JP2010028222A - Wireless terminal unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly versatile wireless terminal unit of which the power consumption is reduced by suppressing excess beacon reception, and which is suited to an existing system. <P>SOLUTION: A communication control part 100a determines the reception cycle (Listen Interval) of beacon signals transmitted from an access point AP according to the operation state of a display part 20 operated in conjunction with a user operation or the like through an operation part 40 and the type of wireless communication performed by a wireless communication part 10, notifies the access point AP about the determined reception cycle, and controls the wireless communication part 10 so as to receive the beacon signals in the determined reception cycle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless terminal device such as a station of a wireless LAN system, for example.

  As is well known, a station in a wireless LAN system receives a beacon transmitted by an access point at a fixed period and checks the presence or absence of a received signal addressed to itself from information contained in the received beacon. Beacon reception has a problem of affecting the power consumption of the terminal.

Conventionally, there is an access point that controls the intermittent reception cycle of a station according to the amount of data accumulated in a transmission buffer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, with this method, it is necessary to modify the current IEEE802.11 standard, or it can be operated only as an original mode, and is not compatible with existing systems and lacks versatility. There is.
JP 2007-096898 A

  In the conventional wireless terminal device, there is a problem that excessive beacon reception increases power consumption. In addition, the conventional method has a problem that it is not compatible with existing systems and lacks versatility.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has an object to provide a highly versatile wireless terminal apparatus that suppresses excessive beacon reception, reduces power consumption, and is suitable for existing systems. And

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wireless terminal device that wirelessly communicates with a base station device accommodated in a network, receiving means for receiving a beacon signal transmitted from the base station device at a predetermined period; Display means for visually displaying information, detection means for detecting the power consumption state of the display means, period determining means for determining a period for receiving a beacon according to a determination result of the detection means, and this period Control means for controlling the receiving means is provided so as to receive the beacon signal at the cycle determined by the determining means.

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation state of the wireless terminal device is monitored, the period for receiving the beacon signal appropriately is determined, and the beacon signal is received at this period.
Therefore, according to the present invention, excessive beacon reception is suppressed, power consumption is reduced, and the period is determined on the wireless terminal apparatus side. Therefore, a highly versatile wireless terminal apparatus suitable for an existing system is provided. Can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile radio terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This mobile wireless terminal device is a terminal device that functions as a station that wirelessly communicates with an access point AP accommodated in a network. The main components are a control unit 100, a wireless communication unit 10, a display unit 20, and the like. The audio signal processing unit 30, the operation unit 40, and the storage unit 50 are provided.

  The wireless communication unit 10 is, for example, a wireless communication unit that conforms to the IEEE802.11 recommendation, and performs wireless communication with an access point AP that similarly includes a wireless communication unit that conforms to the IEEE802.11 recommendation in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100. This wireless communication is used to transmit and receive voice data for performing voice communication, e-mail data, etc., and receive Web data, streaming data, and the like.

  The display unit 20 is a display unit using, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and displays images (still images and moving images), character information, and the like under the control of the control unit 100. Display and visually convey information to the user. The display unit 20 includes a backlight when an LCD is employed.

The audio signal processing unit 30 includes a speaker 31 and a microphone 32. The audio signal processing unit 30 converts a user's voice input through the microphone 32 into audio data and outputs the audio data to the control unit 100, or decodes audio data received from a call partner or the like. Output from the speaker 31.
The operation unit 40 includes letters, numbers, a plurality of key switches for inputting predetermined commands, and the like, and receives instructions from the user through this.

  The storage unit 50 includes a control program and control data of the control unit 100, application software, address data that associates the name and telephone number of a communication partner, transmitted / received e-mail data, Web data downloaded by Web browsing, download The stored content data is stored, and streaming data and the like are temporarily stored. Specifically, it is configured by an HDD, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or the like, and can be configured by one of these or a combination of a plurality.

  The control unit 100 includes a microprocessor, operates in accordance with a control program and control data stored in the storage unit 50, and controls each unit of the mobile radio terminal device to realize voice communication and data communication. is there. The control unit 100 operates in accordance with application software stored in the storage unit 50, displays moving images on the display unit 20 based on transmission / reception of e-mails, Web browsing, and downloaded streaming data, and performs voice communication. A communication control function is provided. In particular, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10.

  For example, when the user does not operate the operation unit 40 for a certain period of time, the control unit 100 includes a control function for reducing the power consumption by reducing the brightness of the display unit 20. That is, in this function, when the LCD is used for the display unit 20, the brightness of the backlight is reduced or turned off. On the other hand, when the organic EL display is used for the display unit 20, the brightness is lowered. Or stop the display.

Next, the operation of the wireless terminal apparatus having the above configuration will be described.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing communication performed between the wireless terminal device and the access point AP. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to this figure.

First, in the wireless terminal device, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10 to transmit a Probe Request to the access point AP (sequence S201).
The access point AP that has received the probe request from the wireless terminal device transmits a probe response to the wireless terminal device (sequence S202).
Thereafter, the wireless terminal device and the access point AP perform authentication processing according to a procedure compliant with the IEEE802.11 recommendation (sequence S203).

  Then, in the wireless terminal device, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10 to transmit an association request as shown in FIG. 3 to the access point AP (sequence S204). At this time, the default value “3” is set in Listen Interval.

  The access point AP that has received the Association Request from the wireless terminal device transmits an Association Response to the wireless terminal device (sequence S205). The access point AP recognizes that the period at which the wireless terminal device receives the beacon signal corresponds to “3” from the notification of the Listen Interval “3” from the wireless terminal device. During a period based on this cycle, data to be transmitted to the terminal device is buffered. Note that the buffering at the access point AP is continued for a preset period (for example, until PS Poll is received or for a predetermined time) after the Listen Interval “3” has elapsed.

  In the wireless terminal device in which the Listen Interval is set in this way, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10, and the beacon signal transmitted from the access point AP is a cycle corresponding to the Listen Interval “3”. The receiving process is started (sequence S206). On the other hand, the access point AP repeatedly transmits a beacon signal at a predetermined period corresponding to Listen Interval “1”.

  Eventually, when a communication attempt occurs in response to a request from the user through the operation unit 40 (sequence S207), the communication control unit 100a performs the process illustrated in FIG. Hereinafter, processing for determining the Listen Interval will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step 4a, the communication control unit 100a determines whether or not the backlight of the display unit 20 is normally lit by the control unit 100 (in the case of an organic EL display, normal lighting is performed). That is, it is detected whether the operation state of the display unit 20 is a low power consumption state.

  Here, when the backlight is normally lit (the organic EL display is normally lit), the process proceeds to step 4b. On the other hand, the backlight is not normally lit (dimming or extinguishing. Organic EL). In the case of a display, if the brightness is reduced or the lamp is turned off), the process proceeds to step 4c.

  In step 4b, the communication control unit 100a detects the type of communication (access category) to be performed. Here, when the access category is voice communication, the process proceeds to step 4g, and when the streaming video data is received, the process proceeds to step 4f. Also, in the case of best effort type communication for Web browsing, etc., the process proceeds to step 4e, and in the case where downloading is performed in the background by operating in parallel with another function, the process proceeds to step 4d. .

In step 4c, the communication control unit 100a sets the Listen Interval to “5”, and proceeds to step 4h.
In step 4d, the communication control unit 100a sets Listen Interval to “4”, and proceeds to step 4h.
In step 4e, the communication control unit 100a sets the Listen Interval to “3”, and proceeds to step 4h.
In step 4f, the communication control unit 100a sets Listen Interval to “2”, and proceeds to step 4h.
In step 4g, the communication control unit 100a sets the Listen Interval to “1”, and proceeds to step 4h.

  In step 4h, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10 to transmit a Reassociation Request as shown in FIG. 5 to the access point AP (sequence S208). As the Listen Interval, the value set in any of Steps 4c to 4g is transmitted.

  The access point AP that has received the Reassociation Request from the wireless terminal device transmits a Reassociation Response as shown in FIG. 6 to the wireless terminal device (sequence S209). The access point AP recognizes that the wireless terminal device receives a beacon at a period corresponding to the value of the Listen Interval notified from the wireless terminal apparatus, and thereafter addresses the terminal apparatus for a period based on this period. Buffer data to send to Note that the buffering at the access point AP is continued for a preset period (for example, until a PS Poll is received or for a predetermined time) after the Listen Interval has elapsed.

  In the wireless terminal device in which the Listen Interval is set in this way, the communication control unit 100a controls the wireless communication unit 10, and in a cycle corresponding to the Listen Interval in which the beacon signal transmitted from the access point AP is transmitted in sequence S208. The process of periodically receiving is started (sequence S210). On the other hand, the access point AP repeatedly transmits a beacon signal at a predetermined period corresponding to Listen Interval “1”.

  Thereafter, the communication control unit 100a monitors the communication with the access point AP and the lighting / extinguishing (darkening) of the backlight (in the case of an organic EL display, whether or not normal lighting is performed). When the communication type is changed or when the operation state (power consumption state) of the display unit 20 is changed, a reception cycle corresponding to the communication type is determined, and the Listen corresponding to the reception cycle is determined for the access point AP. Notification to switch to Interval.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, when the backlight is turned off, it is assumed that the user is not operating the wireless terminal device or the communication is not performed, and the reception cycle of the beacon signal is set. For example, when the voice communication is started thereafter, the reception period of the beacon signal is shortened.

  As described above, in the wireless terminal device having the above-described configuration, it is transmitted from the access point AP according to the operation state (whether it is in a low power consumption state) of the display unit 20 linked to a user operation or the like and the type of communication. A reception interval (Listen Interval) of the beacon signal is determined, and this is notified to the access point AP, and the beacon signal is received at the reception cycle.

  Therefore, according to the wireless terminal device having the above-described configuration, the beacon signal is received at an appropriate period according to the operating state of the display unit 20 and the type of communication, so excessive beacon reception is suppressed and power consumption is reduced. can do. In addition, since it can be applied to communication protocols compliant with existing standards, it is compatible with existing systems and is highly versatile.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. Further, for example, a configuration in which some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment is also conceivable. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component described in different embodiment.

The circuit block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the radio | wireless terminal apparatus concerning this invention. The figure which shows the sequence of the communication performed between the radio | wireless terminal apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and an access point. The figure which shows an example of the data transmitted toward the access point from the radio | wireless terminal apparatus shown in FIG. The flowchart for the radio | wireless terminal apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to determine a beacon receiving period. The figure which shows an example of the data transmitted toward the access point from the radio | wireless terminal apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows an example of the data transmitted toward the wireless terminal device shown in FIG. 1 from the access point. The figure for demonstrating the operation | movement which the radio | wireless terminal apparatus shown in FIG. 1 changes a beacon reception period.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Wireless communication part, 20 ... Display part, 30 ... Audio | voice signal processing part, 31 ... Speaker, 32 ... Microphone, 40 ... Operation part, 50 ... Memory | storage part, 100 ... Control part, 100a ... Communication control part, AP ... Access point.

Claims (5)

In a wireless terminal device that wirelessly communicates with a base station device accommodated in a network,
Receiving means for receiving a beacon signal transmitted at a predetermined period from the base station device;
Display means for visually displaying information;
Detecting means for detecting the power consumption state of the display means;
In accordance with the determination result of the detection means, a period determining means for determining a period for receiving the beacon;
A wireless terminal apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the receiving means so as to receive the beacon signal at a period determined by the period determining means. In a wireless terminal device that wirelessly communicates with a base station device accommodated in a network,
A communication means for receiving a beacon signal transmitted at a predetermined cycle from the base station apparatus or selectively performing one of a plurality of types of communication;
Detecting means for detecting a type of communication performed by the communication means;
According to the type of communication detected by the detecting means, a period determining means for determining a period for receiving the beacon;
A wireless terminal apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the receiving means so as to receive the beacon signal at a period determined by the period determining means.   The radio terminal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the period determined by the period determination unit to the base station apparatus. Furthermore, it has a receiving means for receiving a request from the user,
The wireless terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit performs detection when the reception unit receives a request from a user. Furthermore, it has a receiving means for receiving a request from the user,
The wireless terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit performs detection when the reception unit receives a request to start communication from a user.

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