JP2017028432A - Communication terminal and base station - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the consumption of radio resources and a load on a communication control device without having a representative communication terminal perform a relay process.SOLUTION: On the basis of a response from another communication terminal to a request by a short-range wireless communication unit 101, a transmission right management unit 104 makes communication by a radio communication unit 108 executable upon acquiring a transmission right. This allows a communication terminal to perform communication by a radio communication function when having a transmission right, and to avoid performing radio communication at the same time with another communication terminal. Therefore, the communication terminal can reduce the consumption of radio resources and a load on a network.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal that performs communication using short-range wireless communication and a base station that performs communication control for the communication terminal.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a parent communication terminal is defined among a plurality of communication terminals capable of short-range communication with each other, and the communication terminal is representative of an external network including communication of other communication terminals. A communication system for performing communication with is considered.

JP 2010-233104 A

  As in the technology described in Patent Document 1, one communication terminal for communicating with an external network relays communication of other communication terminals, thereby reducing radio resource consumption, C-Plane devices, etc. Although it becomes possible to reduce the load of the communication control device arranged in the core network, the following problems are considered.

  That is, there is a possibility that the selection process of how to select a representative communication terminal is complicated. In addition, it is necessary to send data in order to relay it to another communication terminal, and there is a problem in data confidentiality.

  Therefore, in the present invention, there is provided a communication terminal and a base station that can reduce the consumption of radio resources and the load on the communication control device without relay processing in a representative communication terminal. Objective.

  The communication terminal of the present invention is a communication terminal having a wireless communication function for performing communication via a base station, and a short-range wireless communication function for performing direct wireless communication with a communication partner in close proximity without using the base station. Based on a response from another communication terminal to the request by the short-range wireless communication function, a transmission right acquisition unit that acquires a transmission right, and when the transmission right is acquired by the transmission right acquisition unit, communication by the wireless communication function is performed. Communication control means for making the executable state.

  According to the present invention, when a transmission right is acquired based on a response from another communication terminal to a request by the short-range wireless communication function, a communication by the wireless communication function is made executable. As a result, communication by the wireless communication function can be executed when the transmission right is held, and wireless communication with other communication terminals can be avoided at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the consumption of radio resources and the load on the network. In addition, it is not necessary to decide a representative node to be a data relay device, and data confidentiality can be maintained.

  The communication terminal of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores terminal identification information indicating a transmission destination of the transmission right as a transmission group that shares a transmission right for executing the wireless communication function, and a communication by the communication control unit Or a transmission means for transmitting a transmission right to a communication terminal indicating terminal identification information stored in the storage means by the short-range wireless communication function after a predetermined time has elapsed after executing .

  According to the present invention, after performing communication by the wireless communication function or after a predetermined time has elapsed since acquiring the transmission right, the short-range wireless communication function transmits to the communication terminal indicating the terminal identification information stored in the storage means. Send rights. As a result, the transmission right can be turned in order, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the consumption of wireless resources and reduce the load on the network without performing wireless communication with other communication terminals at the same time.

  In addition, the communication terminal of the present invention includes a transmission unit that generates a transmission group by using the short-range wireless communication function or a subscription request signal indicating a request to join the transmission group, and the transmission by the short-range wireless communication function. Receiving means for receiving a permission signal indicating permission for the subscription request signal transmitted by the means, wherein the storage means transmits based on terminal identification information included in the permission signal received by the receiving means. The terminal identification information constituting the group is stored.

  According to the present invention, the short-range wireless communication function generates a transmission group or transmits a join request signal indicating a request to join the transmission group, receives a permission signal indicating permission for the transmission group, and is included in the permission signal. The terminal identification information constituting the transmission group is stored on the basis of the terminal identification information being stored. As a result, the communication terminals constituting the transmission group can be determined, and the transmission group can be easily determined.

  Further, the communication terminal of the present invention indicates that the communication terminal specified by the terminal identification information stored in the storage means is out of a position where it can function as a transmission right transmission destination. Judgment means for judging based on the communication status by the communication function is provided, and when the judgment means judges that the position has deviated from the position, the transmission means transmits a subscription request signal to reconfigure the transmission group.

  According to the present invention, the fact that the communication terminal specified by the terminal identification information stored in the storage means has deviated from the position where it can function as the transmission right transmission destination indicates that the communication status by the short-range wireless communication function If so, a join request signal is transmitted to reconfigure the transmission group. As a result, a transmission group sharing the transmission right can be reconfigured, and as a result, data transmission by the wireless communication function based on the transmission right can be performed in order.

  In the communication terminal according to the present invention, the communication control unit turns off power supply to the wireless communication function until the transmission right acquisition unit acquires the transmission right.

  According to the present invention, the power supply to the wireless communication function is turned off until the transmission right is acquired, so that standby power is not required and overall power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, the base station of the present invention has a history in which a receiving unit that receives a transmission request from a communication terminal, a transmission request received by the receiving unit, and terminal identification information of the communication terminal that is the transmission request source Based on the storage means for storing information and the history information stored in the storage means, whether or not the communication terminal that is the transmission request source received by the receiving means has made a transmission request at a frequency exceeding a predetermined value Determining means for determining whether or not a transmission request is made at a frequency exceeding a predetermined value by the determining means, and a rejecting means for rejecting the transmission request received by the receiving means.

  According to the present invention, history information that associates a transmission request with terminal identification information of a communication terminal that is the transmission request source is stored, and when there is a new transmission request, based on the history information, It is determined whether or not the communication terminal that is the transmission requester has made a transmission request with a frequency exceeding a predetermined value. If it is determined that a transmission request has been made with a frequency exceeding the predetermined value, the transmission request is rejected. Thereby, when there are many transmission rights and many transmission requests are performed as a result, the load of a network can be reduced. It is also possible to suppress transmission requests from communication terminals that do not belong to the group sharing the transmission right.

  Moreover, the base station of this invention memorize | stores the frequency of the transmission request from the some communication terminal as described in any one of Claim 2 to 4 which forms a transmission group for every the said communication terminal. Means, receiving means for receiving a transmission request from the communication terminal, and receiving the transmission request by the receiving means, transmission at each communication terminal based on the frequency of the transmission request stored in the frequency information storage means Execution means for executing processing for averaging the frequency.

  Further, according to the present invention, the frequency of transmission requests from the plurality of communication terminals forming the transmission group is stored for each communication terminal, and is stored when the transmission request from the communication terminal is received. Based on the frequency of the transmission request, a process for averaging the transmission frequency in each communication terminal is executed.

  For example, the number of transmission rights in the transmission group is added or reduced according to the transmission request intervals of the plurality of communication terminals, or the transmission request intervals of the plurality of communication terminals are equal to or less than a predetermined value. If it is determined, the communication terminal as the transmission request source is instructed to wait for a transmission request based on the transmission right so that the interval is longer than a predetermined value. Thereby, the transmission frequency based on the transmission right can be averaged.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid performing wireless communication with other communication terminals at the same time, and it is possible to reduce the consumption of wireless resources and the load on the network. In addition, it is not necessary to decide a representative node to be a data relay device, and data confidentiality can be maintained.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the outline | summary of the communication processing in the communication terminal 100 and base station 200 of this embodiment. The conceptual diagram when forming the ring-shaped topology which is a transmission group is shown. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the communication terminal 100 of this embodiment. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a communication terminal 100. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the transmission group information table memorize | stored in the transmission group information storage part. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a base station 200. FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when transmitting group information is formed initially. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when joining with respect to the already formed transmission group. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when the communication terminal 100d detaches | leaves from a transmission group. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when transmitting the transmission right between the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100d. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of the averaging process performed by base station 200. It is a sequence diagram which shows a process when the transmission request is rejected when the transmission request is a predetermined value or more. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the communication terminal 100e in a modification. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process of the communication terminal 100e and the communication terminal 100f in a modification.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of communication processing in the communication terminal 100 (communication terminal 100a to communication terminal 100d) and the base station 200 of the present embodiment. The communication terminal 100 is a portable terminal that can perform wireless communication, and can execute wireless communication using a wireless communication function via the base station 200. The communication terminals 100a to 100d can perform wireless communication using a short-range wireless communication function such as Bluetooth, and can directly perform wireless communication without going through the base station 200.

  And communication terminal 100a-communication terminal 100d can form a group for communication by performing near field communication. In the present embodiment, a ring-shaped topology can be formed. Further, any one communication terminal holds the transmission right, and only that one communication terminal can execute communication via the base station 200 based on the transmission right. When the one communication terminal finishes communication based on the transmission right, the transmission right is transferred to a predetermined communication terminal. The communication terminal that has received the transmission right can execute communication based on the transmission right.

  For example, when the communication terminal 100 a holds the transmission right, only the communication terminal 100 a among the communication terminals 100 a to 100 d can perform wireless communication via the base station 200. When the communication terminal 100a ends the communication based on the transmission right, the transmission right is transferred to a predetermined communication terminal belonging to the same transmission group. In the example of FIG. 1, the communication terminal 100a can transmit a transmission right to the communication terminal 100b. The paths P1 to P4 indicate transmission paths for transmission rights, and the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100d can sequentially perform transmission processing by the wireless communication function in the order shown in FIG. In addition, although FIG. 1 demonstrated the case where there was only one transmission right, you may prepare several transmission rights. For example, the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c each have a transmission right, and when the data transmission ends in each, the transmission right may be transferred.

  In this way, by transferring the transmission right within the ring-shaped topology, the communication terminal 100 can execute communication based on the transmission right in order, and the network and the communication control arranged there It is possible to reduce the load on the device and prevent the exhaustion of radio resources, and it is not necessary to determine a representative node as a data relay device, and the confidentiality of data can be maintained.

  FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram when forming a ring topology that is a transmission group. In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100d can form a topology in a ring shape by performing short-range wireless communication. In FIG. 2A, the communication terminals 100a to 100d perform short-range wireless communication with each other and store terminal identification information of communication terminals adjacent to each other, thereby forming a ring topology. Indicates that 2 (b) and 2 (c), in a state where such a topology is formed, the communication terminal 100d further performs a process for joining the already formed topology. It shows that a ring-shaped topology is included.

  FIG. 2 (d) shows a case where the communication terminal 100d is about to leave, and FIG. 2 (e) shows that the communication terminal 100d has finished leaving and is again in a ring shape among the communication terminals 100a to 100c. Indicates to form a topology.

  Thus, when forming a ring-shaped topology, the communication terminals can be dynamically replaced. Then, by transferring the transmission right within the topology formed dynamically as described above, the transmission right can be shared, and communication based on the transmission right can be executed in order. A communication terminal that forms such a ring topology and enables transmission based on the transmission right will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication terminal 100 (communication terminal 100a to communication terminal 100d) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication terminal 100 includes a short-range wireless communication unit 101 (short-range wireless communication function), a radio wave intensity determination unit 102 (determination unit), and a transmission group formation unit 103 (transmission unit, reception unit, transmission). Right acquisition unit), transmission right management unit 104 (transmission unit), transmission group information storage unit 105 (storage unit), communication control unit 106 (communication control unit), transmission data storage unit 107, and wireless communication unit 108 (wireless communication) Function).

  Note that the communication terminals 100a to 100d include the same configuration requirements, and the short-range wireless communication units 101a to 101d (short-range wireless communication function), the radio field strength determination units 102a to 102d (determination means), and the transmission group, respectively. Forming units 103a to 103d (transmission right acquisition means), transmission right management units 104a to 104d (transmission means), transmission group information storage units 105a to 105d (storage means), communication control units 106a to 106d (communication control means), transmission Data storage units 107a to 107d and wireless communication units 108a to 108d (wireless communication function) are used.

  FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the communication terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication terminal 100 shown in FIG. 3 physically includes one or a plurality of CPUs 11, a main memory RAM 12 and ROM 13, an input device 14 such as a touch panel or a numeric keypad, The computer system includes an output device 15 such as a display, a wireless communication unit 16 that performs communication via a public mobile communication network, an auxiliary storage device 17 such as a semiconductor memory, and a short-range wireless communication unit 18 that performs Bluetooth communication. ing. Each function in FIG. 3 has the input device 14, the output device 15, and the short-range wireless communication unit under the control of the CPU 11 by reading predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 11 and the RAM 12 shown in FIG. 4. 18. It is realized by operating the wireless communication unit 16 and reading and writing data in the RAM 12 and the auxiliary storage device 17. Hereinafter, each functional block will be described based on the functional blocks shown in FIG.

  The near field communication unit 101 is a part that communicates with other nearby communication terminals by near field communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The radio field strength determination unit 102 is a unit that determines the radio field strength of the received signal in the short-range wireless communication performed by the short-range wireless communication unit 101. Such a determination process is performed in order to form a ring-shaped topology (group) with a communication terminal that has generated a reception signal having a high radio wave intensity.

  The transmission group forming unit 103 is a part that generates a ring topology with other communication terminals 100 in order to define a group sharing the transmission right. This transmission group forming unit 103 performs the following processing when it is a side that makes a subscription request.

  In response to a user operation instruction, a subscription request signal is transmitted to the other communication terminals 100 (communication terminals 100b to 100c) around the communication terminal 100 (for example, the communication terminal 100a) using short-range wireless communication. . The other communication terminal 100 that has received this returns a permission signal in response thereto. Then, for a communication terminal that is a connection partner determined based on the radio wave intensity determined by the radio wave intensity determination unit 102, a join instruction signal including terminal identification information that identifies a communication terminal that forms a group is output. The permission signal which is the response is received. In this way, the transmission group forming unit 103 can determine a partner to which the transmission right is transmitted / received. At this time, the transmission group forming unit 103 determines two communication terminals 100 and acquires terminal identification information in each of them.

  In the case of the side responding to the subscription request, the following processing is performed. That is, the transmission group forming unit 103 returns a permission signal including information indicating that no group is formed via the short-range wireless communication unit 101 in response to the subscription request signal. Thereafter, when a join instruction signal is received, a permission signal including its own terminal identification information is returned. If a group has already been formed, information indicating that the group has been formed and terminal identification information of the communication terminal indicating the connection destination are returned in a permission signal.

  The communication terminal 100 that has received such a permission signal can perform a joining process by transmitting a join instruction signal corresponding to the permission signal to each communication terminal 100.

  Then, the transmission group forming unit 103 stores terminal identification information for identifying the two determined communication terminals 100 in the transmission group information storage unit 105. When the communication terminal is specified by Bluetooth, the identification address is stored as terminal identification information.

  Here, FIG. 5 shows a transmission group information table stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105. As shown in FIG. 5, this transmission group information table stores two pieces of terminal identification information as transmission destinations and transmission sources of transmission rights as transmission group information. Note that it is not necessary to determine a destination terminal or a source terminal, and when a transmission right is received from a communication terminal specified by one terminal identification information, transmission is performed to the communication terminal specified by the other terminal identification information. Control is performed such as sending the right.

  In addition, when the topology is formed in a ring shape as in this embodiment, two pieces of terminal identification information are stored. However, when the topology is formed with only two communication terminals, the terminal identification information is Only one will be stored.

  The transmission right management unit 104 is a part that generates a transmission right when a group is formed by the transmission group formation unit 103. That is, when a permission signal is received from another communication terminal, the transmission group is stored and a transmission right is generated. The transmission right is information indicating a right for enabling transmission by the wireless communication unit 108 simply.

  Then, when the communication by the wireless communication unit 108 based on the transmission right is performed, the transmission right management unit 104 transfers the generated transmission right according to the transmission group information table stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105. Do.

  Further, when the transmission right management unit 104 receives the transmission right from the other communication terminal 100 via the short-range wireless communication unit 101, the transmission right management unit 104 stores the transmission right and transmits data to the communication control unit 106 accordingly. Give instructions. When the end of data communication or a predetermined time elapses from the communication control unit 106, the terminal identification information of the other communication terminal 100 that has transmitted the transmission right is determined according to the transmission group information table stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105. The transmission right is transmitted to the communication terminal 100 specified by the other terminal identification information that is not present.

  Further, the transmission right management unit 104 manages the acquisition frequency of the transmission right. That is, the transmission right management unit 104 determines how often the transmission right is acquired, and if the transmission right is acquired at an interval of a predetermined time or more, the request processing is performed to increase the transmission right. To the base station 200.

  The communication control unit 106 is a part that performs control for transmitting the transmission data stored in the transmission data storage unit 107 via the wireless communication unit 108.

  The wireless communication unit 108 is a part that performs wireless communication via the base station 200. The wireless communication unit 108 can reduce the power consumption of the communication terminal 100 by turning on the power only when the transmission right is stored in accordance with the control by the transmission right management unit 104. In addition to the time when the transmission right management unit 104 acquires the transmission right, it is also possible to grasp the cycle in which the transmission right is transferred and control to turn on the power in advance based on the period.

Next, the base station 200 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the base station 200. The base station 200 includes a radio communication unit 201 (reception unit), a communication unit 202, a relay control unit 203, a history information storage unit 204 (frequency information storage unit, storage unit), and a transmission right management unit 205 (execution unit, determination unit). Means, rejection means).
The hardware configuration of the base station 200 includes an antenna unit for transmitting and receiving radio signals, various processing circuits such as a baseband circuit for executing processing of signals received by the antenna unit, and a core network. It consists of a network interface. The base station 200 in the present embodiment further includes a memory for storing communication history information and a program for managing transmission rights, a CPU for performing control for managing transmission rights based on the memory, and the like. Hereinafter, the function of the base station 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The wireless communication unit 201 is a part that communicates with the communication terminal 100 by wireless communication.

  The communication unit 202 includes a network board for connecting to the core network.

  The relay control unit 203 is a part that performs control to transfer data to the core network via the communication unit 202 when a request for data transmission is received from the communication terminal 100.

  The history information storage unit 204 is a part that stores a history of data transmission requests from the communication terminal 100, and corresponds to data reception time and information (for example, terminal identification information) that can identify the communication terminal 100 that is the transmission source. It is a part that is attached and memorized.

  When the transmission right management unit 205 receives a data transmission request based on the transmission right via the wireless communication unit 201, the transmission right management unit 205 counts the transmission frequency, and whether the transmission frequency is a predetermined value or more per predetermined unit time. This is the part that determines whether or not. When it is determined that the transmission frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, an instruction to reject the transmission request or delete the transmission right while receiving the transmission request via the wireless communication unit 201 is sent to the transmission request source. To the communication terminal 100.

  Conversely, when the transmission right management unit 205 determines that the transmission interval in the transmission request source communication terminal 100 is greater than or equal to a predetermined interval (for example, a predetermined time), the transmission right management unit 205 To grant further transmission rights. The communication terminal 100 can execute data transmission by activating the transmission right after a predetermined time while holding the granted transmission right for a predetermined time.

  As described above, the communication terminal 100 can perform transmission processing in order by forming a group sharing the transmission right and transferring the transmission right within the group.

  In addition, when receiving a data transmission request from a communication terminal other than the communication terminals forming the group such as the communication terminal 100, the base station 200 performs data transmission or rejects the data transmission request according to the frequency and interval of the request. To do.

  Next, processing of the communication terminal 100 will be described. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing processing when transmission group information (ring topology) is first formed.

  First, it is assumed that the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100c exist at positions close to each other. In the communication terminal 100a, the short-range wireless communication unit 101a transmits a subscription request signal toward the periphery based on the user's instruction (S101). Here, the call is transmitted to communication terminal 100b and communication terminal 100c.

  In the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c, the permission signal is output to the communication terminal 100a by the short-range wireless communication unit 101b and the short-range wireless communication unit 101c, respectively (S102). In the permission signal, information indicating that the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c do not form a group based on the transmission group information is added. In addition, you may make it notify that the group is not formed by making terminal identification information not provided. Further, there is a case where the communication terminal 100b or the like does not exist in the surrounding area and the permission signal is not transmitted. Furthermore, there may be a terminal such as a failure of the communication terminal 100b or the like, or a terminal that cannot execute the function in the present embodiment. In that case, communication by the wireless communication unit 108 may be executed without performing the group formation processing.

  In the communication terminal 100a that has received the permission signal, the transmission group forming unit 103a specifies a partner to form a group based on the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c included in the permission signal. Then, the transmission group forming unit 103a outputs a join instruction signal to the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c via the short-range wireless communication unit 101a (S103). Information indicating that the communication terminal 100a, the communication terminal 100b, and the communication terminal 100c form a group is added to the subscription instruction signal.

  In communication terminal 100b and communication terminal 100c, when receiving the join instruction signal via short-range wireless communication unit 101b and short-range wireless communication unit 101c, respectively, according to the control of transmission group forming unit 103b and transmission group forming unit 103c, respectively. A connection confirmation process is performed between the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c (S104). When the connection confirmation is performed by each of the transmission group forming unit 103b and the transmission group forming unit 103c in the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c, a permission signal is output to the communication terminal 100a.

  In communication terminal 100a, when the permission signal is received by transmission group forming section 103a, the terminal identification information of communication terminal 100b and communication terminal 100c that output the permission signal is stored as transmission group information in transmission group information storage section 105a. (S106: See FIG. 5B).

  On the other hand, after the permission signal is output in each of the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c, the communication terminal 100a serving as the transmission destination and the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100b or the communication terminal 100c serving as the partner that performed the connection confirmation are It is stored as transmission group information in the respective transmission group information storage unit 105b and transmission group information storage unit 105c (S107, S108: see FIG. 5B).

  If it is determined that the connection cannot be established by the connection confirmation process, for example, if the distance between the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c is long, the connection confirmation cannot be performed and an error signal is output.

  By the way, although this embodiment demonstrated the case where three units | sets of the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100c existed, the case where four or more units | sets may exist. As described above, in the communication terminal 100a that has received the error signal, if necessary, the communication terminal 100 other than the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c is assigned a destination of the subscription instruction based on the permission signal for the subscription request in S101. May be selected to try to form group information again.

  Next, a process when a new communication terminal 100d is joined in a state where a group has already been formed will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the processing at that time.

  In the communication terminal 100d, a join request signal is transmitted from the communication terminal 100a forming the group in the vicinity of the communication terminal 100c by the transmission group forming unit 103d (S201).

  Then, in the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c, the transmission group forming unit 103a and the transmission group forming unit 103c output a permission signal in response to the join request signal (S202). In addition, although it is conceivable that three or more permission signals are output, it may be the transmission target of the top two join instruction signals in the order received or the top two may be transmission targets based on the signal strength. Conceivable.

  The permission signal from the communication terminal 100c includes the fact that the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100a are connected together with the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100c. Similarly, the permission signal from the communication terminal 100a includes the fact that the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c are connected together with the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100a. Note that no response is made in the communication terminal 100b even if the communication terminal 100b is in a position where it cannot receive the subscription request signal.

  Further, there is a case where the communication terminal 100b or the like does not exist in the surrounding area and the permission signal is not transmitted. In addition, there may be a terminal such as a failure of the communication terminal 100b or the like, or a terminal that cannot execute the function in the present embodiment. In that case, communication by the wireless communication unit 108 may be executed without performing the group formation processing.

  In the communication terminal 100d, the transmission group forming unit 103d transmits a join instruction signal to the communication terminal 100c and the communication terminal 100a as a response to the permission signal (S203). It is possible to determine that communication terminal 100a and communication terminal 100c are connected based on each permission signal. Therefore, a notification to join the group can be included in the join instruction signal so as to interrupt the link between the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c.

  Then, permission signals are output from the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c, respectively (S204). When this permission signal is received, in the communication terminal 100d, terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c is stored as transmission group information in the transmission group information storage unit 105 (S207).

  On the other hand, in the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c that output the permission signal, an instruction to join the communication terminal 100d so as to enter between the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100c is received. Instead of the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100c, the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100d is stored (S205). Similarly, the communication terminal 100c stores the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100d instead of the terminal identification information of the communication terminal 100a as the transmission group information (S206). In this way, transmission group information can be dynamically formed.

  Next, processing when one communication terminal leaves the group will be described. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing when the communication terminal 100d leaves in a state where the communication terminal 100a forms a group with the communication terminal 100d. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication terminal 100d is about to leave the group (S301). Then, in the communication terminal 100c and the communication terminal 100d, when the connection status of the short-range wireless communication is determined by the radio field strength determination unit 102c and the radio field strength determination unit 102d, respectively, and becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the communication terminal 100c Then, it is determined that the communication terminal 100d has left the group (S302, S303).

  When it is determined that the communication terminal 100c has left, the terminal identification information described in the transmission group information stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105c is transmitted by the transmission group formation unit 103c to temporarily cancel the group formation. A disconnection signal is output to the communication terminal 100b specified by (S304). Similarly, in the communication terminal 100d, a disconnection signal is output to the communication terminal 100a (S305). Here, it is assumed that the communication terminal 100d and the communication terminal 100a are at such a distance that short-range wireless communication is possible, but they may not reach. Therefore, the communication terminal 100b that has received the disconnection signal from the communication terminal 100c may further output the disconnection signal to the communication terminal 100a.

  In communication terminal 100a and communication terminal 100b that have received the disconnection signal, and in communication terminal 100c and communication terminal 100d that have output the disconnection signal, the transmission groups stored in transmission group information storage unit 105a to transmission group information storage unit 105d, respectively. The information table is deleted (S307 to S309).

  After that, in communication terminal 100a to communication terminal 100d, each of transmission group forming unit 103a to transmission group forming unit 103d sets a predetermined time at random, and whether or not the randomly set predetermined times have passed. It is determined whether or not (S310 to S313). Then, in the communication terminal 100 (in this case, the communication terminal 100c) having the smallest predetermined time set at random, a subscription request signal is transmitted to the communication terminals 100a and 100b in the vicinity thereof, and transmission group information is again transmitted. The forming process is performed.

  Note that the predetermined time set in the communication terminal 100d may be the smallest. In the present embodiment, since the communication terminal 100d is disconnected, the other communication terminals 100a to 100c do not receive the subscription request signal. On the other hand, when a subscription request signal is transmitted from the communication terminal 100c and the subscription request signal is received at the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100b before the lapse of the predetermined time, the timing process for the predetermined time is stopped there, and the subscription request signal is received. The process proceeds to the group formation process without performing the signal transmission process.

  In the above example, the reconfiguration of the group formation is performed by erasing the transmission group information storage unit 105 by outputting the disconnection signal when the communication terminal 100d is disconnected, but is not limited thereto. . For example, if any part of the transmission group composed of the communication terminals 100a to 100d leaves, the transmission right transfer process can be detected there. Therefore, in the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100d, when a predetermined time is counted after the transmission right is transferred, it is determined that the transmission group has been broken (there is no longer any terminal), and the transmission group information storage unit 105 The transmission group may be reconfigured by erasing the information and sending a subscription request signal.

  Next, processing when a transmission right is transferred between the communication terminal 100a and the communication terminal 100d will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the processing.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the transmission right is transferred from the communication terminal 100d to the communication terminal 100a. When the transmission right is received by the transmission right management unit 104a, data transmission is executed by the communication control unit 106a in accordance with an instruction from the transmission right management unit 104a (S402). When the data transmission is completed, the transmission right management unit 104a transfers the transmission right to the destination based on the terminal identification information stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105a (S404). Here, two pieces of terminal identification information are stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105a. Since the transmission right is reception from the communication terminal 100d by the processing in S401, it is determined that the other terminal identification information different from the transmission source is the transfer destination. Such processing is sequentially performed with the communication terminal 100b and the communication terminal 100c (S405 to S408).

  In addition, although the determination method of the transmission right transfer destination described above determines the other terminal identification information different from the transmission right transmission source as the transfer destination, One of the predetermined terminal identification information is set as the transfer destination.

  Next, transmission interval averaging processing based on the transmission right from the communication terminal 100a to the communication terminal 100d will be described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of the averaging process performed by base station 200. In the communication terminal 100a, the transmission right management unit 104a determines that data transmission based on the transmission right has passed for a predetermined time or more (S411). Then, under the control of the communication control unit 106a, the wireless communication unit 108a transmits the transmission data based on the transmission right and the transmission right acquisition request to the base station 200 (S412).

  In the base station 200, the wireless communication unit 201 receives the transmission data and the transmission right acquisition request, and the communication unit 202 relays the transmission data to the destination (S413). In the base station 200, the transmission process is stored in the history information storage unit 204, and the transmission right management unit 205 determines the transmission request interval in response to the transmission right acquisition request (S414). Here, based on the history information stored in the history information storage unit 204, the transmission right management unit 205 determines whether the frequency of transmission requests from the transmission source and whether the transmission interval is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Is done. Here, it is determined that the transmission interval is equal to or less than the predetermined value, and the transmission right is transmitted by the wireless communication unit 201 in accordance with the control of the transmission right management unit 205 (S415).

  In the communication terminal 100a, when the transmission right is granted, the transmission right management unit 104a stores the transmission right (S416). When a predetermined time elapses after the transmission right is stored, data transmission based on the transmission right becomes possible (S417).

  As described above, when the data transmission based on the transmission right is equal to or shorter than the predetermined interval, it can be determined that the number of the transmission right is small in the group. Therefore, in such a case, the base station 200 can adjust the transmission right to an appropriate number by managing the transmission interval.

  Next, transmission right deletion processing will be described. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing when a data transmission request is rejected when the transmission request is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In the communication terminal 100a, the wireless communication unit 108a transmits a data transmission request to the base station 200 (S501). In the base station 200, when the transmission right management unit 205 determines that the frequency of transmission requests is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (S502), the data transmission request is rejected (S503). Then, the wireless communication unit 201 outputs a transmission right deletion instruction to the communication terminal 100a (S504).

  When the communication terminal 100a receives a transmission right deletion instruction, the transmission right management unit 104a deletes the transmission right stored in the transmission right management unit 104a (S505). In this way, the network load can be reduced by adjusting the transmission right.

  In the example of FIG. 12, a transmission request based on the transmission right is a processing target, but the present invention is not limited to this. The communication terminal 100 may also make a transmission request that is not based on the transmission right. In this case, the base station 200 recognizes that the transmission request is not based on the transmission right, and performs processing corresponding thereto. Good. For example, when the communication terminal 100 performs data transmission not based on the transmission right, the base station 200 recognizes that it is not a transmission request for data transmission based on the transmission right, and the number of connections to the base station 200 and density information Alternatively, the communication may be rejected based on the transmission frequency for the communication terminal 100. That is, the base station 200 rejects a transmission request from a communication terminal that does not have a transmission right depending on the load status of the base station 200.

  Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described. The above-described communication terminal 100a or the like has acquired a transmission right from another communication terminal 100, and enables data transmission based on the transmission right. In this modification, when a communication terminal that exists in a short-range wireless communication reachability is not transmitting data, it is possible to transmit data on the assumption that the transmission right has been acquired.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication terminal 100e according to the modification. As shown in FIG. 13, as compared with the functional block diagram of the communication terminal 100 of FIG. 3, the transmission request management unit 104x is provided instead of the transmission right management unit 104, and transmission processing is performed without using the transmission right. It is characterized by this. Hereinafter, the description will be given focusing on the difference.

  The transmission request processing unit 104x is a part that makes a transmission request to another communication terminal and performs a transmission process based on a rejection response. That is, when the transmission request processing unit 104x receives a rejection response within a predetermined time in response to the transmission request, the transmission request processing unit 104x performs standby processing without performing transmission processing for the base station 200.

  On the other hand, if no response is received within a predetermined time, the transmission request processing unit 104x instructs the communication control unit 106 to perform data transmission processing via the base station 200 after the predetermined time has elapsed. Output. In this case, the transmission request processing unit 104x acquires the transmission right according to the response state of another communication terminal, and can execute processing based on the transmission right. In this case, the transmission right is automatically deleted after the transmission process is completed.

  The above-described processing is processing when data transmission is performed. When the communication terminal is in a position to accept the transmission request, the transmission request processing unit 104x executes the following processing.

  That is, when the transmission request processing unit 104x receives a transmission request signal from another communication terminal, the transmission control processing unit 104x determines whether or not the data transmission processing is being executed and determines that data transmission is being performed. Outputs a response signal indicating rejection to the other communication terminal. When the data transmission process is not being executed, no response is made, but a signal permitting data transmission may be sent.

  Next, the process will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of the communication terminal 100e and the communication terminal 100f in the modification.

  Here, the communication terminal 100e is a side that outputs a data transmission request, and the communication terminal 100f is a side that receives a data transmission request. As shown in FIG. 14A, a transmission request is transmitted to the surrounding communication terminal 100f and the communication terminal 100g according to an operation instruction from the user (S601). Since the communication terminal 100f is transmitting data by the wireless communication unit 108, the transmission request processing unit 104x transmits a response signal indicating rejection to the communication terminal 100e (S602). In the communication terminal 100e, when the transmission request processing unit 104x receives a response signal indicating rejection, the communication terminal 100e waits for a predetermined time (S603). Thereafter, the communication terminal 100e may make a transmission request again.

  FIG. 14B shows processing when a response signal indicating rejection is not received. In response to an operation instruction from the user, a transmission request is transmitted to the surrounding communication terminals 100f and 100g (S701). Thereafter, the communication terminal 100e waits for a predetermined time and waits for a response signal indicating rejection (S702). Here, since a response signal indicating rejection is not received until a predetermined time elapses, the communication terminal 100e executes data transmission processing (S703).

  Next, operational effects of the communication terminal 100 of the present embodiment will be described. According to the communication terminal 100 of this embodiment, the transmission right management unit 104 is based on a response from another communication terminal (for example, the communication terminal 100b or the communication terminal 100f) to the request by the short-range wireless communication unit 101. Acquire the transmission right. When the transmission right management unit 104 acquires the transmission right, the transmission right management unit 104 outputs an instruction to the communication control unit 106 so that the wireless communication unit 108 can execute communication. As a result, communication by the wireless communication unit 108 can be performed when the transmission right is granted, and wireless communication with other communication terminals can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the consumption of radio resources and the load on the network.

  As a method for acquiring the transmission right, the transmission request processing unit 104x acquires the transmission right when a rejection response is not received within a predetermined time from another communication terminal 100f or communication terminal 100g as in the modification. It is also possible to perform control so that the communication control unit 106 can transmit data.

  In general, the communication from the short-range wireless communication unit 101 does not interfere with the communication from the wireless communication unit 108, and thus the method in the modification is sufficiently practical. Even if communication collides, since LTE has a channel assignment function, normal communication can be secured to some extent.

  Further, according to the communication terminal 100 of this embodiment, the transmission right management unit 104 transmits the transmission by the short-range wireless communication unit 101 after the communication by the wireless communication unit 108 or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission right is acquired. The transmission right is transmitted to the communication terminal (for example, the communication terminal 100b) indicating the terminal identification information stored in the group information storage unit 105. As a result, the transmission right can be turned in order, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the consumption of wireless resources and reduce the load on the network without performing wireless communication with other communication terminals at the same time. In addition, it is not necessary to decide a representative node to be a data relay device, and data confidentiality can be maintained.

  In addition, according to the communication terminal 100 of the present embodiment, the transmission group forming unit 103 transmits a join request signal indicating a generation of a transmission group or a request for joining the transmission group by using the short-range wireless communication unit 101, A permission signal indicating permission is received. The transmission group information storage unit 105 stores terminal identification information constituting a transmission group based on the terminal identification information included in the permission signal. As a result, the communication terminals constituting the transmission group can be determined, and the transmission group can be easily determined.

  Further, according to the communication terminal 100 of the present embodiment, the communication terminal specified by the terminal identification information stored in the transmission group information storage unit 105 is out of the position where it can function as a transmission right transmission destination. The radio field intensity determination unit 102 determines this based on the communication status of the short-range wireless communication unit 101. According to the determination, the transmission group forming unit 103 transmits a subscription request signal to reconfigure the transmission group. As a result, a transmission group sharing the transmission right can be reconfigured, and as a result, data transmission by the wireless communication function based on the transmission right can be performed in order.

  Further, according to the communication terminal 100 of the present embodiment, the transmission right management unit 104 turns off the power supply to the wireless communication unit 108 until the transmission right is acquired, so that standby power is not required, Power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, according to the base station 200 of the present embodiment, the history information storage unit 204 stores history information in which a transmission request is associated with terminal identification information of a communication terminal that is the transmission request source. When there is a new transmission request from the communication terminal 100 via the wireless communication unit 201, the transmission right management unit 205 determines that the communication terminal 100 serving as the transmission request source has exceeded a predetermined value based on the history information. It is determined whether or not a transmission request is made at a frequency. If it is determined that a transmission request has been made with a frequency exceeding the predetermined value, the transmission right management unit 205 rejects the transmission request. As a result, in the group, the transmission right is greater than the number of terminals constituting the group, and as a result, when a large number of transmission requests are made, the load on the network can be reduced. It is also possible to suppress transmission requests from communication terminals that do not belong to the group sharing the transmission right.

  Further, according to the communication terminal 100 of the present embodiment, the history information storage unit 204 stores the frequency of transmission requests from the plurality of communication terminals forming the transmission group for each communication terminal. When wireless communication unit 201 receives a transmission request from communication terminal 100, transmission right management unit 205 performs processing for averaging the transmission frequency at each communication terminal based on the stored frequency of transmission requests. Run.

  For example, the transmission right management unit 205 adds or reduces the number of transmission rights in the transmission group according to the transmission request interval of each of the plurality of communication terminals, or sets the transmission request of each of the plurality of communication terminals. When it is determined that the interval is equal to or less than the predetermined value, a transmission right standby instruction is issued to the communication terminal that is the transmission request source so that the interval is longer than the predetermined value. Thereby, the transmission frequency based on the transmission right can be averaged.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Communication terminal 101 ... Short-range wireless communication part 102 ... Radio field strength judgment part 103 ... Transmission group formation part 104 ... Transmission right management part 104x ... Transmission request process part 105 ... Transmission group information storage part 106 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Communication control part 107 ... Transmission data storage part 108 ... Wireless communication part 200 ... Base station 201 ... Wireless communication part 202 ... Communication part 203 ... Relay control part 204 ... History information storage part 205 ... Transmission Rights management department.

Claims (9)

In a communication terminal having a wireless communication function for performing communication through a base station and a short-range wireless communication function for performing direct wireless communication with a communication partner in close proximity without using the base station,
A transmission right acquisition means for acquiring a transmission right based on a response from another communication terminal to the request by the short-range wireless communication function;
When the transmission right is acquired by the transmission right acquisition means, the communication control means for enabling communication by the wireless communication function;
A communication terminal comprising: Storage means for storing terminal identification information indicating a transmission destination of the transmission right as a transmission group sharing the transmission right for executing the wireless communication function;
After execution of communication by the communication control means or after a predetermined time has elapsed since acquisition of the transmission right, the transmission right is transmitted to the communication terminal indicating the terminal identification information stored in the storage means by the short-range wireless communication function. A transmission means;
The communication terminal according to claim 1, comprising: A transmission means for transmitting a request for subscription indicating a generation of a transmission group or a request to join a transmission group by the short-range wireless communication function;
Receiving means for receiving a permission signal indicating permission for a subscription request signal transmitted by the transmitting means by the short-range wireless communication function; and
The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the storage unit stores terminal identification information constituting a transmission group based on terminal identification information included in the permission signal received by the reception unit. Judging that the communication terminal specified by the terminal identification information stored in the storage means has deviated from the position where it can function as the transmission right transmission destination, based on the communication status by the short-range wireless communication function A judgment means to
4. The communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein, when the determination unit determines that the position is out of the position, the transmission unit transmits a subscription request signal to reconfigure a transmission group.   The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication control unit turns off the power supply to the wireless communication function until the transmission right acquisition unit acquires the transmission right. Receiving means for receiving a transmission request from a communication terminal;
Storage means for storing history information in which a transmission request received by the receiving means is associated with terminal identification information of a communication terminal that is the transmission request source;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the communication terminal that is the transmission request source received by the reception unit has made a transmission request at a frequency exceeding a predetermined value based on the history information stored in the storage unit;
When it is determined by the determination means that a transmission request has been made at a frequency exceeding a predetermined value, a rejection means for rejecting the transmission request received by the reception means;
A base station comprising: Frequency information storage means for storing the frequency of transmission requests from a plurality of communication terminals according to any one of claims 2 to 4 forming a transmission group for each communication terminal;
Receiving means for receiving a transmission request from the communication terminal;
When receiving the transmission request by the receiving means, an executing means for executing a process for averaging the transmission frequency in each communication terminal based on the frequency of the transmission request stored in the frequency information storage means;
A base station comprising:   The base station according to claim 7, wherein the execution unit adds or reduces the number of transmission rights in the transmission group according to a transmission request interval of each of the plurality of communication terminals.   When the execution unit determines that the interval between the transmission requests of the plurality of communication terminals is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the execution unit waits for a transmission request based on the transmission right so that the interval is longer than the predetermined value. The base station according to claim 7 or 8, wherein an instruction is given to a communication terminal that is a transmission request source.

Images