JP4527162B2 - Wireless relay device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a wireless communication relay device.

    Conventionally, communication equipment conforming to TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is generally used for packet communication, and packet transfer between networks is performed using network devices such as routers and switches. . A router usually connects a plurality of networks by cable. In addition, the router has a function of transmitting, that is, transferring, an input data packet to another network in accordance with destination information included in the data packet transmitted from the connected network. On the other hand, there is a wireless router that connects a plurality of networks using radio. In this wireless router, the interface of the router is replaced with a wireless interface. (For example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

In recent years, wireless terminals carried by users are diversified, and wireless interfaces conforming to various wireless communication standards are used. For example, wireless LAN compliant with Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard (IEEE802.11), mobile phone, WiMAX standard (IEEE802.16), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard (IEEE802.15.1). A wireless terminal. Since the standards are not compatible, a wireless terminal having only a specific wireless interface can be connected to the network only in an area where the corresponding wireless communication standard is serviced. In addition, each wireless communication system has advantages and disadvantages, and there is currently no service of a standard that can use wireless communication anywhere with a high communication speed and a wide communication range. On the other hand, with an increase in wireless terminals, which are small portable wireless communication devices, there is an increasing demand for communication using wireless terminals while the user is moving or moving.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., “Router”, [online], [Search June 23, 2008], <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Router> Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. “Starts selling FITELnet-F140 wireless router for high-speed data communication cards”, [online], [Search June 23, 2008], <http://www.furukawa.co.jp/ what / 2008 / comm_080603.htm>

  However, a wireless terminal usually has only a wireless interface corresponding to one type of communication standard, while on the other hand, provision of wireless communication services according to various communication standards is various, for example, in a station premises or a commercial facility. The range is expanding. However, a wireless terminal cannot receive a wireless communication service unless the communication standards match, and cannot always fully utilize a destination or a moving communication environment that takes advantage of the portability of the wireless terminal. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless relay device that is connected to a wireless terminal and allows the wireless terminal to communicate regardless of the wireless interface being moved or served at the moving destination. It is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a first communication unit including a plurality of first communication interface units that perform communication by connecting to an external network, and a second unit that performs communication by connecting to a wireless terminal. A second communication unit including a communication interface unit; an interface selection unit that selects one first communication interface unit from the plurality of first communication interface units; the first communication unit; and the second communication unit. And a relay function unit that relays communication data between the selected first communication interface unit and the second communication interface unit. It is a relay device.

  The present invention also includes a first communication unit that includes a plurality of first communication interface units that communicate by connecting to an external network, and a plurality of second communication interface units that perform communication by connecting to a wireless terminal. A second communication unit; an interface selection unit that selects a plurality of first communication interface units from the plurality of first communication interface units; and the first communication unit and the second communication unit. A relay function unit configured to relay communication data between the plurality of selected first communication interface units and the plurality of second communication interface units that are connected and selected. Device.

  Further, in the present invention described above, in the above-described invention, the interface selection unit preferentially selects the communication interface unit with the least transmission power from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state. It is characterized by.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the interface selection unit may satisfy a predetermined condition corresponding to a protocol of communication data received from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state. Based on this, the first communication interface unit is selected.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the interface selection unit selects the communication interface unit from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state based on a moving speed of the own device. It is characterized by that.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the invention described above, the relay function unit is configured to determine a communication speed ratio based on a communication speed of the selected first communication interface unit and a communication speed of the second communication interface unit. And the communication speed ratio is output to the second communication interface unit, and the second communication interface unit calculates a sleep period based on the communication speed ratio, and the sleep period is set to the communication terminal. To be in a sleep state.

  Further, in the present invention described above, the communication speed ratio may be determined based on the maximum communication speed defined by the communication standard that the first communication interface unit conforms to and the communication that the second communication interface unit conforms to. It is preliminarily determined as a ratio to the maximum communication speed determined by the standard.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the communication speed ratio is determined by calculating an average value of communication speeds of the selected first communication interface unit in the most recent predetermined period, and the second communication. It is calculated based on the average value of the communication speed of the interface unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, when the second communication interface unit conforms to the IEEE802.11 standard, the communication interface unit performs CTS (Clear Clear with the sleep period set in the duration field). To Send) -self frame is transmitted.

  Further, in the present invention described above, when the sleep period exceeds the period that can be set in the duration field, the sleep period is divided into a plurality of durations of the plurality of CTS-self frames. A sleep period divided into fields is set.

  In the present invention described above, when the second communication interface unit conforms to the IEEE802.11 standard, the communication interface unit sets the beacon frame in which the sleep period is set to the duration field. Is transmitted.

  Further, in the present invention described above, when the sleep period exceeds the period that can be set in the duration field, the maximum period that can be set in the duration field of the beacon frame is set as the sleep period. It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, in the wireless relay device, the interface selection unit selects, from the first communication unit, the first communication interface unit corresponding to the wireless interface serviced at the position where the wireless relay device is used. To do. Furthermore, the relay function unit relays communication between the selected first communication interface unit and the second communication interface unit provided in the second communication unit.
Thereby, the wireless relay device receives the communication data transmitted from the wireless terminal by the selected second communication interface unit, and transmits the received communication data from the selected first communication interface unit to the external network. To do. The wireless relay device receives communication data transmitted from an external network at the selected first communication interface unit, and transmits the received communication data from the selected second communication interface unit to the wireless terminal. To do.
In this way, the wireless relay device is not provided with a wireless communication service according to a communication standard that matches the wireless interface provided in the wireless terminal, and even when the wireless terminal cannot directly communicate with an external network, It is possible to provide an environment in which a wireless terminal can communicate with an external network.

Hereinafter, a wireless relay device and an operation of the wireless relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless relay device A1 in the first embodiment. The wireless relay device A1 is a type of relay device that connects a wireless terminal and an external network.

  The wireless relay device A1 includes a WAN communication unit A10 (first communication unit) that communicates with an external network, a LAN communication unit A11 (second communication unit) that communicates with a wireless terminal, and WAN communication. The relay function unit A5, which is connected to the unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11, and transfers data between the WAN side communication unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11, and the WAN side communication unit A10 is used for communication. An interface selection unit A8 that selects whether to perform the operation, a timer unit A9 that notifies the interface selection unit A8 that a predetermined period has elapsed, and a battery unit A6 that supplies power for operating the wireless relay device A1. It has.

  The WAN-side communication unit A10 includes three communication interface units (first communication interface units), and each communication interface unit is a wireless LAN that performs communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard for connection to an external network. (Local Area Network) interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 for communication according to the 3rd generation and 3.5th generation mobile phone standards for connecting to an external network, and broadband movement This is a WiMAX interface unit A4 that performs communication based on the WiMAX standard as a wireless interface unit. The third generation and 3.5th generation mobile phone standards are, for example, WCDMA (Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), etc. is there.

The LAN-side communication unit A11 includes one communication interface unit (second communication interface unit), and the communication interface unit is a wireless LAN interface unit A7 that performs communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard for communicating with a wireless terminal. is there. The LAN side communication unit A11 may include a plurality of communication interface units. For example, the communication interface unit provided in the LAN side communication unit A11 is a wireless communication interface unit that performs communication defined by the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, or a communication interface unit that performs communication defined by the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard. It is.
Note that, when relaying communication data between communication interface units of different wireless communication standards, the relay function unit A5 converts the data format according to the wireless communication standard for transmitting the received communication data.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating transmission / reception of communication data when communicating using the wireless relay device A1 in the first embodiment. As illustrated, in the wireless relay device A1 that is a wireless router, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 transmits and receives communication data to and from the wireless terminal B11. When the wireless relay device A1 is located in the wireless LAN service area B4 of the wireless LAN base station B3, the wireless relay device A1 communicates with the wireless LAN interface unit A2 connected to the wireless LAN base station B3. When the wireless relay device A1 is located in the 3G mobile phone area B6 of the 3G mobile phone base station B5, the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 is connected to the 3G mobile phone base station B5. Connect to and communicate. Further, when the wireless relay device A1 is located in the WiMAX area B7 of the WiMAX base station B8, the wireless relay device A1 is connected to the WiMAX base station B8 to perform communication. In the WAN side communication unit A10, when communication can be performed using a plurality of communication interface units, the interface selection unit A8 selects a communication interface unit used for communication. That is, the interface selection unit A8 selects one from the wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, and WiMAX interface unit A4 to perform communication.

Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of selecting a communication interface unit of the wireless relay device A1.
First, the wireless relay device A1 is turned on by a user operation and supplied with power (step S301).
The interface selection unit A8 outputs an operation start signal to the LAN side communication unit A11. The wireless LAN interface unit A7 provided in the LAN side communication unit A11 starts operation and starts communication with the wireless terminal B11 (step S302).
Subsequently, the interface selection unit A8 outputs a base station detection start signal to the WAN side communication unit A10. When an operation start signal is output from the interface selection unit A8, the wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, and WiMAX interface unit A4 provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 And the detection result is output to the interface selection unit A8 (step S303).

The interface selection unit A8 determines whether or not two or more communication interface units have detected a base station (step S304).
In the WAN-side communication unit A10, when two or more communication interface units detect a base station (step S304: Y), according to the power consumption value for each communication standard of the communication interface unit stored in the interface selection unit A8 in advance. The interface selection unit A8 selects the communication interface unit with the lowest power consumption among the communication interface units capable of communication (step S305).
Here, in the power consumption values stored in advance in the interface selection unit A8, for example, high power consumption values are recorded in the order of 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, WiMAX interface unit A4, and wireless LAN interface unit A2. Has been.

On the other hand, in the WAN side communication unit A10, when two or more communication interface units cannot detect the base station (step S304: N), the interface selection unit A8 uses the wireless LAN provided in the WAN side communication unit A10. It is determined whether or not all of the interface units A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 and WiMAX interface unit A4 are out of service (step S306).
In the WAN side communication unit A10, when any communication interface unit cannot detect a base station and cannot communicate (step S306: Y), the interface selection unit A8 again detects a base station detection start signal. Is output to the WAN side communication unit A10, and the operation of step S303 is performed. Thereafter, the operations after step S303 are performed.
On the other hand, in the WAN side communication unit A10, when any communication interface unit is in the in-range state where the base station is detected (step S306: N), the interface selection unit A8 selects the communication interface unit in the in-range state (step S306). S307).

The relay function unit A5 relays communication data between the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 selected by the interface selection unit A8 in step S305 or step S307 and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11. (Step S308).
When the relay operation is started, the timer unit A9 starts counting and outputs a signal indicating that the fixed time has passed to the interface selecting unit A8 when the fixed time has passed.

The interface selection unit A8 detects from the signal input from the timer unit A9 whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the relay was started between the WAN side communication unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11 (step S309). .
When the predetermined time has elapsed (step S309: Y), the interface selection unit A8 performs the same operation as step S302, and the wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 Each of A3 and WiMAX interface unit A4 detects the base station, and thereafter repeats the operations after step S303.
On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not passed (step S309: N), the interface selection unit A8 is connected to the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 selected by the interface selection unit A8 and the LAN side. The operation of Step S308 for performing control for relaying communication between the communication unit A11 and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 is performed. Thereafter, the operation of step S309 is performed again.

  As described above, the wireless relay device A1 automatically selects one of the communication interface units provided in the WAN-side communication unit A10 that consumes less power from a plurality of communication interface units in a communication enabled state. Communicate. Thereby, when the wireless relay device A1 can perform communication using a plurality of communication interface units, the power consumption stored in the battery unit A6 is suppressed by selecting a communication interface unit with low power consumption. It becomes possible.

  The fixed time counted by the timer unit A9 is set to 1 minute or 5 minutes, for example. Thereby, when the wireless relay device A1 moves, the WAN-side connection status is detected at a predetermined interval, and the wireless relay device A1 determines that the reception state of the WAN-side communication interface unit has changed in step S303. When the communication interface unit that detects and consumes low power is in the range, the wireless interface can be selected and communicated. As a result, the wireless relay device A1 can reduce power consumption.

Next, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a specific communication operation of the wireless terminal B11 using the wireless relay device A1 in the first embodiment.
Here, the wireless relay device A1, which is a wireless router, is placed in a bag or pocket possessed by the user. The user moves along the route indicated by the solid line B2 while performing communication with the possessed wireless terminal B11. Note that, as indicated by a solid line B2, the user moves from the wireless LAN service area B3 indicating the range in which the wireless communication service is provided toward the wireless LAN service area B10.

  First, the wireless relay device A1 is located in a wireless LAN service area B4 where a wireless communication service is provided by the wireless LAN base station B3, is in a communication state with the wireless LAN base station B3, and is a 3G mobile phone. It is located in the 3G service area B6 where the wireless communication service is provided by the base station B5 and is in a state where it can communicate with the 3G mobile phone base station B5. Here, in the wireless relay device A1, the interface selection unit A8 selects the communication interface unit shown in FIG. 3, and the wireless LAN interface unit A2 is selected. In the wireless relay device A1, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 provided in the LAN side communication unit A11 communicates with the wireless terminal B11, and the wireless LAN interface unit A2 provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 connects to the wireless LAN access point B3. Communication. Thus, the wireless relay device A1 relays communication data between the wireless terminal B11 and the wireless LAN base station B3. As a result, the wireless terminal B11 can communicate with the wireless LAN base station B3 via the wireless relay device A1.

  Next, when the user moves along the solid line B2 and goes out of the wireless LAN service area B3, only the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 enters the in-range state. The interface selection unit A8 selects the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3. The wireless terminal B11 communicates with the 3G mobile phone base station B5 via the wireless relay device A1. At this time, the wireless relay device A1 changes the connection on the WAN side in the procedure shown in FIG. 3, so that the user is not conscious of having gone out of the wireless LAN service area B3, that is, the user is made to the WAN. Relaying can be continued without being aware of the connection state of the side.

  Subsequently, when the user moves along the solid line B2 and the wireless relay device A1 is located in the WiMAX service area B8 where the wireless communication service is provided by the WiMAX base station B7, the WAN communication unit A10 is provided. The WiMAX interface unit A4 enters the in-range state. Here, the interface selection unit A8 selects the WiMAX interface unit A4 that consumes less power than the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3. As a result, the wireless terminal B11 communicates with the WiMAX base station B7 via the wireless relay device A1.

  Further, when the user moves along the solid line B2, moves outside the 3G service area B6, and is located outside the WiMAXB8 service area B8, the wireless relay device A1 is a communication interface provided in the WAN side communication unit A10. Since all the units cannot communicate, the communication data of the wireless terminal B11 cannot be relayed. For this reason, the wireless terminal B11 enters a state where it cannot communicate. At this time, the wireless relay device A1 repeats the operations of steps S303, S304, and S306 shown in FIG. 3 until any communication interface unit provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 is in the range.

  Further, when the user continues to move along the solid line B2 and is located in the wireless LAN service area B10 where the wireless communication service is provided by the wireless LAN base station B9, the wireless LAN interface unit A2 of the WAN side communication unit A10 Be in a possible range. When the wireless LAN interface unit A2 enters the in-range state, the interface selection unit A8 selects the wireless LAN interface unit A2. When the wireless LAN interface unit A2 is selected, the relay function unit A5 relays communication data between the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 and the wireless LAN interface unit A2 of the WAN side communication unit A10. . As a result, the wireless terminal B11 communicates by connecting to the wireless LAN base station B9 via the wireless relay device A1.

As described above, when a plurality of communication interface units in the WAN-side communication unit A10 are in the service area, the wireless relay device A1 selects a communication interface unit with low power consumption and relays communication data of the wireless terminal B11. As a result, the wireless relay device A1 can reduce power consumption and extend the operation time by the power supplied from the battery unit A6.
In addition, since the WAN side communication unit A10 includes a plurality of communication interface units, the wireless terminal B11 can perform wireless relay even in an area where communication is provided according to a communication standard that the wireless terminal B11 cannot connect to. It becomes possible to connect to an external network via the device A1.

(Second Embodiment)
The interface selection unit A8a of the wireless relay device A1a in the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 is selected based on the moving speed.
FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless relay device A1 in the second embodiment. The wireless relay device A1a selects the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 according to the moving speed of the own device.

The wireless relay device A1a has a configuration in which a moving speed detection unit A12 is added to the configuration of the wireless relay device A1 of the first embodiment. Since the wireless relay device A1a has the same configuration as the wireless relay device A1 of the first embodiment except for the interface selection unit A8a and the moving speed detection unit A12, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted. The selection unit A8a and the movement speed detection unit A12 will be described.
The moving speed detection unit A12 detects and stores the moving speed of the wireless relay device A1a that is its own device. The interface selection unit A8a selects which one of the communication interface units provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 is used for communication based on the movement speed signal input from the movement speed detection unit A12.

Next, FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of selecting a communication interface unit of the wireless relay device A1a in the second embodiment.
First, the wireless relay device A1a is turned on by a user operation and supplied with power (step S601).
The interface selection unit A8a outputs an operation start signal to the LAN side communication unit A11. The wireless LAN interface unit A7 provided in the LAN side communication unit A11 starts operation and starts communication with the wireless terminal B11 (step S602).
Subsequently, the interface selection unit A8a outputs a base station detection start signal to the WAN side communication unit A10. When an operation start signal is output from the interface selection unit A8a, the wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, and WiMAX interface unit A4 provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 And the detection result is output to the interface selection unit A8 (step S603).

Here, the interface selection unit A8a reads the movement speed information from the movement speed detection unit A12 (step S604).
The interface selection unit A8a determines whether or not two or more communication interface units have detected a base station (step S605).
In the WAN side communication unit A10, when two or more communication interface units detect a base station (step S605: Y), the interface selection unit A8 sets a predetermined movement speed based on the read movement speed information. A communication interface unit is selected according to the priority order for selecting the associated communication interface unit (step S606).
Here, the communication interface unit associated with the moving speed information is a table in which the priority order of the radio interface to be selected is determined for each moving speed indicated by the moving speed information. When moving at a speed of 30 km / h or more in a car or the like, the priority order is determined in the order of 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, WiMAX interface unit A4, and wireless LAN interface unit A2, for example. As a result, when the moving speed is high as in an automobile, the WiMAX interface unit A4 is narrower than the wireless LAN interface unit A2 having a narrow communication range, and the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 has a wider communication area than the WiMAX interface unit A4. Is selected. On the other hand, when the vehicle stops without moving, the priority is determined in the order of WiMAX interface unit A4, wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G cellular phone interface unit A3, for example. As a result, when the vehicle is stopped or when the moving speed is as low as walking, a communication interface unit with a high communication speed can be selected with priority.

On the other hand, in the WAN side communication unit A10, when two or more communication interface units cannot detect the base station (step S605: N), the interface selection unit A8a displays the wireless LAN interface provided in the WAN side communication unit A10. It is determined whether or not all of the parts A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface part A3 and WiMAX interface part A4 are out of service (step S607).
In the WAN side communication unit A10, when any communication interface unit cannot detect the base station and is in an out-of-service state where communication cannot be performed (step S607: Y), the interface selection unit A8a again transmits a base station detection start signal. Is output to the WAN side communication unit A10, and the operation of step S603 is performed. Thereafter, the operations after step S603 are performed.
On the other hand, in the WAN-side communication unit A10, when any communication interface unit is in the in-range state where the base station is detected (step S607: N), the interface selection unit A8a selects the communication interface unit in the in-range state (step S607). S608).

The relay function unit A5 relays communication data between the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 selected by the interface selection unit A8a in step S606 or step S608 and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11. (Step S609).
When the relay operation is started, the timer unit A9 starts counting and outputs a signal indicating that the fixed time has elapsed to the interface selecting unit A8a when the fixed time has passed.

The interface selection unit A8a detects whether or not a certain period of time has elapsed since the start of relaying between the WAN side communication unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11, based on a signal input from the timer unit A9 (step S610). ).
When the predetermined time has elapsed (step S610: Y), the interface selection unit A8a performs the same operation as step S603, and the wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit provided in the WAN side communication unit A10 Each of A3 and WiMAX interface unit A4 detects the base station, and thereafter repeats the operations after step S603.
On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S610: N), the interface selection unit A8a is connected to the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 selected by the interface selection unit A8 and the LAN side. The operation of Step S308 for performing control for relaying communication between the communication unit A11 and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 is performed. Thereafter, the operation of step S610 is performed again.

  As described above, when the wireless relay device A1a is moving, the wireless relay device A1a moves from a plurality of communication interface units in a communication enabled state among communication interface units provided in the WAN side communication unit A10. The communication interface unit used for communication is selected according to the communication, and communication is performed. Accordingly, when the wireless relay device A1 can perform communication using a plurality of communication interface units, the wireless relay device A1 preferentially selects a communication interface unit having a wide communication range, so that the WAN-side communication unit A10 can move. The communication interface unit is prevented from being frequently out of service, and the wireless terminal B11 can perform stable communication.

(Third embodiment)
The interface selection unit A8a of the wireless relay device A1a in the third embodiment has a process of selecting a communication interface unit according to a protocol used for communication in addition to the selection of the communication interface unit based on the moving speed. Different.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the wireless relay device A1a performs a process of selecting a communication interface unit. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are flowcharts showing the process of selecting the communication interface unit of the wireless relay device A1a in the third embodiment.
Steps S701 to S708 perform the same operations as steps S601 to 608 shown in FIG. Step S701 and Step S601, Step S702 and Step S602, Step S703 and Step S603, Step S704 and Step S604, Step S705 and Step S605, Step S706 and Step S606, Step S707 and Step S607, Step S708 and step S608 are the same operation steps.

Step S709 is a process of relaying communication data of the wireless terminal B11 and will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
First, when the relay operation is started, the wireless relay device A1a enters a standby state for communication from the WAN side and communication from the LAN side (step S801).
When the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 receives the packet (step S801: packet reception on the WAN side), the relay function unit A5 receives the packet from the selected communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10, The packet input to the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 is output. When the packet is input, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 transmits the packet to the connected wireless terminal B11 (step S807).

On the other hand, when the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 receives the packet (step S801: packet reception on the LAN side), the wireless LAN interface unit A7 receives the packet and determines the protocol used for the packet. (Step S804).
When the protocol information indicating the protocol is input from the wireless LAN interface unit A7, the interface selection unit A8 performs WAN side communication based on the priority order for selecting the communication interface unit previously associated with the moving speed information and the protocol information. The communication interface unit of the unit A10 is selected (step S805).
Here, the priority order for selecting the communication interface unit previously associated with the protocol information is a protocol having a large communication data transmission amount, for example, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) used for file transfer or a stream of moving image data. In the case of RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) used in the case of, a wide communication bandwidth is assigned in the order in which it can be used. In this case, the priority order is WiMAX interface unit A4, wireless LAN interface unit A2, 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3. Further, in the case of a protocol with a small transmission amount of communication data, for example, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) used for voice communication, the priority order is the reverse of the above case, the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3. Wireless LAN interface unit A2 and WiMAX interface unit A4.

The relay function unit A5 receives a packet from the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11, and outputs the packet input to the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 selected in step S805. The communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 transmits the input packet (step S806).
Subsequently, the interface selection unit A8a detects whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the relay was started between the WAN side communication unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11 by using a signal input from the timer unit A9 (Step S9). S803).
When the predetermined time has elapsed (step S803: Y), the interface unit A8a ends the process of receiving the communication data, and performs the operations after step S703 shown in FIG.
On the other hand, if the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S803: N), the interface unit A8a again enters the standby state in step S801 and repeats the subsequent operations.

As described above, the wireless relay device A1a uses the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 used for transmission according to the protocol of communication data received from the wireless terminal B11 by the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11. select. Thereby, the interface selection unit A8a can select the communication interface unit corresponding to the communication data transmitted from the wireless terminal B11, and transmit the communication data without securing an unnecessary communication bandwidth.
Note that the process of selecting the communication interface unit may not include the process of selecting the communication interface unit based on the moving speed of the wireless relay device A1a. In that case, the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit A10 uses, for example, the communication interface unit that has been used until immediately before, or uses a predetermined communication interface unit, starts the relay, and then performs WAN side communication according to the protocol. Select the communication interface part of the part A10.

(Fourth embodiment)
The wireless relay device A1b according to the fourth embodiment is different from the first to third embodiments in the communication operation by the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11.
FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless relay device A1b in the fourth embodiment. The wireless relay device A1b has the same configuration as that of the wireless relay device A1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except for the relay function unit A5b and the sleep time calculation unit A13. . Hereinafter, the relay function unit A5b and the sleep time calculation unit A13 having different configurations will be described.

The relay function unit A5b transfers communication data between the WAN side communication unit A10 and the LAN side communication unit A11. The relay function unit A5b sleeps the maximum communication rate between the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 and the communication interface unit selected by the WAN side communication unit A10 and the average communication rate of the latest predetermined time. It outputs to time calculation part A13. Note that, when relaying communication data between communication interface units of different wireless communication standards, the relay function unit A5 converts the data format according to the wireless communication standard for transmitting the received communication data.
The sleep time calculation unit A13 calculates the sleep time of the wireless LAN interface unit A7 based on the communication bandwidth of the wireless LAN interface unit A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 and the communication bandwidth of the WAN side communication unit A10. The data is output to the LAN interface unit A7. Here, the sleep time is a time during which the wireless LAN interface unit A7 does not communicate with the connected wireless terminal B11.

The sleep time is calculated as follows.
A ratio between the maximum communication speed determined by the standard of the communication interface unit selected in the WAN side communication unit A10 and the maximum communication speed determined by IEEE802.11 of the wireless LAN interface unit A7 is calculated. This ratio, (communication speed ratio) = (maximum communication speed of the WAN side communication unit A10) / (maximum communication speed of the wireless LAN interface unit A7) is defined as a communication speed ratio. When the communication speed ratio is less than 1, it indicates that the communication bandwidth of the LAN side communication unit A11 is wider than the communication bandwidth of the WAN side communication unit A10. At this time, the communication bandwidth not used for communication data transfer exists in the communication bandwidth of the LAN side communication unit A11. For example, in the WAN side communication unit A10, the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 is selected, the 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3 conforms to the WCDMA standard, and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 is set to IEEE802. 11b, the WAN side communication unit A10 has a maximum communication speed of 384 Kbps, and the wireless LAN interface unit A7 has a maximum communication speed of 11 Mbps. The communication speed ratio at this time is (communication speed ratio) = (384 Kbps) / (11 Mbps) = (0.035). At this time, the LAN side communication unit A11 does not use nearly 90% of the communication band for communication data transfer.
Here, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 calculates the sleep ratio, (sleep ratio) = 1− (communication speed ratio), using the communication speed ratio calculated by the sleep time calculation unit A13. Based on the input sleep ratio, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 performs an operation of reducing power consumption without performing transmission / reception in a communication band not used for communication data transfer.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the wireless LAN interface A7 of the LAN side communication unit A11 compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard in the fourth embodiment.
The wireless LAN interface unit A7 transmits a beacon frame F1 at a beacon cycle interval that is a predetermined cycle. Here, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 calculates the sleep period F3 by multiplying the sleep ratio input from the sleep time calculation unit A13 by the beacon cycle interval. The sleep period F3 is a period in which the wireless LAN interface unit A7 waits without performing transmission / reception.
A CTS-self (Clear To Send-self) frame F2 in which this sleep period is set in the duration field is transmitted. The wireless terminal B11 sets a sleep period F3 set in the duration field included in the received CTS-self frame F2 as a NAV (Network Allocation Vector) period F4. When the NAV period F4 is set, the wireless terminal B11 does not transmit communication data during the NAV period. That is, the wireless LAN interface A7 does not receive the communication data during this period, and stops all the circuits other than the minimum circuit necessary for returning to the state where the communication data can be received after the sleep period ends. Migrate to Thereby, the wireless LAN interface A7 can reduce power consumption, and can extend the time during which the wireless relay device A1b operates using the battery unit A6.

  Also, when calculating the communication speed ratio, the maximum communication speed of each communication interface unit is not used, but the communication speed ratio is calculated using the average value of the communication speeds of each communication interface unit during the most recent predetermined period. You may do it. In this case, the sleep period can be calculated based on the wireless reception sensitivity that changes depending on the position of the wireless relay device A1b, and power consumption can be reduced according to the state of communication, so that power can be used efficiently. It becomes possible.

  If the sleep period calculated by the wireless LAN interface unit A7 is longer than the period that can be set in the CTS-self frame F2, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 divides the calculated sleep period into a plurality of CTS-self frames. The sleep period divided into the duration field of the frame F2 is set. Thereby, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 can shift to the sleep mode or the deep sleep mode during the calculated sleep period.

  Further, in order to cause the wireless terminal B11 to set the NAV period F4, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 may set the sleep period in the duration field of the beacon frame. If the sleep period exceeds the value that can be set in the duration field of the beacon frame, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 divides the calculated sleep period into a plurality of times, and the duration fields of the plurality of beacon frames Set to. Accordingly, the wireless LAN interface unit A7 can shift to the sleep mode or the deep sleep mode during the calculated sleep period.

(Fifth embodiment)
Although not shown, the wireless relay device A1c of the fifth embodiment includes a time-division multiple access communication interface unit, for example, a WiMAX interface unit A14, instead of the wireless LAN interface unit A7. Similar to the wireless relay device A1b of the fourth embodiment, the sleep time calculation unit A13 calculates the sleep period and outputs it to the WiMAX interface unit A14. Based on the input sleep ratio, the WiMAX interface unit A14 performs an operation of reducing power consumption without performing transmission / reception in a communication band that is not used for communication data transfer.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the WiMAX interface unit A14 of the LAN side communication unit A11 compliant with the WiMAX (IEEE802.16) standard in the fifth embodiment. As shown in the figure, each frame G6 starts with a broadcast signal Bch (Broadcast Channel) G1, starts with a downlink subframe, a TTG (Rx / Rx Transition Gap) that is a period for switching between a downlink subframe and an uplink subframe, and an uplink subframe. And RTG (RX / TX Transition Gap) which is a period for switching between the uplink subframe and the next frame.
The WiMAX interface unit A14 sets a period calculated by multiplying the sleep ratio by the frame period as the sleep period. In addition, the WiMAX interface unit A14 sets a dummy frame period G3 to which a period for transmission by the wireless terminal B11 is not assigned during the downlink frame and notifies the wireless terminal B11 of the dummy frame period G3. The wireless terminal B11 transmits communication data in the allocated period G2, and does not transmit in the dummy frame period G3. Therefore, the WiMAX interface unit A14 can shift to the sleep mode state in the dummy frame period G3. Similarly, the WiMAX interface unit A14 can shift to the sleep mode in the dummy frame period G5 by setting the dummy frame period G5 in the upstream frame. Thereby, the WiMAX interface unit A14 can reduce power consumption, and can extend the time during which the wireless relay device A1c operates using the battery unit A6.

(Sixth embodiment)
The wireless relay device of the sixth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the LAN side communication unit includes a plurality of communication interface units.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the wireless relay device D1 according to the sixth embodiment. As illustrated, the wireless relay device D1 includes a WAN side communication unit D12 (first communication unit) that communicates with an external network, and a LAN side communication unit D13 (second communication unit) that communicates with a wireless terminal. Which of the plurality of communication interface units provided in the WAN side communication unit D12 and the relay function unit D5 that performs communication data transfer between the WAN side communication unit D12 and the LAN side communication unit D13 An interface selection unit D10 that selects the timer, a timer unit D11 that notifies the interface selection unit D10 that a predetermined period has elapsed, and a battery unit D6 that supplies power for operating the wireless relay device D1. Yes.

  The WAN communication unit D12 includes three communication interface units (first communication interface units), which are a radio interface A unit D2, a radio interface B unit D3, and a radio interface C unit D4. The LAN side communication unit D13 includes three communication interface units (second communication interface units), which are a radio interface D unit D7, a radio interface E unit D8, and a radio interface F unit D9. The communication interface units included in the WAN side communication unit D12 and the LAN side communication unit D13 generally conform to a well-known wireless communication standard. For example, in the WAN side communication unit D12, the wireless interface A unit D2 performs communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard, and the wireless interface B unit D3 performs communication conforming to the WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) standard, The wireless interface C unit D4 performs communication based on the 3G mobile phone standard. In the LAN side communication unit D13, the wireless interface D unit D7 performs communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard, and the wireless interface E unit D8 performs communication conforming to Bluetooth (registered trademark) (IEEE 802.15.1). The wireless interface F unit D9 performs communication conforming to Zigbee (registered trademark) (IEEE802.15.4).

The interface selection unit D10 performs a process of selecting the communication interface unit of the WAN side communication unit D12 shown in the first to fifth embodiments, and the wireless interface A unit D2, the wireless interface B unit D3, and the wireless interface One or more communication interface units are selected from the C unit D4.
The relay function unit D5 transfers communication data between the WAN side communication unit D12 and the LAN side communication unit D13. Note that, when relaying communication data between communication interface units of different wireless communication standards, the relay function unit D5 converts the data format according to the wireless communication standard for transmitting the received communication data.
The timer unit D11 starts counting when the relay operation is started, and outputs a signal indicating that a predetermined time has elapsed to the interface selection unit D10 when a certain actual feeling has elapsed.

  The selection of the communication interface unit in the LAN side communication unit D13 is selected according to the communication standard used by the wireless terminal used by the user. At this time, communication may be performed using a plurality of wireless interfaces. For example, when one wireless terminal is a device that conforms to the IEEE 802.11 standard and the other wireless terminal uses a device that conforms to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, the wireless relay device D1 includes a plurality of LAN side devices. It operates using a plurality of communication interface units of the communication unit D13. In addition, when a plurality of communication interface units are used in the LAN side communication unit D13, different communication interface units of the WAN side communication unit D12 may be assigned to each other so that communication can be performed independently.

As described above, by providing the LAN side communication unit D13 with a plurality of communication interface units, the wireless relay device D1 can relay communication data to a plurality of wireless terminals conforming to different communication standards at the same time. . For example, a wireless terminal conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard and a wireless terminal conforming to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard can be simultaneously connected to an external network. In addition, the communication interface unit used for connection to an external network is selected according to the protocol used for each wireless terminal, thereby enabling selection according to the communication amount for each wireless terminal.
Further, when there is a margin in the communication band of the WAN side communication unit D12, one communication interface unit may be selected without selecting a plurality. Thereby, the radio relay apparatus D1 can suppress power consumption.

In addition, the interface selection units A8, A8a, and D10 in the plurality of embodiments described above may control the battery unit A6 to stop supplying power to unselected communication interface units and out-of-service state communication interface units. Good. As a result, the power consumption of the wireless relay devices A1, A1a, A1b, and D1 can be reduced, and the operation time of the wireless relay devices A1, A1a, A1b, and D1 by the power of the battery units A6 and D6 can be extended.
Moreover, you may use combining the process which the communication interface part in the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment to 5th Embodiment selects, and the process which reduces power consumption.

  The first communication unit described in the present invention corresponds to the WAN side communication units A10 and D12. The second communication unit described in the present invention corresponds to the LAN side communication units A11 and D13. The first communication interface unit described in the present invention includes a wireless LAN interface unit A2, a 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A3, a WiMAX interface unit A4, a wireless interface A unit D2, a wireless interface B unit D3, This corresponds to the interface C part D4. The second communication interface unit described in the present invention corresponds to the wireless LAN interface unit A7, the WiMAX interface unit A14, the wireless interface D unit D7, the wireless interface E unit D8, and the wireless interface F unit D9.

  The above-described wireless relay devices A1, A1a, A1b, A1c, and D1 may have a computer system therein. In this case, the process of selecting the wireless interface described above is stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above process is performed by the computer reading and executing this program. . Here, the computer-readable recording medium means a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be distributed to the computer via a communication line, and the computer that has received the distribution may execute the program.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the radio relay apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which showed transmission / reception of the communication data at the time of communicating using the wireless relay apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which the communication interface part of the radio relay apparatus in 1st Embodiment is selected. It is the schematic which showed the outline | summary of the concrete communication operation | movement of the radio | wireless terminal using the radio relay apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the radio relay apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which the communication interface part of the radio relay apparatus in 2nd Embodiment is selected. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which the communication interface part of the radio relay apparatus in 3rd Embodiment is selected. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which the communication interface part of the radio relay apparatus in 3rd Embodiment is selected. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the radio relay apparatus in 4th Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the wireless LAN interface of the LAN side communication part based on the IEEE802.11 specification in 4th Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the WiMAX interface part of the LAN side communication part based on the WiMAX specification in 5th Embodiment. It is the schematic which showed the structure of the radio relay apparatus in 6th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

A1, A1a, A1b, A1c, D1 ... Wireless relay device A10, D12 ... WAN side communication unit A2 ... Wireless LAN interface unit A3 ... 3G / 3.5G mobile phone interface unit A4 ... WiMAX interface unit A11, D13 ... LAN side communication Unit A7: wireless LAN interface unit A14: WiMAX interface unit A8, A8a, D10: interface selection unit,
A5, A5b, D5 ... relay function unit A6, D6 ... battery unit A9, D11 ... timer unit D2 ... wireless interface A unit D3 ... wireless interface B unit D4 ... wireless interface C unit D7 ... wireless interface D unit D8 ... wireless interface E Part D9: Wireless interface F part

Claims (11)

Connected to an external network have line communication, a first communication unit, each provided with a plurality of first communication interface unit for communicating with different communication standards,
A second communication unit including a second communication interface unit that communicates by connecting to a wireless terminal;
An interface selection unit that selects one first communication interface unit from the plurality of first communication interface units;
A relay function unit that is connected to the first communication unit and the second communication unit and relays communication data between the selected first communication interface unit and the second communication interface unit; ,
Equipped with,
The relay function unit
A communication speed ratio is calculated based on the communication speed of the selected first communication interface unit and the communication speed of the second communication interface unit, and the communication speed ratio is output to the second communication interface unit And
The second communication interface unit includes:
A wireless relay device , wherein a sleep period is calculated based on the communication speed ratio, and the sleep period is transmitted to the wireless terminal to enter a sleep state . Connected to an external network have line communication, a first communication unit, each provided with a plurality of first communication interface unit for communicating with different communication standards,
There line communication by connecting to a wireless terminal, a second communication unit each comprising a plurality of second communication interface unit for communicating with different communication standards,
An interface selection unit that selects a plurality of first communication interface units from the plurality of first communication interface units;
Connected to the first communication unit and the second communication unit, and relays communication data between the selected plurality of first communication interface units and the plurality of second communication interface units. A relay function unit;
Equipped with,
The relay function unit
A communication speed ratio is calculated based on the communication speed of the selected first communication interface unit and the communication speed of the second communication interface unit, and the communication speed ratio is output to the second communication interface unit And
The second communication interface unit includes:
A wireless relay device , wherein a sleep period is calculated based on the communication speed ratio, and the sleep period is transmitted to the wireless terminal to enter a sleep state . The interface selection unit
Preferentially selecting from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state from the communication interface unit having the least transmission power;
The wireless relay device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein The interface selection unit
The first communication interface unit is selected based on a predetermined condition corresponding to a protocol of communication data received from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state. The wireless relay device according to claim 1 or 2. The interface selection unit
The wireless relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication interface unit is selected from the plurality of first communication interface units in a communicable range state based on a moving speed of the own device. . The communication speed ratio is
The ratio is determined in advance as a ratio between the maximum communication speed determined by the communication standard to which the first communication interface unit conforms and the maximum communication speed defined by the communication standard to which the second communication interface unit conforms. The wireless relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The communication speed ratio is
It is calculated based on the average value of the communication speed of the selected first communication interface unit and the average value of the communication speed of the second communication interface unit in the most recent predetermined period. The wireless relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . When the second communication interface unit conforms to the IEEE 802.11 standard, the communication interface unit transmits a CTS (Clear To Send) -self frame in which the sleep period is set as a duration field. wireless relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to. When the sleep period exceeds the period that can be set in the duration field, the sleep period is divided into a plurality of times, and the sleep period divided into the duration fields of the plurality of CTS-self frames is set. The wireless relay device according to claim 8 . If the second communication interface unit conforms to the IEEE802.11 standard, the communication interface unit from claim 1, characterized in that transmitting the beacon frame is set to the sleep period duration field The wireless relay device according to claim 7 . 11. The radio according to claim 10 , wherein when the sleep period exceeds a period that can be set in the duration field, a maximum period that can be set in the duration field of the beacon frame is set as a sleep period. Relay device.

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