JP2009141671A - Radio lan setting method, and radio lan terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily set a communication parameter of a radio LAN terminal in a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: A radio communication unit 18 of a radio LAN terminal 10 receives place information from an access point 11. A country information determination unit 13 discriminates the place to perform radio communication therewith from the place information, refers to an information-by-countries database which is stored in a storage unit 14 and in which the place information is corresponded to a communication parameter, to determine communication parameters of the place (transmission output, channel frequency, indoor/outdoor availability) and transmits the communication parameters relating to the transmission output, channel frequency, indoor/outdoor availability to a transmission output control unit 15, a Scan channel installation unit 16 and a Scan system setting unit 17, respectively. The transmission output control unit 15, the Scan channel installation unit 16 and the Scan system setting unit 17 set the communication parameters relating to the transmission output, channel frequency and indoor/outdoor availability to the radio communication unit 18, respectively, to communicate with the access point 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless LAN setting method for setting a communication mode (parameter) of a wireless LAN terminal in a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), and a wireless LAN terminal suitable for the wireless LAN setting method.

Conventionally, a wireless communication system using a mobile wireless terminal has been developed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).
In particular, with the spread of the Internet in recent years, wireless LAN service areas have expanded, and wireless LAN services at hot spots such as airports and restaurants as well as homes and offices have expanded. Furthermore, even if the wireless LAN device is taken overseas, the number of places where the wireless LAN service can be used is increasing, and the wireless LAN service can be used as if it were in Japan.

  However, when using a wireless LAN overseas, regulations such as transmission output and usable channels are established for each country, and when performing wireless LAN communication, radio waves must be emitted in accordance with the laws and regulations established in that country. Don't be. Therefore, the user has to change connection settings and the like. In addition, since the availability of indoor / outdoor use is also defined, there is no means for individually setting a usable channel even if it cannot be used indoors or outdoors.

For example, in the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a method is used in which identification data such as a manufacturing number or a telephone number is used to link the identification data and detected frequency information and link them. Further, frequency information to be used is obtained by searching for a frequency band to be used.
Therefore, since communication is performed using the identification data, there is a problem that the degree of freedom is small and it takes time to obtain information on what form should be communicated, for example, frequency information.

In addition, the wireless LAN may be prohibited from being used outdoors depending on the country or region. However, the inventions described in the patent documents 1 to 4 have a problem that the wireless LAN cannot cope with this.
In Patent Document 4, a wireless system is proposed in which a country to which a user belongs is determined based on time zone information set in a personal computer (PC) or the like, and a setting that matches the country is proposed. In the case of a wireless LAN device that is only set, there is a problem that it is not effective as a setting method because it does not have time zone information.

JP 2004-274723 A JP-A-2005-245021 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-277777 Japanese Patent No. 3890290

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily set communication parameters of a wireless LAN terminal with a simple configuration.

According to the present invention, in the wireless LAN terminal setting method for setting communication parameters of a wireless LAN terminal so as to be able to communicate with a wireless LAN access point, the wireless LAN terminal performs wireless communication from location information transmitted from the access point. Determining a communication parameter of the location with reference to a location information database in which the location information and communication parameters are associated, and setting the communication parameters to communicate with the access point. A characteristic wireless LAN terminal setting method is provided.
The wireless LAN terminal determines a place where wireless communication is performed from place information transmitted from an access point, determines a place communication parameter with reference to a place information database in which place information and communication parameters are associated, and Communication parameters are set to communicate with the access point.

Here, the wireless LAN terminal may be configured to support indoor / outdoor use by changing a scanning method for searching the network with reference to the location information database.
In addition, when the wireless LAN terminal determines that the place cannot be used outdoors by referring to the location information database, by setting the scanning method to passive scanning, a signal is transmitted from itself to a channel that cannot be transmitted. You may comprise so that it may not transmit.

The location information transmitted from the access point may be configured to be country or region information included in a beacon or probe response.
The communication parameter may include one or more parameters of transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use availability.
The wireless LAN terminal has a mobile phone function or a PHS function, obtains the location information from a mobile phone or a PHS base station instead of the access point, and sets communication parameters corresponding to the location information. You may comprise as follows.

According to the present invention, in a wireless LAN terminal that communicates with a wireless LAN access point, communication is performed between a storage unit that stores a location information database in which location information and communication parameters are associated, and the access point. Performing communication means, referring to the location information database, determining means for determining communication parameters corresponding to location information received by the communication means from the access point, and setting the communication parameters in the communication means There is provided a wireless LAN terminal comprising control means for controlling communication with an access point.
The determining unit refers to the location information database and determines a communication parameter corresponding to the location information received by the communication unit from the access point. The control unit controls the communication parameter to be set in the communication unit so as to communicate with the access point.

Here, the control means may be configured to respond to indoor / outdoor use by setting the communication parameter so as to change a scanning method for searching the network with reference to the location information database. .
In addition, when the control means determines that the location is not available outdoors by referring to the location information database, the control means transmits the signal from itself to a channel that cannot be transmitted by setting the scanning method to passive scanning. It may be configured to control the communication means so as not to.

The location information transmitted from the access point may be configured to be country or region information included in a beacon or probe response.
The communication parameter may include one or more parameters of transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use availability.

  In addition, the mobile phone communication means or the PHS communication means for communicating with the mobile phone base station has a PHS communication means, and the mobile phone communication means or the PHS communication means is a mobile phone or PHS instead of the access point. The location information is obtained from a base station, the determining means refers to the location information database, determines a communication parameter corresponding to the location information obtained by the mobile phone communication means or the PHS communication means, and the control The means may be configured to control the communication parameter to be set in the communication means to perform communication with the access point.

The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to the present invention makes it possible to easily set the communication mode of the wireless LAN terminal.
Further, according to the wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention, it is possible to easily set the communication mode.

First, an outline of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) terminal setting method and a wireless LAN terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this embodiment, location information (country or region information) is obtained from the country IE information included in a signal from a wireless LAN access point (for example, a beacon or a probe request) and stored in advance. The country or region to be used is determined from the location information database for each country, and at least one of the communication parameters (transmission power, channel frequency, indoor / outdoor availability) that can be used in that location (country or region) The above communication parameters can be included.) Can be automatically set in the wireless LAN terminal.

  In the case of a wireless LAN terminal with a mobile phone function, a country code (Country Code) included in 3G (3rd Generation; third generation mobile phone system) such as W-CDMA system or GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) base station information. ) So that similar settings can be made.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless LAN system used in the wireless LAN terminal setting method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
1, the wireless LAN system includes a wireless LAN terminal 10 and a wireless LAN access point 11 that performs wireless communication with the wireless LAN terminal 10.

The wireless LAN terminal 10 includes a country information determination unit 13, a storage unit 14 that stores a country-specific information database that stores communication parameters, a transmission output control unit 15, a scan (Scan) channel setting unit 16, a scan method setting unit 17, A wireless communication unit 18 that performs communication using the set communication parameters is provided.
The access point 11 has country information (Country IE) 12 and transmits the country information to the wireless LAN terminal 10 when performing predetermined communication.

Here, the means are configured. The storage unit 14 constitutes a storage unit, the wireless communication unit 18 constitutes a communication unit, and the country information determination unit 13 constitutes a determination unit. The transmission output control unit 15, the scan channel setting unit 16, and the scan method setting unit 17 constitute a control unit.
The storage means can store a location information database in which location information and communication parameters are associated with each other.

The communication means can communicate with the access point 11.
The determining unit can determine communication parameters corresponding to the location information received from the access point 11 by the communication unit with reference to the location information database.
The control means can perform control so as to perform communication with the access point 11 by setting communication parameters in the communication means.
In addition, the control unit can cope with the availability of indoor and outdoor use by setting the communication parameter so as to change the scanning method for searching the network with reference to the location information database.

In addition, when the control means determines that the location is not available outdoors by referring to the location information database, by setting the scanning method to passive scanning, a signal is not transmitted from itself to a channel that cannot be transmitted. The communication means can be controlled.
The location information transmitted from the access point 11 may be country or region information included in the beacon or probe response.
The communication parameter may include one or more parameters of transmission output, channel frequency, indoor / outdoor use availability.

The wireless LAN access point 11 connected to the wireless LAN network notifies the beacon (Beacon; broadcast information) and the probe response (Probe Response) of the country information 12 called Country IE.
The specification of the Country IE is defined by IEEE 11d, and the contents of the Country Information Element to be notified are shown in FIG. The country information, the channel used, and the transmission power information (for example, maximum transmission output) are notified by the Country Information Element.

  The wireless LAN terminal 10 uses the country-specific information database 14 stored in the storage unit 14 in advance and the country information 12 acquired from the access point 11 to use the country or region where the country information determination unit 13 uses the wireless LAN system. The maximum transmission output and channel that can be used in the above are determined and set in the transmission output control unit 15 and the scan (Scan) channel setting unit 16, respectively. The transmission output control unit 15 and the scan channel setting unit 16 set the communication parameter of the wireless communication unit 18 to the transmission output and channel frequency set by the country information determination unit 13 and perform communication using the parameter. 18 is controlled.

  As for the transmission output, for example, in the case of the United Kingdom, the maximum transmission output value that can be transmitted is 100 mW, and therefore, information of a maximum of 100 mW is transmitted from the country information determination unit 13 to the transmission output control unit 15. When the maximum transmission output of the wireless LAN terminal 10 is 100 mW or more, the transmission output control unit 15 sets the maximum transmission output value output by the wireless communication unit 18 to 100 mW, thereby suppressing the transmission output below the set value. be able to. If the maximum output of the wireless LAN terminal 10 is 100 mW or less, the transmission output value to be set has already exceeded the transmission capability of the wireless LAN terminal 10, and therefore the setting value transmitted from the country information determination unit 13 Instead, the maximum transmission output value of the wireless communication unit 18 of the wireless LAN terminal 10 is set.

  Next, for the scan channel, a usable channel is notified from the country information determination unit 13 to the scan channel setting unit 16, and the channel is set in the Scan channel setting unit 16. For example, in the case of Austria, only 1 channel (ch) to 11 ch (2412 MHz to 2462 MHz) can be used in the 802.11b mode and the 802.11g mode, and only 36, 40, 44, and 48 ch can be used in the 802.11a mode.

Therefore, as scan candidate channels, it is possible to use only 1 channel to 11 channels (2412 MHz to 2462 MHz) in 802.11b mode and 802.11g mode, and only 36, 40, 44, and 48 channels in 802.11a mode. In this case, scans and radio waves cannot be transmitted.
Further, depending on the wireless LAN terminal 10, there are cases where the setting profile is set to scan only some channels in advance.

In that case, when there is a channel other than the channel corresponding to the channel set in the scan channel setting unit 16 among the channels already set in the profile, it is set to scan with channels other than the unusable channel. be able to.
Furthermore, in order to avoid interference with weather radars and the like, 802.11a in Japan prohibits outdoor use of 52, 56, 60, and 64ch. Further, in France, outdoor use of 8b to 11ch (2447 MHz to 2462 MHz) of 802.11b and 802.11g that can be used in Japan and many other countries is prohibited.

  Whether it is outdoor or not can be confirmed by whether or not a signal from an access point installed indoors can be received. When there is an access point or SSID (Service Set Identifier) to be connected, an active scan is usually performed, and a probe request is sent, and a response is assigned to the access point with the highest response level or the highest reception level. can do.

  However, when the user is outdoors, if a probe request is transmitted to a channel that cannot be used outdoors, radio waves are transmitted, which violates regulations. To prevent this, instead of suddenly performing an active scan at the time of scanning, if an outdoor use is not possible, a passive scan is performed to monitor beacon information from the access point and an access point is found. In such a case, it is necessary to perform an active scan.

As described above, the scan method setting unit 17 has a function of switching the scan method to the active scan or the passive scan according to the availability of outdoor use in conjunction with the channel set in the scan channel setting unit 16. That is, the scan channel setting unit 17 controls the wireless communication unit 18 so as to switch the scan method to active scan or passive scan depending on whether the communication parameter of the wireless communication unit 18 can be used indoors or outdoors.
The country information is retained until the wireless LAN terminal 10 is turned off or the wireless communication is out of service (that is, disconnected), and each set setting can be used continuously. When it is desired to return from a power-on or out-of-service state, the country or region where the aircraft is located may have been changed by plane or land movement, so it is necessary to determine the country information again.

FIG. 3 is an example of a country-specific information database, and shows a summary of the country and Japan maximum transmission output, usable channels, and indoor / outdoor availability referenced in the above description. Available parameters are indicated by ●.
A personal computer (PC) is mainly used as a wireless LAN terminal to be taken outdoors. In recent years, a wireless LAN terminal with a mobile phone function is also used. A wireless LAN terminal with a mobile phone function can use a 3G or GSM network together with a wireless LAN network. As a method for obtaining the country information, it is also possible to obtain the country information from the country code (Country Code) included in the 3G or GSM base station information, in addition to the beacon transmitted from the access point and the Country IE included in the probe request.

  As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the wireless communication unit 18 of the wireless LAN terminal 10 receives location information from the access point 11. The country information determination unit 13 determines a location where wireless communication is to be performed from the location information, and refers to a country-specific information database stored in the storage unit 14 in which the location information and communication parameters are associated with each other. Communication parameters (transmission output, channel frequency, indoor / outdoor use availability) are determined, and transmission output, channel frequency, indoor / outdoor use availability for transmission output control unit 15, Scan channel installation unit 16, and Scan system setting unit 17, respectively. The communication parameter regarding is transmitted. The transmission output control unit 15, the scan channel setting unit 16, and the scan method setting unit 17 each set communication parameters regarding the transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use availability in the wireless communication unit 18, and communicate with the access point 11. .

  In this way, the location information (country or region information) is obtained from the Country IE information included in the beacon or probe request of the access point 11, and the location (for example, the country) to be used from the country-specific information database held in advance. Or at least one of transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use that can be used in the country can be easily set.

  Further, without using identification data such as a manufacturer number or a telephone number, it is connected to the access point 11 of the wireless LAN, recognizes a country code (Country Code) included in a beacon transmitted from the access point 11, and Information (for example, country or region code) is stored as data, and a location information (for example, country or region) is stored in advance by storing a country-specific information table including frequency and output level information in the storage means of the wireless LAN terminal. By determining, communication parameters (for example, available frequencies and output levels) can be set in the wireless communication unit 18 of the wireless LAN terminal, and communication can be performed using the communication parameters.

  Also, wireless LAN terminals may be prohibited from being used outdoors depending on the country or region, and it is necessary to switch the method of detecting access points so that radio waves are not suddenly emitted outdoors. There are active and passive detection methods, but if the detection setting of the wireless LAN terminal is the active method, it is configured to switch to the passive method, so it is appropriate for the location where the wireless LAN terminal is used. Can be used.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a wireless LAN system used in the wireless LAN terminal setting method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The wireless LAN terminal using the wireless LAN terminal 40 with a mobile phone function is a 3G network or An example of a system using a GSM network is shown. The same parts as those in FIG.
Here, the mobile phone communication unit 41 constitutes a mobile phone communication means for communicating with the mobile phone base station 42. It may have a PHS function instead of a mobile phone function. In this case, instead of the mobile phone communication unit 41, a PHS communication unit that communicates with a PHS base station (not shown) is provided as a PHS communication unit.

In the case of FIG. 4 as well, as shown in FIG. 1, country information is stored from the country-specific information database previously stored in the storage unit 14 by the wireless LAN 40 and the country code (Country Code) 22 included in the 3G or GSM mobile phone base station 42. The determination unit 13 determines the country to be used, the maximum transmission output value of the wireless communication unit 18 is set in the transmission output control unit 15, the usable channel is set in the Scan channel setting unit 16, and the Scan channel setting unit is set. The scan method can be set in the Scan method setting unit 17 in accordance with the availability of outdoor use in conjunction with the channel.
In the case of a wireless LAN terminal with a mobile phone function, the same setting can be performed by the country code included in 3G or GSM base station information. This makes it possible to use a wireless LAN network that complies with the regulations of the country without the user being aware of it.

  In addition, as a wireless LAN terminal, not only a terminal having a wireless LAN function, but also a mobile phone, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Data Assistance, Personal Digital Assistants), communication such as a personal computer It is applicable to a wireless LAN terminal having a function. Further, the present invention can be applied to a wireless LAN terminal setting method using these wireless LAN terminals.

  It can be used not only for wireless LAN terminals having only a wireless LAN function but also for wireless LAN terminals having a communication function such as a mobile phone, PHS, and PDA. Further, the present invention can be used for a wireless LAN terminal setting method using the wireless LAN terminal.

It is a block diagram of the wireless LAN system used for the wireless LAN terminal setting method which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the content of Country Information Element used in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the country-specific information database used in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the wireless LAN system used for the wireless LAN terminal setting method which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 40 ... Wireless LAN terminal 11 ... Access point 12 ... Country information (Country IE)
13 ... Country information determination unit 14 ... Storage unit 15 ... Transmission output control unit 16 ... Scan channel setting unit 17 ... Scan method setting unit 18 ... Wireless communication unit 41 ..Mobile phone communication unit 42 ... mobile phone base station 43 ... country code

Claims (12)

In a wireless LAN terminal setting method for setting communication parameters of a wireless LAN terminal so that it can communicate with a wireless LAN access point,
The wireless LAN terminal determines a location for wireless communication from location information transmitted from the access point, and determines a communication parameter for the location by referring to a location information database in which the location information and communication parameters are associated with each other. And setting the communication parameters to communicate with the access point.   2. The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless LAN terminal responds to indoor / outdoor use by changing a scanning method for searching a network with reference to the location information database.   When it is determined that the wireless LAN terminal is a place that cannot be used outdoors by referring to the location information database, the wireless LAN terminal does not transmit a signal from itself to a channel that cannot be transmitted by setting the scanning method to passive scanning. The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to claim 2, wherein:   4. The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to claim 1, wherein the location information transmitted from the access point is country or region information included in a beacon or a probe response.   The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication parameter includes one or more parameters of transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use availability.   The wireless LAN terminal has a mobile phone function or a PHS function, obtains the location information from a mobile phone or a PHS base station instead of the access point, and sets communication parameters corresponding to the location information. The wireless LAN terminal setting method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless LAN terminal is set up according to claim 1. In a wireless LAN terminal that communicates with a wireless LAN access point,
Storage means for storing a location information database in which location information and communication parameters are associated;
A communication means for communicating with the access point;
Determining means for determining communication parameters corresponding to the location information received by the communication means from the access point with reference to the location information database;
A wireless LAN terminal comprising: a control unit configured to control the communication parameter to be set in the communication unit and to perform communication with the access point.   The said control means respond | corresponds to indoor / outdoor use availability by setting the said communication parameter so that the scanning system which searches a network with reference to the said location information database may be changed. Wireless LAN terminal.   If the control means determines that the location is a place that cannot be used outdoors by referring to the location information database, by setting the scanning method to passive scanning, it does not transmit a signal from itself to a channel that cannot be transmitted. 9. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 8, wherein the communication means is controlled.   The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 7, wherein the location information transmitted from the access point is country or region information included in a beacon or a probe response.   The wireless LAN terminal according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the communication parameter includes one or more parameters of transmission output, channel frequency, and indoor / outdoor use availability. Mobile phone communication means for communicating with a mobile phone base station or PHS communication means for communication with a PHS base station;
A mobile phone communication means or a PHS communication means obtains the location information from a mobile phone or a PHS base station instead of the access point,
The determining means refers to the location information database, determines communication parameters corresponding to the location information obtained by the mobile phone communication means or the PHS communication means,
The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 7, wherein the control unit controls the communication parameter to be set in the communication unit so as to perform communication with the access point.

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