JP4862504B2 - Communication apparatus and wireless communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and a wireless communication system that perform telephone communication via an IP network.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of broadband access lines such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and FTTH (Fiber To The Home), multiple network devices in the home represented by personal computers can share the Internet connection. Communication devices called “broadband routers” are widely used. Recently, a product called an IP telephone compatible router (hereinafter referred to as a communication device) capable of connecting one or more IP (Internet Protocol) telephone cordless handsets by wired or wireless under a broadband router has been put on the market. This communication device is capable of making incoming / outgoing calls over the IP (Internet Protocol) network and extension calls between the slave units using a slave unit connected to the network under the network, and has a public network interface. Therefore, there are some that can make and receive calls through the public line network.

  In this way, the number of IP telephone handsets connected to communication devices (hereinafter referred to as terminals) is expected to increase in the future, but the possibility of simultaneous access to communication devices increases as the number of terminals increases. Will need to be set.

Based on these requests, as a conventional technique, the correspondence between the MAC address (Media Access Control address) of the wireless terminal and the domain name, and the correspondence between the domain name and the priority are registered in the communication device, and the registered MAC address is stored. When a wireless terminal has a wireless connection, the wireless terminal transmits the domain name to the communication device, the priority corresponding to the domain name received by the communication device is transmitted to the wireless terminal, and priority is given according to the priority received by the wireless terminal. There is a technique that can set priority by performing degree processing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-151359 A

  However, according to the above-described conventional technique, when the wireless terminal performs communication by IP with the network side via the communication device in actual communication, the transfer priority of the routing of the IP packet with the MAC address of the wireless terminal There was a problem that could not be set.

  In addition, when a wireless terminal makes an IP connection, an IP address is required on the wireless terminal side. However, when an IP address is assigned to a wireless terminal by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), the IP address of the wireless terminal is not fixed. There is a problem in that the IP address of the wireless terminal cannot be stored in advance as registration information for priority setting in the communication device.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and registers a terminal in a communication device regardless of an IP address assignment state to the terminal. When the terminal is connected to the communication device, the IP packet in the communication device by the IP address is used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device and a wireless communication system capable of setting transfer priority.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a communication apparatus in which a plurality of terminals are wirelessly connected to the subordinates, connected to an IP network, and relays communication between the terminals and the IP network by assigning IP addresses to the terminals. The registered terminal information storage means for storing the correspondence between the MAC address and priority of the registered terminal, the MAC address of the wirelessly connected terminal, and the MAC address of the registered terminal stored in the registered terminal information storage means A terminal recognition means for performing recognition processing of the wirelessly connected terminal, and a communication relay means for relaying communication between the terminal and the IP network. The terminal recognition means is a recognized terminal. The priority corresponding to the MAC address is read from the registered terminal information storage means, and the read priority is a wireless connection time end corresponding to the MAC address. IP address into a corresponding relationship with, the communication relay means, in accordance with correspondence between the IP address and the priority is obtained by and performing packet forwarding control of the terminal and the IP network.

  With this configuration, when the terminal is wirelessly connected to the communication apparatus, the priority of communication between the terminal and the IP network can be set using the IP address at the time of connection.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to register a terminal in the communication device regardless of the state of assignment of the IP address to the terminal, and to set the IP packet transfer priority in the communication device by the IP address when the terminal is connected to the communication device. A communication device and a wireless communication system are obtained.

  A communication apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a communication in which a plurality of terminals are wirelessly connected under the control, are connected to an IP network, and relays communication between the terminal and the IP network by assigning an IP address to the terminal. In the apparatus, registered terminal information storage means for storing the correspondence between the MAC address and priority of the registered terminal, the MAC address of the wirelessly connected terminal, and the MAC of the registered terminal stored in the registered terminal information storage means A terminal recognizing unit for recognizing a wirelessly connected terminal based on a comparison with an address; and a communication relay unit for relaying communication between the terminal and the IP network, the terminal recognizing unit being recognized For the terminal, the priority corresponding to the MAC address is read from the registered terminal information storage means, and the read priority is the wireless connection terminal corresponding to the MAC address According to the correspondence relationship between the IP address and the priority, the communication relay means performs packet relay control between the terminal and the IP network according to the correspondence relationship with the IP address. The terminal having the registered MAC address and priority is wirelessly connected to the communication apparatus, and when the IP address is determined, the IP packet transfer priority can be set by the IP address of the registered terminal.

  A communication device according to a second invention is the communication device according to the first invention, characterized in that the terminal recognition processing at the time of terminal connection by the terminal recognition means is performed according to a data link layer protocol. Thus, communication for recognition processing between the communication device and the terminal can be performed even before obtaining the IP address.

  A communication device according to a third invention is the communication device according to the second invention, characterized in that the protocol of the data link layer is a SNAP protocol, whereby the protocol becomes known and can be efficiently developed.

  The communication device according to any one of the first to third inventions, characterized in that, when a terminal with an unregistered MAC address is connected, the communication apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions notifies the terminal that the MAC address is unregistered. In the apparatus communication apparatus, the user can determine the registration state and recognition state of the terminal with the display means.

  The communication device according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the communication device of the fifth invention notifies the terminal that the MAC address is not registered when the terminal is not registered. By this means, the user can know that a terminal that is not registered in the communication device is unregistered when connected to the communication device.

  A wireless communication system according to a sixth aspect of the invention is a wireless communication system comprising the communication device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects and a terminal wirelessly connected to the communication device. As a result, a terminal that has already registered the MAC address and priority is wirelessly connected to the communication device, and the IP packet transfer priority can be set by the IP address of the registered terminal when the IP address is determined. .

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of the communication device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a communication device such as an IP telephone compatible router according to the present invention, and reference numeral 2 denotes registered terminal information storage means for storing the MAC address of a registered terminal. Reference numeral 3 denotes terminal recognition means for performing terminal recognition processing when the terminal is wirelessly connected. Reference numeral 4 denotes communication relay means for relaying communication between a terminal and a network such as the Internet or an intranet (hereinafter referred to as an IP network) using IP (Internet Protocol). In the terminal recognition process, the terminal recognition unit 3 compares the MAC address of the wirelessly connected terminal with the registered MAC address stored in the registered terminal information storage unit 2 and corresponds to the registered terminal. It is realized by judging whether.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the communication device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The terminal 5 transmits and receives audio signals from IP telephones and slave units registered in the communication device 1 and wirelessly connected to the network. The IP network 6 is a network such as the Internet or an intranet.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The data bus 11 is a bus through which data transmitted / received by each unit connected to the data bus 11 is connected to the program storage unit 12, the central processing unit 13, the memory unit 14, the storage unit 15, and the output unit 16. . The program storage unit 12 includes a mask ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash ROM, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), and the like, and is a memory that stores various programs that control the operation of the communication device 1. The central processing unit 13 distributes a signal to each unit and receives a signal from each unit via the data bus 11, and controls each unit by the signal. That is, the central processing unit 13 controls the operation of the entire communication device 1 according to various programs stored in the program storage unit 12, thereby allowing the communication device 1 to connect to the IP network 6 and wirelessly communicate with the terminal 5. Performs network connection processing and various protocol processing. The memory unit 14 is used as a temporary working memory area when the central processing unit 5 performs processing. The memory unit 14 is often composed of a volatile memory, but may be composed of a nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 15 is a part for recording information necessary for operation of the communication device 1 such as setting information of the communication device 1 and registration information of the terminal 5, and is often configured by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash ROM. . The registered terminal priority data 21 is a correspondence between the MAC address of the registered terminal and the priority stored in the storage unit 15 by the registered terminal information storage unit 2.

  The network control unit 41 performs data routing according to various protocols in the network layer represented by IP (Internet Protocol). In addition, the network control unit 41 transmits / receives data to / from the intra-LAN device using a data link layer protocol using the MAC address, assigns a private IP address to the intra-LAN device via DHCP, and connects to the WAN side. When connecting to the Internet, conversion to a global IP address is performed. The LAN side communication unit 42 wirelessly connects the terminal 5 and the communication device 1 arranged under the communication device 1, that is, on the LAN (Local Area Network) side. The antenna 43 is for transmitting and receiving radio waves for wireless communication between the terminal 5 and the communication device 1. The antenna 43 may be configured in various shapes, and may be installed either inside or outside the housing of the communication device 1. The WAN side communication unit 44 is a part that controls transmission / reception of data to / from an external network such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) or an intranet, and connects the communication device 1 to an external network such as the IP network 6 by wire or wireless.

  The output unit 16 is a part for notifying the user of the operation status of the communication apparatus 1 and is configured by an LED, an LCD, or the like.

  The function of the registered terminal information storage unit 2 is realized by the central processing unit 13 reading out a program stored in the program storage unit 12 and executing it using the memory unit 14. The MAC address and priority of the registered terminal are created by the user in a file format, for example, and stored in the registered terminal information storage unit 24. When the registered terminal is added or the priority is changed, the user updates the file. The function of the terminal recognition unit 3 is realized by the central processing unit 13 reading out a program stored in the program storage unit 12 and executing it using the memory unit 14. The communication relay unit 4 includes a network control unit 41, a LAN side communication unit 42, and an antenna 43.

  In the present embodiment, since the IP phone and the slave unit for making a voice call are used as terminals, the data types are the same, and the transfer priority is increased with respect to the registered terminal 5 more than the unregistered terminal 5, This corresponds to a request for changing the priority according to the registered user of the terminal 5 or the purpose of use of the terminal 5. When data types including not only voice call terminals but also personal computer terminals with low real-time requirements are mixed, prioritization of terminals may be performed in consideration of the types of data transmitted and received by the terminals. The priority set by the present invention is reflected in general-purpose IP packet transfer priority processing (for example, the QoS function (Quality of Service function) of the layer 3 switch).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting IP packet transfer priority for the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the setting procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S1, if the terminal recognition unit 3 detects that the terminal 5 is wirelessly connected to the communication device 1 via the antenna 43, the LAN side communication unit 42, and the network control unit 41, the process proceeds to step S2, and the terminal 5 If the wireless connection to the communication device 1 is not detected, the process returns to step S1 to wait for the wireless connection of the terminal 5 to the communication device 1. In step S <b> 2, the MAC address is transmitted from the terminal 5 to the communication device 1, and the terminal recognition unit 3 reads the MAC address of the terminal 5 that is wirelessly connected from the network control unit 41. In step S3, the terminal recognition unit 3 compares the MAC address of the connected terminal 5 read in step S2 with the MAC address of the registered terminal read from the registered terminal priority data 21, and is recognized as a registered terminal. If the MAC address of the terminal 5 does not match the MAC address of the registered terminal read from the registered terminal priority data 21, the process proceeds to the unregistered terminal process of step S7. In step S <b> 4, the terminal recognition unit 3 reads out the IP address of the wirelessly connected terminal 5 from the network control unit 41. In step S <b> 5, the terminal recognition unit 3 reads the priority corresponding to the MAC address of the wirelessly connected terminal 5 from the registered terminal priority data 21. In step S6, the registration recognition unit 3 passes the IP address read in step S4 and the priority read in step S5 to the network control unit 41, and the network control unit 41 has the IP address as a transmission source or a transmission destination. For the packet, the acquired priority is reflected in general-purpose IP packet transfer priority processing such as a QoS function. In the unregistered terminal process in step S7, process contents are defined in advance for a terminal that is not registered, and the process is performed accordingly. Although there is no particular limitation on the processing content, for example, it is conceivable that the network control unit 41 sets a lower priority than the terminal with the lowest priority registered.

  In the process of setting the IP packet transfer priority, a protocol of the data link layer may be used for communication between the communication device 1 and the terminal 5.

  In the process for setting the IP packet transfer priority, the communication between the communication device 1 and the terminal 5 may be performed using the SNAP protocol.

  In addition, as a non-registered terminal process in step S7 of FIG. 4 which is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting the IP packet transfer priority, it is confirmed that the terminal 5 is not registered in the output unit 16 when the terminal 5 is not registered. It may be displayed and notified to the user.

  In the process of step S6 in FIG. 4, which is a flowchart showing the procedure for setting the IP packet transfer priority, when the terminal 5 recognition process ends, the output unit 16 displays that the terminal 5 has been recognized, and the user May be notified.

  Note that as a non-registered terminal process in step S7 of FIG. 4 which is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting the IP packet transfer priority, the terminal 5 may be notified that the MAC address is not registered. .

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the communication device 1 having the above-described configuration, in the routing process on the LAN side and the WAN side that require an IP address, regardless of the IP address assignment state of the terminal 5, Priorities can be set by registering the priority of the terminal 5 in advance in the communication device 1 in association with the MAC address.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the communication apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The second embodiment is an example in which a function for performing terminal registration is added to the first embodiment, and a terminal that permits connection to the communication device 1 and its priority can be registered by a user operation. Reference numeral 1 denotes a communication apparatus according to the present invention, and reference numeral 2 denotes registered terminal information storage means for storing the MAC address of a registered terminal. Reference numeral 3 denotes terminal recognition means for performing terminal recognition processing when the terminal is wirelessly connected. A communication relay unit 4 relays communication between the terminal and the IP network. The terminal recognition process corresponds to the registered terminal by comparing the MAC address of the wirelessly connected terminal with the registered MAC address stored in the registered terminal information storage unit 2 by the terminal recognition unit 3. It is realized by judging whether. 7 is a terminal registration means for registering a terminal. A terminal permitted to connect to the communication device 1 is registered in the communication device 1 by the terminal registration means 7. The terminal 5 includes a mode setting unit 51 that sets a registration request mode and a normal mode by operating a button or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The data bus 11 is a bus through which data transmitted / received by each unit connected to the data bus 11 is connected to the program storage unit 12, the central processing unit 13, the memory unit 14, the storage unit 15, and the output unit 16. . The program storage unit 12 includes a mask ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash ROM, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), and the like, and is a memory that stores various programs that control the operation of the communication device 1. The central processing unit 13 distributes a signal to each unit and receives a signal from each unit via the data bus 11, and controls each unit by the signal. That is, the central processing unit 13 controls the operation of the entire communication device 1 according to various programs stored in the program storage unit 12, thereby allowing the communication device 1 to connect to the IP network 6 and wirelessly communicate with the terminal 5. Performs network connection processing and various protocol processing. The memory unit 14 is used as a temporary working memory area when the central processing unit 5 performs processing. The memory unit 14 is often composed of a volatile memory, but may be composed of a nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 15 is a part for recording information necessary for operation of the communication device 1 such as setting information of the communication device 1 and registration information of the terminal 5, and is often configured by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash ROM. . The registered terminal priority data 21 is the MAC address and priority of the registered terminal stored in the storage unit 15 by the registered terminal information storage unit 2.

  The network control unit 41 performs data routing according to various protocols in the network layer represented by IP (Internet Protocol). In addition, the network control unit 41 transmits / receives data to / from the intra-LAN device using a data link layer protocol using the MAC address, assigns a private IP address to the intra-LAN device via DHCP, and connects to the WAN side. When connecting to the Internet, conversion to a global IP address is performed. The LAN side communication unit 42 wirelessly connects the terminal 5 and the communication device 1 arranged under the communication device 1, that is, on the LAN (Local Area Network) side. The antenna 43 is for transmitting and receiving radio waves for wireless communication between the terminal 5 and the communication device 1. The antenna 43 may be configured in various shapes, and may be installed either inside or outside the housing of the communication device 1. The WAN side communication unit 44 is a part that controls transmission / reception of data to / from an external network such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) or an intranet, and connects the communication device 1 to an external network such as the IP network 6 by wire or wireless.

  The output unit 16 is a part for notifying the user of the operation status of the communication apparatus 1 and is configured by an LED, an LCD, or the like. The input unit 17 is used by the user to instruct the communication device 1 to operate, and is configured in various forms such as buttons and slide switches. The function of the terminal registration unit 7 is realized by the central processing unit 13 reading out a program stored in the program storage unit 12 and executing it using the memory unit 14.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7 which is a flowchart showing a procedure for performing a terminal registration operation. Note that the terminal 5 is initially set to the normal mode, and when registration is newly performed in the communication apparatus 1 or when information related to registration is changed, such as priority change (hereinafter referred to as registration processing). Is set to the registration request mode by the user's operation of the button or the like of the mode setting unit 51, and returns to the normal mode by the user's operation after completing the registration process. In addition, when performing registration processing of the terminal 5, the user sets the terminal 5 to the registration processing mode before the registration start operation of the communication device 1.

  In step S8, the terminal registration means 7 waits for registration start by the user's operation by the user input device 17, and proceeds to step S9 when the registration start is detected. If the registration start by the user is not detected, the standby state in step S8 is held. In step S9, the terminal registration unit 7 inquires of the network control unit 41 whether or not the terminal 5 is in the registration request mode. When there is an inquiry from the terminal registration unit 7, the network control unit 41 communicates with the terminal 5 via the LAN side communication unit 9 to check whether the terminal 5 is in the registration request mode, and the terminal registration unit The confirmation result is passed to 7. The terminal registration unit 7 receives the confirmation result of the terminal 5 from the network control unit 41. If the terminal 5 is in the registration request mode, the process proceeds to step S10. If the terminal 5 is not in the registration request mode, the process returns to step S8. At this point, since the terminal 5 is already wirelessly connected, the network control unit 41 has received the MAC address of the terminal 5. In step S <b> 10, the terminal registration unit 7 reads the MAC address of the terminal 5 in the registration request mode from the network control unit 41 and displays the read MAC address of the terminal 5 on the output unit 16. In step S <b> 11, the user inputs the priority of the terminal 5 by operating the input unit 17 while confirming the output unit 16. In step S12, the terminal registration means 17 receives the priority input by the user's operation from the input unit 17, and reads the MAC address of the terminal 5 read in step S9 and the priority of the terminal 5 received from the input unit. It is written and stored in the storage unit 15 as registered terminal priority data 21.

  In the process for performing the terminal registration operation, a data link layer protocol may be used for communication between the communication device 1 and the terminal 5.

  In the process for performing the terminal registration operation, the SANP protocol may be used for communication between the communication device 1 and the terminal 5.

  In the process of step S11 in FIG. 7 which is a flowchart showing a procedure for performing the terminal registration operation, when the registration process of the terminal 5 ends, the output unit 16 displays that the terminal 5 has been registered, and notifies the user. You may comprise so that it may notify.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, with the above configuration, the MAC address of the terminal 5 is checked by the input unit 17 while the MAC address of the registration target terminal 5 is confirmed on the screen of the output unit 16 of the communication device 1. Address and priority registration operations can be performed.

  As described above, the communication apparatus according to the present invention is useful for a communication system that connects a plurality of wireless terminals to an IP network, and is particularly connected to a terminal including a voice call such as an IP telephone that requires priority setting. Can be used for routers and communication systems that include them

1 is a functional block diagram showing functions of a communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a system configuration using a communication device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the communication apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the procedure for performing IP packet transfer priority setting of Embodiment 1 of this invention Functional block diagram showing functions of the communication apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the communication apparatus concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the procedure for performing terminal registration operation of Embodiment 2 of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication apparatus 2 Registration terminal information storage means 3 Terminal recognition means 4 Communication relay means 5 Terminal 6 IP network 7 Terminal registration means 11 Data bus 12 Program storage part 13 Central processing unit 14 Memory part 15 Storage part 16 Output part 17 Input part 21 Registered terminal priority data 41 Network control unit 42 LAN side communication unit 43 Antenna 44 WAN side communication unit 51 Mode setting unit

Claims (6)

A plurality of terminals are connected free line, is connected to the IP network, a communication device that relays the communications between the terminal and the IP network using the IP address,
A registered terminal information storage means for storing a priority corresponding to the MAC address and the MAC address of the terminal,
The MAC address of the terminal the radio connection has been detected, based on a comparison of the MAC addresses stored in the registration terminal information storage means, a terminal recognition unit that performs recognition processing of the terminal the radio connection has been detected,
With relays communication between the terminal and the IP network, and a communication relay means for assigning an IP address of the non-fixed to said terminal,
Said terminal recognizing means, a priority corresponding to the MAC address of the terminal the registration terminal information storing means or Ra読 heading, the IP address of the terminal at the time of wireless connection that corresponds to the priority to the MAC address Convert to correspondence,
The communication apparatus, wherein the communication relay unit performs relay control on a packet having the IP address as a transmission source or a transmission destination based on the priority . The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication relay unit assigns a non-fixed IP address to the terminal using a MAC address . 3. The communication relay unit sets a priority of the terminal lower than a priority of a terminal registered in the registered terminal storage unit when the terminal authentication unit cannot recognize the terminal. The communication apparatus as described in. The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal has a first mode for requesting registration and a second mode for performing wireless connection . 5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein , when a terminal with an unregistered MAC address is connected, the unregistered terminal is notified that it is unregistered. A wireless communication system comprising the communication device according to claim 1 and a terminal wirelessly connected to the communication device.

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