JP2006270750A - Radio access device, system, and access service providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio access device and a system for allowing a radio terminal to access to a network in a wide range area. <P>SOLUTION: The radio access device is connected to a network via an access line, and relays signals for radio terminal's access to the network. The radio access device comprises an authentication memory storing identification information for a radio terminal. When access to the network from the radio terminal occurs, the device does not relay signals to the network if the radio terminal does not transmit predetermined attribute information. If the radio terminal transmits the predetermined attribute information, the device acquires the identification information of the radio terminal. If the acquired identification information of the radio terminal exists in the authentication memory, the device relays signals to the network without access restriction. If the acquired identification information of the radio terminal does not exist in the authentication memory, the device relays signals to only a predetermined device in the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless access system that provides wireless terminals with access to a wide area network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a wireless access apparatus that relays signals from wireless terminals to the network.

  A wireless access device is installed at a place where people gather, such as a station or a coffee shop, and a user who has been given the right to use the wireless access device by a contract or the like in advance from his / her wireless terminal to the Internet via the wireless access device Public wireless services to access are provided, but the location of wireless access devices is distributed and the serviceable area of wireless access devices is limited, so it is not possible to access the network easily, and There is a disadvantage that it cannot be moved during access.

  In addition, even if a contractor provides a public wireless service by subscribing to a network access line, connecting a wireless access device to the contracted access line, the access line to the network to which he / she has contracted. When the wireless access device cannot be used preferentially and many people use the wireless access device, there is a drawback in that the bandwidth that can be used even by the contractor itself is limited.

  On the other hand, it is common for individuals and companies to contract broadband access lines to access networks such as the Internet, but these access line bands are not always used, but rather At present, the time when only a part of the entire band is used is overwhelmingly large.

  The applicant does not recognize the existence of a document corresponding to the prior art document at the time of filing a patent.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it possible for another person to use an access line to a network such as the Internet installed by a company or an individual that is used only for a part of the time described above. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless access device, a system, and a method for providing an access service to a network, which increase the number of available wireless access devices and enable a wireless terminal to access a network in a wide area.

  Also in this case, a subscriber of an access line can provide an access service providing method for a wireless access device, a system, and a network that overcomes the drawback that the bandwidth that can be used by the access line is limited according to the usage amount of others. It is also intended to provide.

According to the wireless access device of the present invention,
A wireless access device that is connected to a network via an access line and relays a signal for access to the network of a wireless terminal, having an authentication memory that holds identification information of the wireless terminal, and from the wireless terminal to the network When the access occurs, if the wireless terminal does not transmit the predetermined attribute information, the signal is not relayed to the network. If the predetermined attribute information is transmitted, the identification information of the wireless terminal is acquired. If the acquired identification information of the wireless terminal exists in the authentication memory, the signal is relayed to the network without access restriction. If the acquired identification information of the wireless terminal does not exist in the authentication memory, It is characterized by only relaying a signal to a predetermined device.

According to another embodiment of the wireless access device of the present invention,
Having a bandwidth memory holding a threshold;
When one or more wireless terminals are accessing the network, the total bandwidth of access lines used by wireless terminals whose identification information is not kept in the authentication memory exceeds the threshold held by the bandwidth memory. It is also preferable to limit so that there is no.

According to the wireless access system of the present invention,
A wireless access system including a network and a wireless access device connected to the network via an access line and relaying a signal for access to the network of a wireless terminal, wherein the network is a wireless access permitting access to the network The terminal has a contractor database that holds access restriction information indicating a network range that can be accessed by the wireless terminal for each combination of wireless terminal identification information and wireless access device identification information. When access from the wireless terminal to the network occurs, the wireless terminal acquires identification information of the wireless terminal, and transmits the acquired wireless terminal identification information and the identification information of the own device to the contractor database. When access impossible is received from the contractor database, the signal of the wireless terminal If the access restriction information is received, the signal is relayed to the network within the range of the access restriction information, and the contractor database stores the identification information of the wireless terminal received from the wireless access device in the information held. If it does not exist, the wireless access device is transmitted to the wireless access device, and if it exists, the access restriction information corresponding to the combination of the received wireless terminal identification information and the received wireless access device identification information is transmitted to the wireless access device. It is characterized by doing.

According to another embodiment of the wireless access system of the present invention,
The network further includes a communication control device, and the wireless access device notifies the communication control device of the reception level of the wireless signal from the wireless terminal that relays to the network together with the identification information of the wireless terminal, and the notification When the identification information transmitted by the communication control device indicates the own device, the wireless terminal signal is relayed. When the identification information is not indicated, the wireless terminal signal is not relayed. The communication control device selects a radio access device that receives a radio signal at the highest reception level from among the notifications from each radio access device, and sends the identification information of the selected radio access device to the notification. It is also preferred to transmit to all the wireless access devices that are going.

According to the access service providing method of the present invention,
For each contractor, identification information of the subscriber's wireless access device, identification information of the wireless terminal, release information indicating whether or not the wireless access device is opened to another subscriber's wireless terminal, and wireless access of the other subscriber A network including a contractor database that holds usage information indicating whether or not to use the device, and a wireless access device connected to the network via an access line and relaying a signal for access to the network of the wireless terminal An access method in a wireless access system having a wireless access device that acquires identification information of a wireless terminal when the access from the wireless terminal to the network occurs, and The device identification information is transmitted to the contractor database, and the contractor database stores the contractor indicated by the received identification information of the wireless terminal. When the usage information of other subscribers does not use the wireless access device of another subscriber, the release information about the subscriber indicated by the received identification information of the wireless access device does not open the wireless access device to the wireless terminal of the other subscriber If the received identification information of the wireless terminal does not exist, the wireless access device is notified of the inaccessibility, and if the subscribers indicated by the received identification information of the wireless terminal and the wireless access device are the same, the wireless access device Notify the access device that there is no access restriction, otherwise, notify the wireless access device that there is access restriction, and if the wireless access device is notified that access is not possible, relay the wireless terminal to the network. If no access restriction is notified, the wireless terminal is relayed to the network and the access restriction is notified. If it is characterized by permitting said radio terminal, only the relay of the predetermined device in the network.

According to another embodiment of the access service providing method of the present invention,
It is also preferable to use the contractor's release information and usage information held in the contractor database as information for charging for service provision.

  In the authentication memory or the contractor database, the identification information of the specific wireless terminal previously contracted with the network provider is stored, and the network is based on the identification information and the identification information of the wireless terminal to be accessed. By using wireless access devices that control the relay method to access lines established by businesses and individuals, the conventional spot-like public wireless service is developed into a service with a wide area. In addition, it is possible to easily make use of this, and it is possible to effectively use an access line installed by a company or an individual with a lot of free time. Thereby, there is an advantage for the network operator that it is not necessary to newly install a base station or a radio access device.

  With the bandwidth memory, the total bandwidth of the access line used by those other than the subscriber of the access line can be limited to a predetermined value, and a certain bandwidth is guaranteed for the subscriber of the access line.

  By switching the wireless access device based on the reception level by the communication control device, it is possible to move during access.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a wireless access system of the present invention. According to FIG. 1, the wireless access system includes a wireless access device 1, wireless terminals 2, 3 and 4, a network 5, and a personal computer (PC) 7. Here, the wireless terminal is used to indicate a computer having a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) interface, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, a mobile IP (Internet Protocol) phone, and other portable terminals. To do.

  The wireless access device 1 is connected to the network 5 through an access line, and relays signals between the wireless terminal and the network 5. The wireless access device 1 and the access line are installed by the user X under a contract with an operator providing the network 5.

  The wireless terminal 2 is a wireless terminal of the user X, and the wireless terminal 3 is not a wireless terminal of the user X, but is a wireless terminal that is permitted to use the wireless access device 1 by a contract or the like. The wireless terminal 4 is not a wireless terminal of the user X, but is a wireless terminal owned by a user who does not make a contract with the network 5 business operator. Therefore, the use of the wireless access device 1 is not permitted. . The wireless terminals that can use the wireless access device, that is, the wireless terminals 2 and 3 in the example of FIG. 1, transmit attribute information unique to the network operator to the wireless access device, which indicates that a contract has been made with the operator of the network 5.

The wireless access device 1 includes an authentication memory 101, which stores access restrictions for terminal types shown in FIG. Whether the terminal type is a wireless terminal of the user X who is the owner of the wireless access device 1 among wireless terminals permitted to use the wireless access device 1 by a contract with a provider of the network 5 It is a distinction of whether or not. Whether or not the use of the wireless access device 1 is permitted is distinguished by the attribute information transmitted by the wireless terminal, and whether or not the wireless terminal of the user X is the wireless terminal of the user X is stored in the authentication memory 101. Identification information that can uniquely identify the wireless terminal, such as the IP address of the terminal, is stored in advance and determined. The access restriction indicates the range of the network 5 that can be accessed by each wireless terminal. The authentication information is written into the authentication memory 101 by the personal computer (PC) 7 or by the network 5.

  When there is an access from a wireless terminal, the wireless access device 1 acquires identification information and attribute information of the wireless terminal, and permits / denies access or permits access from information stored in the authentication memory 101 Judge the range.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless access device 1 recognizes that the wireless terminal 2 is the owner's wireless terminal from the IP address, etc. for access from the wireless terminal 2, and thus allows access without restriction. For access from the wireless terminal 3, it recognizes that it is not the owner's wireless terminal from its IP address or the like, but recognizes that it is a permitted terminal from the attribute information, and thus the gateway device 51 in the network 5. Only relay the signal to. The gateway device 51 is a device having a gateway function that distributes requested services, for example, IP telephones, ISP connections, and the like. Further, for access from the wireless terminal 4, the wireless terminal 4 does not transmit attribute information indicating that it is a terminal contracted with the network 5 business operator, so access is not permitted. Is not relayed. It is also possible to provide a group in the attribute information and change the access restriction content for each group.

  Further, the wireless access device 1 has a bandwidth memory 102, and a threshold value that is bandwidth information of an access line that can be used by an authorized terminal other than the owner is stored in the bandwidth memory 102. Even when the wireless access device 1 is accessed from one or more wireless terminals 3, the wireless access device 1 limits the total bandwidth that can be used by these wireless terminals 3 to be equal to or less than the threshold value stored in the bandwidth memory 102. To do.

  With the above configuration, the wireless terminals 2 and 3 of the users who have contracted with the provider providing the network 5 can access the network 5 via the wireless access device 1, and this wireless access device is installed by a company or an individual. These access lines can be used effectively by connecting to the access line to the existing network. As a result, it is possible to easily expand the conventional spot-like public wireless service into a service with a wide area, and for network operators, a new base station or wireless access device is installed. There is an advantage that there is no need to do.

  Further, based on the threshold value stored in the bandwidth memory 102, the user X who is a contractor of the wireless access device 1 has a constant value regardless of the number of wireless terminals 3 accessing the network 5 via the wireless access device 1. Bandwidth usage can be ensured.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the wireless access system of the present invention. In addition, about the same component as already demonstrated, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted. According to FIG. 3, the network 5 has a contractor database 52. In FIG. 3, A is a contractor for the wireless access device 11 and the wireless terminal 21, B is a contractor for the wireless access device 12 and the wireless terminal 22, and C is a contract for the wireless access device 13 and the wireless terminal 23. It is a person. Further, the wireless access devices 11 to 13 do not have the authentication memory 101.

  FIG. 4 shows information that the contractor database 52 has in the configuration of FIG. In this embodiment, the wireless access devices 11 to 13 receive the identification information of the wireless terminal and the identification information of the own device, such as the address of the wireless terminal that has accessed, when the wireless terminal is accessed. The information is transmitted to the database 52, and the access restriction information is acquired from the contractor database 52.

  For example, in the configuration of FIG. 3, when the contractor database 52 holds the information of FIG. 4, the contractor database 52 has the identification information of the wireless terminal 21 and the wireless access device 11 from the wireless access device 11. When the signal is received, the wireless access device 11 is notified of no access restriction as the access restriction information, and when the signal having the identification information of the wireless terminal 22 and the wireless access device 11 is received from the wireless access device 11, The wireless access device 11 is notified as access restriction information that only access to the gateway device 51 is possible. Further, when the identification information of the wireless terminal received from the wireless access device does not exist in the database, the contractor database 52 notifies that access is impossible as access restriction information.

  The wireless access device that has acquired the access restriction information executes the acquired access restriction. With the above configuration, a network operator that provides the network 5 and a user who has a contract for a wireless access device and a connection line to the network 5 can access through the wireless access device with which they are contracted. It is possible to connect to the network 5 without restriction, and it is possible to connect to the network 5 with certain restrictions via other wireless access devices. The wireless access device rejects access from a wireless terminal that is not contracted with the network operator that provides the network 5.

  FIG. 5 shows information relating to billing that the contractor database 52 has in the configuration of FIG. For example, the contractors A and C receive a Y1 discount by allowing other people to use the wireless access devices to which they are subscribed, and also use Y2 for other people's wireless access devices. The company will pay an extra yen fee. The contractor B receives a Y1 yen discount by permitting another person to use his / her own wireless access device, but does not use another person's wireless access device. In this case, access prohibition is set in the access restriction to the subscriber B other than the wireless access device 12 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the discount fee is a fixed amount. For example, Y1 yen may be an amount corresponding to a band for releasing to others. Further, the extra fee is also a fixed amount. For example, Y2 yen may be an amount corresponding to the usage amount or a fixed amount + an amount corresponding to the usage amount.

  With the above configuration, each contractor can receive a discount in terms of charges by releasing the wireless access device that he / she has contracted and installed for others, and the provider of the network 5 This makes it easier to expand the hotspot service area.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the wireless access system of the present invention. According to FIG. 6, the network 5 includes a communication control device 53 in this embodiment.

  It is assumed that the wireless terminal 23 is moving away from the wireless access device 11 and approaching the wireless access device 12 while accessing the network 5 via the wireless access device 11. The wireless access device 11 notifies the communication control device 53 of the reception level of the radio wave from the wireless terminal 23 periodically or whenever it changes over a certain range. The wireless access device 12 also notifies the communication control device 53 of the reception level periodically or whenever the reception level fluctuates over a certain range after the radio wave from the wireless terminal 23 becomes receivable. Yes.

  The communication control device 53 compares the reception level of the wireless terminal 23 notified from the wireless access devices 11 and 12, selects the wireless access device that receives the signal from the wireless terminal 23 most strongly, and selects The identification information of the wireless access device is transmitted to all the wireless access devices that have notified the reception level of the wireless terminal 23, in the case of FIG. 6, to the wireless access devices 11 and 12. Only the wireless access device selected by the communication control device 53 relays signals between the wireless terminal 23 and the network 5 to switch the wireless access device. Further, when there is no wireless access device corresponding to the wireless access device 12, the reception level received from the wireless access device 11 is switched to the wireless terminal 23 before the reception level becomes lower than the level at which reception is not possible. Notify that there is no previous wireless access device and that the connection cannot be maintained due to further movement.

  With the above configuration, even when the wireless terminal moves, it is possible to maintain access to the network 5 by the wireless terminal, and to notify the wireless terminal in advance if connection cannot be maintained.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the wireless access system of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the wireless terminal 40 is a wireless terminal of the user Z who has contracted with the provider of the network 6. The user Z contracts with the provider of the network 5 to use the wireless access device, and the contractor database 52 of the network 5 has the access restriction information and the charging information shown in FIG. Yes.

  The wireless access device 11 that has received access from the wireless terminal 40 transmits the identification information of the wireless terminal 40 and its own identification information to the contractor database 52, and the contractor database 52 sends the gateway device 51 to the wireless access device. Notify that only access to is possible.

  As a result, the wireless terminal 40 is connected to the gateway device 51, and the gateway device 51 relays the connection between the wireless terminal 40 and the network 6 based on transmission / reception of information with the wireless terminal 40.

  The contractor Z is charged Y3 yen with the use of the wireless access device, but this amount may be a fixed amount or a pay-as-you-go charge.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to provide wireless access services to other network providers, and it is possible to provide inexpensive wireless services.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the accounting flow described above.

1 is a diagram showing a wireless access system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the identification information which an authentication memory hold | maintains. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the radio | wireless access system of this invention. It is a figure which shows a contractor database in the structure of FIG. This is information related to billing in the contractor database. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the radio | wireless access system of this invention. It is a figure which shows 4th Embodiment of the radio | wireless access system of this invention. 8 is contractor database information having the configuration shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the flow of charge.

Explanation of symbols

1, 11, 12, 13 Wireless access device 2, 21, 22, 23, 3, 4, 40 Wireless terminal 5, 6 Network 7 Personal computer 51 Gateway device 52 Contractor database 53 Communication control device 101 Authentication memory 102 Band memory

Claims (6)

A wireless access device that connects to a network via an access line and relays a signal for access to a wireless terminal network,
Having an authentication memory for holding identification information of the wireless terminal;
When access from the wireless terminal to the network occurs, if the wireless terminal does not transmit the predetermined attribute information, the signal is not relayed to the network. If the predetermined attribute information is transmitted, the wireless terminal When terminal identification information is acquired and the acquired wireless terminal identification information exists in the authentication memory, the signal is relayed to the network without access restriction, and the acquired wireless terminal identification information does not exist in the authentication memory. In this case, the wireless access device only relays a signal to a predetermined device in the network. Having a bandwidth memory holding a threshold;
When one or more wireless terminals are accessing the network, the total bandwidth of access lines used by wireless terminals whose identification information is not kept in the authentication memory exceeds the threshold held by the bandwidth memory. The wireless access device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless access device is restricted so as not to exist. A wireless access system including a network and a wireless access device connected to the network via an access line and relaying a signal for access to the wireless terminal network;
Network
For a wireless terminal that permits access to a network, a contractor database that holds access restriction information indicating a network range that can be accessed by the wireless terminal for each combination of wireless terminal identification information and wireless access device identification information. Have
Wireless access device
When access from the wireless terminal to the network occurs, the identification information of the wireless terminal is acquired, and the acquired identification information of the wireless terminal and the identification information of the own device are transmitted to the contractor database.
When the access impossible is received from the contractor database for the transmission, the signal of the wireless terminal is not relayed. When the access restriction information is received, the signal is relayed to the network within the range of the access restriction information. And
The contractor database is
When the identification information of the wireless terminal received from the wireless access device does not exist in the held information, the wireless access device transmits an inaccessible information, and when it exists, the received identification information of the wireless terminal and the received wireless access device A wireless access system that transmits access restriction information corresponding to a combination of identification information to a wireless access device. The network further includes a communication control device,
Wireless access device
Notifying the communication control device together with the identification information of the wireless terminal the reception level of the wireless signal from the wireless terminal that relays to the network,
When the identification information transmitted by the communication control device in response to the notification indicates the own device, the signal of the wireless terminal is relayed. When the identification information does not indicate the own device, the signal of the wireless terminal is relayed. Not
The communication control device
The wireless access device that receives a radio signal at the highest reception level from among the notifications from each wireless access device is selected, and the identification information of the selected wireless access device is used for all the wireless access devices performing the notification. The radio access system according to claim 3, wherein the radio access system transmits to a device. For each contractor, identification information of the subscriber's wireless access device, identification information of the wireless terminal, release information indicating whether or not the wireless access device is opened to another subscriber's wireless terminal, and wireless access of the other subscriber A network including a contractor database that holds usage information indicating whether or not to use the device;
A method of providing an access service to a network in a wireless access system having a wireless access device connected to the network via an access line and relaying a signal for access to the network of the wireless terminal,
Wireless access device
When access to a network from a wireless terminal occurs, the wireless terminal identification information is acquired, and the acquired wireless terminal identification information and its own device identification information are transmitted to the contractor database.
When the usage information about the subscriber indicated by the received identification information of the wireless terminal does not use the wireless access device of another subscriber, the release information about the subscriber indicated by the received identification information of the wireless access device is the wireless access. If the device is not opened to another subscriber's wireless terminal, or if the received wireless terminal identification information does not exist, notify the wireless access device that access is not possible,
If the subscribers indicated by the received identification information of the wireless terminal and the wireless access device are the same, notify the wireless access device that there is no access restriction,
Otherwise, notify the wireless access device that access is restricted,
Wireless access device
When inaccessible is notified, the relay to the wireless terminal network is not performed,
When notified that there is no access restriction, relay to the network of the wireless terminal,
An access service providing method characterized in that, when notified that there is access restriction, only relaying between the wireless terminal and a predetermined device in the network is permitted. 6. The access service providing method according to claim 5, wherein the contractor release information and usage information held in the contractor database are used as information for charging for service provision.

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