JP2006311087A - Communication relay device and communication relay method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication relay device which selects a proper communication path according to data to be communicated when relaying data communication. <P>SOLUTION: A wireless router 12 stores, in a storage section 33, application information 33 received from a mobile phone terminal 10 communicating data and communication line information 33b about a communication line which the wireless router 12 as the communication relay device can use for the data communication. A control section 32 selects a communication path to be used by a communication section 31 for the data communication in accordance with the application information 33a and communication line information 33b. Further, the control section 32 sends the application information 33a from the communication section 31 to an adjacent router 22 or a router 23 on the communication path. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication relay device and a communication relay method for relaying data communication in a network such as the Internet.

In recent years, data communication devices that can use a plurality of data lines, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, and infrared communication, have appeared. Conventionally, in data communication devices that can use such a plurality of data lines, there has been one that enables selection of an appropriate data line based on the application type of a communication application that requires data communication (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2000-244601A

  However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 can select a more suitable route when a terminal that performs data communication selects a communication route. For example, a plurality of relay devices on a network such as the Internet can be selected. The case where the route could be selected was not considered. For example, audio data according to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) can be tolerated even if the transmission speed is somewhat slow, but transmission delay and transmission loss cannot be tolerated. For streaming data such as video and audio, transmission loss is acceptable. Is acceptable to some extent, but the required communication quality differs depending on the data to be communicated, such as the need for a transmission rate higher than the bit rate of the data. Therefore, even in a relay device on the network, the data line corresponding to the data to be relayed Is required.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication relay device that selects an appropriate communication path according to data to be communicated when relaying data communication.

  In order to achieve the above object, a communication relay device of the present invention relays data communication on a communication path from a first communication device to a second communication device, and a plurality of communication paths are used for this relay. Receiving means for receiving application information, which is information of an application for performing data communication, from another communication relay apparatus or the first communication device on the communication path Transmitting means for transmitting the application information received by the receiving means to another communication relay device on the communication path, communication line information regarding each transmission speed of the plurality of communication paths, and the reception Storage means for storing the application information received by the means, and the application information and the communication line stored by the storage means Based on broadcast, said transmission means is characterized by comprising a communication path switching means for switching the communication path to be used for relaying the data communications.

  In the communication relay method for relaying data communication on a communication path from the first communication device to the second communication device, the communication relay method of the present invention receives the information of the application that performs the data communication; In the transmission step of transmitting the application information received in the reception step to a communication relay device on the communication path, the application information, and communication line information on each transmission speed of a plurality of available communication paths, etc. And a switching step of switching a communication path used for the data communication.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication relay device that selects an appropriate communication path according to data to be communicated when relaying data communication.

  Hereinafter, a communication relay device and a communication path switching method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system in which a wireless router according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. A mobile phone 10 or a PC (Personal Computer) 11 used by a user is connected to the wireless router 12 via, for example, a wireless LAN, a wired LAN, or Bluetooth. The wireless router 12 is connected to the Internet 13 via an ISP (Internet Service Provider, not shown) or the like. In addition to ISPs (not shown) of other businesses, the Internet 13 provides, for example, an ASP (Application Service Provider) that provides users with various services via the Internet 13 and Internet services for the mobile phone terminal 16. It is connected to the communication telephone communication carrier 15 to be provided.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication path from the mobile phone 10 (first communication device) to the ASP 14 (second communication device). In addition, routers 21 to 23 are described as parts related to the Internet 13 shown in FIG. In this example, there are three communication paths from the mobile phone 10 to the wireless router 12. For example, Bluetooth communication, wireless LAN, infrared communication, and the like correspond to this. Further, the wireless router 12 is connected to the router 22 and the router 23. The router 22 and the router 23 are each connected to the router 21. In the example of FIG. 2, there are two communication paths between the router 23 and the router 21. Further, the router 21 is connected to the ASP 14. As will be described later, the wireless router 12 and the routers 21 to 23 have application information relating to applications used by the mobile phone 10 for data communication, and communication line information relating to transmission speeds of communication lines usable by the respective devices. ing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless router 12. The routers 21 to 23 have the same configuration as the wireless router 12.
The wireless router 12 includes a communication unit 31 (transmission unit and reception unit) that communicates with the mobile phone terminal 10 and the routers 22 and 23, a control unit 32 (communication path switching unit) that performs overall control of the entire operation, and application information. 33a and a storage unit 33 (storage means) for storing communication line information 33b.

  The communication unit 31 is a communication interface that communicates with the mobile phone terminal 10 and the routers 22 and 23 as described above. At this time, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the route to the router 21 includes a communication path via the router 22 and a communication path via the router 23. The communication path or the communication path to the router 23 can be switched. Similarly, any communication path to the mobile phone terminal 10 can be switched.

  The control unit 32 includes a CPU (not shown) and a memory (not shown), and controls the overall operation of the wireless router 12. As described above, the communication unit 31 is controlled to switch the communication path used for data communication.

  The storage unit 33 is a rewritable memory, magnetic disk device, or the like, and relates to application information 33a that is information related to an application in which the mobile phone terminal 10 performs data communication, a transmission speed of a communication path that can be selected by the communication unit 31, and the like. The communication line information 33b is stored.

  The application information 33a is transferred from a device that performs data communication. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when data communication is performed from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ASP 14 via the wireless router 12, the router 22, and the router 21, the application information 33 a is transferred from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the wireless router 12. Transferred and stored. Further, the wireless router 12 transfers the application information 33a to the router 22, and the router 22 stores it. Similarly, the router 22 forwards the application information 33a to the router 21, and the router 21 stores it. That is, the application information 33a is shared by devices on a communication path for performing data communication, and each communication device selects an optimum path based on the application information 33a.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application information 33a. In the application information 33a, for example, the type of application (VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol in the example of FIG. 4)) and communication quality required for the application are described. In the example of FIG. 4, it is shown that the required transmission rate is 16 kbps or more and the transmission delay is 10 ms or less.

  The communication line information 33b describes information related to a communication path that can be used by the wireless router 12. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the communication line information 33b. In the example of FIG. 5, information on the theoretical transmission rate, the actual measurement transmission rate, the transmission delay, and the error rate is described for each communication path. For example, when communication is not yet performed on the communication path, it is not always necessary to fill in all items, such as the measured value of the transmission speed being blank.

The control unit 32 of the wireless router 12 switches the communication path used by the communication unit 31 based on the application information 33a and the communication line information 33b.
Next, the flow of processing when connecting the mobile phone terminal 10 to the wireless router 12 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow when the mobile phone terminal 10 connects to the wireless router 12.

First, the wireless router 12 receives a connection request from the mobile phone terminal 10 at the communication unit 31 (S600). Upon receiving this connection request, the wireless router 12 creates a connection entry related to the connection with the mobile phone terminal 10 and stores it in the storage unit 33 (S601). Further, the wireless router 12 sends a connection response to the mobile phone terminal 10 from the communication unit 31 and requests authentication data (S602). In response to this, the mobile phone terminal 10 returns authentication data, which is a response to the connection data, and further transmits application information 33a (S603). As described above, the application information 33a is information related to applications used for data communication and required communication quality. The wireless router 12 receives this by the communication unit 31, and stores the application information 33a in the storage unit 33 (S604). Further, the wireless router 12 transmits the application information 33a to the router 22 which is the adjacent router (S605). Similarly, the router 22 stores the application information 33a (S606) and transmits it to the adjacent router (the router 21 in the example of FIG. 2) (S607).

  The wireless router 12 that has received and stored the application information 33a transmits it from the authentication confirmation response communication unit 31 (S608), and notifies the network route information (S609). The wireless router 12 establishes a connection by receiving a confirmation response from the mobile phone terminal 10 in the communication unit 31 (S610), and relays data communication from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ASP 14 (S611, S612).

  Next, processing of the wireless router 12 after connection establishment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the wireless router 12 for updating the communication line information 33b during data communication.

  First, the wireless router 12 measures the transmission speed of each communication path that can be used by the communication unit 31 (S701). Based on this transmission rate, the communication line information 33b is updated (S702). Thereafter, the process waits for a predetermined time (S703), and performs the process of S701.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the control unit 32 when switching the communication path used for the data communication during the data communication.
First, the control unit 32 determines whether or not the condition of the communication path currently used for data communication satisfies the condition defined by the application information 33a (S801). For example, when the condition of the application information 33a is not satisfied due to a decrease in transmission speed, the communication path is disconnected for some reason, or new application information 33a is received from the mobile phone terminal 10 Etc. are considered.

  If the currently communicating channel does not satisfy the condition of the application information 33a (Yes in S801), the control unit 32 re-evaluates each available channel based on the communication line information 33b. (S802) The most appropriate communication path is determined for the application information 33a (S803). When a new communication channel is determined, the control unit 32 transmits a communication start request from the communication unit 31 to the router for communication on the communication channel in order to perform data communication on the communication channel (S804). Application information 33a is transmitted (S805). When data communication is started on the new communication path (S806), the control unit 32 controls the communication unit 31 to disconnect the old communication path that no longer satisfies the request for the application information 33a (S807). That is, for example, when communicating from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ASP 14, the communication path from the wireless router 12 to the router 22 is originally used, and the communication path to the router 23 is more appropriate than this communication path. If determined, the communication path to the router 23 is established, and the communication path to the router 22 is disconnected.

  Further, the control unit 32 waits for the elapse of a predetermined time (S808), and performs the process of S801 when the predetermined time elapses. If the communication channel being used satisfies the condition required by the application information 33a in S801 (No in S801), the process of S801 is performed again after waiting for the elapse of a predetermined time in S808.

  Next, a processing flow of the wireless router 12 when ending data communication from the mobile phone terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when data communication from the mobile phone terminal 10 is terminated.

  First, the wireless router 12 receives a network disconnection request from the communication unit 31 (S900). Thereby, the wireless router 12 deletes the communication entry assigned to the mobile phone terminal 10 from the storage unit 33 (S901), and returns a network disconnection response from the communication unit 31 to the mobile phone terminal 10. (S902). Thereby, the disconnection of communication is completed. Further, the wireless router 12 deletes the application information 33a from the storage unit 33 (S903). Further, the mobile phone 10 transmits an end of data communication, that is, a request for deleting the application information 33b to the router 22 used for data communication with the ASP 14 (S904). The router 22 also receives this request, deletes the stored application information 33b (S905), and transmits a request to delete the application information 33b to the router 21 (S906).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the application information 33a can be stored in the storage unit 33, and an appropriate communication path can be selected based on this and the communication line information 33b regarding the communication path that can be used by itself. An appropriate communication path can be selected according to data communication.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the application information 33a is also transmitted to the adjacent router on the communication path. Therefore, if the other routers have the same function, each router is appropriate. Communication channel can be selected.

  In this embodiment, since the communication line information 33b includes not only the transmission speed but also information on transmission delay and error status, a more appropriate communication path is selected for each application that performs data communication. It becomes possible to do.

  In this embodiment, since the communication line information 33b is updated at predetermined intervals, it is possible to select a communication line in response to a change in environment such as suddenly slowing or disconnection of the communication line.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to monitor the communication status of the communication channel during communication, check whether the condition of the application information 33a is satisfied, and dynamically switch the communication channel.
Further, in the present embodiment, when the relay of data communication is finished, the application information 33a related to this data communication is deleted, so that the resources of the storage unit 33 can be used effectively. At the same time, since a signal for ending data communication is also sent to the adjacent router on the communication path, it is possible to effectively use the resources of the storage unit of other routers having the same function. Is possible.

  Although the present embodiment has been described based on the wireless router 12, the routers 21 to 23 can also select the communication path by performing the same processing. Further, although the data communication from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ASP 14 has been described, the data communication from the ASP 14 to the mobile phone terminal 10 can be performed by the same processing. At this time, the communication path from the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ASP 14 and the communication path from the ASP 14 to the mobile phone terminal 10 may be different.

The figure which shows the example of a structure of the communication system in which the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention is used. The figure shown about the example of the communication path | route including the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the application information which the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention has. The figure which shows the example of the communication line information which the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention has. The figure which shows the flow of a process when the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention connects with a mobile telephone terminal. The figure which shows the flow of a process when the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention updates communication line information. The figure which shows about the flow of a process when the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention switches a communication path. The figure which shows about the flow of a process when the wireless router which concerns on Example 1 of this invention complete | finishes communication with a mobile telephone terminal.

Explanation of symbols

10, 16 ... mobile phone terminal 11 ... PC
12 ... Wireless router 13 ... Internet 14 ... ASP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Cell-phone communication carrier 21, 22, 23 ... Router 31 ... Communication part 32 ... Control part 33 ... Memory | storage part 33a ... Application information 33b ... Communication line information

Claims (11)

In a communication relay device that relays data communication on a communication path from a first communication apparatus to a second communication apparatus and can select a communication path to be used for this relay from a plurality of communication paths.
Receiving means for receiving application information, which is information of an application for performing data communication, from another communication relay device or the first communication device on the communication path;
Transmitting means for transmitting the application information received by the receiving means to another communication relay device on the communication path;
Storage means for storing communication line information relating to respective transmission speeds of the plurality of communication paths, and the application information received by the receiving means;
A communication relay apparatus comprising: a communication path switching unit that switches a communication path used by the transmission unit for relaying the data communication based on the application information and the communication line information stored in the storage unit. 2. The communication relay device according to claim 1, wherein the communication line information includes information on transmission delay and error status in addition to the transmission speeds of the plurality of communication paths. The communication relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication path switching unit updates the communication line information stored in the storage unit at a predetermined interval. The communication path switching means switches the communication path when the communication line information related to the communication path used by the communication means for relaying the data communication does not satisfy the condition required by the application information. The communication relay device according to claim 1. The communication relay device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit deletes the application information when the relay of the data communication is finished. When the receiving unit receives a signal for ending the data communication from the first communication device or another communication relay device,
The storage means deletes the application information,
2. The communication relay device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means transmits a signal for ending the data communication to another communication relay device. In a communication relay method for relaying data communication on a communication path from a first communication device to a second communication device,
A receiving step of receiving information of an application that performs the data communication;
A transmission step of transmitting the application information received in the reception step to a communication relay device on the communication path;
A communication relay method comprising: a switching step of switching a communication path used for the data communication based on the application information and communication line information regarding transmission speeds of a plurality of available communication paths. 8. The communication relay method according to claim 7, wherein the communication line information includes information on transmission delay and error status in addition to the transmission speeds of the plurality of communication paths. The communication relay method according to claim 7,
A communication relay method, further comprising an update step of updating the communication line information. 8. The communication path according to claim 7, wherein the switching step switches the communication path when the communication line information relating to the communication path used for data communication relay does not satisfy the condition required by the application information. Communication relay method. The communication relay method according to claim 7,
A storage step of storing the application information in the storage means;
And a deletion step of deleting the application information from the storage means when finishing the relay of the data communication.

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