JP2014022809A - Communication information providing system, information providing apparatus, terminal and wireless access point selection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication information providing system, etc. capable of selecting an access point appropriate for a user.SOLUTION: The communication information providing system includes plural DNS servers 2 and plural wireless access points 3 to provide communication information to a terminal 1. Each of the DNS servers 2 acquires a piece of communication information on the wireless access points 3 to which the DNS servers 2 can access and shares a piece of communication information on plural wireless access points 3 with other DNS servers 2. Each of the DNS servers 2 holds the communication information on plural wireless access points shared by the DNS servers 2, extracts a piece of communication information on the wireless access point 3 from the held communication information responding to an inquiry from the terminal 1, and provide the same to the inquiring terminal 1. The terminal 1 makes a connection temporally to a desired wireless access point 3 to make an inquiry, and presents the provided communication information on the plural wireless access points 3 to a user.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication information providing system for providing communication information, an information providing apparatus, a terminal, and a method for selecting a wireless access point.

  A communication system capable of selecting an access point is known from Patent Document 1 below.

  When it is detected that the user terminal can communicate with another communication network at the destination, the communication system generates communication media selection information related to the communication network. The user terminal determines whether to switch the access network based on the communication media selection information.

  Further, when receiving a wireless connection service, the mobile terminal owned by the user searches for an access point by itself. If the access point can be found, the mobile terminal temporarily connects to the access point and performs authentication processing. The mobile terminal starts the communication and connects to the Internet after performing payment registration in the authentication process.

JP 2003-163679 A

  In recent years, there are a large number of service providers that provide wireless connection services by the communication system as described above. Each service provider arranges a plurality of access points at various locations.

  However, unless this communication is started, the access point congestion status and charges are not clearly understood. Therefore, after this communication, a sufficient communication band cannot be ensured and low-speed communication is unavoidable, resulting in a high connection cost.

  Further, even when a plurality of access points can be connected and the user can select them, it is not possible to obtain access point congestion status and fee information at the temporary connection stage. For this reason, it is difficult to select an appropriate access point.

  Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described circumstances, and a communication information providing system, an information providing apparatus, a terminal, and a wireless access point selection method capable of selecting an appropriate access point for a user The purpose is to provide.

  The communication information providing system according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided in a DNS (Domain Name System) server, a plurality of wireless access points capable of communicating with the DNS server, the DNS server or the wireless access point, Communication information holding means for holding communication information that is information related to the wireless access point and that allows an arbitrary wireless access point to be selected by a terminal, and provided in the DNS server or the wireless access point, In response to an inquiry from a terminal to be connected, communication information relating to the wireless access point is extracted from the communication information holding means and provided to a terminal that has made the inquiry.

  A communication information providing system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to the first aspect, comprising a plurality of the DNS servers, each DNS server relating to the wireless access point to which the DNS server can connect. The communication information is acquired, and the communication information regarding the plurality of wireless access points is shared with other DNS servers, and the communication information holding unit is configured to share a plurality of communication information held by the DNS server. It holds communication information related to the wireless access point.

  A communication information providing system according to a third aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to the first or second aspect, wherein the communication information related to the wireless access point includes a connection fee, a connected number, or a communication speed. It is characterized by including at least one.

  A communication information providing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to the third aspect, wherein the communication information related to the wireless access point is identification information for identifying a category to which the wireless access point belongs. It is characterized by including.

  A communication information providing system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to the third or fourth aspect, wherein the communication status included in the communication information related to the wireless access point is set at a predetermined time interval. It is characterized by updating with.

  A communication information providing system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the communication information related to the wireless access point is position information of the wireless access point. The information providing means, when receiving an inquiry including location information and a search range from the terminal, based on the location information of the terminal and the location information of the wireless access point, from the terminal to the search range A wireless access point located is extracted, and communication information related to the extracted wireless access point is provided.

  A communication information providing system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the wireless access point has the communication information provided by the wireless access point. It includes information indicating whether or not the terminal provides information that enables connection to the wireless access point.

  A communication information providing system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the communication information providing system according to any one of the third to seventh aspects, wherein the communication information holding means is communication history information of the wireless access point. The information providing means provides communication history information of the wireless access point held by the communication information holding means.

  The information providing apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is information related to a plurality of the wireless access points acquired by a DNS (Domain Name System) server, and enables communication information to be selected by a terminal. Communication information holding means for holding communication information related to the plurality of wireless access points, and communication information related to the wireless access points are held by the communication information holding means in response to an inquiry from the terminal. It is characterized by comprising information providing means extracted from the communication information and provided to the terminal that made the inquiry.

  The terminal according to the tenth aspect of the present invention holds communication information that enables a DNS (Domain Name System) server or a wireless access point to select any wireless access point by the terminal, which is information related to the wireless access point In addition, in response to an inquiry from a terminal, a terminal in a communication information providing system comprising: extracting communication information related to the wireless access point from the communication information holding unit and providing the extracted information to the inquired terminal. Information presenting means for presenting to the user communication information related to the wireless access point, and selection means for selecting one of the wireless access points based on the communication information related to the wireless access point presented by the information presenting means. It is characterized by having.

  The wireless access point selection method according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention is a DNS (Domain Name System) server or a wireless access point that is information on a plurality of the wireless access points, and an arbitrary wireless access point can be selected by a terminal. In the state where the communication information is held in the communication information holding unit, the terminal temporarily holds a connection to an arbitrary wireless access point, and the communication information holding unit holds the communication information in response to the inquiry transmitted from the terminal. Extracting communication information related to wireless access points to which the terminal can be connected from communication information of a plurality of wireless access points being transmitted, and transmitting the communication information related to the extracted wireless access points to the terminal; Communication information related to the plurality of wireless access points by the terminal. And performing the steps of a selectable and presented to the user.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide communication information related to a plurality of wireless access points when temporarily connected by a terminal, and therefore it is possible to select an appropriate access point for the user.

1 is a system diagram showing a configuration of a communication information providing system shown as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of each part of the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of each part in the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence until a user terminal connects to the internet network in the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a system figure which shows providing the communication information of a some wireless access point. (A) is a domain name registered in the DNS server, (b) is text data as communication information related to a wireless access point registered under the domain name, and (c) is charge information registered under the domain name. FIG. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a sequence diagram which shows the process which registers the communication information of a wireless access point according to the request | requirement of a DNS server. It is a flowchart which shows the process which registers the communication information of a wireless access point according to the request | requirement of a DNS server in the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a sequence diagram which shows the process which registers the communication information of a wireless access point according to the request | requirement of a wireless access point. 5 is a flowchart showing processing for registering communication information of a wireless access point in response to a request from the wireless access point in the communication information providing system shown as an embodiment of the present invention. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, a wireless access point itself is a sequence diagram which shows the process which registers own communication information. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a sequence diagram which shows a process when there is no request | requirement which updates the communication information regarding a wireless access point. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a system figure which shows providing the communication information of a wireless access point according to the position and search range of a user terminal. (A) is a figure which shows a domain name, (b) is a figure which shows the IPv6 address of the wireless access point registered under the domain name. (A) is a domain name, (b) is a figure which shows the positional information on the wireless access point registered under the domain name. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a sequence diagram which shows the process in which a DNS server returns the list | wrist of a wireless access point according to the request | requirement containing the position and search range of a user terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the process in which a DNS server returns the list | wrist of a wireless access point according to the request | requirement containing the position and search range of a communication information provision system user terminal shown as embodiment of this invention. In the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a sequence diagram which shows a mode that ID of the stealth mode wireless access point is not transmitted to a user terminal. It is a figure which shows the communication history information of a wireless access point in the communication information provision system shown as embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The present invention is applied to a communication information providing system configured as shown in FIG. 1, for example. This communication information providing system includes a user terminal 1, a plurality of DNS servers 2A, 2B, 2C (hereinafter simply referred to as “DNS server 2” when collectively referred to) and a plurality of wireless access points 3A, 3B ( Hereinafter, the term “radio access point 3” and “AP” are also included. This communication information providing system transmits communication information about the wireless access point 3 to the user terminal 1 before the user terminal 1 makes a main connection to the wireless access point 3, and presents a plurality of wireless access points 3 to the user terminal 1. It is possible. That is, the communication information related to the wireless access point 3 is information related to the wireless access point 3 and information that allows the user terminal 1 to select an arbitrary wireless access point 3.

  Each part which comprises a communication information provision system has each functional part as shown, for example in FIG. The user terminal 1, the DNS server 2, and the wireless access point 3 are actually composed of a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, etc., but can be realized by the CPU performing processing according to a program stored in the ROM. The function will be described as a block.

  The user terminal 1 is a portable personal computer, a smartphone, or the like owned by the user. The user terminal 1 includes an AP information acquisition unit 11, an AP information display unit 12, an AP selection information acquisition unit 13, and a radio control unit 14.

  The AP information acquisition unit 11 is a wired communication I / F that operates according to a predetermined protocol. The AP information acquisition unit 11 communicates with the DNS server 2 to acquire communication information regarding the wireless access point 3. The AP information display unit 12 displays communication information and the like related to the wireless access point 3 acquired by the AP information acquisition unit 11 on the display (information presentation unit). Thereby, the user terminal 1 can display communication information of a plurality of wireless access points 3.

  The AP selection information acquisition unit 13 receives an operation for selecting the wireless access point 3 by the user. The AP selection information acquisition unit 13 acquires selection information as a selection result of the wireless access point 3 and supplies it to the wireless control unit 14 (selection means). The wireless control unit 14 is a wireless communication I / F that operates according to a predetermined protocol. The wireless control unit 14 performs wireless communication with the wireless access point 3. The wireless control unit 14 acquires selection information of the wireless access point 3 from the AP selection information acquisition unit 13. Based on the selection information, the wireless control unit 14 performs wireless communication with the wireless access point 3 selected by the user to connect the user terminal 1 to the Internet. Thereby, the user terminal 1 can be connected to the wireless access point 3 desired by the user.

  The wireless access point 3 connects a plurality of user terminals 1 and the DNS server 2. The wireless access point 3 includes a reception buffer 31, an information acquisition unit 32, and an information transmission unit 33. The wireless access point 3 relays information supplied from the user terminal 1 and sends it to the Internet network, and relays information addressed to the user terminal 1 to the user terminal 1.

  Further, the wireless access point 3 may supply communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 to the user terminal 1 instead of the DNS server 2. The wireless access point 3 receives communication information related to the wireless access point 3 supplied from the DNS server 2 by the reception buffer 31. The information acquisition unit 32 acquires communication information and the like related to the wireless access point 3 received and stored by the reception buffer 31. The information transmission unit 33 transmits communication information and the like regarding the wireless access point 3 acquired by the information acquisition unit 32 to the user terminal 1. The communication information registration process regarding the wireless access point 3 will be described later.

  The DNS server 2 includes a reception buffer 21, a request information control unit 22, a registration unit 23, a request information acquisition unit 24, an AP information extraction unit 25, a storage unit 26, and an information transmission unit 27. The reception buffer 21 is connected to another DNS server 2 via the Internet network.

  When the host name is input, the DNS server 2 searches for the IP address of the DNS server 2 and provides the IP address. The DNS server 2 has a management function for the wireless access point 3 in addition to the name resolution function. The DNS server 2 realizes the management function of the wireless access point 3 by communication for normal Internet connection.

  The DNS server 2 acquires communication information related to the wireless access point 3 to which the DNS server 2 can connect by using the reception buffer 21. Also, the DNS server 2 acquires communication information and the like regarding the wireless access point 3 to which the other DNS server 2 can be connected from the other DNS server 2. Communication information and the like regarding the wireless access point 3 acquired by the reception buffer 21 is stored and held in the storage unit 26.

  As a result, the DNS server 2 exchanges communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 with other DNS servers 2 and shares it. The DNS server 2 manages communication information related to the shared wireless access point 3 so as to keep the latest information. The DNS server 2 supplies communication information regarding the shared wireless access point 3 to the user terminal 1 via the wireless access point 3. Note that the DNS server 2 may manage communication information related to the wireless access point 3 by a single unit if the DNS server 2 is not the same carrier. Also, the DNS server 2 can provide communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 directly to the user terminal 1.

  Further, the reception buffer 21 receives a registration request for registering communication information related to the wireless access point 3 in the DNS server 2 from the wireless access point 3. The registration request stored in the reception buffer 21 is supplied to the request information control unit 22. The request information control unit 22 controls to update the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 every predetermined time. In particular, the number of connected devices and the average communication bandwidth are updated regularly. The registration unit 23 stores the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 acquired by the request information control unit 22 in the storage unit 26 so as to register it. The communication information registration process regarding the wireless access point 3 will be described later.

  Further, the reception buffer 21 is supplied with a request for acquiring communication information and the like related to the wireless access point 3 from the user terminal 1. The request for communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 is acquired by the request information acquisition unit 24. The request information acquisition unit 24 extracts communication information related to the wireless access point 3 corresponding to the request from the communication information related to the wireless access point 3 held in the storage unit 26. The extracted communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 is sent to the wireless access point 3 or the user terminal 1 via the information sending unit 27.

  In such a communication information providing system, as shown in FIG. 3, the user terminal 1 connects to the wireless access point 3, and the wireless access point 3 connects to the DNS server 2. In this communication information providing system, the DNS server 2 and the wireless access point 3 function as an information providing apparatus including communication information holding means and information providing means of the wireless access point 3. These information holding means and information providing means may be in the wireless access point 3 or the DNS server 2. When the information providing means is in the DNS server 2 or when the user terminal 1 acquires communication information in advance using wired communication, the user terminal 1 does not directly inquire the DNS server 2, but the wireless access point 3 or the like. Contact us via In such a connection relationship, the management method of communication information related to the wireless access point 3 includes a wireless access point method and a DNS method. This management method will be described later.

  In the wireless access point system, it is necessary to add a DNS simple function to the wireless access point 3. As a result, only communication information related to the own wireless access point 3 is managed and provided to the user terminal 1. The DNS system applies DNS IP address management functions to manage communication information related to the wireless access point 3 and provides it to the user terminal 1. The communication information providing system as the present embodiment may be any method.

  Also, there are AP push type and DNS pull type as registration methods of communication information related to the wireless access point 3 to the DNS server 2. In the AP push type, a function is added to the wireless access point 3, and the wireless access point 3 actively registers communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 in the DNS server 2. The DNS pull type adds a function to the DNS server 2, and the DNS server 2 actively acquires information from the wireless access point 3 and registers it. In any registration method, for example, the communication information related to the wireless access point 3 is updated and registered periodically every 30 minutes.

  The wireless access point 3 and the DNS server 2 have a function of holding communication information related to the wireless access point 3 and a function of providing communication information related to the wireless access point 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in this communication information providing system, first, (1) the user terminal 1 temporarily connects to an arbitrary wireless access point 3. It is desirable that the wireless access point 3 to be temporarily connected can be connected free of charge although the communication speed is low. Next, (2a) the user terminal 1 acquires communication information related to the wireless access point 3. Thereby, (2b) the user terminal 1 can acquire the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 and present it to the user (information presenting means), and can select the wireless access point 3 as a connection destination (selecting means). Thereafter, (3) the selected wireless access point 3 registers the information of the user terminal 1 in the DNS server 2 set in advance. As a result, the user terminal 1 can connect to the Internet network via the wireless access point 3 and the DNS server 2 and receive the wireless connection service of the wireless access point 3.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 showing a method of selecting a wireless access point, first, the user terminal 1 transmits a connection request C1 to the wireless access point 3 for temporary connection to the wireless access point 3. Thereby, the user terminal 1 inquires whether there is a connectable wireless access point 3. The wireless access point 3 returns a response R1 for permitting temporary connection to the user terminal 1 in response to receiving the connection request C1.

  Next, the user terminal 1 transmits an information request C <b> 2 to the wireless access point 3 in order to acquire communication information (also referred to as wireless information) regarding the wireless access point 3. Upon receiving the information request C2, the wireless access point 3 transfers the information request C2 to the DNS server 2 that manages communication information related to the wireless access point 3. When the DNS server 2 receives the information request C2, the DNS server 2 returns communication information related to the wireless access point 3 managed by the DNS server 2 to the wireless access point 3 as a response R2. When the wireless access point 3 receives the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 as the response R2 from the DNS server 2, the wireless access point 3 transfers the response R2 to the user terminal 1.

  Thereby, the user terminal 1 acquires the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 to which the user terminal 1 can connect. Further, the user terminal 1 displays communication information related to the wireless access point 3 to which the user terminal 1 can be connected by the AP information display unit 12. Further, the user terminal 1 is selected to accept a user operation and connect to any one of the wireless access points 3.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that there are three wireless access points 3A, 3B, and 3C to which the user terminal 1 can be connected. The communication information related to the wireless access point 3A has a cost: 0.085 yen / packet, the number of connected terminals: 10, and an average use bandwidth: 4000 kbps. The communication information related to the wireless access point 3B has a cost: 0.05 yen / packet, the number of connected terminals: 20, and an average use band: 800 kbps. The communication information related to the wireless access point 3C has a cost of 0.055 yen / packet, the number of connected terminals: 16, and an average use band: 1800 kbps. Therefore, the user terminal 1 can present information indicating the communication status of these wireless access points 3A, 3B, 3C to the user.

  The communication information related to the wireless access point 3 may be information that enables the user terminal 1 to select the wireless access point 3. Therefore, the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 may include a wireless access point name or an IP address. The cost is shown per packet, but may be per hour. For example, the cost may be expressed as 10 yen / minute. Further, in FIG. 5, the DNS server 2 is connected to each wireless access point 3, but there may be one DNS server 2 or may be provided for each communication carrier.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the user terminal 1 then transmits a registration request C <b> 3 for registering information of the user terminal 1 to the selected wireless access point 3 to the wireless access point 3. The information of the user terminal 1 is a user name, a password, and the like necessary for fee payment generated by using the wireless access point 3. When the wireless access point 3 registers the information of the user terminal 1 in response to the registration request C3, the wireless access point 3 returns a response R3 to the user terminal 1. At this time, the wireless access point 3 transmits registration information of the user terminal 1 to the DNS server 2. The wireless access point 3 performs fee payment registration in which the user terminal 1 connects to the Internet network and pays a fee. As a result, the user terminal 1 enters the main connection state in which connection to the Internet network is possible via the wireless access point 3.

  As described above, the user terminal 1 presents communication information related to the wireless access point 3 to the user at the temporary connection stage. As a result, the user can select the wireless access point 3A that has a high cost but a small number of connected terminals and a large average bandwidth.

  Note that the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 inquired by the user terminal 1 may include at least one of a connection fee, the number of connections, or a communication speed.

  Further, the communication information related to the wireless access point 3 inquired by the user terminal 1 may include identification information for identifying the category to which the wireless access point 3 belongs. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the DNS server 2 forms a domain name “<ap name>. <Vender> .ap.info”, and registers communication information related to the wireless access point 3 under the domain name. In this domain name, <ap name> is an identifier that identifies the wireless access point 3. <vender> is an identifier that identifies the business operator. These are identification information for identifying the category to which the wireless access point 3 belongs. The identification information of the wireless access point 3 may be an area in which wireless communication is possible (coverable) centering on the position where the wireless access point 3 is installed.

  The communication information related to the wireless access point 3 registered under the domain name is described as shown in FIG. 6B, for example. The DNS server 2 registers information to be registered in the DNS server 2 with the TXT record structure. The DNS server 2 registers “TXT <information>” as text data in association with “<info tag>” as an identifier for specifying communication information related to the wireless access point 3. Various information regarding the wireless access point 3 can be written in the text data. The text data is also associated with identification information for identifying the category to which the wireless access point 3 which is a domain name belongs in this example. Thereby, even if there are many DNS servers 2 that can be connected to the DNS server 2, each wireless access point 3 can be managed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, for example, when registering the connection fee information of the wireless access point 3, “cost” as text data is added to “cost” as an identifier indicating cost information. Can be registered.

  Next, registration of communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 as wireless information in the DNS server 2 in the communication information providing system described above will be described.

  The registration process of communication information related to the wireless access point 3 shown in FIG. 7 is a pull method in which the DNS server 2 inquires the wireless access point 3. In this method, the IP address of the wireless access point 3 is registered in advance in the DNS server 2. Then, at a predetermined time interval, the DNS server 2 transmits a communication information registration request C11 regarding the wireless access point 3 as wireless information to the wireless access point 3. At this time, the DNS server 2 obtains a list of wireless access points 3 prepared in advance as shown in FIG. 8 (step S11). This list of wireless access points 3 may be created by accessing the DNS server 2 or may be entered by an administrator. In addition, when there are a plurality of wireless access points 3 to which the user terminal 1 can be connected, the communication information may be acquired by connecting to each wireless access point 3.

  When receiving the registration request C11, the wireless access point 3 acquires its communication status, cost, identification information, and the like. The wireless access point 3 returns a response R11 including a registration request for the acquired communication information and the like to the DNS server 2.

  Thereby, the DNS server 2 can acquire the communication information etc. regarding the received wireless access point 3 (step S12) and register (step S13). The DNS server 2 acquires communication information and the like of all the wireless access points 3 and determines whether or not the list of wireless access points 3 is over (step S14). If the list of wireless access points 3 is not over, steps S12 and S13 are repeated.

  When the list of wireless access points 3 is finished, it is determined whether or not a predetermined interval such as 30 minutes has passed (step S15). When the predetermined interval elapses, the process proceeds to step S11, and updating of communication information and the like related to the wireless access point 3 is resumed. The DNS server 2 transmits a registration request C11. On the other hand, if it is determined that the registration process of the DNS server 2 is to be terminated, the process is terminated (step S16).

  As described above, the DNS server 2 can maintain the latest communication information about the wireless access point 3 to which the DNS server 2 can be directly connected.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the DNS server 2 may adopt a push method for registering communication information and the like regarding the wireless access point 3 in response to a registration request C21 from the wireless access point 3. Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the wireless access point 3 generates communication information and the like regarding the wireless access point 3 registered in the DNS server 2 (step S21). At this time, the wireless access point 3 measures, for example, the number of connected devices and the communication speed.

  The wireless access point 3 transmits communication information and the like related to the generated wireless access point 3 to the DNS server 2 (step S22). At this time, the wireless access point 3 transmits communication information related to the wireless access point 3 to a preset IP address of the DNS server 2. When the DNS server 2 registers the communication information related to the wireless access point 3, the DNS server 2 returns a registration result R21 to the wireless access point 3.

  Thereafter, the wireless access point 3 performs steps S21 and S22 when a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has elapsed since the transmission of the communication information related to the wireless access point 3 and the like (step S23). Thereafter, when it is determined that the registration process of communication information related to the wireless access point 3 is to be terminated, the process is terminated (step S24).

  As described above, the wireless access point can transmit its own communication status or the like to the DNS server 2 and keep it up to date.

  Further, when the wireless access point 3 directly transmits its own communication status or the like to the user terminal 1, it acquires and updates its own communication status or the like at predetermined intervals as shown in FIG. . At this time, the wireless access point 3 acquires and updates not only the wireless access point 3 but also the communication status of other wireless access points 3. For this purpose, the wireless access point 3 adds a simple DNS function in advance and validates the function. This simple DNS function has only a part of the minimum necessary functions of the DNS server 2.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, it is desirable that the DNS server 2 confirms the existence when the information update request C31 is not transmitted from the wireless access point 3. For example, when the information update request C31 is transmitted from the wireless access point 3 to the DNS server 2 in 30 minutes and the information update request C31 is not received for 60 minutes, the DNS server 2 A survival confirmation packet is transmitted to the access point 3. If there is no response to the survival confirmation packet, the DNS server 2 records the information on the assumption that the wireless access point 3 is not connected to the user terminal 1. Thereby, the DNS server 2 can manage the function stop of the wireless access point 3. The DNS server 2 can also share information by transmitting information indicating that the wireless access point 3 has stopped functioning to other DNS servers 2.

  As described above, according to this communication information providing system, communication information related to the wireless access point 3 can be presented before the user terminal 1 performs fee payment registration. Therefore, according to this communication information providing system, it is possible to select a wireless access point 3 appropriate for the user. Specifically, the communication information providing system can provide information on congestion status and usage charges in a unified manner before charges are generated. Therefore, the communication information providing system can select to connect to the wireless access point 3 having a wider communication band by avoiding the connection to the wireless access point 3 that is clearly congested before the fee payment.

  Further, according to this communication information providing system, it is possible to provide a connection fee, the number of connected devices, or a communication speed as communication information regarding the wireless access point 3. Therefore, according to this communication information providing system, it is possible to select the wireless access point 3 having the connection fee, the number of connections, or the communication speed desired by the user.

  Furthermore, according to this communication information providing system, identification information for identifying a category to which the wireless access point 3 belongs can be provided as communication information regarding the wireless access point 3. Therefore, according to this communication information providing system, it is possible to easily select a specific wireless access point 3 desired by the user. For example, it is possible to select static information such as a coverage area of the wireless access point 3 desired by the user and an operator operating the wireless access point 3. Furthermore, by having the operator name as part of the domain name, it is possible to obtain information on other wireless access points 3 for each operator by inquiring the DNS server 2 with the company name.

  Furthermore, according to this communication information provision system, the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 that is held can be updated periodically. Therefore, according to this communication information providing system, even if the number of connected wireless access points 3 and the average communication bandwidth fluctuate every moment, it is possible to provide communication information related to the wireless access point 3 reflecting the fluctuation. Therefore, according to the communication information providing system, a more appropriate wireless access point 3 can be selected for the user.

  In the communication information providing system described above, the communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 may include position information of the wireless access point 3. The DNS server 2 receives an inquiry including position information and a search range from the user terminal 1. In response to this, the DNS server 2 extracts the wireless access point 3 located in the search range from the user terminal 1 based on the position information of the user terminal 1 and the position information of the wireless access point 3. Thereby, the DNS server 2 provides communication information regarding the extracted wireless access point 3.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the user terminal 1 connects to a connectable wireless access point 3 </ b> A, and includes location information of the user terminal 1 and radius information as a search range in a query as a connection request. . The DNS server 2 receives a connection request transmitted from the user terminal 1 via the wireless access point 3. The DNS server 2 extracts the wireless access point 3 located in the search range of the designated radius from the position of the user terminal 1 included in the connection request. As a response, the user terminal 1 transmits a list of wireless access points 3 located in the search range of the specified radius from the user terminal 1. Thereby, the user terminal 1 can present to the user an undetected wireless access point 3D that is not within the communicable range.

  In such a communication information providing system, the DNS server 2 may register the wireless access point 3 with the position information embedded in a part of the IPv6 address. For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, an IPv6 address is registered under the domain name “<vender> .ap.info”. As shown in FIG. 14B, this IPv6 address is registered in correspondence with <ap name> as an identifier for specifying an access point. This IPv6 address includes a network prefix and an interface ID in which position information is embedded. Therefore, the DNS server 2 can acquire the location information of the wireless access point 3 from the IPv6 address corresponding to the domain name. A known technique for embedding location information in an IPv6 address can be used.

  In addition, the DNS server 2 provides an identifier indicating that the location information is as shown in FIG. 15B under the domain name that identifies the wireless access point 3 and the carrier as shown in FIG. May be. Corresponding to this identifier, position information is registered as text data. Thereby, the DNS server 2 can acquire position information corresponding to the wireless access point 3.

  Note that the position information of the wireless access point 3 may be coordinate values, map information, or any other information that can identify other positions. Further, the position information of the wireless access point 3 may be used as information for identifying the wireless access point 3.

  In such a communication information providing system, as shown in FIG. 16, (1) a search request including location information of the user terminal 1 and radius information as a search range is transmitted from the user terminal 1 to the wireless access point 3. . The wireless access point 3 transmits the received search request to the DNS server 2. Note that the search range may be a predetermined value or may be different depending on the user terminal 1. For example, the distance desired by the user can be set as the search range.

  The DNS server 2 receives the search request for the wireless access point 3 as shown in FIG. 17 (step S31). In response to this, the DNS server 2 acquires a list of stored wireless access points 3 (step S32). The DNS server 2 acquires position information regarding the wireless access point 3 sequentially from the beginning of the list of wireless access points 3 (step S34). The DNS server 2 compares the acquired position information with the conditions of the wireless access point 3 included in the search range from the position information of the user terminal 1 included in the search request (step S35). When there is a wireless access point 3 that matches the conditions of the wireless access point 3 (step S36), the DNS server 2 adds it to the list of wireless access points 3 to reply (step S37). The DNS server 2 ends the process when the processes in steps S34 to S37 are performed to the end of the list of the wireless access points 3 (step S33).

  According to such a communication information providing system, a request including the position of the user terminal 1 and the search range can be transmitted to acquire the communication status of the wireless access point 3 that can be used within the search range. Therefore, for example, even when there is no desired wireless access point 3 in the wireless communication range of the user terminal 1, the wireless access point 3 existing in the search range can be presented to the user. Further, according to this communication information providing system, even if there is no wireless access point 3 in the wireless communication range of the user terminal 1, if the user terminal 1 is directly connected to the DNS server 2, the wireless access point 3 is wired. The position of can be acquired. Further, according to the DNS server 2, the position of the wireless access point 3 near the user terminal 1 can be presented by presenting the position of the wireless access point 3 as identification information of the wireless access point 3. Thereby, the communication information provision system can make a user find the wireless access point 3 easily.

  Further, in the communication information providing system described above, whether or not the wireless access point 3 provides information such as an ID that allows the user terminal 1 to connect to the wireless access point as communication information of the wireless access point 3. It is desirable to include information.

  The normal wireless access point 3 in the communication information providing system described above periodically transmits a receivable ID to the user terminal 1 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the user terminal 1 can recognize that there is a wireless access point 3A that can be connected to the surroundings. However, the setting of the wireless access point 3B is in the stealth mode. This stealth mode is an operation mode in which no ID is transmitted to the surroundings. Therefore, only the user terminal 1 in which the ID is stored in advance or the user inputs can be connected to the wireless access point 3B.

  Thus, in the communication information providing system including the wireless access point 3 in the stealth mode, the DNS server 2 may hold the ID of the wireless access point 3 and the presence / absence of service provision as communication information regarding the wireless access point 3. . The presence or absence of this service is information indicating whether or not the wireless access point 3 provides information indicating that the user terminal 1 is connectable. “Present” of this service provision indicates that ID is transmitted by the wireless access point 3. On the other hand, “None” of service provision indicates that the wireless access point 3 does not transmit an ID. The status information of the wireless access point 3 including the presence / absence of service provision may be stored in the DNS server 2 as the communication status and identification information of the wireless access point 3.

  The user terminal 1 may request communication information of the wireless access point 3 that is in the stealth mode or the like in order to present information regarding the presence or absence of service provision. The user terminal 1 receives communication information related to the wireless access point 3 including presence / absence of service provision from the DNS server 2. Thereby, the user terminal 1 can recognize that the stealth mode wireless access point 3 exists at a connectable position. The user terminal 1 can be connected to the wireless access point 3 in the stealth mode in accordance with a user operation.

  According to such a communication information providing system, not only the wireless access point 3 that can be automatically detected but also communication information regarding the wireless access point 3 in the stealth mode can be acquired. Therefore, according to this communication information providing system, even when the wireless access point 3 is operating in the stealth mode, it can be confirmed that the user terminal 1 provides a service by referring to the state information of the wireless access point 3. . Thereby, the user can discover the wireless access point 3 in the stealth mode without prior information from the business operator, and can easily connect to the wireless access point 3 operating in the stealth mode.

  Furthermore, in the communication information providing system described above, communication history information of the wireless access point 3 may be held as communication information regarding the wireless access point 3. The communication history information of the wireless access point 3 includes a change in the number of connected user terminals 1 with respect to time, as shown in FIG. According to this communication history information, there are times when the number of connected wireless access points 3 is small and the communication band is large. Note that the communication history information is desirably displayed on the user terminal 1 by visualization such as graphing. The visualization process of the communication history information may be performed by either the wireless access point 3 or the DNS server 2 or may be performed by the user terminal 1.

  The communication history information of the wireless access point 3 is measured by the wireless access point 3 in real time or every predetermined time. The wireless access point 3 transmits its own communication history information to the DNS server 2. Thereby, the DNS server 2 can register the communication history information of each wireless access point 3.

  As described above, the communication information providing system can provide the communication history information of the wireless access point 3 to the user terminal 1 from the wireless access point 3 or the DNS server 2. Therefore, the user terminal 1 can present to the user a time zone in which the communication band is large, a time zone in which communication is congested, and the like.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made depending on the design and the like as long as the technical idea according to the present invention is not deviated from this embodiment. Of course, it is possible to change.

1 User terminal 2 DNS server (communication information holding means, information providing means)
3 Wireless access points (communication information holding means, information providing means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 AP information acquisition part 12 AP information display part 13 AP selection information acquisition part 14 Radio control part 21 Reception buffer 22 Request information control part 23 Registration part 24 Request information acquisition part 25 AP information extraction part 26 Storage part 27 Information transmission part 31 Reception Buffer 32 Information acquisition unit 33 Information transmission unit

Claims (11)

A DNS (Domain Name System) server;
A plurality of wireless access points capable of communicating with the DNS server;
A communication information holding unit that is provided in the DNS server or the wireless access point and holds communication information that is information related to the wireless access point and allows a terminal to select an arbitrary wireless access point;
A terminal that is provided in the DNS server or the wireless access point and extracts communication information about the wireless access point from the communication information holding means in response to an inquiry from a terminal connected to an arbitrary wireless access point, and makes the inquiry A communication information providing system comprising: an information providing means for providing the information. A plurality of DNS servers;
Each DNS server acquires the communication information related to the wireless access point to which the DNS server can connect, and also shares the communication information related to the plurality of wireless access points with other DNS servers,
The communication information providing system, wherein the communication information holding unit holds communication information related to a plurality of the wireless access points shared by the DNS server.   The communication information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication information related to the wireless access point includes at least one of a connection fee, the number of connections, or a communication speed.   The communication information providing system according to claim 3, wherein the communication information related to the wireless access point includes identification information for identifying a category to which the wireless access point belongs.   5. The communication information providing system according to claim 3, wherein the communication information holding unit updates a communication state included in communication information related to the wireless access point at a predetermined time interval. The communication information related to the wireless access point includes location information of the wireless access point,
The information providing means, when receiving an inquiry including position information and a search range from the terminal, based on the position information of the terminal and the position information of the wireless access point, wireless information located in the search range from the terminal The communication information providing system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein an access point is extracted and communication information related to the extracted wireless access point is provided.   The communication information of the wireless access point includes information indicating whether or not the wireless access point provides information that enables the terminal to connect to the wireless access point. The communication information providing system according to any one of the above. The communication information holding means holds communication history information of the wireless access point,
The communication information providing system according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the information providing unit provides communication history information of the wireless access point held by the communication information holding unit. . Information relating to a plurality of wireless access points acquired by a DNS (Domain Name System) server, communication information enabling selection of an arbitrary wireless access point by a terminal is acquired, and communication information relating to the plurality of wireless access points is obtained. Communication information holding means for holding;
In response to an inquiry from the terminal, the communication information related to the wireless access point is extracted from the communication information held by the communication information holding means, and provided to the terminal that has made the inquiry A characteristic information providing apparatus. A DNS (Domain Name System) server or wireless access point holds communication information that is information about the wireless access point and allows the terminal to select an arbitrary wireless access point. In response to an inquiry from the terminal, A communication information providing system comprising: extracting communication information related to the wireless access point from the communication information holding means and providing the extracted information to a terminal that has made the inquiry.
Information presenting means for presenting communication information regarding the provided wireless access point to a user;
And a selection unit that selects any one of the wireless access points based on communication information related to the wireless access point presented by the information presentation unit. In a state where communication information holding means holds information related to a plurality of wireless access points by a DNS (Domain Name System) server or a wireless access point and allows a terminal to select an arbitrary wireless access point. ,
A terminal temporarily connecting to an arbitrary wireless access point;
In response to the inquiry transmitted from the terminal, the communication information related to the wireless access point to which the terminal can be connected is extracted from the communication information of the plurality of wireless access points held in the communication information holding unit. Transmitting communication information regarding the plurality of wireless access points to the terminal;
A method for selecting a wireless access point, comprising: a step of presenting communication information related to the plurality of wireless access points to a user so that the user can select the terminal.

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