JP2003032262A - Wireless lan system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve throughput in a group and a whole system by regulating temporary access to the other group. SOLUTION: A master station is constituted of an occupation rate measuring part 1e for measuring the transmission quantity of data transmitted between the master station and a corresponding station by each prescribed time and calculating the occupation rate of a line, an ID identification part 1f identifying group ID, included in transmission data transmitted from the respective stations and the MAC address of the slave station, a memory 1g for storing group ID that the master station manages, the MAC address and the occupation rate of the corresponding slave station, a LAN interface 1a, a wireless modem 1c to which an antenna 1b is connected and a control part 1d for controlling the occupancy rate measuring part 1e, the ID identification part 1f, the memory 1g, the LAN interface 1a and the wireless modem 1c.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless LAN system, and more particularly to a wireless LAN system in which a slave station corresponding to a master station is divided into groups and operated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wireless LAN system has a configuration shown in FIG. 3 as an example. The wireless LAN system includes, for example, a master station 81 and a master station 82 arranged in the same room.
Are connected by a LAN cable 86, and corresponding to the respective master stations, the master station 81 has slave stations 83 with slave station numbers # 1 to # 4, and the master station 82 has slave station numbers # 5 to # 5. The # 6 slave stations 83 are managed respectively. Further, the master station 82 includes a printer 8 having a wireless print server function.
7 is installed.

Since the radio waves output from the master stations 81 and 82 have different frequencies, the slave stations 83 arranged in the radio wave range 84 or the radio wave range 85 to which the radio waves of the respective parent stations installed in the same room can reach. Can wirelessly transmit data between the corresponding master stations 81 and 82. Further, each parent station is divided into a group A managed by the parent station 81 and a group B managed by the parent station 82 by using a general group management function. Such grouping is performed by, for example, organization A and organization B, which have different expense management within the company.
This is because the groups A and B described above are respectively associated with and so that resources of other organizations, such as the printer 87, cannot be directly accessed from the respective organizations (groups). Therefore, the slave station 83 of the group A is managed by the group ID so that it cannot be directly connected to the slave station 83 of the group B. Of course, also in the opposite case, each master station manages an ID different from the above group ID. Since each slave station 83 corresponding to each master station is connected to the wired LAN via the master station, for example, after taking the slip data input by the sales person outside the company using the notebook computer back into the company. Other child stations in the company 83 quickly
Can be connected to and processed. Therefore, the number of slave stations 83 connected to the master station is constantly changing.

The master station 81 has a LAN interface 81a to which a LAN cable 86 connecting to a server (not shown) is connected, an antenna 81b for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the slave station 83, radio signals and digital data. It is composed of a wireless modem 81c for mutually converting and a control unit 81d for controlling communication of each slave station, and a LAN interface 81a, a control unit 81d, a wireless modem 81c, and an antenna 81b are connected in this order. . The master station 82 has the same structure. On the other hand, the child station 83 has an antenna 83a for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the parent station, a radio modem 83b for mutually converting radio signals and digital data, and a personal computer 83c connected to the radio modem 83b and having a display section 83d. It consists of and. The group ID is used as a simple division for each organization, and when the printer of a certain group fails, the printer of another group is temporarily used, or the line occupation rate of a certain group is high, If the line occupancy of the group is low, some slave stations are temporarily moved to other groups for efficient operation.

However, even after the failure as described above is recovered, there are child stations that continue to operate without returning to the original group ID, which makes the expense management in each organization ambiguous or causes the parent station 82 to lose control. In some cases, the number of child stations 83 to be managed increases due to the temporary access as described above, the throughput of the child stations 83 originally belonging to the organization B deteriorates, and the work is hindered.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the problems described above, strictly manages a group ID, and restricts temporary access to another group, so that the group or the entire system can be controlled. An object is to provide a wireless LAN system that improves throughput.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is arranged in a plurality of master stations connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) and within a range where radio waves output from the master station reach. In a wireless LAN system including a plurality of slave stations that belong to a group managed by the same parent station and perform wireless data transmission with the corresponding parent station, each parent station corresponds to the same parent station. An occupancy rate measuring unit that measures the amount of data transmitted with the slave station at regular time intervals and calculates the occupancy rate of the line, and a group ID included in the transmission data transmitted from the slave station. (Identification) and the MAC (M
edia Access Control) address, and an ID identification unit that outputs a MAC address that does not match the registered MAC address that is the MAC address of the slave station corresponding to the group ID, and the output that does not match the MAC address A memory for inputting and storing the group ID managed by the master station, the registered MAC address and the occupancy rate, and counting the number of times of data transmission by the non-matching MAC address for each of the non-matching MAC addresses Then, the occupancy rate measuring unit, the ID identifying unit, and a control unit for controlling the memory are provided, and the master station judges the contents of the memory by the judging means, When it is determined that the ID needs to be changed, a new group ID is added to the slave station having the registered MAC address. Notifies, to change the group ID stored in the memory the new group ID.

Further, the judging means is a method for judging that the occupancy rate exceeds a predetermined value by the control section.

Alternatively, the determining means may be a method of determining that the control section has received the data from the slave station having the MAC addresses that do not match.

Alternatively, the determining means may be a method of determining that the control section has received the data from the slave station having the MAC addresses that do not match at least a predetermined number of times.

Alternatively, the judging means is a method for the control section to judge that a predetermined time has elapsed.

Further, the new group ID is a random number value that does not overlap with the group IDs managed by the other master stations.

The slave station has a display section for displaying data received from the master station, and the control section performs data communication with the slave station having the MAC addresses that do not match, and then the slave station. , The data indicating the temporary access is transmitted, and the slave station receiving the data,
The same data is displayed on the display unit.

Further, the slave station has a display unit for displaying the data received from the master station, and the control unit stores the data in the memory before changing the group ID to the new group ID. Data indicating that future access is impossible is transmitted to the slave station having the non-matching MAC address, and the slave station receiving the data displays the same data on the display unit.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A wireless LAN system according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a wireless LAN system according to the present invention. This wireless LAN system includes, for example, a master station 1,
A master station 2 installed in the same room is connected by a LAN cable 6, and corresponding to each master station, the master station 1 has slave stations 11 to 14, and the master station 2 has slave stations 15 to 16. Are managed respectively. Since the frequencies of the radio waves output by the parent stations 1 and 2 are different, even if each parent station is placed in the same room, it is placed in the radio wave range 4 or the radio wave range 5 to which the radio wave can reach. Each slave station can wirelessly transmit data with the corresponding master stations 1 and 2. In addition, each master station and the corresponding slave station form a group by the group function, and the master station 1 and its slave stations are registered as group A, and the master station 2 and its slave stations are registered as group B. The slave stations in the group can share files and shared printers in each slave station. Different groups cannot use this sharing function, and are configured to exchange information by e-mail, for example.

In each master station, the amount of data transmitted between the master station and the corresponding slave station is measured at regular intervals,
Occupancy rate measuring unit 1e for calculating the line occupancy rate, and the group ID (Identif) included in the transmission data transmitted from the slave station.
ID) that outputs a MAC address that does not match the registered MAC address that is the MAC address of the slave station corresponding to the group ID. Identification unit 1f, input unmatched MAC address, group ID managed by the master station, and registered MAC
A memory 1g for storing an address and an occupation rate, a LAN interface 1a, and a wireless modem 1c to which an antenna 1b is connected are provided. Further, the number of times of data transmission by the above-mentioned respective units and the above-mentioned non-coincident MAC addresses is counted and stored in the memory 1g, and the occupation rate measuring unit 1
e, an ID identifying unit 1f, a memory 1g, a LAN interface 1a, and a wireless modem 1c.
The parent station is composed of and. On the other hand, the slave station 11 has an antenna 11a for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the master station 1, a radio modem 11b for mutually converting radio signals and digital data,
It is composed of a personal computer 11c connected to the wireless modem 11b and having a display unit 11d.

The operation of the above arrangement will be described below. When this system is installed, each slave station registers the number of the group to which it belongs in the personal computer 11c in the slave station as an initial setting, and notifies the corresponding master station. Each master station that has received the notification registers the MAC address of the slave station in the memory 1g. For example, as shown in FIG.
When the group ID of the group B preset in the memory 1g of the master station 2 is "AB123", the group ID of the slave station 15 that has logged in for the first time is set to the ID identifying unit 1f.
2A, and if they match, the MAC address of the slave station 15 (assuming 00001) is displayed as shown in FIG.
This 00 is added to the item of the MAC address of the slave station 15 in the memory 1g.
015 is stored. Similarly, M of the slave station 16 and the printer 7
Store the AC address and start the operation of the system.

While the system is in operation, when each master station transmits data to the slave station under its control, the control section 1d obtains the transmission amount data (the number of bytes) from the occupation rate measuring section 1e. Send to. The occupancy rate measuring unit 1e accumulates and holds the transmission amount data. When a predetermined period of time, for example, 10 minutes has elapsed, the occupation rate measuring unit 1e calculates the occupation rate of the line managed by the master station. Assuming that the accumulated transmission amount data in the master station 2 is 400 megabytes and the theoretical maximum data transmission amount for 10 minutes on this line is 1000 megabytes. Therefore, this value is stored in the memory 1g as shown in FIG.

As described above, this system is managed for each group. For example, the slave station 11 of the group A changes its frequency to be the same as that of the master station 2 and tries to access the master station 2 of the group B. Is rejected as an ID that does not match in the ID identification unit of the master station 2. Here, as described in the conventional example, an example in which the slave station of the group A temporarily accesses the group B will be described. First, the operator (not shown) belonging to the group A obtains the group ID of the master station 2 from the system administrator (not shown).
Next, this is set in the slave station 11 and the slave station 12, for example. Further, when the used frequency is set to be the same as that of the master station 2, the two slave stations can access the group B. As described above, in the conventional system, these slave stations do not return to the group A unless the group ID is returned.
This abandoned slave station 11 and slave station 12 are the original group A
In order to return to, the master station 2 intentionally notifies only the original slave stations forming the group of the new group ID, and then
New group ID for all used group IDs
Change to. Therefore, thereafter, the slave stations 11 and 12 cannot access the group B. The method for this is the gist of the present application, and there are four types of determining means for determining the timing for returning, from the first determining means to the fourth determining means described below, It is arbitrary which judgment means is used.

The first judging means is a method for judging by the control unit 1d that the occupancy rate stored in the memory 1g exceeds a predetermined value. For example, when the line occupancy rate is 40% in FIG. 2A, the occupancy rate is 60% due to temporary access by the slave stations 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 2B. Suppose you have risen to. Here, if the predetermined value of the occupancy rate at which the slave stations of the group B can comfortably perform data transmission is 50%, the master station 2 changes the group ID because it exceeds 50% due to temporary access. . In this method, when the occupancy rate of the group B has a margin, the temporary access is continuously permitted, so that the throughput of the entire system can be improved.

The second judging means is a method for judging that the control unit 1d has received data from a slave station having a non-coincident MAC address. For example, when the mobile station 11 makes a temporary access, the control unit 1d refers to the ID identification unit 1f to determine whether the original mobile station is initialized, by referring to the MAC address of the mobile station registered in the memory 1g. Then, if the child station is not registered, the parent station 2 changes the group ID. This method does not accept any temporary access, and can maximize the throughput of group B.

The third judging means is a method for judging that the control unit 1d has received data from a slave station having a non-coincident MAC address a predetermined number of times or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the MAC address of each of the slave station 11 and the slave station 12, which are temporarily permitted to access, is stored in the memory 1g, and the number of times of access is calculated every time there is an access. The control unit 1d counts and the memory 1g
Stored in. When the number of times exceeds 4, for example, the master station 2 changes the group ID. This method allows access up to a certain limit, and can be used to objectively judge the temporary use of the original purpose.

The fourth judging means is a method in which the control section 1d judges that a predetermined time has elapsed. For example, by changing the group ID every hour, temporary access can be divided by time.

Further, the master station 2 to be changed inquires the other master station 1 of the group ID managed by the master station 1 via the LAN before determining a new group ID. Then, a new group ID is generated with a random number value that does not overlap with the group ID of the other master station 1 that made the inquiry. For this reason, the operators of the slave stations 11 and 12 can easily use the group ID by imagination or guess to make the group B
Cannot be accessed and the new group ID can be obtained only through the system administrator as described above.

Further, the control unit 1d makes a "temporary access" to the slave station 11 after performing data transmission by accessing from a slave station having a MAC address that does not match, for example, the slave station 11. Send data representing
The slave station 11 receiving the same data displays the same data on the display unit 11d of the slave station 11. With this display, the operator operating the slave station 11 can be made aware of the temporary access each time the access is made, and the operator can be encouraged to voluntarily return to the group A.

Also, the control unit 1d uses the new group ID.
Stored in memory 1g before changing to
For slave station 11 and slave station 12 having an AC address,
Each slave station that has transmitted the data indicating that “access is prohibited in the future” and received this data displays this data on the display unit 11d.
Display to. With this display, the operator operating the slave station 11 and the slave station 12 can be made aware of the fact that future access will not be possible, and can be encouraged to voluntarily return to the group A.

[0027]

As described above, according to the wireless LAN system of the present invention, the data transmission amount transmitted to the respective parent stations between the same parent station and the corresponding child station at regular time intervals is set. The occupancy ratio measuring unit that measures and calculates the occupancy ratio of the line, the group ID included in the transmission data transmitted from the slave station, and the MAC address that is a unique number to the LAN hardware of the slave station are identified to identify the group. MAC of the slave station corresponding to the ID
MAC that does not match the registered MAC address that is the address
An ID identification unit that outputs an address, an output MAC address that does not match and a group ID that the master station manages,
Further, a memory for inputting and storing the registered MAC address and the occupancy rate, and for each non-coincident MAC address, the number of times of data transmission by the non-coincident MAC address is counted and stored in the memory. And a control unit for controlling the memory, the master station judges the contents of the memory by the judging means, and when it judges that the group ID needs to be changed, a new group is added to the slave station having the registered MAC address. By notifying the ID and changing the group ID stored in the memory to a new group ID, the group ID is strictly managed and temporary access to other groups is regulated. Throughput can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a wireless LAN system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing memory contents of a master station, (A)
Shows the case where only the slave station registered in the initial setting is used, and (B) shows the case where the temporary slave station is registered.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional wireless LAN system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 parent station 1a LAN interface 1b antenna 1c wireless modem 1d control unit 1e Occupancy rate measurement unit 1f ID identification section 1g memory 6 LAN cable 4, 5 radio range 7 printer 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Slave stations 11a antenna 11b wireless modem 11c personal computer 11d display

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of master stations connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) and a master station which is arranged in a range where radio waves output by the master station reach and belongs to a group managed by the master station and which corresponds to the master station. In a wireless LAN system consisting of a plurality of slave stations that wirelessly transmit data to and from each other, data transmitted to each of the master stations at regular time intervals between the master station and the corresponding slave stations. An occupancy rate measuring unit that measures the amount of transmission and calculates the occupancy rate of the line, and a group ID (Identificatio) included in the transmission data transmitted from the slave station.
n) and M, which is a number unique to the LAN hardware of the slave station
An ID (identification unit) that identifies an AC (Media Access Control) address and outputs a MAC address that does not match the registered MAC address that is the MAC address of the slave station corresponding to the group ID, and the output MAC that does not match.
The address and the group ID managed by the master station,
And a memory for inputting and storing the registered MAC address and the occupancy rate, and for each of the non-matching MAC addresses, counts the number of times of data transmission by the non-matching MAC address and stores it in the memory. A measuring section, the ID identifying section, and a control section for controlling the memory are provided, and the master station judges the contents of the memory by a judging means, and when it is judged that the group ID needs to be changed, A wireless LAN system, wherein a new group ID is notified to the slave station having a registered MAC address, and the group ID stored in the memory is changed to the new group ID. 2. The wireless LAN system according to claim 1, wherein the determination means comprises a method of determining that the occupancy rate exceeds a predetermined value by the control unit. 3. The wireless LAN according to claim 1, wherein the determination means comprises a method of determining that the control unit has received the data from the slave station having the MAC addresses that do not match. system. 4. The determining means comprises a method of determining by the control section that the data from the slave station having the non-coincident MAC address has been received a predetermined number of times or more. The wireless LAN system described. 5. The wireless LAN system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit is a method for the control unit to determine that a predetermined time has elapsed. 6. The new group ID comprises a random number value that does not overlap with the group IDs managed by other master stations. Wireless LAN system. 7. The slave station has a display unit for displaying data received from the master station, and the control unit performs data communication with the slave station having the MAC addresses that do not match, and then the slave station. Against
2. The wireless L according to claim 1, wherein the slave station, which has transmitted the data indicating the temporary access and has received the data, displays the data on the display unit.
AN system. 8. The slave station has a display unit for displaying data received from the master station, and the control unit stores the data in the memory before changing the group ID to the new group ID. The slave station having transmitted the data indicating that the access is impossible in the future to the slave station having the MAC address that does not match, and the slave station receiving the data displays the same data on the display unit. The wireless L according to claim 1, characterized in that
AN system.