performed in step S207 of FIG. Here, an example of operation when there is a response to a route construction request from a wireless communication device with device IDs A, B, and C, and any of the remaining drive times of routes A, B, and C is greater than a set value is shown. In this operation example, the possibility of being selected as a parent node is increased as the remaining drive time of the path is increased.

  When the remaining drive times of the paths of the devices A, B, and C are TA, TB, and TC, the ratios PA, PB, and PC of the remaining drive times with respect to the total of TA, TB, and TC are calculated as shown in Equation 2. (Step S401).

(Formula 2)
PA = TA / (TA + TB + TC) PB = TB / (TA + TB + TC) PC = TC / (TA + TB + TC)
Next, a random number R from 0 to 1 is generated (step S402).

  When the random number R is 0 or more and less than PA, the device A is selected as a parent node (steps S403 and S405).

  If the random number R is greater than or equal to PA and less than PA + PB, the device B is selected as the parent node (step S406).

  If the random number R is greater than or equal to PA + PB, the device C is selected as the parent node (step S407).

  As described above, according to the wireless communication apparatus according to the first embodiment, when the nodes that can be selected as the parent node are only the nodes having a short remaining drive time, the node that can be selected as the parent node by increasing the transmission power. (Relay destination candidates) can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to increase the possibility of selecting a route with a long remaining drive time.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, one parent node is selected, and data is transferred to the selected parent node.
In the second embodiment, when all devices satisfying the remaining drive time of the path that are larger than the set value are selected as parent nodes and actual data transmission is performed, data transfer is performed from these parent nodes. Determine the destination.

  Although one parent node is selected in step S207 of FIG. 6 of the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the processing may be replaced so that all nodes are selected as parent nodes in this step.

  Moreover, what is necessary is just to replace the process of FIG.5 S101 and S102 as follows. In other words, if there is at least one device that satisfies the condition that the remaining drive time of the route is equal to or greater than the set value among all communicable devices, the new route search is not performed and one device that satisfies the condition exists. If not, a new route search may be performed.

  The operation for determining the data transfer destination in the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation. This operation is performed by the route selection unit 105. Here, description will be made assuming that the devices A, B, and C are devices that satisfy the above conditions.

  First, the ratios PA, PB, and PC of the remaining drive times with respect to the total of the remaining drive times of the paths passing through the devices A, B, and C are calculated by the above-described equation 2 (step S501).

  Next, the data transmission ratios RA, RB, RC of the devices A, B, C are calculated by Equation 3 (step S502). In Equation 3, DA, DB, and DC are the total amounts of data transmitted so far from this apparatus, with the node A, node B, and node C as destinations, respectively. RA, RB, and RC are ratios of the total amount of data transmitted to nodes A, B, and C, respectively, to the total of these total data amounts.

(Formula 3)
RA = DA / (DA + DB + DC) RB = DB / (DA + DB + DC) RC = DC / (DA + DB + DC)
It is determined whether the data transmission ratio RA of the device A is smaller than the operation time ratio P of the device A (step S503).

  If the determination in step S503 is true, apparatus A is selected as the destination (step S503).

  If the determination in step S503 is false, it is determined whether the data transmission ratio RB of the device B is smaller than the operation time ratio PB of the device B (step S504).

  If the determination in step S504 is true, apparatus B is selected as the destination (step S506).

  If the determination in step S504 is false, device C is selected as the destination (step 7).

  According to the above operation, the destination is selected so that the data transmission ratio approaches the path remaining drive time ratio for each node, thereby reducing the possibility of selecting a device having a shorter path remaining drive time as the destination. it can.

  Note that this wireless communication device can also be realized, for example, by using a general-purpose computer device as basic hardware. That is, the transmission unit, the reception unit, the request processing unit, the comparison unit, the route selection unit, and the transmission output control unit can be realized by causing a processor mounted on the computer device to execute a program. At this time, the wireless communication device may be realized by installing the above program in a computer device in advance, or may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or distributed through the network. Thus, this program may be realized by appropriately installing it in a computer device. The storage unit can be realized by appropriately using a memory, a hard disk or a storage medium such as a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-RAM, a DVD-R, or the like built in or externally attached to the computer device. it can.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

101: reception unit 102: request processing unit 103: storage unit 104: comparison unit 105: route selection unit 106: transmission power control unit 107: transmission unit 108: remaining drive time estimation unit 109: battery

Claims (17)

A wireless communication device included in a wireless relay network,
The first remaining drive time of the relay device existing on the relay path from the plurality of first relay devices capable of communication to the target device included in the wireless relay network among the plurality of relay devices included in the wireless relay network A determination unit that determines whether to perform a new route search using a value based on
When the data is transmitted to at least one first relay device included in the plurality of first relay devices and the determination unit determines to perform the new route search, the transmission power of the transmission unit is increased. A transmission unit for transmitting the request information
Second remaining drive of the relay device existing on a relay path from each of the second relay devices to the target device from the plurality of second relay devices that have received the request information among the plurality of first relay devices. A receiver for receiving response information including a value based on time;
A route selection unit that selects a relay destination of data from the plurality of second relay devices based on the response information;
A wireless communication device comprising: The route selection unit selects a data relay destination from second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than a first threshold;
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1. The transmitter further increases the transmission power when there is no second relay device having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than the first threshold.
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2. The path selection unit selects a second relay device having a largest value based on the second remaining drive time when there are a plurality of second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than the first threshold. Select a relay destination,
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2. When there are a plurality of second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than the first threshold, the route selection unit has a higher probability as the second relay device having a larger value of the second remaining drive time. select,
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2. The path selection unit selects a plurality of the second relay devices as relay destinations when there are a plurality of the second relay devices having a value based on the second remaining drive time equal to or greater than a first threshold;
The transmission unit has a first ratio representing a data amount to be transmitted to each relay destination with respect to a total amount of data to be transmitted to the relay destination, and the relay destination has a first ratio representing a total value based on the second remaining drive time. Transmitting the data so as to approach a second ratio that is a ratio of values based on the second remaining drive time;
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that a new route search is performed when all values based on the first remaining drive time are less than a second threshold. The value based on the first remaining drive time represents the minimum value of the remaining drive times of the relay devices existing in all or part of the relay path from the first relay device to the target device. The second remaining drive time 8. The value based on represents a minimum value of the remaining drive time of the relay device existing in all or part of the relay route from the second relay device to the target device. 8. Communication device. The value based on the first remaining driving time represents the remaining driving time of the first relay device, and the value based on the second remaining driving time represents the remaining driving time of the second relay device. The wireless communication device according to any one of the above. The request information includes transmission power information of the transmission unit after the transmission power is increased.
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. Battery,
A remaining drive time estimation unit that estimates the remaining drive time of the battery based on the remaining amount of the battery and the transmission power of the transmission unit;
The transmission unit increases the transmission power of the transmission unit based on the transmission power information when the request information is received by the reception unit from one of the relay devices,
The transmission unit transmits second response information including a remaining drive time of a device existing on a relay route from the relay destination to a target device and the estimated remaining drive time to the relay device. The wireless communication device described. 12. The second response information is a minimum value of a remaining drive time of a relay device existing in all or a part of a relay route from the relay destination to a target device and the estimated remaining drive time. The wireless communication device described. The wireless communication device according to claim 11, wherein the second response information is a remaining drive time estimated by the remaining drive time estimation unit. The said receiving part receives the said response information from relay apparatuses other than a said 1st relay apparatus among the 2nd relay apparatuses which received the request information which the said transmission part transmitted. The wireless communication device described. The radio communication device according to claim 1, wherein the radio communication device is used as one of the plurality of relay devices. A wireless communication method for a wireless relay network,
The first remaining drive time of the relay device existing on the relay path from the plurality of first relay devices capable of communication to the target device included in the wireless relay network among the plurality of relay devices included in the wireless relay network A decision step for deciding whether to perform a new route search using a value based on
When the data is transmitted to at least one first relay device included in the plurality of first relay devices and the determination unit determines to perform the new route search, the transmission power of the transmission unit is increased. Sending the request information,
Second remaining drive of the relay device existing on a relay path from each of the second relay devices to the target device from the plurality of second relay devices that have received the request information among the plurality of first relay devices. A receiving step for receiving response information including a value based on time;
A route selection step of selecting a data relay destination from the plurality of second relay devices based on the response information;
A wireless communication method comprising: A program for a wireless relay network,
The first remaining drive time of the relay device existing on the relay path from the plurality of first relay devices capable of communication to the target device included in the wireless relay network among the plurality of relay devices included in the wireless relay network A decision step for deciding whether to perform a new route search using a value based on
When the data is transmitted to at least one first relay device included in the plurality of first relay devices and the determination unit determines to perform the new route search, the transmission power of the transmission unit is increased. Sending the request information,
Second remaining drive of the relay device existing on a relay path from each of the second relay devices to the target device from the plurality of second relay devices that have received the request information among the plurality of first relay devices. A receiving step for receiving response information including a value based on time;
A route selection step of selecting a data relay destination from the plurality of second relay devices based on the response information;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images