KR101815802B1 - Wlan service method and wlan access method using beacon - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a WLAN service method and a WLAN access method for allowing a user of a mobile terminal, to efficiently access an access point using a beacon and use a good quality service. The WLAN service method using a beacon includes: a step of broadcasting a beacon frame including the access information and access priority information of a pre-assigned access point; a step of receiving service quality information for the access point from a mobile terminal connected to the access point according to the access information and access priority information; and a step of updating the access priority information according to the service quality information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a wireless LAN service method using a beacon and a WLAN access method,

The present invention relates to a wireless LAN service method and a wireless LAN access method, and more particularly, to a wireless LAN service method and a wireless LAN access method using a beacon.

With the recent spread of smart devices, data consumption is also increasing. Terminals such as smart phones and tablet PCs can use mobile communication modules to access the network anytime and anywhere to consume contents. However, as mobile hardware specifications and communication technologies become more sophisticated, high quality content that can be consumed is also pouring out, causing various problems. As the amount of mobile communication traffic increases, a communication failure due to frequency interference and a load of channel capacity of the base station may occur.

Various methods for solving these problems have been studied. In particular, various studies have been made to distribute traffic by using 802.11 wireless LAN technology at the same time, rather than consuming data only by mobile communication. These methods are classified into two broad categories.

The first is how to efficiently locate a wireless LAN access point (AP) on a smart device. In order to efficiently perform channel search in an area without an AP or to search for a fast switching between APs in a region where a plurality of APs exist, a proactive scan has been a typical research. However, this approach is difficult to use due to battery consumption and complicated algorithms.

The second is how smart devices and other communication devices enable smart devices to efficiently detect wireless LAN APs. These methods have also been extensively researched, mainly to help them find access forints through ZigBee. However, since ZigBee is not generally included in smart devices, additional devices are required, which is also difficult to apply in a real environment.

Korean Patent No. 10-1610584 is a related prior art document.

The present invention is intended to provide a wireless LAN service method and a wireless LAN access method in which a user of a mobile terminal can efficiently access an access point using a beacon and can use a high quality service.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for access point allocation, comprising: broadcasting a beacon frame including access information and access priority order information of a pre-allocated access point; Receiving service quality information for the access point from a mobile terminal connected to the access point according to the access information and access priority order information; And updating the connection priority order information according to the quality of service information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for access point selection, the method comprising: selecting an access point to which access information is to be transmitted according to service quality information of the access point; Broadcasting a beacon frame including access information for the selected access point; And receiving the service quality information from a mobile terminal that has received the beacon frame.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving a beacon frame including access point access information and access priority order information from an access point, ; Accessing the access point using the access information and access priority order information; Generating service quality information for the access point; And transmitting the quality of service information to the beacon server.

According to the present invention, by providing the mobile terminal with access information to the access point to which the mobile terminal is connectable by using the beacon, and allowing the mobile terminal to access the access point using the access information provided by the mobile terminal, Internet service is available without.

Further, according to the present invention, the bidirectional communication enables a mobile terminal to access an access point providing better service quality by setting a higher access priority to an access point that is superior according to the quality of service provided from the mobile terminal.

1 is a view for explaining a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram for explaining a wireless LAN service method using a beacon frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining an embodiment for selectively receiving a transmission signal of a mobile terminal.
4 is a diagram for explaining a wireless LAN service method using a beacon frame according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram for explaining a wireless LAN access method using a beacon according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram for explaining a method of generating a low-power Bluetooth beacon frame according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The present invention proposes a method for allowing a mobile terminal such as a smart device to efficiently access a wireless LAN network to use a wireless LAN service.

A number of access points to which a mobile terminal can access are limited, and even when a mobile terminal is connected to an access point, there are many cases where a wireless LAN service can not be actually used due to security, load, or the like Occurs. Accordingly, when a mobile terminal that has been provided with an Internet service through a mobile communication network accesses a wireless LAN, there is a problem that the Internet service is disconnected.

The present invention provides a mobile terminal with access information for an access point to which a mobile terminal can access using a beacon and accesses the access point using access information provided by the mobile terminal, Internet services can be used without interruption.

In general, a mobile terminal includes a Bluetooth module together with a Wi-Fi module, and thus can receive a beacon frame broadcasted. The beacon frame may be transmitted via a beacon socket installed around the access point.

In addition, the present invention provides access priority information for a plurality of access points together with access information to a mobile terminal, thereby enabling a mobile terminal user to use a higher quality wireless LAN service.

In particular, in a general beacon system, unidirectional communication is performed in which a beacon frame is transmitted only from a transmitting end to a receiving end, whereas the present invention updates connection priority information through bidirectional communication. That is, if the mobile terminal provides the service quality information for the access point connected to the beacon server, the present invention updates the access priority information according to the service quality information.

As a result, the present invention allows a mobile terminal to access an access point that provides better service quality, by setting a higher connection priority for an excellent access point according to the quality of service provided from the mobile terminal through bidirectional communication.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view for explaining a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless LAN system according to the present invention includes a plurality of access points 110 and 120, a plurality of beacon aids 130 and 140, and a mobile terminal 150.

In FIG. 1, a case where a beaconsetter is allocated to each access point is described as an embodiment, but a beaconsetter may be allocated to each access point group according to an embodiment. Also, the beacon assistor is a communication device for transmitting a beacon, and may include a receiving module for receiving a low-power Bluetooth LE beacon and receiving a signal transmitted from the mobile terminal.

The beacon acceptors 130 and 140 broadcast a beacon frame including access information and access priority information of the preassigned access point. Beacon acceptors 130 and 140 may be installed near the assigned access point. That is, the first beacon socket 130 is installed near the first AP 110 and the second beacon socket 140 is installed near the second AP 120.

The access information may be ID and password information, and may be provided by a wireless LAN service provider or an administrator. The connection priority information may be set to an initial value according to the WLAN standard and updated as described below.

The mobile terminal 150 accesses the access point using the access information and access priority information included in the beacon frame. If the access priority for the first access point 110 is higher than that of the second access point 120, the mobile terminal 150 connects to the first access point 110, If the access priority is higher than the first access, the mobile terminal 105 can connect to the second access point 120.

The mobile terminal 150 accesses the access point, uses the wireless LAN service, and generates quality of service information. For example, the mobile terminal 150 may generate quality of service information according to throughput during service use or RSSI of a beacon frame. The service quality information may be a numerical value indicating the quality of service, and a low value may be assigned to the quality of service information when the throughput is low or the RSSI is low. That is, a higher value of the service quality information may be assigned to the higher quality of service.

The beacon acceptors 130 and 140 update the access priority information according to the quality of service information transmitted from the mobile terminal 150. The higher the service quality, the higher the access priority of the access point, and the lower the service quality, the lower the access priority of the access point.

Since the access priority is not determined relatively depending on the service quality between the access points but is determined absolutely according to the numerical service quality,

Even if the beacon acceptors 130 and 140 are assigned to different access points, each of the beacon aware units can update connection priority information without comparison information for other access points.

On the other hand, as described above, according to the embodiment, the beacon awareness can be allocated for each group of access points located within a predetermined distance. In this case, depending on the quality of service information for the access point, the beaconsetter may select an access point to which to transmit the access information, and broadcast a beacon frame including access information to the selected access point.

That is, the beacon acceptor can selectively transmit only the access information to the access point having a good service quality to the mobile terminal so that the mobile terminal can not select the access point having a poor service quality.

As a result, according to the present invention, a mobile terminal user can access a connectable access point, use a wireless LAN service, and access an access point capable of providing a higher quality service.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a wireless LAN service method using a beacon frame according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an embodiment for selectively receiving a transmission signal of a mobile terminal. 4 is a diagram illustrating a wireless LAN service method using a beacon frame according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The wireless LAN service method according to the present invention can be performed in a communication device that transmits a beacon frame. In FIGS. 2 to 4, a method of a wireless LAN service of the beacon socket in FIG. 1 will be described as an embodiment. In FIG. 2, a beacon acessor wireless LAN service method allocated to each access point is explained. FIG. 4 illustrates a beacon acessor wireless LAN service method allocated to an access point group.

Referring first to FIG. 2, the beacon aware system according to the present invention broadcasts a beacon frame including connection information and access priority information of a pre-allocated access point (S210). The access information includes a BSS ID and a password. According to an embodiment, the beacon frame may further include wireless LAN charging information, wireless LAN service provider information, and standard information.

At this time, the beaconsetter can broadcast the beacon frame by adjusting the transmission period according to the connection priority order information. For example, the beacon acessor can set the transmission period to be short if the access priority of the access point allocated to the beacon acessor is high, and to set the transmission period to be long if the access priority is low. The shorter the transmission period, the higher the probability that the mobile terminal will receive the beacon frame. Thus, by adjusting the transmission period, it is possible to induce the mobile terminal to access the access point having a higher access priority.

Alternatively, depending on the embodiment, the transmission period of the beacon frame may take the role of connection priority information. That is, the beacon acceptor may transmit a beacon frame not including the access priority information, but may adjust the transmission period of the beacon frame according to the access priority.

Thereafter, the beacon acceptor receives the service quality information for the access point from the mobile terminal connected to the access point according to the access information and the access priority information (S220). The mobile terminal accesses the access point according to the access information and access priority information, which will be described in more detail in Fig.

Since the Bluetooth is a communication standard for low power and the power consumption is important, in order to reduce power consumption due to bidirectional communication, the beacon socket according to the present invention transmits service quality information transmitted from a plurality of mobile terminals .

In one embodiment, the beacon acessor may selectively receive only service quality information transmitted in a corresponding reception period or a corresponding reception interval by adjusting a reception period of a signal transmitted from the mobile terminal to a long time or setting a reception interval to be short have. Particularly, when the received signal increases and the power consumed by the beacon receiver reaches the threshold value or more, the beacon receiver decreases the power consumption by receiving the service quality information by increasing the reception period or decreasing the reception interval .

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 (a) shows a case where the reception period is relatively short as compared with FIG. 3 (b). In FIG. 3, TX denotes a transmission signal of the mobile terminal, and RX denotes a reception interval. As compared with FIG. 3 (a), if the receiving period becomes longer as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the beacon recognizer can not receive the TX2 signal among the transmission signals. Accordingly, the beacon recognizer selectively receives only the TX1 and TX3 signals can do.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the beacon asteritor updates the access priority information according to the quality of service information transmitted from the mobile terminal (S230), and broadcasts a beacon frame including updated access priority information.

Referring to FIG. 4, the beacon coder according to the present invention selects an access point to which connection information is to be transmitted (S410) according to service quality information for the access point.

That is, in the access point group assigned to the beacon assigner, the beacon acceptor selects the access point whose service quality is equal to or higher than the threshold value as the access point to which to transmit the access information. The access information for the access point group may be stored in the memory of the beacon acessor.

The beacon aceter broadcasts a beacon frame including access information to the selected access point (S420), and receives the service quality information from the mobile terminal that has received the beacon frame (S430).

The beacon acknowledgment unit updates the access point to which the access information is to be transmitted in accordance with the received quality of service information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a wireless LAN access method using a beacon according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, a wireless LAN access method of the mobile terminal of FIG. 1 will be described as an embodiment.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention receives (S510) a beacon frame including access point access information and access priority information from the beacon aids allocated to each access point.

Then, connection is made to the access point using the access information and the access priority order information (S420). The mobile terminal can access the access point having the highest access priority, and can access the access point using the ID and the password transmitted through the beacon frame.

In step S520, the mobile terminal can access the access point by additionally using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) of the monitored beacon frame as well as access priority information. That is, the mobile terminal can additionally use the RSSI of the beacon frame to determine an access point to be connected, and when there are a plurality of access points having the same access priority, the mobile terminal can access the access point according to the RSSI.

For example, if the access priority of the first access point is the same as that of the second access point, and the RSSI of the beacon frame containing the access information for the first access point is higher than the RSSI of the beacon frame for the second access point, The terminal can access the first access point.

Also, according to the embodiment, the beacon frame may further include wireless LAN charging information, wireless LAN service provider information and standard information, and the mobile terminal can additionally use the information to access the access point. For example, the mobile terminal can access the free access point using the wireless LAN charging information, and access the access point supported by the WiFi module mounted on the mobile terminal using the standard information.

The mobile terminal uses the access point to access the wireless LAN service, and generates the service quality information for the access point (S530). If the amount of data processed at the same time is large, it can be seen that the service quality is excellent, so that the mobile terminal can generate the service quality information using the throughput for the access point. Also, if the RSSI of the beacon frame is high, excellent quality of service can be predicted, so that the mobile terminal can also generate the service quality information by using the RSSI of the beacon frame.

Meanwhile, the wireless LAN access method described above can be performed through an application stored in a mobile terminal, and an application can operate in a foreground mode and a background mode.

The mobile terminal according to the present invention scans and receives a beacon frame in a foreground mode and a background mode. In order to reduce power consumed in the back-ground mode, Disable scanning of the frame. That is, the mobile terminal receives the beacon frame in the background mode as well as the foreground mode, sets the sleep interval in the background mode for low power, and deactivates the beacon frame in the sleep interval.

6 is a diagram for explaining a method of generating a low-power Bluetooth beacon frame according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

A beacon is a protocol of low power Bluetooth (BLE), which can broadcast specific data through a beacon using only a low power Bluetooth GAP (Generic Access Profile).

The data field of the beacon frame contains the information of the above-mentioned access point, and it is preferable that such information is encrypted because it is exposed. As an example, the information can be encrypted through the SEED algorithm, and the SEED algorithm is a symmetric algorithm for encrypting / decrypting using a 128-bit key.

As an example, the information of the access point may be included in a UUID (Universal Unique ID) field of the data field of the beacon frame, and the UUID generator 620 may encrypt the information of the input access point to generate a UUID field . Since the key of the SEED algorithm is a symmetric key, the mobile terminal uses the same key used for encryption when decrypting the beacon frame. The key may be included in the application of the mobile terminal.

The beacon firmware uploader 620 converts the encrypted string into hex (Hex) in byte units, and provides it to the beacon synthesizer.

In FIG. 6, a case where a beacon frame generated in a separate apparatus is provided as a beacon receiver is described as an embodiment. However, the beacon receiver can generate a beacon frame through the above-described process according to an embodiment.

The above-described technical features may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

Claims (10)

Broadcasting a beacon frame including access information and access priority information for the pre-assigned access point;
Receiving service quality information for the access point from a mobile terminal connected to the access point according to the access information and access priority order information; And
And updating the connection priority order information according to the service quality information,
The step of broadcasting the beacon frame
Adjusting a transmission period according to the connection priority order information, broadcasting the beacon frame,
Wherein the access information includes a BSS ID and a password,
A wireless LAN service method using a beacon.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The step of receiving the quality of service information
And selectively receiving service quality information transmitted from a plurality of mobile terminals that have received the beacon frame
A wireless LAN service method using a beacon.
The method of claim 3,
The step of receiving the quality of service information
When the power consumption is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the reception period is increased or the reception interval is decreased to receive the service quality information
A wireless LAN service method using a beacon.
The method according to claim 1,
The beacon frame
Wireless LAN service provider information, and standard information.
A wireless LAN service method using a beacon.
delete Receiving a beacon frame including access information and access priority information for the access point from beacons associates assigned to each access point;
Accessing the access point using the access information including the BSS ID and the password and the access priority information;
Generating service quality information for the access point; And
And transmitting the quality of service information to the beacon coordinator,
Wherein the beacon acceptor adjusts a transmission period according to the access priority order information and broadcasts the beacon frame,
Wireless LAN access method using beacon.
8. The method of claim 7,
The step of connecting to the access point
The RSSI of the beacon frame is additionally used to determine an access point to be connected
Wireless LAN access method using beacon.
8. The method of claim 7,
The step of generating the quality of service information
Using the throughput for the access point and the RSSI of the beacon frame to generate the service quality information
Wireless LAN access method using beacon.
8. The method of claim 7,
The step of receiving the beacon frame
In the foreground mode and the background mode, the beacon frame is scanned and received,
In the sleep interval of the background mode, the scan of the beacon frame is deactivated
Wireless LAN access method using beacon.

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