JP2002368739A - Terminal adaptor capable of manually adding/deleting physical link - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal adaptor that realizes communication using a proper physical link at data communication employing a plurality of physical links. SOLUTION: The terminal adaptor for containing a personal computer PC and a phone and connected to an ISDN line, is provided with a D channel communication protocol section 30 that transceives a call control message and a D channel packet exchange data, a B1 channel and B2 channel communication protocol section 31 that transceives data via B1 and B2 channels, a DTE IF section 31 that transceives data to/from the PC, an analog IF section 32 that transceives an analog signal to/from the phone, an operating condition setting section 35 having an operating condition setting means 351 by which a user sets the operating condition, and a physical link revision means 352 by which the user instructs addition/deletion of a physical link, and a control section 39 that has a function of executing physical link revision processing based on a physical link revision instruction from the physical link revision means 352.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an MP (Multilink)
Protocol) and BACP (Bandwidth Allocation Control)
The present invention relates to a terminal adapter such as a terminal adapter or a dial-up router having a communication protocol for transmitting data as one logical link by bundling a plurality of physical links, such as a protocol.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional terminal adapter, a method of increasing the number of physical links or deleting a physical link during communication for transmitting data as one logical link by bundling a plurality of physical links, such as MP and BACP, is adopted. Has the following two methods.

One is a resource BOD (Bandwidth on D).
emand), which prioritizes analog calls over data communications.For example, if an analog call request occurs, such as receiving a selection signal from a telephone connected to the analog port of the terminal adapter, use it for data communications. A method in which one physical link is automatically deleted from a plurality of physical channels and opened for analog communication, and when the analog communication ends, a physical link for data communication is automatically added again. is there.

[0004] The other is a throughput BOD, which constantly monitors the amount of data during communication and automatically adds a physical link when the amount of data increases to prevent an unnecessary communication fee from being generated. This is a method in which a physical link is automatically deleted if it is small, and an appropriate physical link is provided.

The above-mentioned prior art throughput BOD
Is a method of monitoring the amount of data currently being transmitted and received and adding / deleting a physical link, and does not anticipate an increase or decrease in the amount of data that will occur in the future. Therefore, immediately after a physical link is automatically added in response to an increase in the amount of data, the number of data transmission / reception decreases, or conversely, in response to a decrease in the amount of data, the physical link is added. Immediately after the automatic deletion, it is not possible to immediately cope with a case where the data transmission / reception amount increases, and it is not always possible to provide an appropriate physical link. In addition, since the physical link is unconditionally increased or deleted based on the increase or decrease of the data volume, if the communication state is maintained, the communication is performed with the appropriate physical link taking into account the user's usage status and purpose. Cannot be provided.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to MP and BA.
During data communication by a communication protocol that bundles a plurality of physical links such as a CP and transmits data as one logical link, manually increasing the number of physical links at the user's discretion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal adapter that can reduce the amount and realize communication using a physical link more appropriate for a user.

[0007]

In a terminal adapter which accommodates a personal computer and a telephone and is connected to an integrated digital communication line, a terminal adapter of the integrated digital communication line is provided.
Send and receive call control messages over the channel,
A D-channel communication protocol unit for transmitting and receiving data by D-channel packet exchange, and a B-channel for transmitting and receiving data via the B1 channel of the integrated digital communication line
B2 for transmitting and receiving data via the B2 channel of the integrated digital communication line with the communication protocol unit for one channel
A channel communication protocol unit, a DTE interface unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from a personal computer,
An analog interface that sends and receives analog signals to and from the telephone, a data buffer that temporarily stores data sent and received from a personal computer or integrated digital communication line, and a user that manually sets the addition and deletion of physical links Operating condition setting unit composed of a switch and the like, a setting storage unit for storing the operating conditions set by the operating condition setting unit, and a display unit for displaying the currently used physical link to the user A timer unit for detecting the timing of the addition / deletion effective at the time of addition / deletion of a physical link, and a control unit for controlling these.

Further, according to the present invention, the operating condition setting section has physical link change instructing means for instructing addition of a physical link or deletion of a physical link. It has a function of executing a physical link change process based on a physical link change instruction.

According to the present invention, during data communication using a communication protocol that bundles a plurality of physical links, such as MP and BACP, and transmits data as one logical link, the number of physical links is manually increased or reduced at the discretion of the user. And a terminal adapter capable of realizing communication using a physical link more appropriate for the user can be provided.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The concept of the configuration of a communication system using a terminal adapter according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. A personal computer 1 is connected to an integrated digital communication line (ISDN) 4 via a terminal adapter 3 and connected to the Internet 6 via an Internet provider 5. Data communication. Further, a telephone 2 for telephone communication is connected to the integrated digital communication line 4 via a terminal adapter 3.

The configuration and functions of the terminal adapter 3 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. This terminal adapter 3 is a communication protocol unit 3 for D channel.
0, the B1 channel communication protocol unit 31-1, and B
2-channel communication protocol section 31-2, DTE interface section 32, analog interface section 33
, A data buffer unit 34, an operation condition setting unit 35,
It comprises a setting storage unit 36, a display unit 37, a timer unit 38, and a control unit 39.

The D-channel communication protocol section 30 is means for transmitting and receiving a call control message via the D-channel of the integrated digital communication line 4 and transmitting and receiving data by D-channel packet exchange.

B1 channel communication protocol section 31-1
Is means for transmitting and receiving data via the B1 channel of the integrated digital communication line 4. The B2 channel communication protocol section 31-2 is a
This is a means for transmitting and receiving data via two channels.

The DTE interface unit 32 has a
It is means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the personal computer 1 having an interface such as SE-T, 100BASE-TX, RS-232C or USB. The analog interface unit 33 is a unit that transmits and receives analog signals such as voice to and from the telephone 2.

The data buffer section 34 is a means for temporarily storing data transmitted and received from the personal computer 1 or the integrated digital communication line 4.

The operating condition setting unit 35 includes an operating condition setting unit 351 including a switch for allowing a user to set an operating condition when a physical link is added, an operating condition when a physical link is deleted, and the like. And a physical link change switch 352 for manually instructing the deletion of the physical link, and the like. The operation condition setting and the manual physical link change instruction are input.

The setting storage unit 36 is a means for storing a condition for changing the physical link and a timing condition for changing the physical link, which are the operation conditions set by the operation condition setting unit 35.

The display unit 37 is a unit composed of an LED or an LCD, and is a unit for displaying a currently used physical link to a user.

The timer section 38 is a time measuring means used for detecting the timing of addition / deletion which is effective at a charge when adding / deleting a physical link.

The control section 39 is a means for controlling these functional parts, and has a BOD control function 391 and a physical link change control function 392.

A feature of the present invention is that the operation condition setting unit 3
5 in addition to a point that a physical link change switch 352 for instructing a physical link change such as addition of a physical link or deletion of a physical link is added, and a function that the control unit 39 monitors the throughput and determines the change of the physical link. The point is that the process of changing the physical link is started based on the physical link change instruction from the physical link change switch 352.

Normally, the terminal adapter 3 communicates with the Internet provider 5 via the integrated digital communication line 4 at a maximum of three channels of D channel, B1 channel and B2 channel.
It is possible to configure one physical link. The terminal adapter 3 performs data transmission and reception corresponding to each physical link by the D channel communication protocol unit 30, the B1 channel communication protocol unit 31-1, and the B2 channel communication protocol unit 31-2, and communicates communication protocols such as MP and BACP. These three (or two) physical links are bundled and the interface with the personal computer 1 is used as one logical link to transmit data, thereby enabling high-speed data communication.

Normally, the B1 channel and the B2 channel perform data communication by a circuit switching system. Therefore, when transmitting a large amount of data at high speed, it is effective to use a large number of physical links. When a large amount of data is set and the amount of data is small or when data is transmitted and received without urgency, an extra communication fee is required. Therefore, it is more effective to use a smaller number of physical links. If the B1 channel and the B2 channel are occupied for data communication,
There is no more B channel available for applications such as telephone calls, and there is a risk that things that should be prioritized over data communications, such as emergency communications, may be obstructed. Therefore, the terminal adapter 3
Controls the following physical link addition / deletion.

One is a method called resource BOD in which analog communication is prioritized over data communication, and the number of physical links used for data communication is automatically increased or deleted. The terminal adapter 3 communicates with the Internet provider 5 via the integrated digital communication line 4
When the analog interface unit 33 receives a selection signal from the telephone 2 while performing data communication using three physical links of the channel, the B1 channel, and the B2 channel, the analog interface unit 33 notifies the control unit 39 of the selection signal. Upon receiving the request for the analog call, the control unit 39 deletes the physical link of the B2 channel (or the B1 channel) and uses it as a physical link for the analog call.

When the analog interface unit 33 detects the on-hook from the telephone 2 after the end of the analog telephone call, it notifies the control unit 39 of this. The control unit 39, which has received the request for the analog communication, adds the physical link used for the analog communication again for the data communication. Also, when a request for an analog call is received from the integrated digital communication line 4, addition / deletion of a physical link is performed in the same manner as described above.

The other is a system called a throughput BOD, which constantly monitors the amount of data during communication and automatically adds a physical link when the amount of data increases to prevent an unnecessary communication fee from being generated. If the data amount is small, the physical link is automatically deleted. The terminal adapter 3
The data from the personal computer 1 is received via the DTE interface 32 and the data buffer 3
4 is stored. The control unit 39 adds a physical link when the amount of data not transmitted to the integrated digital line 4 is large among the data stored in the data buffer unit 34, and adds a physical link when the amount of untransmitted data is small (or not present). Delete and communicate. Further, the terminal adapter 3 transmits data from the Internet provider 5 via the integrated digital communication line 4 to the D channel communication protocol unit 30 and the B1 channel communication protocol unit 3 corresponding to each physical link.
1-1, received by the B2 channel communication protocol section 31-2 and stored in the data buffer section 34.

The control unit 39 calculates the ratio of the current throughput to the total communication speed of the physical link being used from the number of frames and the number of bytes stored in the data buffer unit 34. If the ratio is low, the physical link is deleted.

The user sets operating conditions such as a threshold value for adding a physical link and a threshold value for deleting a physical link via the operating condition setting unit 35 to the operating condition setting storage unit 3.
6 in advance. In determining the actual addition / deletion of the physical link, the control unit 39 refers to the operation condition setting storage unit 36, and stores the physical link addition / deletion condition and the amount of the untransmitted data and the total communication speed. The current throughput ratio is compared to determine whether a physical link is added or deleted.

In addition, the user sets the operating conditions such as the minimum guaranteed time (for example, one talk time) from the time of adding and deleting a physical link or the time of deleting and adding a physical link to a communication charge. The setting is made from the operation condition setting unit 35 in consideration of the viewpoint of the system, and this is stored in the operation condition storage unit 36. By setting a minimum guaranteed time,
When a busy channel is deleted, the channel can be disconnected after a sufficient amount of time as a unit of charge calculation is used.

When adding or deleting a physical link, the timing of adding a command physical link or deleting a physical link is determined by the control unit 39 by the timer unit 38 started by a command to add or delete a physical link. The value is compared with the value of the operation condition (minimum guaranteed time), and the operation is performed at more effective timing.

However, the throughput BOD of the prior art described above is a method of monitoring the amount of data currently transmitted and received and adding / deleting a physical link, and does not anticipate an increase or decrease in the amount of data that will occur in the future. For this reason, if data transmission / reception decreases immediately after a physical link is automatically added in response to an increase in the amount of data,
If the data transmission / reception amount increases immediately after the physical link is automatically deleted in response to the decrease in the data amount, it is not always possible to provide an appropriate physical link. Further, since the number of physical links is uniquely increased or decreased due to an increase or decrease in the amount of data, it is not possible to provide an appropriate physical link in consideration of a user's use situation and purpose of use.

Therefore, the terminal adapter 3 according to the present invention
Is a function for allowing a user to manually add / delete a physical link while keeping the communication state in addition to the resource BOD and the throughput BOD, that is, a function of manually switching from the physical link change switch 352 to the physical link change switch. It has a function to execute addition / deletion processing of a physical link when receiving a command.

A detailed method of manually deleting a physical link or adding a physical link is as follows. When the terminal adapter 3 performs data communication with the Internet provider 5 via the integrated digital communication line 4 using one physical link of only the D channel, the user needs high-speed communication. In this case, a request to add a physical link is given to the terminal adapter 3 by pressing a physical link change switch or the like for instructing addition or deletion of a physical link provided in the operation condition setting unit 35.

The control unit 39 which has detected a physical link addition request
Instructs the D-channel communication protocol unit 30 to perform a call connection process on the B1 channel (or B2 channel). When the call connection processing is completed, the D-channel communication protocol unit 30 notifies the control unit 39 of the completion of the call connection.

Upon receiving the call connection completion, the control section 39 instructs the B1 channel communication protocol section 31-1 (or the B2 channel communication protocol section 31-2) to add a physical link. B1 that received an instruction to add a physical link
The channel communication protocol unit 31-1 (or the B2 channel communication protocol unit 31-2) starts transmitting and receiving data.

Even if the physical link is a D channel and a B1 channel (or a B2 channel), if the user needs higher speed data communication, the physical link change switch or the like of the operation condition setting unit 307 is again activated. Pressing this indicates a request to add a physical link to the terminal adapter 3. Upon detecting this, the control unit 39 further adds the remaining B2 channel (or B1 channel) in the same procedure.

Conversely, the terminal adapter 3 performs data communication with the Internet provider 5 via the integrated digital communication line 4 using three physical links of the D channel, the B1 channel, and the B2 channel. When the user does not need high-speed communication, by pressing a physical link change switch or the like of the operation condition setting unit 35,
A request to delete a physical link is shown to the terminal adapter 3. Upon detecting this, the control unit 39 sets the D-channel communication protocol unit 3
0 is instructed to perform a call disconnection process on the B2 channel (or B1 channel). When the call disconnection process is completed,
The D-channel communication protocol unit 30 notifies the control unit 39 of the completion of the call disconnection.

Upon receiving the completion of the call disconnection, the control unit 39 instructs the B2 channel communication protocol unit 31-2 (or the B1 channel communication protocol unit 31-1) to delete the physical link.

The B2 channel communication protocol unit 31-2 (or the B1 channel communication protocol unit 31-1) that has received the instruction to delete the physical link stops transmitting and receiving data. The physical link is divided into D channel and B1 channel (or B channel).
If the user does not need higher-speed data communication even with the two (2 channels), the operation condition setting unit 35
By pressing the physical link change switch or the like, the terminal adapter 3 is instructed to delete the physical link. The control unit 39 that has detected this further deletes the remaining B1 channel (or B2 channel) in the same procedure.

This manual addition / deletion of physical link
Like the throughput BOD, from the viewpoint of the communication fee system,
It is controlled as follows so as to be executed more effectively. The user sets, in the terminal adapter 3, the minimum guaranteed time from addition of a physical link to deletion or from deletion to addition of a physical link by the operation condition setting unit 35. The terminal adapter 3 stores this in the operation condition storage unit 36, and compares the value of the timer unit 38 activated by adding or deleting the physical link with the control unit 39, and more effectively adds / removes the physical link. Adjust the timing to execute the deletion.

Further, the terminal adapter 3 displays the currently used physical link to the user on the display unit 37 composed of LEDs and LCDs. With this display, the user can always grasp the physical link used for the data communication, and can instruct the terminal adapter 3 to add / delete the physical link.

As a result, it is possible for the user to realize communication via a physical link which is considered to be optimal according to the use situation, the purpose of use, and the like.

[0043]

According to the present invention, MP, BACP, etc.
During data communication by a communication protocol that bundles a plurality of physical links and transmits data as one logical link,
Physical links can be manually added or deleted at the discretion of the user, and communication using a physical link more appropriate for the user can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a terminal adapter according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Personal computer 2 Telephone 3 Terminal adapter 4 Total digital communication line 5 Internet provider 6 Internet 30 D channel communication protocol section 31-1 B1 channel communication protocol section 31-2 B2 channel communication protocol section 32 DTE interface section 33 Analog interface section 34 Data Buffer unit 35 Operating condition setting unit 36 Setting storage unit 37 Display unit 38 Timer unit 39 Control unit 351 Operating condition setting means 352 Physical link change switch 391 BOD control function 392 Physical link change timing control function

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A terminal adapter which accommodates a personal computer and a telephone and is connected to an integrated digital communication line, transmits and receives a call control message via a D channel of the integrated digital communication line, and exchanges data by D channel packet exchange. And a B1 channel communication protocol section for transmitting and receiving data via the B1 channel of the integrated digital communication line, and a D1 channel communication protocol section for transmitting and receiving data via the B1 channel of the integrated digital communication line. A B2 channel communication protocol unit, a DTE interface unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from a personal computer, an analog interface unit for transmitting and receiving analog signals to and from a telephone, and transmitting and receiving data from a personal computer or an integrated digital communication line. An operation condition setting unit including a data buffer unit for temporarily storing data, a switch for manually setting addition / deletion of a physical link by a user, and the like,
A setting storage unit for storing the operating conditions set from the operating condition setting unit, a display unit for displaying the currently used physical link to the user, and a charge effective when adding / deleting a physical link. A terminal adapter comprising: a timer unit for detecting addition / deletion timing; and a control unit for controlling the timer unit. 2. The terminal adapter according to claim 1, wherein the operating condition setting unit has a physical link change instructing unit for instructing addition of a physical link or deletion of a physical link. 3. The terminal adapter according to claim 2, wherein the control unit has a function of executing a physical link change process based on a physical link change instruction from a physical link change unit.