JP5453562B1 - Communication apparatus and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

There is a case where communication quality is deteriorated by switching communication depending on a communication state in a wireless communication network and a communication state by a wireless LAN access point.
A request signal receiving unit that receives a request signal from a communication terminal, a quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold, and a communication terminal that receives the signal quality higher than the threshold. There is provided a communication device including a response signal transmission unit that transmits a response signal and a threshold value changing unit that changes a threshold value according to a predetermined condition.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication system.

There is known a communication terminal that transmits a communication establishment request to a wireless LAN access point and switches to communication by the wireless LAN access point when a wireless LAN access point is detected in a state where communication is established in the wireless communication network. (For example, patent document 1).
Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-219733

  It has been desired to control the establishment of communication with a communication terminal by a base station such as a wireless LAN access point according to the situation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the request signal receiving unit that receives the request signal from the communication terminal, the quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than the threshold, and the signal quality is higher than the threshold. A communication apparatus is provided that includes a response signal transmission unit that transmits a response signal to a communication terminal and a threshold value changing unit that changes a threshold value according to a predetermined condition.

  In the communication apparatus, the response signal transmission unit may transmit a rejection signal indicating rejection of processing for the request signal when the signal quality is lower than the threshold value, or may not transmit anything to the request signal. The communication apparatus may further include a terminal-related information acquisition unit that acquires terminal-related information that is information related to the communication terminal, and the threshold value changing unit may change the threshold value based on the terminal-related information. The communication device may further include a terminal-related information transmission unit that transmits the terminal-related information acquired by the terminal-related information acquisition unit to the communication control device, and the threshold value changing unit transmits the terminal-related information by the terminal-related information transmission unit. Accordingly, the threshold value may be changed to be the threshold value received from the communication control apparatus. In the communication device, the terminal related information acquisition unit includes terminal type information for identifying the type of communication terminal, communication method information indicating a communication method supported by the communication terminal, communication trend information indicating a communication tendency of the communication terminal, At least one of application information indicating an application being executed by the communication terminal, contract plan information indicating a communication contract plan corresponding to the communication terminal, and communication restriction information related to communication restriction imposed on the communication terminal may be acquired. The threshold value changing unit may change the threshold value based on at least one of terminal type information, communication method information, communication trend information, application information, contract plan information, and communication restriction information.

  The communication device may further include a threshold list receiving unit that receives a threshold list in which thresholds are registered for each predetermined condition from the communication control device, and the threshold changing unit receives the threshold list received by the threshold list receiving unit. , The threshold value may be changed according to a predetermined condition. In the communication apparatus, the threshold value changing unit may change the threshold value according to the number of request signals received from a communication terminal within a predetermined period. The communication device may further include a surrounding state information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding state information indicating a surrounding state of the communication device, and the threshold value changing unit may change the threshold value based on the surrounding state information. In the communication device, the peripheral status information acquisition unit includes traffic information related to communication traffic of a wireless communication network covering a region where the communication device is arranged, disaster occurrence status information indicating a disaster occurrence status in the region where the communication device is arranged, At least one of peripheral communication device information indicating information of other communication devices arranged around the communication device and backbone network information related to the backbone network of the communication device may be acquired. The threshold value may be changed based on at least one of the occurrence status information, peripheral communication device information, and backbone network information. The communication device may further include a communication monitoring unit that monitors communication by the communication device and collects data related to communication by the communication device, and the threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value based on the data collected by the communication monitoring unit. You can do it. In the communication device, the communication monitoring unit may collect at least one of communication throughput, link speed, communication traffic volume, and connection time by the communication device, and the threshold value changing unit is configured to collect throughput, link speed, communication traffic volume. And the threshold value may be changed based on at least one of the connection time.

  In the communication apparatus, the request signal receiving unit may receive an authentication request from the communication terminal, the quality determining unit may determine whether the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than a threshold, and the response signal transmitting unit A response signal to the authentication request may be transmitted when the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than a threshold value. Further, in the communication apparatus, the request signal receiving unit may receive an association request from the communication terminal, and the quality determining unit may determine whether the signal quality of the association request is higher than a threshold value, and transmit a response signal The unit may transmit a response signal to the association request when the signal quality of the association request is higher than a threshold value. Further, in the communication apparatus, the request signal receiving unit may receive a probe request from the communication terminal, and the quality determining unit may determine whether the signal quality of the probe request is higher than a threshold, The signal transmission unit may transmit a response signal to the probe request when the signal quality of the probe request is higher than a threshold value. In the communication apparatus, the request signal receiving unit may receive at least any two of a probe request, an authentication request, and an association request from the communication terminal, and the quality determination unit may determine that the signal quality of the probe request is a first threshold value. It may be determined whether the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than a second threshold value different from the first threshold value, and the signal quality of the association request is different from the first threshold value and the second threshold value. The response signal transmission unit may transmit a response signal to the probe request when the signal quality of the probe request is higher than the first threshold, and the signal quality of the authentication request may be higher than the third threshold. A response signal to the authentication request may be transmitted when higher than the second threshold value, and a response signal to the association request when the signal quality of the association request is higher than the third threshold value. It may send the threshold changing unit in accordance with a predetermined condition, the first threshold value, may change at least one of the second threshold and the third threshold value.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system including a communication device and a communication control device, wherein the communication device receives a request signal from a communication terminal, and the signal quality of the request signal is a threshold value. A quality determination unit that determines whether or not the signal is higher and a response signal transmission unit that transmits a response signal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold, and the communication control device changes the threshold according to a predetermined condition A communication system having a threshold changing unit is provided. In the communication system, the threshold value changing unit may change the threshold value based on an area where the communication device is arranged. In the communication system, the communication control device may further include a traffic information acquisition unit related to communication traffic of a wireless communication network that covers an area where the communication device is disposed, and the threshold value changing unit is configured to generate a threshold value based on the traffic information. May be changed.

  It should be noted that the above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention. In addition, a sub-combination of these feature groups can also be an invention.

An example of the communication environment of the communication apparatus 100 is shown schematically. An example of the operation | movement flow until the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200 establish communication is shown roughly. An example of a functional composition of communication apparatus 100 is shown roughly. An example of the communication environment of a communication control apparatus is shown roughly. An example of the hardware constitutions of communication apparatus 100 is shown roughly.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solving means of the invention.

  FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a communication environment of the communication device 100. The communication device 100 is a device that establishes communication with the communication terminal 200 and transmits / receives data signals to / from the communication terminal 200. For example, the communication device 100 is an access point in a wireless LAN. In the present embodiment, the case where the communication apparatus 100 is a wireless LAN access point will be mainly described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication apparatus 100 may be a wireless communication apparatus other than the wireless LAN access point. For example, the communication device 100 may be a wireless communication device that covers an area with a small cell as compared to cellular network base stations such as 3G, LTE, and 4G, such as femtocell base stations and PHS base stations. . The communication terminal 200 is a device that can establish communication with the communication device 100. For example, the communication terminal 200 is a communication terminal that can wirelessly communicate with a communication device 100 such as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone and a conventional mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as a conventional terminal) other than the smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a PC. Communication device 100 may be an access point in the infrastructure mode. Communication device 100 may be communication terminal 200 that temporarily serves as an access point in the ad hoc mode.

  The communication device 100 receives a request signal regarding communication establishment from the communication terminal 200. The request signal is, for example, a probe request, an association request, and an authentication request. The communication device 100 receives a request signal by receiving a radio wave including a request signal transmitted from the communication terminal 200.

  The communication device 100 transmits a response signal to the communication terminal 200 when the received request signal satisfies the condition. The communication device 100 transmits a response signal by transmitting a radio wave including the response signal. For example, when the signal quality of the received probe request exceeds a threshold and the ESSID included in the probe request matches its own ESSID, or the communication device 100 receives a probe request with no ESSID designation. A probe response may be sent. In addition, the communication device 100 may transmit an authentication response to the communication terminal 200 when the signal quality of the received authentication request exceeds the threshold and it is determined that the authentication is possible. In addition, the communication device 100 may transmit an association response to the communication terminal 200 when the signal quality of the received association request exceeds the threshold and it is determined that the connection is possible.

  Communication is established between communication device 100 and communication terminal 200 by communication device 100 transmitting an association response and an authentication response to communication terminal 200. Data signals are transmitted and received between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 with which communication has been established. Communication device 100 transmits a data signal by transmitting a radio wave including the data signal. Communication terminal 200 transmits a data signal by transmitting a radio wave including the data signal.

  The quality of the signal received by the communication apparatus 100 from the communication terminal 200 varies depending on, for example, the distance between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200, the obstacle between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200, and the like. In principle, the quality of the signal received by the communication apparatus 100 from the communication terminal 200 is lower when there is a noise generation source between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200 than when there is no noise generation source. In principle, the quality of the signal received by the communication apparatus 100 from the communication terminal 200 is higher as the distance between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200 is shorter and lower as the distance is longer.

  The communicable area 180 schematically shows an area where radio waves transmitted from the communication device 100 can reach. In the present embodiment, the communicable area 180 when the communication apparatus 100 uses an omnidirectional antenna will be described as an example. However, the communication apparatus 100 may use a directional antenna.

  Base station 300 is a base station constituting a wireless communication network. For example, the base station 300 is a base station in a mobile communication system such as 3G, LTE, and 4G. The wireless communication area 310 schematically shows a communication area covered by the base station 300. Communication terminal 200 may be able to switch between communication with communication apparatus 100 and communication with base station 300. Switching the communication terminal 200 from communication with the base station 300 to communication with the communication device 100 may be expressed as “offload”.

  When the communication terminal 200 communicating with the base station 300 outside the communicable area 180 moves into the communicable area 180 and switches to communication with the communication device 100, communication is performed rather than communication with the base station 300. May become unstable. For example, when the communication device 100 is a WiFi (registered trademark) access point and the base station 300 is a 3G base station, the communication device 100 is switched to communication with the communication device 100 to perform communication with higher throughput. On the contrary, the communication with the communication apparatus 100 is unstable, so that the throughput may be lowered. The solution of such a problem is desired. In addition, it may be desired that the communication device 100 has a function of adjusting a wireless communication area to be provided. For example, when the number of communication terminals 200 that establish communication with the communication apparatus 100 increases, a request to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 that establish communication thereafter may occur. Further, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 increases, there may be a request to increase the number of base stations 300 that establish communication with the communication device 100 in order to reduce the communication traffic. As described above, there is a case where a function of adjusting the wireless communication area provided by the communication device 100 according to the situation is desired. In order to satisfy the above problem and the above request, the communication apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment controls the transmission of the response signal according to the signal quality of the request signal received from the communication terminal 200.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of an operation flow until the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 establish communication. The operation flow illustrated in FIG. 2 starts when the communication apparatus 100 is in a state of waiting for a request signal.

  In step 202 (hereinafter, step may be abbreviated as S), the communication apparatus 100 receives a probe request from the communication terminal 200. In S204, the communication apparatus 100 determines whether or not an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) of the received probe request is higher than a threshold value. If it is determined in S204 that the threshold is higher than the threshold, the process proceeds to S206. In S206, the communication device 100 transmits a probe response to the communication terminal 200.

  In S <b> 208, the communication apparatus 100 receives an authentication request from the communication terminal 200. In S210, the communication apparatus 100 determines whether the RSSI of the received authentication request is higher than a threshold value. If it is determined in S210 that the RSSI is higher than the threshold, the process proceeds to S212. If it is not determined that the RSSI is higher than the threshold, the process proceeds to S224.

  In S212, the communication apparatus 100 determines whether authentication is possible. For example, the communication device 100 determines whether or not authentication can be performed by Open System authentication. Further, the communication device 100 may determine whether or not the authentication is possible by using Shared Key authentication. If it is determined in S212 that authentication is possible, the process proceeds to S214. If it is not determined that authentication is possible, the process proceeds to S224. In S <b> 214, the communication device 100 transmits an authentication response to the communication terminal 200.

  In S <b> 216, the communication apparatus 100 receives an association request from the communication terminal 200. In S218, the communication apparatus 100 determines whether the RSSI of the received association request is higher than a threshold value. If it is determined in S218 that the RSSI is higher than the threshold, the process proceeds to S220. If it is not determined that the RSSI is higher than the threshold, the process proceeds to S224.

  In S <b> 220, the communication device 100 determines whether connection with the communication terminal 200 is possible. For example, the communication device 100 refers to the data included in the association request, and determines that the connection is possible when the transmission source of the association request is the communication terminal 200 that has been determined to be authentic in step S212. If the communication terminal 200 has not been determined, it is not determined that connection is possible. If it is determined in S220 that the connection is possible, the process proceeds to S222. If it is not determined that the connection is possible, the process proceeds to S224. In S <b> 222, the communication device 100 transmits an association response to the communication terminal 200. The communication device 100 may transmit an association response including a status code indicating connection permission. Thereby, communication is established between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200. Then, the communication establishment process ends.

  If it is not determined in S204 that the RSSI of the probe request is higher than the threshold value, the communication apparatus 100 executes error processing (S224). For example, the communication device 100 does not transmit anything in response to the probe request.

  If it is not determined that the RSSI of the authentication request is higher than the threshold value in S210 or if it is not determined that authentication is possible in S212, the communication apparatus 100 executes error processing (S224). For example, the communication device 100 does not transmit anything in response to the authentication request. In addition, the communication apparatus 100 may transmit a rejection signal indicating rejection to the authentication request to the communication terminal 200. For example, the communication apparatus 100 transmits an authentication response including a status code indicating authentication rejection. Note that the order of S210 and S212 may be reversed. For example, the communication apparatus 100 may determine whether or not the RSSI of the authentication request is higher than a threshold value after determining that authentication is possible by Shared Key authentication or Open System authentication. In this case, if it is determined that the RSSI is higher than the threshold value If the process proceeds to S214 and it is not determined that the value is higher than the threshold, the process may proceed to S224.

  If the RSSI of the association request is not determined to be higher than the threshold value in S218, or if it is not determined that the connection is possible in S220, the communication apparatus 100 executes error processing (S224). For example, the communication device 100 does not transmit anything in response to the association request. Communication device 100 may transmit a rejection signal indicating rejection to the association request to communication terminal 200. For example, the communication device 100 transmits an association response including a status code indicating connection refusal. Then, the communication establishment process ends. Note that the order of S218 and S220 may be reversed. For example, after determining that the connection is possible based on the data included in the association request, the communication device 100 may determine whether the RSSI of the association request is higher than a threshold. In this case, when determining that the RSSI is higher than the threshold In S222, if it is not determined that the value is higher than the threshold value, the process may proceed to S224.

  As described above, the communication device 100 according to the present embodiment does not transmit a response signal when the RSSI of the received request signal is lower than the threshold, and transmits a response signal when the RSSI is higher than the threshold. If the RSSI of the request signal received from the communication terminal 200 is lower than the threshold value, it is predicted that the communication between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 will be of low quality even if communication is established. . By not returning a response signal in such a case, the communication apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can prevent communication between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200 from being established in a situation where the communication quality is low.

  In FIG. 2, the probe request, the authentication request, and the association request are described with reference to an example in which RSSI is compared with a threshold value, but the present invention is not limited to this. The communication apparatus 100 may compare the RSSI with a threshold for any one or two of the probe request, the authentication request, and the association request.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation flow in which error processing is executed without establishing communication when it is not determined that any of the RSSIs of the probe request, the authentication request, and the association request is higher than the threshold value. Although explained, it is not limited to this. The communication apparatus 100 may determine whether to execute error processing without establishing communication for a combination of at least two RSSIs among a probe request, an authentication request, and an association request. For example, the communication apparatus 100 does not execute S204 and S210, and in S218, compares the combination of the RSSI of the probe request, the RSSI of the authentication request, and the RSSI of the association request with a threshold value.

  The communication apparatus 100 may determine whether the average value of the RSSI of the probe request, the RSSI of the authentication request, and the RSSI of the association request is higher than a threshold value. Moreover, you may determine whether the average value of two RSSI is higher than a threshold value among these. Thereby, for example, even when the RSSI of the probe request is relatively low, communication can be established if the RSSI of the authentication request and the association request is relatively high. For example, if the RSSI of the probe request and the authentication request is relatively high, communication can be established even if the RSSI of the association request is relatively low.

  The communication apparatus 100 may determine whether one or more or two or more of the RSSI of the probe request, the RSSI of the authentication request, and the RSSI of the association request exceed a threshold value. Thereby, communication can be established when at least one or two of the RSSI of the probe request, the RSSI of the authentication request, and the RSSI of the association request exceed the threshold.

  In S204, S210, and S218, the example in which the RSSI of the request signal is compared with the threshold value has been described. However, the threshold value may be compared with other data representing the signal quality of the request signal. Further, another determination parameter may be employed. In S204, S210, and S218, a plurality of data representing the signal quality of the request signal and a plurality of logical sums among other determination parameters may be used as the determination condition. May be used as the determination condition.

  The threshold value compared to the RSSI of the probe request in S204, the threshold value compared to the RSSI of the authentication request in S210, and the threshold value compared to the RSSI of the association request in S218 may be the same value or different values. Good. Moreover, these three threshold values may use a large threshold value in the order of comparison, and may use a small threshold value in the order of comparison. For example, the communication apparatus 100 compares the RSSI of the probe request with a first threshold, compares the RSSI of the authentication request with a second threshold smaller than the first threshold, compares the RSSI of the association request, and the second You may compare with the 3rd threshold value smaller than this threshold value.

  Further, in FIG. 2, the operation flow in which the communication apparatus 100 receives a probe request, an authentication request, and an association request from the communication terminal 200 to establish communication has been described as an example, but the probe request is not received. The communication may be established by receiving the authentication request and the association request. In this case, the operation flow starts from S208.

  FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an example of a functional configuration of the communication apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, the communication device 100 includes a storage unit 102, a beacon transmission unit 104, a request signal reception unit 106, a request processing unit 114, a response signal transmission unit 116, a threshold change unit 124, a terminal related information acquisition unit 126, a surrounding situation. An information acquisition unit 140, a communication control unit 150, and a communication monitor unit 152 are provided.

  The storage unit 102 stores various data used for processing of the communication device 100. The storage unit 102 stores, for example, the ESSID of the communication device 100.

  The beacon transmission unit 104 transmits a beacon. The beacon transmission unit 104 may transmit a beacon including the ESSID of the communication device 100 stored in the storage unit 102.

  The request signal receiving unit 106 receives a request signal from the communication terminal 200. The request signal receiving unit 106 may include a probe request receiving unit 108, an authentication request receiving unit 110, and an association request receiving unit 112. The probe request receiving unit 108 receives a probe request from the communication terminal 200. The authentication request receiving unit 110 receives an authentication request from the communication terminal 200. Association request receiver 112 receives an association request from communication terminal 200.

  The request processing unit 114 processes the request signal received by the request signal receiving unit 106. The request processing unit 114 may determine whether the ESSID included in the probe request received by the probe request reception unit 108 matches the ESSID stored in the storage unit 102. Further, the request processing unit 114 may determine whether or not authentication is possible for the authentication request received by the authentication request receiving unit 110. In addition, the request processing unit 114 may determine whether or not connection is possible for the association request received by the association request receiving unit 112.

  The request processing unit 114 includes a quality determination unit 115. The quality determination unit 115 compares the signal quality of the request signal received by the request signal reception unit 106 with the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 and determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than the threshold value. The signal quality of the request signal may be at least one of RSSI, S / N ratio, RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), and RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power). For example, the quality determination unit 115 determines whether the RSSI of the request signal is stronger than a threshold value. Moreover, the quality determination part 115 may determine whether the S / N ratio of a request signal is higher than a threshold value. Moreover, the quality determination part 115 may determine whether RSRQ of a request signal is higher than a threshold value. Moreover, the quality determination part 115 may determine whether RSRP of a request signal is higher than a threshold value.

  The response signal transmission unit 116 transmits a response signal to the communication terminal 200. The response signal transmission unit 116 may include a probe response transmission unit 118, an authentication response transmission unit 120, and an association response transmission unit 122. The probe response transmission unit 118 transmits a probe response to the communication terminal 200. The authentication response transmission unit 120 transmits an authentication response to the communication terminal 200. Association response transmitter 122 transmits an association response to communication terminal 200.

  Here, when the signal quality of the probe request received by the probe request reception unit 108 is higher than the threshold and the ESSID included in the probe request matches the ESSID stored in the storage unit 102, the request processing unit 114 The probe response transmitting unit 118 may transmit a probe response. In addition, the request processing unit 114 may cause the authentication response transmission unit 120 to transmit an authentication response when the signal quality of the authentication request received by the authentication request reception unit 110 is higher than the threshold and it is determined that authentication is possible. In addition, the request processing unit 114 may cause the association response transmission unit 122 to transmit an association response when the signal quality of the association request received by the association request reception unit 112 is higher than the threshold and it is determined that the connection is possible.

  The threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102. Changing the threshold value may be changing a set threshold value, or may be setting a new threshold value.

  The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 in accordance with a predetermined condition. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 so as to become the threshold value corresponding to the predetermined condition by referring to the threshold value list in which the predetermined condition and the threshold value are associated with each other. To do. The threshold list may be stored in the storage unit 102 in advance. The communication device 100 may include a threshold list receiving unit (not shown) that receives a threshold list from another device, and may store the threshold list received by the threshold list receiving unit in the storage unit 102. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 reads out the threshold value corresponding to the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 200 that has transmitted the request signal from the correspondence table between the terminal identification information and the threshold value, and sets the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102. Change to the read threshold. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not to establish communication with the communication terminal 200 based on the threshold set for each communication terminal 200. The correspondence table between the terminal identification information and the threshold value may be stored in the storage unit 102 in advance.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value according to the number of request signals received from one communication terminal 200 within a predetermined period. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value to lower the threshold value when receiving a signal five times from one communication terminal 200 in one minute. In addition, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the threshold value is lowered every time a request signal is continuously received from one communication terminal 200 in one minute. As a result, for example, a connection with the communication apparatus 100 is established for the communication terminal 200 that strongly desires to establish communication with the communication apparatus 100 because the quality of communication with the base station 300 is degraded. I can do it. In addition, 1 minute and 5 times are illustrations, and another period and other frequency | counts may be sufficient.

  The terminal related information acquisition unit 126 acquires terminal related information that is information related to the communication terminal 200. The terminal related information acquisition unit 126 includes a terminal type information acquisition unit 128, a communication method information acquisition unit 130, a communication trend information acquisition unit 132, an application information acquisition unit 134, a contract plan information acquisition unit 136, and a communication restriction information acquisition unit 138. May include.

  The terminal type information acquisition unit 128 acquires terminal type information that identifies the type of the communication terminal 200. The terminal type information acquisition unit 128 may receive terminal type information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the terminal type information acquisition unit 128 may acquire the terminal type information of the communication terminal 200 by referring to a correspondence table in which the terminal identification information stored in the storage unit 102 is associated with the terminal type information. . The terminal type information is information indicating whether the communication terminal 200 is a wireless communication terminal including a smartphone, a conventional terminal, a mobile router, and the like.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value so that the smartphone has a higher threshold value than the conventional terminal. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can prevent the connection with the smartphone from being established unless the signal quality is higher than that of the conventional terminal. As a result, it is possible to prevent the smartphone from being offloaded even though the communication quality that the communication device 100 can provide is low.

  In addition, it is possible to preferentially offload conventional terminals compared to smartphones. Since the conventional terminal has a smaller communication volume than the smartphone, the user of the conventional terminal hardly feels that the communication quality is low even if the communication terminal 100 is offloaded in a state where the communication quality that can be provided is low. Therefore, when either a smart phone or a conventional terminal is offloaded from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300, it is possible to offload a user who is less likely to feel a decrease in communication quality. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the conventional terminal has a higher threshold value than the smartphone. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can establish the connection with a smart phone preferentially compared with the connection with a conventional terminal. For example, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, the communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 is efficiently reduced by preferentially offloading a smartphone having a larger communication volume than a conventional terminal. it can. In addition, an improvement in the communication speed of smartphone communication can be expected.

  The communication method information acquisition unit 130 acquires communication method information indicating a communication method supported by the communication terminal 200. The communication method information acquisition unit 130 may receive communication method information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication method information acquisition unit 130 may acquire the communication method information of the communication terminal 200 by referring to the correspondence table between the terminal identification information and the communication method information stored in the storage unit 102. The communication method information is, for example, information indicating whether the communication terminal 200 is compatible with 3G, LTE, or 4G.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value so that the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE has a higher threshold value than the communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can prevent the connection with the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE unless the signal quality is higher than that of the communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE. As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication terminal 200 that has been performing high-speed communication in LTE from being offloaded even though the communication quality that the communication apparatus 100 can provide is low.

  Further, it is possible to preferentially offload communication terminals 200 that cannot use LTE as compared to communication terminals 200 that can use LTE. The communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE has a smaller communication volume than the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE, and therefore communication that can use LTE even if it is offloaded in a state in which the communication device 100 can provide low communication quality. Compared to offloading the terminal 200, the user of the communication terminal 200 who cannot use LTE is less likely to feel that the communication quality is low. Therefore, when offloading either the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE or the communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300, the user who is less likely to feel a decrease in communication quality is offloaded. Can be made. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE has a higher threshold value than the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can establish connection with the communication terminal 200 which can utilize LTE preferentially compared with the connection with the communication terminal 200 which cannot utilize LTE. For example, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, by preferentially offloading the communication terminal 200 that can use LTE with a larger communication volume than the communication terminal 200 that cannot use LTE, Communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 can be efficiently reduced.

  The communication trend information acquisition unit 132 acquires communication trend information indicating a communication trend of the communication terminal 200. The communication trend information acquisition unit 132 may receive communication trend information from the communication terminal 200. The communication trend information acquisition unit 132 may receive the communication trend information of the communication terminal 200 from a survey result providing device that provides a result of investigating the communication trend of the communication terminal 200. The communication trend information is information indicating, for example, an average communication amount and an average communication amount for each time zone.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value so that the threshold value increases as the average communication amount increases. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can prevent a connection with the communication terminal 200 having a large average communication amount from being established unless the signal quality is higher than that of the communication terminal 200 having a small average communication amount. As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication terminal 200 having a large average communication volume from establishing communication with the communication device 100 in a state where the communication quality is low.

  Further, even if communication is established with the communication device 100 in a state where the communication quality is low, the communication terminal 200 having a low average communication amount can be preferentially offloaded compared to the communication terminal 200 having a large average communication amount. Even if the communication terminal 200 with a low average communication amount is offloaded in a state where the communication quality that the communication device 100 can provide is low, the user of the communication terminal 200 is less than the offload of the communication terminal 200 with a large average communication amount. Is hard to feel that the communication quality is low. Therefore, when offloading either the communication terminal 200 with a high average communication amount or the communication terminal 200 with a low average communication amount from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300, the user who is less likely to feel a decrease in communication quality is turned off. Can be loaded. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the threshold value increases as the average communication amount decreases. As a result, the communication device 100 can preferentially establish a connection with the communication terminal 200 with a large average communication amount compared to a connection with the communication terminal 200 with a small average communication amount. For example, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, the communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 is efficiently reduced by preferentially offloading the communication terminal 200 having a larger average communication amount. it can.

  The application information acquisition unit 134 acquires application information indicating an application being executed by the communication terminal 200. For example, the application information acquisition unit 134 receives application information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the application information acquisition unit 134 may receive application information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. For example, the base station 300 identifies an application being executed by the communication terminal 200 by referring to a header included in the data signal packet of the communication terminal 200. The application information is, for example, the package name of the application being executed by the communication terminal 200.

  The application information acquisition unit 134 may classify the acquired application information according to the communication load. For example, the application information acquisition unit 134 has a large communication load for an application that executes streaming and data calls, and an application such as a net game that periodically performs communication, and a mail and chat that mainly communicates text data. Applications such as music players and memos that do not communicate are classified as having no communication load.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value as much as possible for an application with a higher communication load. As a result, the communication device 100 is in communication with the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a higher communication load unless the signal quality is higher than that of the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a lower communication load. You can avoid establishing a connection. Thus, it is possible to prevent the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a high communication load from being offloaded even though the communication quality that the communication device 100 can provide is low.

  Further, it is possible to preferentially offload the communication terminal 200 executing an application with a lower communication load than the communication terminal 200 executing an application with a higher communication load. Even if the communication terminal 200 executing an application with a lower communication load is offloaded in a state where the communication quality that can be provided by the communication apparatus 100 is low, the communication terminal 200 executing an application with a higher communication load is turned off. Compared to loading, the user of the communication terminal 200 is less likely to feel that the communication quality is low. Therefore, when either the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a higher communication load or the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a lower communication load is offloaded from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300. , It is possible to offload those who are less likely to feel a decrease in communication quality. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value as much as possible for an application with a lower communication load. As a result, the communication apparatus 100 preferentially establishes a connection with the communication terminal 200 that executes an application with a higher communication load than a connection with the communication terminal 200 that executes an application with a lower communication load. it can. For example, when the communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, the communication terminal 200 that is executing an application with a higher communication load is preferentially offloaded, so that the communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 is Can be efficiently reduced.

  The contract plan information acquisition unit 136 acquires contract plan information indicating a communication contract plan corresponding to the communication terminal 200. The contract plan information acquisition unit 136 may receive contract plan information from the communication terminal 200. The contract plan information acquisition unit 136 may receive the contract plan information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. The base station 300 may receive the contract plan information of the communication terminal 200 from a contract management apparatus that manages the contract status of the communication terminal 200. The contract plan information is information indicating, for example, whether the communication contract plan corresponding to the communication terminal 200 is a packet flat-rate system or a packet-based system.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value so that the packet flat rate system has a higher threshold value than the packet pay-as-you-go system. As a result, the communication device 100 can avoid establishing a connection with the packet flat-rate communication terminal 200 unless the signal quality is higher than that of the packet-based communication terminal 200. As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication terminal 200 that is expected to have a large amount of communication with the packet flat rate system from establishing communication with the communication apparatus 100 in a state where the communication quality is low.

  Further, the packet-based communication terminal 200 can be preferentially offloaded as compared with the packet flat-rate communication terminal 200 that is predicted to have a large amount of communication. Even if the packet-based communication terminal 200 is offloaded in a state where the communication quality that can be provided by the communication apparatus 100 is low, the user of the communication terminal 200 communicates as compared with the case where the packet flat-rate communication terminal 200 is offloaded. It is hard to feel that quality is low. Accordingly, when offloading either the packet flat-rate communication terminal 200 or the packet pay-as-you-go communication terminal 200 from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300, the user who is less likely to feel a decrease in communication quality is offloaded. Can be made. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the packet pay-per-use system has a higher threshold value than the packet flat-rate system. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can establish a connection with the communication terminal 200 of the packet flat rate system in preference to the connection with the communication terminal 200 of the packet metering system. For example, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, the wireless communication area 310 is preferentially offloaded to the communication terminal 200 that is expected to have a large amount of communication due to the packet flat rate system. Communication traffic can be efficiently reduced.

  The contract plan information may be either a plan that prioritizes communication by the communication device 100 or a plan that prioritizes communication by the base station 300. The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the threshold value of the plan that prioritizes communication by the base station 300 is higher than the threshold value of the plan that prioritizes communication by the communication device 100.

  Further, the contract plan information may be information indicating whether or not the user subscribes to a plan that restricts data access. The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the communication terminal 200 subscribing to the plan for restricting data access has a higher threshold value than the communication terminal 200 not subscribing.

  In recent years, there are contract plans that do not display inappropriate content published on the Internet and the like in terms of child pornography restrictions and youth protection laws, and there are cases where control is performed by DNS. Then, control such that DNS does not perform name resolution is performed on the communication terminals that are subscribed to such a contract plan. However, when the network to which the communication terminal is connected is different, the DNS server to be referred to is different. Therefore, even if the communication terminal subscribes to the contract plan in a wireless communication network such as 3G, LTE, and 4G, When connected to another network, the display of inappropriate content may not be restricted. On the other hand, the threshold value changing unit 124 according to the present embodiment changes the threshold value as much as possible so that the threshold value of the communication terminal 200 subscribing to the data access restriction plan is increased. It is possible to make it difficult or impossible to connect the communication terminal 200 subscribing to the contract plan to the communication device 100, so that inappropriate content display can be restricted.

  The communication restriction information acquisition unit 138 acquires communication restriction information related to communication restrictions imposed on the communication terminal 200. The communication restriction information acquisition unit 138 may receive communication restriction information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication restriction information acquisition unit 138 may receive the communication restriction information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. The base station 300 may receive communication restriction information of the communication terminal 200 from a contract management device that manages the contract status of the communication terminal 200. The communication restriction information is information indicating, for example, whether the communication restriction imposed on the communication terminal 200 is a strong restriction, a weak restriction, or no restriction.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value as much as possible when the communication restriction is weaker. Thereby, the communication apparatus 100 can prevent a connection with the communication terminal 200 having a weak communication restriction from being established unless the signal quality is higher than that of the communication terminal 200 having a strong communication restriction. As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication terminal 200, which has a low communication restriction and is expected to have a large amount of communication, from being offloaded even though the communication quality that the communication device 100 can provide is low. .

  Further, it is possible to preferentially offload the communication terminal 200 having a stronger communication restriction than the communication terminal 200 having a weaker communication restriction. Even if the communication terminal 200 having a higher communication restriction is offloaded in a state where the communication device 100 can provide low communication quality, the communication terminal 200 is less offloaded than the communication terminal 200 having a weaker communication restriction. It is difficult for 200 users to feel that the communication quality is low. Therefore, when off-loading either the communication terminal 200 having a weaker communication restriction or the communication terminal 200 having a stronger communication restriction from the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300, the user hardly feels a decrease in communication quality. Can be offloaded. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the number of communication terminals 200 connected to the base station 300 while preventing a significant decrease in communication quality enjoyed by the user.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value as much as possible when the communication restriction is stronger. Accordingly, the communication device 100 can preferentially establish a connection with the communication terminal 200 with weaker communication restrictions than a connection with the communication terminal 200 with strong communication restrictions. For example, when communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 of the base station 300 is congested, wireless communication is performed by preferentially offloading the communication terminal 200 that is expected to have a smaller communication restriction and a large amount of communication. Communication traffic in the area 310 can be efficiently reduced.

  As described above, the threshold changing unit 124 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the terminal related information acquired by the terminal related information acquiring unit 126. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately offload each communication terminal 200. The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value based on a plurality of terminal type information, communication method information, communication trend information, application information, contract plan information, and communication restriction information. Accordingly, whether or not the communication terminal 200 is offloaded can be controlled according to various conditions for the communication terminal 200. Further, the terminal related information acquisition unit 126 may transmit the acquired terminal related information to a communication control device (not shown). Then, the threshold value changing unit 124 receives the threshold value determined by the communication control device based on the terminal related information transmitted from the terminal related information acquisition unit 126 from the communication control device, and stores the threshold value as much as possible. The threshold stored in 102 may be changed.

  The peripheral status information acquisition unit 140 acquires peripheral status information indicating the peripheral status of the communication device 100. The peripheral status information acquisition unit 140 may include a traffic information acquisition unit 142, a disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144, a peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 146, and a backbone network information acquisition unit 148.

  The traffic information acquisition unit 142 acquires traffic information related to communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 that covers an area where the communication device 100 is disposed. The traffic information acquisition unit 142 may receive traffic information from the base station 300. The traffic information acquisition unit 142 may receive traffic information of the wireless communication area 310 from the backbone network to which the communication device 100 is connected.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 so that the threshold value decreases as the communication traffic indicated by the traffic information is congested. As a result, the number of communication terminals 200 that are offloaded from communication with the base station 300 to communication with the communication device 100 can be increased, and communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 can be reduced.

  The traffic information acquisition unit 142 may acquire traffic information for each date and time of the wireless communication area 310. For example, the traffic information acquisition unit 142 may acquire traffic information for each day of the week in the wireless communication area 310, or may acquire traffic information for each time zone. Then, the threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 according to the date and time. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 as much as possible when the wireless communication area 310 is in a busy time zone. As a result, the number of communication terminals 200 that are offloaded from communication with the base station 300 to communication with the communication device 100 can be increased in a time zone in which the wireless communication area 310 is congested. Can be reduced.

  The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144 acquires disaster occurrence status information indicating the disaster occurrence status in the area where the communication device 100 is located. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144 may receive disaster occurrence status information from the base station 300. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144 may receive disaster occurrence status information of the wireless communication area 310 from the backbone network to which the communication device 100 is connected. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144 receives, for example, an emergency earthquake bulletin. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 144 may acquire disaster occurrence status information using a sensor that detects the occurrence of a disaster, such as an earthquake sensor.

  For example, when a disaster occurs, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 as much as possible. Thereby, when a disaster occurs, the conditions for establishing communication with the communication device 100 can be relaxed, and more communication terminals 200 can execute communication via the communication device 100. In addition, by offloading communication with the base station 300 to communication with the communication device 100, communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 is reduced, and more communication terminals 200 can communicate with each other via the base station 300. Can be executed.

  The peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 146 acquires peripheral communication device information indicating information on other communication devices 100 arranged around the communication device 100. The peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 146 may receive peripheral communication device information from the base station 300. The peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 146 may receive peripheral communication device information from the backbone network to which the communication device 100 is connected.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 as much as possible as the number of other communication devices 100 arranged around the communication device 100 increases. As the number of other communication devices 100 arranged around the communication device 100 increases, there is a higher possibility that there is another communication device 100 that can provide the communication terminal 200 with higher quality communication than the communication device 100. It will be. Therefore, there is a possibility that the communication terminal 200 can establish communication with another communication device 100 with higher quality by increasing the threshold value as the number of other communication devices 100 arranged in the vicinity increases. Can be increased.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 according to the communication status of other communication devices 100 arranged around the communication device 100, for example. The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 based on at least one of traffic information and throughput information of another communication device 100. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 as low as possible when the traffic of the communication device 100 is low and the traffic of the other communication device 100 is high. Thereby, the communication terminal 200 that has established communication with the other communication apparatus 100 can be offloaded to the communication apparatus 100, and traffic of the other communication apparatus 100 can be appropriately reduced.

  Further, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 as much as possible when the traffic of the communication device 100 is high and the traffic of the other communication device 100 is low. As a result, the communication terminal 200 that has established communication with the communication device 100 can be offloaded to another communication device 100, and traffic of the communication device 100 can be appropriately reduced.

  The backbone network information acquisition unit 148 acquires backbone network information related to the backbone network of the communication device 100. The backbone network information acquisition unit 148 may read the backbone information stored in the storage unit 102. Further, the backbone network information acquisition unit 148 may receive backbone network information from the base station 300. Further, the backbone network information acquisition unit 148 may receive backbone network information from the backbone network to which the communication device 100 is connected. The backbone network information is information indicating, for example, whether the backbone network of the communication apparatus 100 is a wired network, an LTE network, or a 3G network.

  For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 so that the threshold value of the 3G network is higher than that of the wired network. Accordingly, the communication device 100 can more easily establish communication with the communication device 100 when the backbone network is a wired network than when the backbone network is a 3G network.

  As described above, the threshold changing unit 124 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the surrounding situation information acquired by the surrounding situation information acquiring unit 140. The threshold changing unit 124 may change the threshold based on a plurality of traffic information, disaster occurrence status information, peripheral communication device information, and backbone network information. Moreover, the surrounding state information acquisition unit 140 may transmit the acquired surrounding state information to a communication control device (not shown). Then, the threshold value changing unit 124 receives the threshold value determined by the communication control device based on the peripheral state information transmitted by the peripheral state information acquisition unit 140 from the communication control device, and stores the threshold value as much as possible. The threshold stored in 102 may be changed.

  The communication control unit 150 controls communication. The communication control unit 150 may control data communication with the communication terminal 200 that has established communication. The communication control unit 150 may disconnect the communication between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 when the data communication quality with the communication terminal 200 falls below a predetermined reference value. Thereby, it can prevent that the state where communication between the communication apparatus 100 and the communication terminal 200 was established continues with low communication quality. The predetermined reference value may be stored in the storage unit 102. The predetermined reference value may be the same as the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102.

  The communication control unit 150 may acquire the signal strength of the data signal received from the communication terminal 200 as the data communication quality between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication control unit 150 may acquire the throughput between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 as the data communication quality between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200. The communication control unit 150 may acquire the throughput between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200 by monitoring data communication between the communication device 100 and the communication terminal 200.

  The communication control unit 150 may acquire data indicating communication quality between the base station 300 and the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300 or the communication terminal 200. In this case, base station 300 or communication terminal 200 acquires communication quality during communication between base station 300 and communication terminal 200. For example, the communication control unit 150 may acquire the maximum throughput and the average throughput of communication between the base station 300 and the communication terminal 200 as the communication quality.

  The communication control unit 150 may disconnect communication by transmitting a communication disconnection request to the communication terminal 200. For example, the communication device 100 disconnects communication by transmitting a disassociation signal to the communication terminal 200. The communication terminal 200 disconnected from the communication device 100 establishes communication with the base station 300, so that communication can be performed with higher throughput than communication with the communication device 100. . That is, according to the communication device 100 according to the present embodiment, the communication terminal 200 can be guided to switch to communication with higher communication quality.

  The communication monitor unit 152 monitors communication by the communication device 100. For example, the communication monitor unit 152 monitors communication of the communication device 100 and collects data that can estimate a communication mode such as throughput, link speed, communication traffic volume, and connection time. The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 based on the data collected by the communication monitor unit 152. For example, the threshold value changing unit 124 changes the threshold value as appropriate based on the communication traffic amount collected by the communication monitor unit 152.

  The threshold value changing unit 124 may change the threshold value so that the threshold value becomes higher when the communication traffic amount is larger than when the communication traffic amount of the communication device 100 collected by the communication monitoring unit 152 is small. That is, when the amount of communication traffic increases, the number of communication terminals 200 to be offloaded to the communication device 100 thereafter can be reduced, and when the communication traffic decreases, the communication device 200 thereafter The number of communication terminals 200 that are offloaded to 100 can be increased. Thereby, for example, when the amount of communication traffic increases and it becomes difficult to achieve high throughput by communication via the communication device 100, it is possible to increase the threshold value and make it difficult to offload to the communication device 100 thereafter. . In other words, only the communication terminal 200 that has a good connection environment with the communication device 100 and can provide high throughput when communicating with the communication device 100 when it becomes difficult to achieve high throughput with communication via the communication device 100, The communication device 100 can be connected.

  FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an example of a communication environment of the communication system 400. In the present embodiment, the communication system 400 includes a communication device 410 and a communication control device 420. The communication device 410 may include the storage unit 102, the beacon transmission unit 104, the request signal reception unit 106, the request processing unit 114, and the response signal transmission unit 116 described with reference to FIGS.

  The communication control device 420 can communicate with the communication device 410 and receives various data from the communication device 410. The communication control device 420 includes a threshold value changing unit 424 that changes the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 of the communication device 410. The threshold changing unit 424 may have the same function as the threshold changing unit 124. Here, differences from the threshold value changing unit 124 will be mainly described.

  In addition, the communication control apparatus 420 includes a terminal related information acquisition unit 426 and a surrounding situation information acquisition unit 440. The terminal related information acquisition unit 426 may have the same function as the terminal related information acquisition unit 126. Here, differences from the terminal-related information acquisition unit 126 will be mainly described. Further, the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 440 may have the same function as the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 140. Here, the points different from the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 140 will be mainly described.

  The threshold value changing unit 424 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 in accordance with a predetermined condition. For example, when the communication terminal 200 transmits a request signal to the communication device 410, the threshold value changing unit 424 changes the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 200 that has transmitted the request signal from the correspondence table between the terminal identification information and the threshold value. The corresponding threshold value is read, and the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 is changed to the read threshold value. Further, the threshold value changing unit 424 may change the threshold value according to the number of request signals received by the communication device 410 from one communication terminal 200 within a predetermined period.

  The terminal related information acquisition unit 426 acquires terminal related information that is information related to the communication terminal 200. The terminal related information acquisition unit 426 includes a terminal type information acquisition unit 428, a communication method information acquisition unit 430, a communication trend information acquisition unit 432, an application information acquisition unit 434, a contract plan information acquisition unit 436, and a communication restriction information acquisition unit 438. May include.

  Terminal type information acquisition section 428 acquires terminal type information for identifying the type of communication terminal 200. The terminal type information acquisition unit 428 may receive terminal type information from the communication terminal 200. The terminal type information acquisition unit 428 may receive the terminal type information of the communication terminal 200 from the communication device 410. The terminal type information acquisition unit 428 may acquire the terminal type information of the communication terminal 200 by referring to a correspondence table in which the terminal identification information stored in the storage unit 102 is associated with the terminal type information. . The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the terminal type information acquired by the terminal type information acquisition unit 428.

  The communication method information acquisition unit 430 acquires communication method information indicating a communication method supported by the communication terminal 200. The communication method information acquisition unit 430 may receive communication method information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication method information acquisition unit 430 may receive the communication method information from the communication device 410. Further, the communication method information acquisition unit 130 may acquire the communication method information of the communication terminal 200 by referring to the correspondence table between the terminal identification information and the communication method information stored in the storage unit 102. The threshold value changing unit 424 may change the threshold value stored in the storage unit 102 based on the communication method information acquired by the communication method information acquiring unit 430.

  The communication trend information acquisition unit 432 acquires communication trend information indicating a communication trend of the communication terminal 200. The communication trend information acquisition unit 432 may receive communication trend information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication trend information acquisition unit 432 may receive the communication trend information of the communication terminal 200 from the communication device 410. Further, the communication trend information acquisition unit 432 may receive the communication trend information of the communication terminal 200 from a survey result providing device that provides a result of surveying the communication trend of the communication terminal 200. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the communication trend information acquired by the communication trend information acquisition unit 432.

  The application information acquisition unit 434 acquires application information indicating an application being executed by the communication terminal 200. For example, the application information acquisition unit 434 receives application information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the application information acquisition unit 434 may receive application information of the communication terminal 200 from the communication device 410. Further, the application information acquisition unit 434 may receive application information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 434.

  The contract plan information acquisition unit 436 acquires contract plan information indicating a communication contract plan corresponding to the communication terminal 200. The contract plan information acquisition unit 436 may receive contract plan information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the contract plan information acquisition unit 436 may receive the contract plan information of the communication terminal 200 from the communication device 410. Further, the contract plan information acquisition unit 436 may receive the contract plan information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the contract plan information acquired by the contract plan information acquisition unit 436.

  The communication restriction information acquisition unit 438 acquires communication restriction information related to communication restrictions imposed on the communication terminal 200. The communication restriction information acquisition unit 438 may receive communication restriction information from the communication terminal 200. Further, the communication restriction information acquisition unit 438 may receive the communication restriction information of the communication terminal 200 from the communication device 410. Further, the communication restriction information acquisition unit 438 may receive the communication restriction information of the communication terminal 200 from the base station 300. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the communication restriction information acquired by the communication restriction information acquisition unit 438.

  The peripheral status information acquisition unit 440 acquires peripheral status information indicating the peripheral status of the communication device 100. The peripheral status information acquisition unit 440 may include a traffic information acquisition unit 442, a disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444, a peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 446, and a backbone network information acquisition unit 448.

  The traffic information acquisition unit 442 acquires traffic information related to communication traffic in the wireless communication area 310 that covers an area where the communication device 410 is disposed. The traffic information acquisition unit 442 may receive traffic information from the base station 300. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit 442.

  The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444 acquires disaster occurrence status information indicating the disaster occurrence status in the area where the communication device 410 is arranged. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444 may receive disaster occurrence status information from the base station 300. The disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444 receives, for example, an emergency earthquake bulletin. When the communication control device 420 is located in the same area as the communication device 410, the disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444 may acquire disaster occurrence status information using a sensor that detects the occurrence of a disaster, such as an earthquake sensor. Good. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the disaster occurrence status information acquired by the disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit 444.

  The peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 446 acquires peripheral communication device information indicating information of other communication devices 410 arranged around the communication device 410. The peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 446 may receive the peripheral communication device information from the base station 300. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the peripheral communication device information acquired by the peripheral communication device information acquisition unit 446.

  The backbone network information acquisition unit 448 acquires backbone network information related to the backbone network of the communication device 410. The backbone network information acquisition unit 448 may receive backbone information from the communication device 410. Further, the backbone network information acquisition unit 448 may receive backbone network information from the base station 300. Further, the backbone network information acquisition unit 448 may receive backbone network information from the backbone network to which the communication device 410 is connected. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold stored in the storage unit 102 based on the backbone network information acquired by the backbone network information acquisition unit 448.

  The communication control device 420 may be able to communicate with a plurality of communication devices 410, and the threshold value changing unit 424 may change the threshold value stored in each storage unit 102 of the plurality of communication devices 410. The threshold change unit 424 may change the threshold to a different value for each of the plurality of communication devices 410.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows a hardware configuration of the communication apparatus 100. The communication apparatus 100 includes a host controller 502, a CPU 504, a RAM 506, an input / output controller 508, a ROM 510, a communication interface 512, and an antenna 514. The host controller 502 connects the RAM 506 and the CPU 504 that accesses the RAM 506. The CPU 504 operates based on programs stored in the ROM 510 and the RAM 506 to control each unit. The input / output controller 508 connects the host controller 502, the ROM 510, and the communication interface 512.

  A program that is installed and executed in the communication device 100 works on the CPU 504 and the like to make the communication device 100 the storage unit 102, the beacon transmission unit 104, the request signal reception unit 106, and the request processing unit described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. 114, the response signal transmission unit 116, the threshold value changing unit 124, the terminal related information acquisition unit 126, the surrounding situation information acquisition unit 140, and the communication control unit 150.

  Further, the hardware configuration of the communication control apparatus 420 may be the same as the hardware configuration of the communication apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. The program installed and executed in the communication control device 420 works on the CPU 504 and the like to make the communication control device 420 the threshold change unit 424, the terminal related information acquisition unit 426, and the surrounding situation information described with reference to FIGS. It functions as the acquisition unit 440.

  In order to stably switch from the wireless communication network to the WiFi access point without degrading the communication quality, both the control for changing the threshold for the authentication request and the threshold for the association request, and the control by changing the beacon strength By combining these, certainty can be further increased. In addition, when switching from the WiFi access point connection to the wireless communication network or switching back, if the WiFi signal reception level of the communication terminal at the access point falls below a predetermined value, the WiFi connection is controlled by the control from the access point side. By combining the function to forcibly disconnect (kickout function), the communication quality can be stably switched to the wireless communication network before the WiFi communication quality deteriorates. The provision of communication services can be stably maintained without being aware of temporary quality degradation. The threshold values of the above-described four authentication, association, beacon, and kickout functions are adjusted to appropriate values based on the behavior of the communication quality of the user according to the installation location of the access point.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The order of execution of each process such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, the description, and the drawings is particularly “before” or “prior to”. It should be noted that it can be realized in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Regarding the operation flow in the claims, the description, and the drawings, even if it is described using “first,” “next,” etc. for convenience, it means that it is essential to carry out in this order. It is not a thing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Communication apparatus, 102 Storage part, 104 Beacon transmission part, 106 Request signal reception part, 108 Probe request reception part, 110 Authentication request reception part, 112 Association request reception part, 114 Request processing part, 115 Quality judgment part, 116 Response signal Transmission unit, 118 Probe response transmission unit, 120 Authentication response transmission unit, 122 Association response transmission unit, 124 Threshold change unit, 126 Terminal related information acquisition unit, 128 Terminal type information acquisition unit, 130 Communication method information acquisition unit, 132 Communication trend Information acquisition unit, 134 Application information acquisition unit, 136 Contract plan information acquisition unit, 138 Communication restriction information acquisition unit, 140 Peripheral situation information acquisition unit, 142 Traffic information acquisition unit, 144 Disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit, 146 Peripheral communication device information Acquisition unit, 148 packs Cubone network information acquisition unit, 150 communication control unit, 152 communication monitor unit, 180 communicable area, 200 communication terminal, 300 base station, 310 wireless communication area, 400 communication system, 410 communication device, 420 communication control device, 424 threshold change 426 terminal related information acquisition unit, 428 terminal type information acquisition unit, 430 communication method information acquisition unit, 432 communication trend information acquisition unit, 434 application information acquisition unit, 436 contract plan information acquisition unit, 438 communication restriction information acquisition unit, 440 Peripheral status information acquisition unit, 442 Traffic information acquisition unit, 444 Disaster occurrence status information acquisition unit, 446 Peripheral communication device information acquisition unit, 448 Backbone network information acquisition unit, 502 Host controller, 504 CPU, 506 RAM, 508 Force controller, 510 ROM, 512 communication interface, 514 antenna

Claims (21)

A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal to the communication terminal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
A terminal-related information acquisition unit that acquires terminal-related information that is information about the communication terminal;
A communication apparatus comprising: a threshold value changing unit that changes the threshold value based on the terminal-related information . A terminal-related information transmission unit that transmits the terminal-related information acquired by the terminal-related information acquisition unit to a communication control device;
The threshold changing unit, the terminal-related information transmitting portion as much as possible to the threshold received from the communication control device according to sent the terminal-related information, to change the threshold value, the communication apparatus according to claim 1. The terminal related information acquisition unit includes terminal type information for identifying a type of the communication terminal, communication method information indicating a communication method supported by the communication terminal, communication trend information indicating a communication tendency of the communication terminal, Obtaining at least one of application information indicating an application being executed by the communication terminal, contract plan information indicating a communication contract plan corresponding to the communication terminal, and communication restriction information relating to communication restriction imposed on the communication terminal;
The threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value based on at least one of the terminal type information, the communication method information, the communication tendency information, the application information, the contract plan information, and the communication restriction information. The communication apparatus according to 1 or 2 . A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal to the communication terminal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
A threshold changing unit for changing the threshold depending on the number of the request signal received in the predetermined period from the first communication terminal
A communication device comprising: A communication device,
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal to the communication terminal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
A surrounding situation information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding situation information indicating a surrounding situation of the communication device ;
A threshold changing unit for changing the threshold value based on the previous SL peripheral status information
A communication device comprising: The peripheral status information acquisition unit includes traffic information related to traffic of a wireless communication network covering an area where the communication device is arranged, disaster occurrence status information indicating a disaster occurrence status in the area where the communication device is arranged, and the communication device Obtaining at least one of peripheral communication device information indicating information of other communication devices arranged in the periphery of the network, and backbone network information related to a backbone network of the communication device,
The communication device according to claim 5 , wherein the threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value based on at least one of the traffic information, the disaster occurrence status information, the peripheral communication device information, and the backbone network information. A communication device,
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal to the communication terminal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
A communication monitoring unit that monitors communication by the communication device and collects data related to communication by the communication device ;
A threshold changing unit for changing the threshold value based on the previous SL data communication monitoring unit has collected
A communication device comprising: The communication monitoring unit collects at least one of communication throughput, link speed, communication traffic amount, and connection time by the communication device,
The communication device according to claim 7 , wherein the threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value based on at least one of the throughput, the link speed, the communication traffic amount, and the connection time. A communication device,
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal to the communication terminal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
A threshold value changing unit for changing the threshold value based on an area where the communication device is disposed;
A communication device comprising: The request signal receiving unit receives an authentication request from the communication terminal,
The quality determination unit determines whether the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than the threshold;
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the response signal transmission unit transmits the response signal to the authentication request when a signal quality of the authentication request is higher than the threshold value. The request signal receiving unit receives an association request from the communication terminal;
The quality determination unit determines whether the signal quality of the association request is higher than the threshold;
The response signal transmitting unit, the signal quality of the association request transmits the response signal to the association request is higher than the threshold value, the communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 10. The request signal receiving unit receives a probe request from the communication terminal;
The quality determination unit determines whether the signal quality of the probe request is higher than the threshold;
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the response signal transmission unit transmits a response signal to the probe request when a signal quality of the probe request is higher than the threshold value. Probe request from communication terminal, the authentication request and the request signal receiving unit for receiving two least one of association request,
Signal quality before Symbol probe request, signal quality of the authentication request, and said a quality determination section that the signal quality of the association request to determine whether higher than the threshold value that different respectively, the signal quality of the probe request Determining whether the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than a second threshold value different from the first threshold value, and determining whether the signal quality of the association request is the first threshold value and the first threshold value; a quality determining section for determining whether or not higher than different third threshold and the second threshold value,
It sends a response signal that the signal quality of the previous SL probe request against the probe request is higher than the first threshold value, that the signal quality of the authentication request against the authentication request is higher than the second threshold value It transmits a response signal, the response signal transmission unit which signal quality of the association request transmits a response signal against the association request is higher than the third threshold value,
According pre Me conditions specified, the first threshold value, a threshold changing unit for changing at least one of the second threshold and the third threshold value
A communication device comprising: The response signal transmission unit transmits a rejection signal indicating rejection of processing for the request signal when the signal quality is lower than the threshold, or transmits nothing to the request signal. The communication device according to any one of the above. Threshold list receiving unit for receiving a threshold list in which thresholds are registered for each predetermined condition from the communication control device
Further comprising
The threshold value changing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value according to the predetermined condition by referring to the threshold value list received by the threshold value list receiving unit. Communication device. A communication system comprising a communication device and a communication control device,
The communication device
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
Have
The communication control device includes:
A communication system comprising a threshold value changing unit that changes the threshold value based on an area where the communication device is arranged . The communication control device includes:
A traffic information acquisition unit for acquiring traffic information related to communication traffic of a wireless communication network covering an area where the communication device is disposed;
The communication system according to claim 16 , wherein the threshold value changing unit changes the threshold value based on the traffic information. A communication system comprising a communication device and a communication control device,
The communication device
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
Have
The communication control device includes:
A terminal-related information acquisition unit that acquires terminal-related information that is information about the communication terminal;
A threshold value changing unit for changing the threshold value based on the terminal-related information;
A communication system. A communication system comprising a communication device and a communication control device,
The communication device
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
Have
The communication control device includes:
A threshold value changing unit that changes the threshold value according to the number of the request signals received by the request signal receiving unit from one communication terminal within a predetermined period.
A communication system. A communication system comprising a communication device and a communication control device,
The communication device
A request signal receiver for receiving a request signal from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the request signal is higher than a threshold;
A response signal transmitter that transmits a response signal when the signal quality is higher than the threshold;
Have
The communication control device includes:
A surrounding situation information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding situation information indicating a surrounding situation of the communication device;
A threshold value changing unit for changing the threshold value based on the surrounding situation information;
A communication system. A communication system comprising a communication device and a communication control device,
The communication device
A request signal receiving unit that receives at least any two of a probe request, an authentication request, and an association request from a communication terminal;
A quality determination unit that determines whether the signal quality of the probe request, the signal quality of the authentication request, and the signal quality of the association request are higher than different threshold values, and the signal quality of the probe request is a first threshold value It is determined whether or not the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than a second threshold value different from the first threshold value, and the signal quality of the association request is the first threshold value and the second threshold value. A quality determination unit that determines whether or not a third threshold value is different from
Transmitting a response signal to the probe request when the signal quality of the probe request is higher than the first threshold, and transmitting a response signal to the authentication request when the signal quality of the authentication request is higher than the second threshold; A response signal transmitting unit that transmits a response signal to the association request when the signal quality of the association request is higher than the third threshold;
Have
The communication control device includes:
A threshold value changing unit that changes at least one of the first threshold value, the second threshold value, and the third threshold value according to a predetermined condition.
A communication system.