JP2006238300A - Wireless communication device and wireless communication system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize traffic imposed on a master terminal when the master terminal automatically carry out address settings of terminals attended with extension of the terminals and revision of a communication path or like processing in a wireless communication device achieved as a relay terminal in a wireless communication system such as a wireless sensor system. <P>SOLUTION: In the wireless communication system adopting the multi-hop communication system wherein terminals T11 to T1m; T21 to T2n; T3 (referred to as T as a generic term) make communication with the master terminal 1 directly or via relay terminals T10, T20 (referred to as T0 as a generic term), the terminal T generates a tentative address in a step 1, the terminal T generates an address request signal by using the tentative address for a sender address, and transmits it through broadcast or multicast in a step 2. The relay terminal T0 responds thereto by acting as a representative of the master terminal 1, acquires a formal address from the master terminal 1, transfers it to the terminal T, and retransmits the formal address when the terminal T0 cannot obtain an acknowledgement signal. Thus, the traffic imposed on the master terminal can be minimized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus used as a relay terminal and a wireless communication system configured to include a parent terminal and a plurality of terminals, and in particular, an address setting method in which a parent terminal automatically assigns an address of a terminal. About.

  A communication system including the parent terminal and a plurality of terminals is realized by a monitoring device in a building, for example. In that case, many terminals equipped with sensors such as temperature and humidity are installed in a distributed manner, and the parent terminal aggregates data from these terminals or to other devices such as a monitoring device via the parent terminal. The aggregated data is transferred and each terminal is controlled by the control signal from the parent terminal or the other device. The communication system used for such a purpose is preferably wireless communication that can easily cope with a tenant change, an office change, and the like and can be easily installed.

  When many terminals are installed or new terminals are added, it is necessary to set an address for each terminal. This operation is very troublesome, and if an input means such as a dip switch for directly inputting an address is provided in the terminal, the number of parts increases, so that the address is automatically set conventionally.

Such an automatic address assignment technique has been previously proposed in Patent Document 1 by, for example, the present applicant. According to the undisclosed technology, the terminal transmits an address request signal to the parent terminal using a predetermined temporary address as a transmission source address. Upon receiving this, the parent terminal searches a database storing already assigned addresses, extracts unassigned addresses, and returns an address response signal including a formal address to the terminal of the temporary address. In this way, a unique address is automatically assigned.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-276681

  The above-mentioned undisclosed technology is a 1: N communication system including a parent terminal and many terminals. Accordingly, each terminal directly communicates with the parent terminal to determine whether the address setting is correctly performed at the parent terminal, and the determination is easy and the traffic is minimized.

  However, in the so-called multi-hop communication system in which packets are transmitted sequentially through the relay terminals as described above, the parent terminal determines whether communication between the relay terminal and the terminal is successful. If a communication error occurs somewhere, communication must be performed again on all routes, increasing traffic for address setting.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce traffic to a parent terminal when automatically assigning an address to a terminal in a multi-hop wireless communication system in which a parent terminal and a terminal communicate with each other via a relay terminal. It is to provide a wireless communication device that can be used and a wireless communication system using the same.

  According to the wireless communication device of the present invention, in the wireless communication device realized as a relay terminal in a wireless communication system such as a wireless sensor system, the terminal address setting is automatically performed when the number of terminals is increased or the communication path is changed. When the terminal transmits a request signal for requesting a formal address to the parent terminal with a predetermined or arbitrarily generated temporary address, the signal processing unit in the wireless communication apparatus of the present invention, which becomes a relay terminal, Proxy address request function that rewrites the destination address and the source address in the same way as normal transfer so that the address response signal including the formal address received from the parent terminal is transferred to the terminal. A proxy address response function is provided.

  On the other hand, when the parent terminal directly assigns an address to the terminal, the parent terminal usually retransmits the address response signal until receiving a response confirmation signal from the terminal by giving the official address. The signal processing unit in the wireless communication apparatus first transmits an address response transfer signal including the assigned formal address to the terminal by the proxy response confirmation function, and transmits the proxy response confirmation signal to the parent terminal to determine the formal address. The subsequent communication is prevented from occurring with the parent terminal. Next, the address response transfer signal is retransmitted between the terminal and the terminal until the response confirmation signal transmitted from the terminal by receiving the official address is received after the address response transfer signal is transferred.

  Therefore, even if the address response transfer signal including the official address cannot be correctly received by the terminal or the relay terminal cannot correctly receive the response confirmation signal from the terminal, the retransmission is performed with the wireless communication device serving as the relay terminal. Since the communication is performed with the terminal, traffic to the parent terminal can be minimized.

  In addition, according to the wireless communication device of the present invention, before receiving a response confirmation signal for giving a formal address from the terminal, the proxy response confirmation function transmits a proxy response confirmation signal to the parent terminal to determine the formal address. Therefore, even when the address response transfer signal is retransmitted a predetermined number of times, it is not possible to receive a response confirmation signal from the terminal, and when it is not known whether the official address can be actually set, the request cancellation function is A cancellation signal is transmitted to the parent terminal, and the assigned formal address is released. Therefore, the address resource can be used effectively.

  Furthermore, according to the radio communication system of the present invention, a multi-hop communication system radio communication system including the above-described radio communication apparatus as a relay terminal and including a parent terminal and a plurality of terminals is constructed. Therefore, it is possible to realize a multi-hop communication wireless communication system capable of minimizing traffic to the parent terminal at the time of automatic address setting.

  Also, according to the wireless communication system of the present invention, in the wireless communication system of the multi-hop communication method, the proxy address request function of the relay terminal is the temporary address instead of the temporary address to be attached to the address request transfer signal. An arbitrary management number with a shorter data length is attached, and the parent terminal is configured to give a formal address when receiving the management number in the address request. The proxy address request function of the relay terminal is When the address response signal including the official address given from is received, the address response transfer signal is created by rewriting the transmission destination address to the temporary address corresponding to the management number.

  Accordingly, the data length of the address request transfer signal and the address response signal between the parent terminal and the relay terminal is determined by predetermining that the official address is assigned to the management number with the parent terminal. It can be shortened to further reduce traffic.

  Furthermore, according to the wireless communication system of the present invention, the relay terminal has an address request abnormality notification function, and when receiving a plurality of address request signals having the same temporary address, the address request signal was not accepted. An address setting error signal indicating is transmitted by broadcast or multicast broadcast communication.

  Therefore, if the terminal receives the address setting error signal after transmitting the address request signal, it can recognize that the previous address request has not been accepted, and immediately proceeds to the re-request process to ensure that the official address Can be obtained.

  Further, according to the wireless communication system of the present invention, the signal processing unit of the terminal measures the time from activation, and transmits the measured elapsed time data attached to the address request signal, and the relay terminal In the proxy address response function, when a plurality of address request signals are received without colliding, the address response signal received from the parent terminal is shifted by a time corresponding to the elapsed time data, and the address response transfer signal is changed. Send.

  Therefore, even if a plurality of address request signals are received almost simultaneously, the possibility of collision of address response transfer signals to the respective terminals is reduced, and the formal address can be set reliably.

  According to the wireless communication device and the wireless communication system of the present invention, in a wireless communication device realized as a relay terminal in a wireless communication system such as a wireless sensor system, the address setting of the terminal accompanying the expansion of the terminal or the change of the communication path is performed. When automatic, the address request signal from the terminal and the address response signal from the parent terminal are transferred in the same way as normal transfer, and when the address response transfer signal is transferred to the terminal, a proxy response confirmation signal is transmitted to the parent terminal. The official address is determined so that subsequent communication with the parent terminal does not occur, and after the address response transfer signal is transferred, a response confirmation signal transmitted from the terminal by giving the formal address is sent. The address response transfer signal is retransmitted to the terminal until it is received.

  Therefore, even if the address response transfer signal including the official address cannot be correctly received at the terminal or the response confirmation signal from the terminal cannot be correctly received, the retransmission is performed between the wireless communication apparatus and the terminal that are relay terminals. Therefore, traffic to the parent terminal can be minimized.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a radio communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 1, three groups of terminals T11, T12,..., T1m; T21,..., T2n; T3 (generally referred to as reference symbol T below) are connected to relay terminals T10, Communication with the parent terminal 1 is performed in a multi-hop communication system or directly via T20 (indicated by the reference symbol T0 hereinafter). In the present invention, when a system is newly installed, or when the number of terminals T is increased or changed, each terminal T transmits an address request signal to the parent terminal 1 and is automatically assigned a formal address. The setting procedure will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the numbers in the circles represent step numbers.

  The parent terminal 1 is provided with a database 1a that stores addresses that have already been allocated. When a new address is allocated, the master terminal 1 is managed by referring to this database 1a so that there is no duplication of addresses. The address setting is started when the power is turned on for the first time or when the terminal T is set to the setting mode by an operation of a predetermined setting switch or the like, and the terminal T generates a predetermined temporary address in Step 1. As the temporary address, any one of a predetermined address such as a maximum address or an arbitrary address generated by a random number may be used.

  In step 2, the terminal T creates a packet format address request signal as shown in FIG. 3A using the temporary address as the source address and the pre-stored address of the parent terminal 1 as the destination address. Then, it is transmitted by broadcast or multicast to the parent terminal 1 or the relay terminal T0 (hereinafter described in the example via the relay terminal T0 in FIG. 2).

  In step 3, the relay terminal T0 that has received the address request signal uses the address of the parent terminal 1 as the transmission destination address, rewrites the transmission source address to its own address, and stores the temporary address in the content data (FIG. 3). An address request transfer signal in a packet format as shown in b) is created and transmitted to the parent terminal 1.

  In response to this, the parent terminal 1 refers to the database 1a in step 4 and performs a process of determining a formal address to be newly assigned from the free addresses, and relays the destination address in step 5. Create an address response signal in the packet format as shown in FIG. 3 (c) in which the address of the terminal T0 is used, the source address is the address of the own device, and the temporary address and the formal address are stored in the content data. Transmit to the relay terminal T0.

  In step 6, the relay terminal T0 that has received the address response signal rewrites the transmission destination address with the temporary address, rewrites the transmission source address with the address of its own device, and stores the formal address in the content data. An address response transfer signal having a packet format as shown in FIG. At this time, the relay terminal T0 confirms the proxy response in the packet format as shown in FIG. 3 (e) with the destination address as the address of the parent terminal 1 and the source address as its own address in step 5 ′. A signal is created and transmitted to the parent terminal 1.

  The terminal T that has received the address response transfer signal in step 6 performs reception processing of the formal address in step 7, determines the address received in step 8 as the formal address, and then sets the transmission destination address as the parent terminal in step 9. A response confirmation signal in a packet format as shown in FIG. 3 (f) with the address of 1 as the temporary address as the source address is created and returned to the relay terminal T0. If this response confirmation signal is received by the relay terminal T0 within the predetermined period W1, the setting operation is terminated. Thereafter, using the official address, the terminal T generates a control request to the parent terminal 1 via the relay terminal T0, transmits a sensor detection result, or responds to a call request from the parent terminal 1. To do. In the response confirmation signal, the transmission destination address may be the address of the relay terminal T0, and the transmission source address may be the official address.

  When the response confirmation signal is not received within the predetermined period W1, as shown by a virtual line in FIG. 2, the relay terminal T0 retransmits the address response transfer signal in Step 6 ′, and the response confirmation signal is received in Step 9 ′. Wait for receipt. When the same retransmission is repeated and no response confirmation signal is received within the predetermined period W2, the relay terminal T0 creates a packet format cancellation signal as shown in FIG. 1 to release the assigned formal address.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the parent terminal 1. The parent terminal 1 includes a wireless communication unit 11, a signal processing unit 12, an address processing unit 13, and an address storage unit 14. The parent terminal 1 is connected to another device such as a monitoring device or built in the other device, and aggregates data from the terminals T and T0 and transfers the data to the other device, or the other device. The terminals T and T0 are controlled by a control signal from the device.

  The wireless communication unit 11 is capable of wireless communication with the terminals T and T0, converts the baseband signal from the signal processing unit 12 into a wireless signal, and converts the received wireless signal into the baseband signal for signal processing. A radio signal processing unit 15 that outputs to the unit 12 and an antenna 16 that transmits and receives the radio signal between the terminals T and T0 are configured. The signal processing unit 12 assembles the data information processed by the address processing unit 13 into a communication packet format and outputs the data information to the wireless signal processing unit 15, and receives data information from the communication packet received by the wireless signal processing unit 15. Reproduce. The address processing unit 13 performs appropriate processing based on the address information in the address storage unit 14 and performs the formal address generation processing. The address storage unit 14 is made up of the database 1a and stores the formal addresses already assigned to the terminals T and T0.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminals T and T0. In the present embodiment, the terminal T and the relay terminal T0 have the same configuration, not only cost reduction, but, for example, initially installed as the terminal T, and later another terminal T is installed downstream thereof, It is also possible to cope with a case where it functions as the relay terminal T0. The terminals T and T0 are configured to include a wireless communication unit 21, a signal processing unit 22, a temporary address generation unit 23, an address storage unit 24, a communication path storage unit 25, and a communication path processing unit 26. . Sensors such as temperature and humidity (not shown) or various load devices (not shown) are connected to the terminals T and T0, particularly in the case of the terminal T, and the terminals T and T0 are connected to the sensors in advance. Sensing is performed at a predetermined period, and the sensing result is transmitted to the parent terminal 1 at a predetermined period or in response to polling from the parent terminal 1, or in response to a control signal from the parent terminal 1, Control the load equipment.

  The wireless communication unit 21 can communicate with the parent terminal 1 or the relay terminal T0, converts the baseband signal from the signal processing unit 22 into a wireless signal, and converts the received wireless signal into the baseband signal. A radio signal processing unit 27 that outputs to the signal processing unit 22 and an antenna 28 that transmits and receives the radio signal between the parent terminal 1 or the relay terminal T0 are configured.

  The signal processing unit 22 uses the sensor result, the data information processed by the temporary address generation unit 23, or the data information received by the wireless signal processing unit 27, for example, as a communication packet as shown in FIG. The data is assembled into a format and output to the wireless signal processing unit 27. Also, data information is reproduced from the communication packet received by the wireless signal processing unit 27, and the sensors and load devices are controlled as necessary, and address storage is performed. Appropriate processing is performed based on the address information of the unit 24 to perform address processing.

  The temporary address generator 23 generates a temporary address when an address is requested, and includes a circuit that stores a predetermined maximum address or the like as described above, or generates an arbitrary address using a random number. The address storage unit 24 stores at least a predetermined address of the parent terminal 1 and an official address of the own device. The communication route processing unit 26 selects a suitable communication route based on the route selection information stored in the communication route storage unit 25 from the transmission destination address and / or the transmission source address of the received communication packet. To create a signal-processed packet (the address is appropriately rewritten).

  In the terminals T and T0 configured as described above, the operation when the formal address is given first by functioning as the terminal T and given by direct communication with the parent terminal 1 (corresponding to the terminal T3 in FIG. 1) will be described below. explain.

  In response to an operation of a switch (not shown) or power-on, the signal processing unit 22 checks the address storage unit 24 to check whether a formal address is allocated to the own device, and the formal address is allocated. If not, the address request transmission process is started. Even if a formal address is allocated, if it is desired to change the address intentionally, an address request transmission process may be performed.

  In the address request transmission process, the signal processing unit 22 first causes the temporary address generation unit 23 to generate a temporary address, and assembles the temporary address and the address of the parent terminal 1 stored in the address storage unit 24 into a communication packet. The address request signal is given to the wireless communication unit 21. Here, the assembled communication packet is as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the address of the parent terminal 1 is known in the address storage unit 24, the address is stored as a transmission destination address, the temporary address is stored as a transmission source address, and the content data is an address request signal. (Such as a flag) is transmitted to the parent terminal 1 having the known address. On the other hand, when the address of the parent terminal 1 is unknown, transmission is performed using a broadcast packet or a multicast packet that designates all devices as the transmission destination address.

  The master terminal 1 that has received the address request signal receives the received signal at the signal processing unit 12 via the wireless communication unit 11 and recognizes that it is an address request signal by the address request receiving process, then the address processing unit 13 By the address generation process, the database in the address storage unit 14 is searched and an unassigned address is returned to the signal processing unit 12. In response to this, the signal processing unit 12 performs address response transmission processing on information (flag or the like) indicating that it is an address response, and converts the unallocated address information into a communication packet as shown in FIG. As a built-in address response signal, it is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 11 to the requested terminal T.

  In the terminal T that has received the address response signal, the signal processing unit 22 temporarily stores the address information incorporated in the communication packet in the address storage unit 24 as its own address by the address response reception process. In order to inform the parent terminal 1 of the storage, the signal processing unit 22 assembles a communication packet incorporating response confirmation information (such as a flag) as shown in FIG. The response confirmation signal is returned to the parent terminal 1. Thereafter, the terminal T waits for a certain period of time, and if there is no response at the same address, the address is formally determined by a formal address determination process. If there is an address response, the address request is sent again.

  Receiving the response confirmation signal, the parent terminal 1 changes the database by the response confirmation process using the previously transmitted address as the assigned address. However, when the communication packet of the response confirmation signal has not arrived, the parent terminal 1 tries the address response again after a certain time. The terminal T receiving the same address response confirms the response again. By repeating such an operation, it becomes possible to correctly assign individual formal addresses to the terminals T even when the quality of wireless communication is unstable. The master terminal 1 may further perform a confirmation process of returning a response signal to the terminal T when the official address is determined as described above.

  If the temporary address is arbitrarily generated, there is a possibility that it has already been used as an official address by another terminal. If the address request signal is not generated for the parent terminal 1, the signal processing unit 12 ignores the reply of the official address from the parent terminal 1 and does not take in, and there is no problem.

  On the other hand, the operation when an address request signal from another terminal T is received while functioning as the relay terminal T0 will be described. Although the operations of the parent terminal 1 and the terminal T are not changed as described above, as described above, at the terminal T, the received address response signal is changed to the address response transfer signal, and at the parent terminal 1, the received address request signal is received. The response confirmation signal only changes to an address request transfer signal and a proxy response confirmation signal, respectively.

  In the relay terminal T0, when the wireless communication unit 21 receives an address request signal from another terminal T, the communication route processing unit 26 determines the communication route, and the signal processing unit 22 performs the communication by proxy address request reception processing. Corresponding to the route, the packet shown in FIG. 3B is assembled from the packet shown in FIG. 3A, and transmitted as an address request transfer signal from the wireless communication unit 21 to the parent terminal 1 by normal unicast communication.

  When the wireless communication unit 21 receives the address response signal shown in FIG. 3C from the parent terminal 1 that has received the address request transfer signal, the signal processing unit 22 performs proxy address response transmission processing to perform FIG. Are given to the wireless communication unit 21 as an address response transfer signal. Further, the signal processing unit 22 assembles the packet shown in FIG. 3E by proxy response confirmation transmission processing, and provides the wireless communication unit 21 with the proxy response confirmation signal. When the response confirmation signal is not received from the terminal T within the predetermined period W2, the signal processing unit 22 creates a cancellation signal as shown in FIG. .

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the basic operation of the terminals 1, T, T0 during normal transmission, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the basic operation of the terminals 1, T, T0 during normal reception. The terminal 1, T, T0 repeats the reception operation of FIG. 7 in a steady state, and when a packet to be transmitted is generated and the transmission operation of FIG. 6 is terminated, or when a response to the transmitted packet is to be received The operation proceeds to the reception operation of FIG. 7, and when a packet to be transmitted is generated by the reception operation of FIG. 7, the operation proceeds to the transmission operation shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 6, when the transmission mode is set at step P1, the transmission timer is started at step P2, and at step P3, it is determined whether or not the count value is within a predetermined transmission period, and the transmission period has elapsed. If not, the process moves to step P4 to perform carrier sense, and if a carrier from another terminal is detected, the process returns to step P3. Therefore, when the transmission period elapses in step P3, communication is not possible within the transmission period, and the process ends as a transmission failure in step P5. When a carrier from another terminal is not detected in step P4, the process moves to step P6, a transmission process of a packet to be transmitted is performed, and when completed in step P7, the process returns to step P1.

  In FIG. 7, the reception mode is set at step P11, the timer is cleared and started as a reception timer at step P12, and at step P13, it is determined whether or not the count value is within a predetermined reception period. If not, the process proceeds to Step P14. In step P14, carrier sense is performed. When no carrier from another terminal is detected, bit synchronization is further performed in step P15. When synchronization is established, it is determined in step P16 whether the packet is addressed to the own device. If it is addressed to the own device, it is determined in step P17 that the reception has been normally completed.

  On the other hand, when a carrier from another terminal is not detected at step P14, when bit synchronization cannot be obtained at step P15, or when the packet is not addressed to itself at step P16, the process returns to step P11. The reception mode is continued, and when the specified reception period has elapsed in step P13, the process proceeds to step P19, where it is determined that the reception could not be performed. Steps P12 and P13 are performed when there is a packet that needs to be received at the data link level. If there is no packet, the process proceeds from step P11 to step P14.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the signal processing unit 22 when the address of the terminal T is requested. When an interrupt for an address request occurs in step S1 due to the operation of the setting switch or the like, a random number is generated in the temporary address generation unit 23 in step S2, and the random number is used in step S3, as shown in FIG. An address request signal packet is assembled.

  When the address request signal is generated, the transmission mode is set in step S4, and it is possible to transmit by carrier sense within the predetermined transmission period in step S5. In step S6, it is determined that the address request has failed, and the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if transmission is possible in step S5, it is determined that transmission is complete in step S7, and the mode is switched to reception mode in step S8.

  In step S9, it is determined whether or not the address response signal shown in FIG. 3 (c) or the address response transfer signal shown in FIG. 3 (d) has been received. It is determined whether or not the period has elapsed. If it has not elapsed, the process returns to step S9. If it has elapsed, it is determined in step S11 that reception of these signals has failed, and the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, when the address response signal or the address response transfer signal can be received in step S9, the process proceeds to step S12. It is determined that the reception of these signals is successful, and the mode is switched to the transmission mode in step S13. The transmission process of the response confirmation signal shown is started. In step S14, it becomes possible to transmit by carrier sense within a predetermined transmission period, and it is determined whether or not transmission is possible. If transmission is not possible, it is determined whether or not a predetermined transmission period has elapsed in step S15. If not, the process returns to step S14, and if it has elapsed, in step S16, it is determined that the transmission of the response confirmation signal has failed, and the process ends.

  If the response confirmation signal can be transmitted in step S14, it is determined in step S17 that the transmission is successful, the formal address determination process is started in step S18, and the address of the own device stored in the address storage unit 24 is determined. The formal address received is rewritten from the temporary address, and the formal address determination process is determined to be completed in step S19, and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the signal processing unit 12 when the parent terminal 1 receives an address request. In the reception mode, when an address request signal or address request transfer is received, an interrupt is generated in step S31 and address request reception processing is started. In step S32, it is determined whether or not the request has been received correctly. In step S33, it is determined that reception of the address request signal has failed, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the address request signal is correctly received in step S32, it is determined that the reception is successful in step S34, the address response transmission process is started in step S35, the address processing unit 13 refers to the address storage unit 14, and the free address Search for. When the assembly of the address response signal packet as shown in FIG. 3C is completed, the mode is switched to the transmission mode in step S37. In step S38, transmission is possible by carrier sense within a predetermined transmission period, and it is determined whether or not transmission is possible. If transmission is not possible, it is determined in step S39 that transmission of the address response signal has failed, and the process is terminated. . If the address response signal can be transmitted in step S38, it is determined that the transmission is successful in step S40, and the response confirmation reception process is started in step S41 to enter the reception mode.

  In step S42, it is determined whether or not the response confirmation signal or the proxy response confirmation signal has been correctly received. If the response confirmation signal or the proxy response confirmation signal has not been received, it is determined in step S43 that the reception has failed. In step S44, it is determined that the reception has been successful. In step S45, the reception mode is continued to start reception processing for a cancel signal.

  In step S46, it is determined whether or not the cancel signal has been received. If it has not been received, it is determined in step S47 whether or not a predetermined reception period has elapsed. If not, the process returns to step S46. If so, the official address is determined in step S48 and the process is terminated. On the other hand, when a cancel signal is received in step S46, the process proceeds to step S49, where a cancel process for releasing the once assigned formal address is performed, and the process ends.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the signal processing unit 22 when the address of the relay terminal T0 is requested. In the reception mode, when an address request signal is received, an interrupt is generated in step Q1, proxy address request reception processing is started, and it is determined in step Q2 whether or not it has been correctly received. The reception of the address request signal is determined to have failed, and the process is terminated. When the address request signal is received at step Q2, it is determined that the reception is successful at step Q4, the mode is switched to the transmission mode at step Q6, and an address response transfer signal as shown in FIG. When the assembly of the packet is completed, it is determined in step Q7 whether or not transmission has been completed within a predetermined transmission period. If transmission has failed, it is determined in step Q8 that the transmission of the address request transfer signal has failed and the processing is terminated. To do. If the address request transfer signal can be transmitted in step Q7, it is determined that the transmission is successful in step Q9, the proxy address response transmission process is started in step Q10, and the reception mode is set.

  In step Q11, it is determined whether or not the address response signal has been received. If the address response signal has not been received, it is determined in step Q12 that reception of the address response signal has failed, and the process is terminated. When the address response signal can be received in step Q11, the process proceeds to step Q13, and it is determined that the reception of these signals is successful. In step Q14, the proxy response confirmation transmission process is also started, and the mode is switched to the transmission mode. The proxy response confirmation signal transmission process shown in e) is started.

  In step Q15, it is determined whether or not transmission has been completed within a predetermined transmission period. If transmission has failed, it is determined in step Q16 that transmission of the proxy response confirmation signal has failed, and the process ends. On the other hand, if the proxy response confirmation signal can be transmitted in step Q15, the transmission mode is continued and the process proceeds to step Q17 to start the address response transfer signal transmission process shown in FIG. In step Q18, it is determined whether or not transmission has been completed within a predetermined transmission period. If transmission has failed, it is determined in step Q19 that the transmission of the address response transfer signal has failed, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the address response transfer signal can be transmitted in step Q18, it is determined that the transmission is successful in step Q20, and the reception mode of the response confirmation signal is set by the proxy response confirmation transmission process in step Q21. In step Q22, it is determined whether or not the signal can be received within the predetermined period W1, and if it can be received, it is determined in step Q23 that the reception is successful, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the response confirmation signal cannot be received in step Q22, the process proceeds to step Q24, where it is determined whether or not the reception period of the predetermined period W2 has elapsed. If not, the process returns to step Q22 and the response confirmation signal is received. The system waits for re-transmission, and when it elapses, the process proceeds to step Q25, and the reception of the response confirmation signal is determined to have failed.

  Subsequently, in step Q26, the canceling process is started and the transmission mode is set. In step Q27, it is determined whether or not the transmission can be performed within a predetermined transmission period. If the transmission cannot be performed, the process returns to step Q26 to repeat the process. If the transmission is successful, it is determined in step Q28 that the transmission is successful, and the process ends.

  With this configuration, in the wireless communication system of the multi-hop communication system, the relay terminal T0 performs a part of response proxy processing on behalf of the parent terminal 1, so that the address response transfer signal including the official address is transmitted at the terminal T. Even if the relay terminal T0 cannot correctly receive the response confirmation signal from the terminal T, the retransmission is performed between the relay terminal T0 and the terminal T. Traffic can be minimized. Further, in the wireless communication system of the multi-hop communication method in which communication may become unstable, the relay terminal T0 repeats address response transfer and response confirmation with the terminal T, so that the terminal T can be quickly In addition, the address can be set surely.

  Furthermore, since the relay terminal T0 transmits the proxy response confirmation signal to the parent terminal 1 before receiving the response confirmation signal for giving the formal address from the terminal T, the relay terminal T0 determines the formal address. If the response confirmation signal from the terminal cannot be received even by re-sending the response transfer signal a predetermined number of times, and if it is not known whether the official address has actually been set, a cancel signal is transmitted to the parent terminal 1 and given Since the official address is released, the address resource can be used effectively.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a data format of a communication packet in the wireless communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication apparatus used in this embodiment can use the configuration shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 described above, and only the data format of the temporary address managed by the signal processing units 12 and 22 is different. The signals shown in FIGS. 11A to 11G correspond to the signals shown in FIGS. 3A to 3G, respectively, and description of the function of each signal is omitted.

  It should be noted that in the present embodiment, in the address request signal shown in FIG. 11A, the temporary address storage destination is stored in the content data unlike FIG. 3A. Specifically, in the address request transmission process of the signal processing unit 22 of the terminal T, a temporary address setting code indicating that a temporary address is being set is stored in the transmission source address, and instead the temporary address generated by the temporary address generation unit 23 is stored. The address is stored in the content data section following a code (such as a flag) indicating an address request signal. Similarly, in the response confirmation transmission process of the terminal T, as shown in FIG. 11 (f), the temporary address setting code is stored in the transmission source address, and the response data is indicated in the content data portion. Following the code, a temporary address is stored.

  Further, in the address request transfer signal from the relay terminal T0 to which the address is fixed to the parent terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 11B, the temporary address is read by the relay terminal T0, and the data length is longer than the temporary address. An arbitrary management number is transmitted. For this reason, the proxy address request reception process of the signal processing unit 22 of the relay terminal T0 has a correspondence table between the temporary address and the management number generated by itself.

  Then, in the address response transmission process of the parent terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 11C, an address response signal in which the official address is attached to the management number is returned. In the proxy address response transmission process, the relay terminal T0 replaces the management number of this address response signal and transmits the address response transfer signal shown in FIG.

  Further, in the proxy response confirmation transmission process and the cancellation transmission process of the signal processing unit 22 of the relay terminal T0, the proxy response confirmation signal and the cancellation signal shown in FIGS. 11 (e) and 11 (g) are created and transmitted.

  With this configuration, the data lengths of the address request signal and the address response transfer signal between the terminal T and the relay terminal T0 are shortened, and temporary addresses generated by random numbers are duplicated among a plurality of terminals. Can be prevented. Further, since the temporary address is managed between the relay terminal T0 and the parent terminal 1 using a management number having a data length shorter than that of the temporary address, traffic can be further reduced.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of terminals T ′ and T0 ′ in the radio communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. These terminals T ′ and T0 ′ are similar to the terminals T and T0 shown in FIG. 5 described above, and corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. It should be noted that in these terminals T ′ and T0 ′, when the address request signal could not be successfully received by the address request abnormality notification process, the signal processing unit 22a did not accept the address request signal. The address setting error signal shown is transmitted by broadcast or multicast. For this reason, when the communication path processing unit 26 determines that the terminals T ′ and T0 ′ are temporary addresses, the terminals T ′ and T0 ′ include a temporary address management table 29 that temporarily stores them.

  13 and 14 are diagrams for explaining the address assignment operation of the present embodiment. These operations are similar to the operations of FIG. 2 described above, and different points will be described. FIG. 13 shows an example in which a plurality of terminals T issue address requests to the same relay terminal T0 almost simultaneously and address request packets collide. The same applies to the case where the relay terminal T0 'receives a plurality of temporary addresses by the time the response processing is completed or receives correctly to the address request unit and the subsequent data is corrupted. The parent terminal 1 and the terminals T and T0; T ′ and T0 ′ are configured to start transmission when no carrier from another terminal is detected by carrier sense as described above. The situation occurs at terminals that are able to communicate with both of those terminals when they are in a hidden terminal relationship that cannot detect each other's oscillated carriers.

  On the other hand, the example of FIG. 14 is an example in which the same temporary address is used in a plurality of terminals T although there is no collision. Such a situation can be determined by comparing the previously received temporary address stored in the temporary address management table 29 with the temporarily received temporary address.

  In such a situation, the signal processing unit 22a multicast-transmits the address setting error signal indicating that the address request signal has not been successfully accepted by address request abnormality notification processing, for example, to the temporary address code described above. Thus, it is possible to prevent relaying to other relay terminals. The terminal T0 'that has received the address setting error signal generates a new temporary address and retransmits it.

  In the re-transmission, in the address request transmission process of the signal processing unit of the terminal T0 ′, the time from activation is measured by a timer, and the measured elapsed time data is included in the content data portion of the address request signal. Is attached and retransmitted while being shifted by times T11 and T21 corresponding to the elapsed time. The address response transfer signal is transmitted by shifting the address response signal received from the parent terminal 1 by the proxy address response processing of the relay terminal T0 'that has received this by the times T12 and T22 corresponding to the elapsed time data.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the address request duplication determination process. This operation is performed in the relay terminal T0 'between steps S35 to S37 in FIG. First, in step S51, the temporary address which is the source address in the address request signal is stored in the temporary address management table 29. In step S52, the assembly of the address response signal packet is completed, and whether or not the address response is ready. Is determined, and if ready, the process proceeds to step S37 and an address response signal is transmitted.

  On the other hand, when the address response is not ready in step S52, the process proceeds to step S53, where it is determined whether or not a new address request has been generated. If not, the process returns to step S52. The process moves to S54. In step S54, it is determined whether or not the temporary address of the newly generated address request is stored in the temporary address management table 29, that is, whether or not it is the same temporary address as the previously received address request signal. If not, the process returns to step S52.

  On the other hand, if it is the same temporary address in step S54, it is determined as an illegal request in step S55, and an address setting error transmission process is started in step S56 to enter the transmission mode. In step S57, transmission can be performed by carrier sense within a predetermined transmission period, and it is determined whether or not transmission is possible. If transmission is not possible, it is determined in step S58 that the transmission of the address setting error signal has failed and the process is terminated. To do. If the address setting error signal can be transmitted in step S58, it is determined in step S59 that the transmission is successful, the temporary address stored in the temporary address management table 29 is discarded in step S60, and address response transmission processing is performed in step S61. Cancel.

  With this configuration, when the terminal T ′ receives the address setting error signal after transmitting the address request signal, it can recognize that the previous address request has not been accepted, and immediately re-request Proceed to the process, and you can get the official address reliably. Even if the relay terminal T0 ′ receives a plurality of address request signals almost simultaneously, the transmission timing of the address response transfer signal is shifted by times T12 and T22 corresponding to the elapsed time from the activation of the terminal T ′. Is less likely to collide, and the official address can be set reliably.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication flow of the address assignment operation | movement by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the packet format of the communication packet in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a parent terminal. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a terminal and a relay terminal. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the basic operation | movement at the time of normal transmission of each terminal. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the basic operation | movement at the time of normal reception of each terminal. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of the address request | requirement of a terminal. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of reception of the address request | requirement of a parent terminal. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of the address request | requirement of a relay terminal. It is a figure which shows the data format of the communication packet in the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the terminal and relay terminal in the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the address provision operation | movement of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the address provision operation | movement of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating in detail the duplication determination process of the address request | requirement by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Parent terminal 1a Database 11 Wireless communication part 12 Signal processing part 13 Address processing part 14 Address storage part 15 Wireless signal processing part 16 Antenna 21 Wireless communication part 22, 22a Signal processing part 23 Temporary address generation part 24 Address storage part 25 Communication path Storage unit 26 Communication path processing unit 27 Radio signal processing unit 28 Antenna 29 Temporary address management table T; T '; T11, T12, ..., T1m; T21, ..., T2n; T3 Terminal T0; T20 relay terminal

Claims (6)

In a wireless communication device interposed as a relay terminal between a terminal and a parent terminal,
An address storage unit storing an address of the parent terminal;
A wireless communication unit capable of wireless communication;
A signal processing unit that processes a signal transmitted and received by the wireless communication unit,
The signal processing unit
When the wireless communication unit receives the address request signal from the terminal, the address storage unit is referred to, the transmission destination address is set to the address of the parent terminal, and the transmission source address is changed from the temporary address of the terminal to the own device. A proxy address request function for transferring an address request transfer signal rewritten to an address from the wireless communication unit to a parent terminal;
When an address response signal including the official address given from the parent terminal is received, the transmission destination address is rewritten from the address of the own machine to the temporary address of the terminal, and the source address is changed from the address of the parent terminal to the address of the own machine. Proxy address response function to transfer the address response transfer signal rewritten to
When the address response transfer signal is transferred, a proxy response confirmation signal is transmitted to the parent terminal to determine the formal address, and after the address response transfer signal is transferred, a response confirmation signal from the terminal by giving the formal address A wireless communication device comprising: a proxy response confirmation function for retransmitting the address response transfer signal until a signal is received.   If the signal processing unit cannot receive a response confirmation signal from the terminal even after a predetermined number of retransmissions of the address response transfer signal, the signal processing unit transmits a cancellation signal for releasing the assigned formal address to the parent terminal. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a request cancellation function.   A multi-hop communication system comprising the wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2 as a relay terminal, a parent terminal and a plurality of terminals, wherein a communication packet is transferred via the relay terminal Wireless communication system. The proxy address request function of the relay terminal transmits, instead of the temporary address, an arbitrary management number having a data length shorter than the temporary address attached to the address request transfer signal, and the temporary address and the management number. Remembers the correspondence with
The parent terminal gives a formal address to the management number,
When the proxy address request function of the relay terminal receives an address response signal including the formal address given from the parent terminal, the address response transfer signal is created by rewriting the destination address to a temporary address corresponding to the management number The wireless communication system according to claim 3.   When the relay terminal receives a plurality of address request signals having the same temporary address, the relay terminal has an address request error notification function that transmits an address setting error signal indicating that the address request signal is not accepted by broadcast or multicast. The wireless communication system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the above. The signal processing unit of the terminal has an address request function for measuring the time from activation and transmitting the measured elapsed time data attached to the address request signal,
6. The proxy address response function of the relay terminal, when receiving a plurality of address request signals, transmits the address response transfer signal shifted by a time corresponding to the elapsed time data. The wireless communication system according to any one of the above.

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