JP2017225076A - Communication device, communication system, channel determination method, and channel determination program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time to determine a high signal quality channel in a communication system in which a plurality of stations communicate using high signal quality channels by analyzing signal quality for each channel.SOLUTION: Each of a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating using a plurality of channels includes: means for determining a time slot so as its error to be within a predetermined range using a satellite positioning system; means for receiving a signal capable of measuring first quality information, representing signal quality on which a predetermined criteria depends, from other communication device, measuring the first quality information and retaining it, transmitting the first quality information, which is retained but has not been transmitted, to other communication device, receiving a signal including second quality information, on which the criteria depends, for a signal received by other communication device, and retaining the second quality information; and means for determining a channel on the basis of the criteria, the first quality information, and the second quality information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for determining a communication line to be actually used from line candidates.

  In a communication system using a time division multiple access (TDMA) system, time slots (timings occupied by transmission of a specific station) between communication apparatuses (hereinafter also referred to as “stations”) that communicate with each other. Must be kept in sync. An example of a technique for reducing the time required for time slot synchronization is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  The mobile information sharing system of Patent Document 1 includes a communication control station and a mobile station. Each station includes a wireless device, a time division synchronous wireless modem device, and a position information display device. The wireless device performs wireless communication using a common radio frequency between stations after determining a communication slot (time slot) by performing time synchronization using GPS (Global Positioning System). The time-division synchronous wireless modem device selects an unused communication slot as a transmission slot of its own station by monitoring the usage state of the communication slot before starting transmission, and uses it for subsequent transmission. As a result of the above configuration, the mobile information sharing system of Patent Document 1 can immediately synchronize the time slots if the accurate time can be acquired by GPS.

  In a communication system using a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, information on frequencies used by other stations needs to be shared between stations communicating with each other. A communication method using FDMA is defined as, for example, an SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier) standard.

  Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) technology automatically determines the frequency (hereinafter also referred to as “line”) used for communication between stations communicating with each other (hereinafter also referred to as “line connection”). ). The ALE technology is defined as, for example, the US Department of Defense MIL-STD-188-141A standard.

  An example of the ALE technique is disclosed in Patent Document 2. The transmission / reception apparatus for short-wave radio channels of Patent Document 2 includes one transmission system, a plurality of reception systems for receiving each of the usable frequencies, and automatic line connection control means. The automatic line connection control means sequentially uses one of the available frequencies in the time slot, sends transmission data from the transmission system to the other station, and receives a response returned at the same frequency from the other station via each reception system. To do. The automatic line connection control means determines which frequency is optimal for communication based on the quality of the received signal (hereinafter also referred to as “line quality” or “signal quality”). As a result of the above configuration, the transceiver for shortwave wireless communication in Patent Document 2 automatically determines an optimum frequency for communication.

  In the transmission / reception apparatus for short-wave radio circuits of Patent Document 2, a time slot is used for ALE. For this reason, the short-wave wireless line transmitting / receiving device of Patent Document 2 has a problem that the time required for ALE is long. In particular, the time required for ALE increases as the number of counterpart stations or the number of usable lines increases.

  The time slots used for ALE need to be synchronized between stations communicating with each other when ALE is implemented.

  An example of the ALE technique for reducing the time required for time slot synchronization is disclosed in Patent Document 3. The communication system of Patent Document 3 includes one control station and one or more dependent stations. In the communication system of Patent Document 3, first, synchronization of each dependent station with respect to the control station is established. Next, the control station executes transmission / reception for line quality evaluation using each line in order. Subsequently, the control station determines a frequency based on the result of the line quality evaluation, and notifies the determined frequency to each dependent station, thereby establishing a line link between the control station and each dependent station. Even after the line link is disconnected, the synchronization of the dependent station with the control station is maintained. Subsequently, when the line link is re-established, the process after the line quality evaluation is performed without performing the process of re-establishing synchronization. As a result of the above configuration, in the communication system of Patent Document 3, reestablishment of the line link is speeded up.

JP 2009-111444 A JP 2002-300072 A JP 2004-247919 A

  However, in the communication system of Patent Document 3, the synchronization process between stations and the process after the line quality evaluation are performed at the time of the first line link establishment, and the line quality is reestablished at the time of the line link re-establishment Processing after evaluation is performed. That is, when the first line link is established, the synchronization process between the stations is executed, so that the time required for the synchronization process between the first stations is not shortened. Therefore, the communication system of Patent Document 3 has a problem that the time required for ALE is not sufficiently reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a communication system including a plurality of stations that perform signal quality analysis for each line and perform communication using a line with high signal quality, the signal quality is high. The main purpose is to shorten the time required to determine the line.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a communication system is a communication system including a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating using any of a plurality of lines, and each of the plurality of communication devices is a time of a satellite positioning system. A time slot representing a set of transmission timings in which a plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any one of a plurality of lines so that an error falls within a predetermined range by using a synchronization function is defined as a predetermined rule. (I) Among a plurality of signals, there is a plurality of lines based on quality information indicating the quality of the signal, according to the time slot determined by the time slot determination unit. A plurality of signals that are quality information on which a predetermined standard for determining a line depends and that can measure the first quality information related to the signal received by the communication apparatus. The first quality information is measured based on the received signal and held in the own communication device, and (II) is held without transmission. Transmitting the first quality information to another communication device; and (III) a plurality of signals including quality information on which the standard depends and including second quality information relating to a signal received by the other communication device. A quality information transmission / reception means for receiving a certain signal from another communication apparatus and retaining the second quality information included in the received signal, a reference, and the quality information transmission / reception means of the communication apparatus Line determining means for determining any line used by the communication apparatus for communication after line determination based on the held first quality information and second quality information.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a communication device uses any of a plurality of lines that can be used for communication by a plurality of communication devices so that an error falls within a predetermined range by using a time synchronization function of a satellite positioning system. (I) a plurality of time slots representing a set of transmission timings for transmitting signals using the time slot according to a predetermined rule, and a time slot determined by the time slot determination unit. Of the signals, the quality information depends on a predetermined standard for determining a certain line among a plurality of lines based on the quality information indicating the quality of the signal, and relates to the signal received by the own communication apparatus. A signal capable of measuring the first quality information is received from another communication device among the plurality of communication devices, and the first quality information is measured based on the received signal, and the communication device itself (II) transmitting the first quality information that has been retained without transmission to another communication device, (III) quality information on which the criteria depend, and other A signal of a plurality of signals including the second quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device, and the second quality information included in the received signal is held. Based on the first quality information and the second quality information held by the quality information transmitting / receiving unit, the reference, and the quality information transmitting / receiving unit of the own communication device, the own communication device uses the communication after the line determination. Line determining means for determining any of the lines.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a line determination method is a line determination method in a communication system including a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating using any of a plurality of lines, and each of the plurality of communication devices A time that represents a set of transmission timings at which a plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any one of a plurality of lines so that the error falls within a predetermined range by using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system. A slot is determined based on a predetermined rule, and according to the determined time slot, (I) among a plurality of signals, a certain line is determined among the plurality of lines based on quality information indicating the signal quality. A signal that can be measured with the first quality information related to the signal received by the own communication device, and that is the quality information on which the predetermined standard depends, The first quality information is received from the device, measured based on the received signal, and held in the own communication device, and (II) the first quality information held without being transmitted is transmitted to the other communication device. (III) a certain signal from a plurality of signals including quality information on which the standard depends and including second quality information related to a signal received by the other communication device. The second quality information received and held in the received signal, and the communication after the line determination based on the reference and the first quality information and the second quality information held by the own communication device Any of the lines used by the communication device is determined.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a line determination program or a recording medium storing such a line determination program uses a time synchronization function of a satellite positioning system so that an error falls within a predetermined range. A time slot determination process for determining a time slot representing a set of transmission timings for transmitting signals using any of a plurality of lines usable for communication based on a predetermined rule, and a determined time According to the slot, (I) the quality information on which a predetermined criterion for determining a certain line among the plurality of lines depends on the quality information indicating the quality of the signal among the plurality of signals, and A signal capable of measuring the first quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device among the plurality of communication devices, and the first signal is received based on the received signal. The quality information is measured and held in the own communication device, (II) the first quality information that is kept without being transmitted is transmitted to another communication device, and (III) the standard depends on A signal that is quality information and includes second quality information related to a signal received by another communication device is received from the other communication device, and a second signal included in the received signal is received. Based on the first quality information and the second quality information held by the own communication device, the communication after the line determination is automatically performed. A computer executes a line determination process for determining any line used by the communication apparatus.

  According to the present invention, signal quality is analyzed for each line, and in a communication system including a plurality of stations that perform communication using a line with high signal quality, the time required to determine a line with high signal quality is reduced. There is an effect that can be.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the communication system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the time slot determination rule in the 1st Embodiment of this invention, the time slot for ALE, and signal quality information. It is a figure explaining an example of the quality information and line determination criteria in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement as a control station of the communication apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement as a dependent station of the communication apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the communication system in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions which can implement | achieve the communication apparatus in each embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, equivalent components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.
(First embodiment)
A configuration in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The number of communication apparatuses (hereinafter also simply referred to as “stations”) included in the communication system of the present embodiment is N + 1 (N is a natural number of 1 or more).

  The communication system 200 of this embodiment includes stations 101, 102,. Each station can use M (M is a natural number of 2 or more) types of lines (communication lines). The line is, for example, a carrier frequency used for communication between stations. A station that first transmits a signal in ALE is referred to as a “control station”. A station that performs an ALE operation in response to a signal transmitted by the control station is referred to as a “subordinate station”. One control station exists in the communication system 200, and one or more dependent stations exist in the communication system 200. In the following description, it is assumed that the station 101 is a control station and the station 102 is a dependent station. Therefore, in the following description, the station 101 is also referred to as “control station”, and the station 102 is also referred to as “subordinate station 1”. When the number of stations is three or more, the communication system 200 includes the station 103, and the station 103 is also referred to as “dependent station 2”.

  Each station holds “setting information”. The setting information includes information representing the number of usable lines, information representing the number of stations, and information representing the transmission order of the own station in each “ALE time slot”, regardless of the line or the line. Alternatively, each station holds information from which setting information can be derived. In the present application, an ALE time slot is a set having transmission timing occupied by transmission using a specific line by a specific station (hereinafter also referred to as “fixed time slot”) as an element. The ALE time slot is used to perform ALE. The TDMA time slot determines fixed time slots of a plurality of stations on one line. On the other hand, the ALE time slot determines fixed time slots of a plurality of stations on a plurality of lines. In the following description, it is assumed that the number of lines is M and the number of stations is N + 1. Assume that the transmission orders of the stations 101, 102,... Are “1”, “2”,.

  Each station includes a time slot determination unit 110, a quality information transmission / reception unit 120, and a line determination unit 130.

  The time slot determination unit 110 determines an ALE time slot based on a “time slot determination rule”. The determination of the ALE time slot is to determine the order, start time, and end time of fixed time slots in a certain ALE time slot.

  The time slot determination rule is a rule for determining an ALE time slot based on the number of lines and the number of stations.

  The time slot determination unit 115 uses the time synchronization function of a satellite positioning system (NSS: Navigation Satellite System) to determine an ALE time slot so that the time error falls within a predetermined range. NSS is, for example, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and Compass. GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a Russian NSS. Galileo is the European Union NSS. Compass is an NSS in China.

  The time in the ALE time slot is supplied by, for example, a station “internal clock” (not shown). The time of the internal clock is adjusted to synchronize with a highly accurate NSS time source so that the time error of the internal clock is within a predetermined range. The time adjustment of the internal clock is performed at a necessary frequency according to the time accuracy of the internal clock. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to identify the ALE time slots that each station has.

  The quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 generates a signal by modulating a series of data to be transmitted by a predetermined modulation method. The modulation method is, for example, FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) or PSK (Phase Shift Keying). Such data includes “quality information” (described later), and an error detection code may be added thereto. The error detection code may be an error correction code, for example, a Golay code.

  The quality information transmission / reception unit 120 transmits a signal including quality information or the like according to the ALE time slot determined by the time slot determination unit 110 or receives a signal including quality information or the like from another station.

  The quality information is information representing the quality of a received signal in communication using a specific line between specific stations. The quality information may include quality information regarding a plurality of lines, a plurality of transmission sources, or a plurality of reception destinations. Alternatively, the quality information may not include the quality information when there is no quality information to be transmitted. The quality information is, for example, an error rate, a reception level, a signal-to-noise power ratio of the received signal, or an evaluation value (such as a weighted sum) derived from these values. The quality information may be derived, for example, by decoding an error detection code.

  The quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 receives a signal necessary for measuring or receiving at least the quality information on which the “line determination criterion” (described later) depends. The quality information transmission / reception unit 120 may receive a signal necessary for measuring or receiving the quality information that does not depend on the channel determination criterion. The quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 holds at least the quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends. The quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 may hold quality information that does not depend on the line determination criterion.

  The quality information transmission / reception unit 120, based on the received signal, if necessary, “quality information when the local station receives a signal transmitted from another station using a specific line” (hereinafter referred to as “own station”). New quality information) is held or updated. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the quality information transmission / reception unit 120 receives “a signal transmitted from its own station or another station, which is included in the received quality information, using a specific line, as necessary. The quality information of the other station is newly held or updated based on the content of “quality information at the time” (hereinafter referred to as “quality information of the other station”).

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 is based on “information not related to quality information” (hereinafter referred to as “additional information”) added to the received quality information as necessary. The additional information of the other station is newly held or updated.

  The quality information transmitted by the quality information transmission / reception unit 120 includes at least the quality information of the local station on which the channel determination criterion depends and has not been transmitted. However, when the quality information transmission / reception unit 120 does not hold the quality information of its own station, the transmitted quality information may be empty.

  The quality information transmitted by the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 may include the quality information of the own station transmitted after the channel determination criterion does not depend or is retained. The quality information transmitted by the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 may include quality information of other stations, and “control information” or additional information may be added. The control information is information for controlling various functions of ALE.

  The quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 encodes the held quality information using a predetermined encoding method and transmits the encoded quality information. If the quality information to be transmitted is shorter than the data length that can be transmitted in the fixed time slot of the own station, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 adds other data (dummy data or the like) to the quality information. You may send it. By adding other data to the quality information, the transmission duration in the fixed time slot of the own station is secured.

  After transmission / reception of the quality information, the line determination unit 130 determines a line to be used for the subsequent communication based on a predetermined line determination criterion and the quality information held in the own station (hereinafter “line determination”). "). The channel determination criterion is a criterion for determining a channel based on quality information. Note that the line determination criteria may depend on all quality information or only on some quality information. Further, the line determination criterion may include a criterion that defines an expiration date (for example, 30 minutes after measurement) of the dependent quality information. Further, the line determination criteria may include a standard that defines a time limit for determining the line, such as providing a line determination time-out time (for example, 5 minutes after the start).

  After the line is determined, communication is performed between the stations by a predetermined communication method using the determined line. The communication method is, for example, FDMA (such as SCPC) or TDMA on a specific line.

  Next, a specific example of the ALE time slot will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time slot determination rule, an ALE time slot, and quality information according to the first embodiment of this invention. Specifically, the upper left of FIG. 2 shows an example of an ALE time slot, and the lower right of FIG. 2 shows an example of quality information transmitted in one fixed time slot. In the quality information, elements indicated by solid lines are essential elements (however, they may be empty), and elements indicated by dotted lines are not essential elements.

The time slot determination rule in this example is, for example, as follows (“time slot determination rule A”).
● One cycle of the ALE time slot is set to 60 seconds after the lapse of 0 seconds at an arbitrary hour and minute.
● One cycle of an ALE time slot is equally divided by the number of lines to obtain an ALE time slot for a specific line.
● Divide the ALE time slot for a specific line by (number of stations + 1), and in order from the top, "intermediately joined stations" (stations that newly join the communication after determining the line), control stations, subordinate stations 1,..., A fixed time slot for transmission of the dependent station N.

Specifically, for example, if the number of lines is “4”, the above-described time slot determination rule is as follows. Note that “[” represents the start of the left closed right open section, and “)” represents the end of the left closed right open section.
● The ALE time slot for the first line is [0,15) seconds per minute,
● The ALE time slot for the second line is [15, 30) seconds per minute,
● The ALE time slot for the third line is [30, 45) seconds per minute,
● The ALE time slot for the fourth line is [45,60) seconds per minute.

Further, for example, if the number of stations is “4”, the above-described time slot determination rule for the first line is as follows.
● Fixed time slots for midway subscriber stations are [0,3) seconds per minute,
● The fixed time slot for the control station is [3, 6) seconds per minute,
● The fixed time slot for dependent station 1 is [6,9) seconds per minute,
● The fixed time slot for dependent station 2 is [9,12) seconds per minute,
● The fixed time slot for dependent station 3 is [12,15) seconds per minute.

  As for the second line, the third line, and the fourth line, fixed time slots are determined in the same manner as the first line. However, if the communication system 200 does not allow the subordinate station to join the communication halfway after determining the line, the fixed time slot for the halfway joining station may be omitted. When the time slot determination rule A is used, one period of the ALE time slot is suppressed to a certain time.

In another example, the time slot determination rule may be as follows (“Time Slot Determination Rule B”), for example.
● The length of the fixed time slot is 1 second.
A sequence in which fixed time slots for transmission of the intermediate joining station, the control station, the dependent station 1,..., And the dependent station N are arranged in order from the top is defined as an ALE time slot for one line.
A column in which ALE time slots for one line are arranged in the predetermined order by the number of lines is defined as an ALE time slot for one cycle.
• The start time of the first ALE time slot for one cycle is midnight on January 1, Y.

  However, if the communication system 200 does not allow the subordinate station to join the communication halfway after determining the line, the fixed time slot for the halfway joining station may be omitted. When the time slot determination rule B is used, one cycle of the ALE time slot can be minimized.

  The time slot determination rule is not limited to the above example. For example, the arrangement order of the stations may be an arbitrary rule, and the length of the fixed time slot may be a different rule in each station, or may be fixed. The number of time slots may be different in each station.

  Next, a specific example of quality information will be described.

  Each station transmits quality information in its own fixed time slot. The quality information includes quality information, or includes control information or additional information.

The control information is, for example, as follows.
● Request to join a new station on the way after communication is decided (hereinafter referred to as “halfway join request”),
A request to add a fixed time slot to the ALE time slot,
A request to delete a fixed time slot from an ALE time slot,
● Request to start ALE (hereinafter referred to as “ALE start request”),
● Request to terminate ALE,
● Requests for specific stations to execute ALE,
● Request to change the line,
● Requests to maintain the line.

  The additional information is, for example, “own station information” and “other station reception information”. The local station information includes, for example, “location information” of the local station or “information regarding the state of the local station”. The position information is, for example, information on the latitude and longitude of the position where the own station exists. The information on the status of the own station is information on the status of the own station that the own station needs to transmit to the other station, and is presence information such as “standby” and “busy”. The other station reception information is the own station information of the other station received by the own station from the other station. The local station information and the other station reception information are used, for example, for displaying the position and presence information of each station on a map.

  Next, the line determination criteria will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of quality information and a line determination criterion in the first embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 3A shows an example of quality information of a signal received by the control station. FIGS. 3B to 3D show examples of signal quality information received by the dependent stations 1 to 3 in order. 3E and 3F show application examples of the line determination criteria. In FIG. 3, a row indicates a line, a column indicates a signal transmission source, and a value indicates a specific line and quality information regarding the specific transmission source. The quality information is a natural number from 1 to 7, and the higher the value, the higher the quality.

  First, an example of the following line determination criteria will be described with reference to FIG.

  Line determination criterion A: A line that is transmitted from a specific transmission source and received by the control station using the specific transmission line is a line in which the minimum value in all transmission sources is the maximum in all transmission lines. select.

  The quality information on which the channel determination criterion A depends is the quality information of the signal received by the control station. Therefore, the quality information shown in FIG. 3 (E) is the same as the quality information of the control station shown in FIG. 3 (A). As shown in FIG. 3E, the quality information of the signal transmitted from the specific transmission source and received by the control station using the lines “F1”, “F2”, “F3”, “F4”, The minimum value in all transmission sources is “1”, “2”, “1”, “3” in the order of the lines. The maximum value of these minimum values in all lines is quality information “3” using the line “F4”. Therefore, according to the line determination criterion A, the line “F4” is selected. If the signal quality is assumed to be approximately equal for the exchange of the transmission source and the reception destination, the line determination criterion A is effective. When the line determination criterion A is used, any quality information to be transmitted may include the quality information of the signal received by the control station, and the quality information of the signal received by the subordinate station may be included. It is not necessary to include.

  That is, in the present embodiment, in the line determination criteria, signals transmitted by each of the transmission sources different from the control station among the plurality of stations, and received by the control station using any of the plurality of lines. In other words, it is specified that the line having the minimum quality information at a plurality of transmission sources is the largest among the plurality of lines.

  Next, another example of the following line determination criteria will be described with reference to FIG.

  Line determination criterion B: minimum value within all receivers, minimum value within all receivers of signal quality information transmitted from a specific sender and received at a specific receiver using a specific line Selects the line that is the largest of all lines.

  The quality information on which the channel determination criterion B depends is the quality information of the signal received at each station. Therefore, the quality information shown in FIG. 3 (F) is derived from the quality information of each station shown in FIGS. 3 (A) to 3 (D). When the minimum value in all the transmission destinations is selected from the quality information corresponding to the combination of the specific line and the specific transmission source in FIGS. 3A to 3D, FIG. 3F is obtained. That is, FIG. 3F shows “minimum value of quality information of a signal transmitted from a specific transmission source and received at a specific reception destination using a specific line within all reception destinations”. As shown in FIG. 3 (F), the “minimum value in all receiving destinations” in which lines “F1”, “F2”, “F3”, and “F4” are used, the minimum value in all transmitting sources. Are “1”, “1”, “1”, “3” in the order of the lines. The maximum value of these minimum values in all lines is quality information “3” using the line “F4”. Therefore, according to the line determination criterion B, the line “F4” is selected. If the signal quality is assumed to be significantly different for switching between the transmission source and the reception destination, the line determination criterion B is effective. Note that, when the line determination criterion B is used, any quality information to be transmitted needs to include quality information of a signal received at each station.

  That is, in the present embodiment, in the channel determination criterion, each of the transmission sources is transmitted from one of a plurality of stations, and one of the plurality of channels is used, For a signal received by each of the different recipients, select the line with the minimum value of the quality information at the multiple recipients and the minimum value at the multiple senders being the maximum among the multiple lines. It prescribes.

  The line determination criterion may include a criterion that defines an expiration date of the quality information. In this case, the quality information includes information on the measured time. And the standard which prescribes | regulates an expiration date is a standard that "quality information is effective for 30 minutes after a measurement", for example.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the expiration date of the quality information is defined in the line determination criterion.

  The line determination criterion may include a criterion that defines the ALE timeout period. The standard that defines the ALE time-out period is, for example, a standard that “waiting for transmission of quality information times out in 5 minutes from the transmission of the first quality information”.

  The channel determination criterion is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, a criterion based on an average value of quality information, or a station that does not satisfy a predetermined quality on any channel is excluded from the target of circuit connection. It may be a standard to do. Alternatively, the channel determination criterion may be a criterion for determining different channels for different combinations of stations, for example.

  The operation in this embodiment will be described. However, in the following, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, the quality information of the signal received by the control station is necessary for determining the line, but the quality information of the signal received by the subordinate station is not necessary ( For example, the line determination criterion A) will be described. A case where additional information is not added to the quality information will be described.

  First, the operation of the control station will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation as a control station of the communication apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a node (step) indicates a process, a link to the node indicates a shift to a process, and a label attached to the link indicates a shift condition. Transitions on links that do not have labels are made unconditionally.

  The station 101 synchronizes its own time with a predetermined frequency, and maintains the error of the internal clock within a predetermined range.

  First, when the station 101 is requested to start ALE, the setting information includes information indicating the number of usable lines, information indicating the number of stations, and information indicating the transmission order of the own station in the ALE time slot. read out. As assumed in the description of the setting information, since the transmission order of the own station in the ALE time slot is “1”, the station 101 is activated as a control station (step S110), and proceeds to the process of step S120.

  Next, the station 101 (control station) starts ALE by determining an ALE time slot based on the read setting information (step S120), and proceeds to the processing of step S130.

  Subsequently, the control station transmits its own quality information (step S130), and proceeds to the process of step S140.

  Subsequently, the control station waits for reception of quality information from other stations (step S140). If reception of quality information occurs, the control station proceeds to the process of step S150. If a reception timeout occurs in the fixed time slot, the control station proceeds to the process of step S160.

  The control station receives the quality information of the other station (step S150). Then, the control station updates the quality information of the own station held by the own station based on the received signal including the quality information. Then, the control station updates the quality information of the other station held by itself based on the content of the received quality information, and proceeds to the process of step S160.

  The control station determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S160). There is no quality information or quality that needs to be transmitted but has not yet been transmitted (hereinafter simply referred to as “untransmitted”) or that has not been received (hereinafter simply referred to as “unreceived”). If a time-out occurs during reception of information, the control station proceeds to the process of step S170. If a timeout occurs, only the station that transmitted the necessary quality information is considered to have participated in the communication. The timeout time may be defined by a line determination criterion. If there is untransmitted or unreceived quality information and the next fixed time slot is the fixed time slot of the own station, the control station returns to the process of step S130. If there is untransmitted or unreceived quality information and the next fixed time slot is not the fixed time slot of the local station, the control station returns to the process of step S140.

  The control station performs line determination based on the line determination criteria and the quality information held by itself (step S170). Then, the control station continues to wait for reception of quality information in the ALE time slot.

  Next, the operation of the dependent station will be described using the operation of the station 102 as an example.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication apparatus as a dependent station in the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, a node (step) indicates a process, a link to the node indicates a shift to the process, and a label attached to the link indicates a shift condition. Transitions on links that do not have labels are made unconditionally.

  The station 102 synchronizes its own time with a predetermined frequency, and maintains the error of the internal clock within a predetermined range.

  First, when the station 102 is requested to start ALE, the setting information includes information indicating the number of usable lines, information indicating the number of stations, and information indicating the transmission order of the own station in the ALE time slot. read out. As assumed in the description of the setting information, since the transmission order of the own station in the ALE time slot is “2”, the station 102 is activated as a dependent station (step S210), and proceeds to the process of step S220.

  Next, the station 102 (the dependent station 1) starts ALE by determining an ALE time slot based on the read setting information (step S220), and proceeds to the process of step S280.

  Subsequently, the dependent station 1 waits for reception of quality information of the control station in the ALE time slot (scan reception) (step S280). The dependent station 1 repeats the process of step S280 until reception of quality information from the control station occurs or reception of quality information from the control station times out. If the quality information is received from the control station, the dependent station 1 proceeds to the process of step S250. If reception of quality information from the control station times out, the dependent station 1 proceeds to the process of step S260.

  The dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the other station (step S250). Then, the dependent station 1 updates the quality information of the own station, which is held by the own station, based on the received signal including the quality information. Then, the dependent station 1 updates the quality information of the other station held by itself based on the content of the received quality information, and proceeds to the process of step S260.

  The dependent station 1 determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S260). If there is no untransmitted or unreceived quality information, or if the unreceived quality information cannot be received within the ALE time slot period having a predetermined time length, the dependent station 1 has determined that the transmission and reception of the quality information has been completed. Accordingly, the process proceeds to step S270. If there is untransmitted or unreceived quality information and the next fixed time slot is the fixed time slot of the own station, the dependent station 1 proceeds to the process of step S230. If there is untransmitted or unreceived quality information and the next fixed time slot is not its own fixed time slot, the dependent station 1 proceeds to the process of step S240.

  The dependent station 1 transmits its own quality information (step S230), and proceeds to the process of step S240.

  Subsequently, the dependent station 1 waits for reception of quality information from another station (step S240). If reception of quality information has occurred, the dependent station 1 returns to the process of step S250. When a reception timeout occurs in the fixed time slot, the dependent station 1 returns to the process of step S260.

  The dependent station 1 performs line determination based on the line determination reference and the quality information held by itself (step S270). Then, the dependent station 1 continues to wait for reception of quality information in the ALE time slot.

  The operations of the dependent stations 2 to N are the same as the operation of the dependent station 1.

  The control station and the dependent stations 1 to N communicate using the determined line after the line is determined.

  Next, the operation when the dependent station joins the communication halfway will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, a case will be described as an example in which the dependent station 2 (station 103) newly joins communication after the channel determination between the control station and the dependent station 1 (station 102). However, the details of the operation already described will be omitted as appropriate.

  The control station communicates with the dependent station 1 and continues to wait for reception of quality information in the ALE time slot (step S170).

  The subordinate station 1 communicates with the control station and continues to wait for reception of quality information in the ALE time slot (step S270).

  The station 103 which is a midway joining station synchronizes its own time with a predetermined frequency, and maintains the error of the internal clock within a predetermined range.

  In such a situation, when the station 103 is requested to start ALE, the station 103 reads the setting information and starts up as a dependent station (step S210).

  Next, the station 103 (the dependent station 2) starts ALE by determining the ALE time slot based on the read setting information (step S220), and receives the quality information of the control station in the ALE time slot. (Step S280).

  Since the reception of the quality information from the control station times out, the dependent station 2 determines whether or not to continue the ALE (step S260).

  Since there is unreceived quality information, the dependent station 2 waits for a fixed time slot for the midway joining station and transmits its own quality information (step S230). Since the dependent station 2 is an intermediate joining station, the quality information to be transmitted is empty quality information, and an intermediate joining request is added as control information.

  The dependent station 2 waits for reception of quality information (step S240).

  When reception of the midway join request occurs, the control station receives the quality information of the other station (step S150), and the own station holds the own station based on the signal including the received quality information. Update quality information for.

  The control station determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S160).

  Since there is untransmitted quality information, the control station waits for its own fixed time slot, transmits its own quality information (step S130), and waits for reception of quality information of other stations (step S140). Since the control station holds the quality information of the dependent stations 1 and 2, it does not have untransmitted or unreceived quality information after step S130.

  When the midway join request is received, the dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the other station (step S250), and based on the signal including the received quality information, the dependent station 1 Update station quality information.

  The dependent station 1 determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S260).

  Since there is unreceived quality information, the dependent station 1 waits for reception of quality information from other stations (step S240).

  When reception of the quality information transmitted by the control station in step S130 occurs, the dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the other station (step S250), and based on the signal including the received quality information, Update the quality information of your station that is held in the station. Then, the dependent station 1 updates the quality information of the other stations held by itself based on the contents of the received quality information.

  The dependent station 1 determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S260). Since there is no untransmitted or unreceived quality information, the dependent station 1 considers that the transmission / reception of the quality information has been completed. Then, the dependent station 1 performs line determination based on the line determination reference and the quality information held by itself (step S270).

  When reception of the quality information transmitted by the control station in step S130 occurs, the dependent station 2 receives the quality information of the other station (step S250), and based on the signal including the received quality information, Update the quality information of your station that is held in the station. Then, the dependent station 2 updates the quality information of the other stations held by itself based on the content of the received quality information.

  The dependent station 2 determines whether or not to continue the ALE (step S260). Since there is no untransmitted or unreceived quality information, the dependent station 2 considers that the transmission / reception of the quality information has been completed. Then, the dependent station 2 performs line determination based on the line determination reference and the quality information held by itself (step S270).

  Since reception timeout occurs in the fixed time slot, the control station determines whether or not to continue ALE (step S160). Since there is no untransmitted or unreceived quality information, the control station considers that the transmission / reception of the quality information has been completed. Then, the control station performs line determination based on the line determination criteria and the quality information held by itself (step S170).

  The control station, the dependent station 1, and the dependent station 2 perform communication using the determined line after the line is determined.

  In other words, in the present embodiment, the ALE time slot further includes a transmission timing at which a station that joins the communication halfway among the plurality of stations transmits a signal using any one of the plurality of lines. Among these, the quality information transmission / reception unit of a station other than the midway joining station, which is different from the midway joining station, has a plurality of in accordance with the time slot for ALE even after the line is decided by the line decision unit of the station other than the midway joining station. The station waits for transmission of a signal including an intermediate join request for requesting an intermediate join by any of the stations, and the quality information transmitting / receiving unit of the intermediate subscriber station transmits a signal including the intermediate join request according to the ALE time slot. Then, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit of the station other than the midway joining station receives (I) a signal including a midway joining request from the midway joining station according to the ALE time slot, and based on the received signal. And measure the quality information of its own station and hold it at its own station, (II) send its own quality information without sending it to other stations, and (III) the quality of other stations A certain signal among a plurality of signals including information is received from the midway joining station, and the quality information of other stations included in the received signal is held, while the quality information transmitting / receiving unit of the midway joining station follows the ALE time slot. (I) A signal capable of measuring the quality information of the own station is received from a station other than the midway joining station, the quality information of the own station is measured based on the received signal, and held in the own station. II) Transmits the quality information of the local station that has been held without transmission to a station other than the midway joining station, and (III) sends a signal out of a plurality of signals including the quality information of the other station other than the midway joining station. Quality information of other stations included in the received signal The channel determination unit of the station other than the joining station and the midway joining station, after the channel determination based on the reference and the quality information of the local station and the quality information of the other station held by the quality information transmission / reception unit of the local station One of the lines used by the own station for communication is newly determined.

  In the description of the operation when the dependent station joins the communication on the way, the quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends includes the quality information of the signal received by the control station, but the quality information of the signal received by the dependent station The case where the quality information is not included (for example, the line determination criterion A) has been described. However, when the quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends includes the quality information of the signal received by the subordinate station (for example, the channel determination criterion B), the subordinate station 1 is associated with the substation station 2 joining the communication halfway. And the dependent station 2 also needs to transmit its own quality information.

  An operation in the case where the quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends includes the quality information of the signal received by the dependent station will be described.

  First, an operation example when each station individually executes ALE will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. However, the details of the operation already described will be omitted as appropriate.

The situation before the station 103 starts the mid-participation procedure is the same as the description of the operation in the case where the above-described dependent station joins mid-communication. In such a situation, the operation of each station when the station 103 joins midway is, for example, as follows.
(1) First, the dependent station 2 transmits a midway join request in a fixed time slot for a midway joining station (step S230 and the like).
(2) Next, the control station receives the midway subscription request (shift from step S170 to step S150, etc.). At this time, the control station may discard the quality information already held.
(3) In parallel with the above (2), the dependent station 1 receives the midway join request (shift from step S270 to step S250, etc.). At this time, the dependent station 1 may discard the already held quality information.
(4) Subsequently, the control station transmits its own quality information (step S130, etc.).
(5) Subsequently, the dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the control station (step S250 and the like).
(6) In parallel with the above (5), the dependent station 2 receives the quality information of the control station (step S250, etc.).
(7) Subsequently, the dependent station 1 transmits its own quality information (step S230, etc.).
(8) Subsequently, the control station receives the quality information of the dependent station 1 (step S150, etc.).
(9) In parallel with the above (8), the dependent station 2 receives the quality information of the dependent station 1 (step S250, etc.).
(10) Subsequently, the dependent station 2 transmits its own quality information (step S230, etc.).
(11) Subsequently, the control station receives the quality information of the dependent station 2 (step S150, etc.).
(12) In parallel with the above (11), the dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the dependent station 2 (step S250, etc.).
(13) Subsequently, the control station performs line determination based on the line determination criteria and the quality information held by itself (step S170, etc.).
(14) In parallel with the above (13), the dependent station 1 performs line determination based on the line determination reference and the quality information held by itself (step S270, etc.).
(15) In parallel with the above (13), the dependent station 2 performs line determination based on the line determination reference and the quality information held by itself (step S270, etc.).
(16) Each of the control station, the dependent station 1, and the dependent station 2 performs communication using the determined line after the line is determined.

  That is, in this embodiment, the quality information transmission / reception unit of the station other than the midway joining station newly cancels the held quality information in response to receiving the signal including the midway join request, and newly determines the line. It is executed.

  Next, an example of operation when the control station causes all subordinate stations to execute ALE will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. However, in the following, the details of the operation of each station are different from the case where each station individually executes ALE.

The situation before the station 103 starts the mid-participation procedure is the same as the description of the operation when each station individually executes ALE. In such a situation, the operation of each station when the station 103 joins midway is, for example, as follows.
(1) First, the dependent station 2 transmits a midway join request in a fixed time slot for a midway joining station (step S230 and the like).
(2) Next, the control station receives the midway subscription request (shift from step S170 to step S150, etc.).
(3) In parallel with the above (2), the dependent station 1 receives the midway join request (shift from step S270 to step S250, etc.).
(4) Subsequently, the control station discards the quality information of other stations held by itself, and then transmits the quality information of the own station to which the ALE start request is added (step S130, etc.).
(5) Subsequently, the dependent station 1 receives the ALE start request and the quality information of the control station, discards the quality information of the other station held by itself, and then, based on the received quality information, The quality information of the control station that is held by the own station is updated (step S250, etc.).
(6) In parallel with the above (5), the dependent station 2 receives the ALE start request and the quality information of the control station, and receives it after discarding the quality information of other stations held by itself. Based on the quality information, the quality information of the control station held by the own station is updated (step S250, etc.).
(7) Subsequently, the dependent station 1 transmits its own quality information (step S230, etc.).
(8) Subsequently, the control station receives the quality information of the dependent station 1 and updates the quality information of the dependent station 1 held by itself based on the received quality information (step S150, etc.) .
(9) In parallel with the above (8), the dependent station 2 receives the quality information of the dependent station 1, and based on the received quality information, the dependent station 1 holds the quality information of the dependent station 1 Update (step S250, etc.).
(10) Subsequently, the dependent station 2 transmits its own quality information (step S230, etc.).
(11) Subsequently, the control station receives the quality information of the dependent station 2 and updates the quality information of the dependent station 2 held by itself based on the received quality information (step S150, etc.) .
(12) In parallel with the above (11), the dependent station 1 receives the quality information of the dependent station 2, and based on the received quality information, the dependent station 2 holds the quality information of the dependent station 2 Update (step S250, etc.).
(13) Subsequently, the control station determines a line based on the quality information held by itself (step S170, etc.).
(14) In parallel with the above (13), the dependent station 1 performs line determination based on the quality information held by itself (step S270, etc.).
(15) In parallel with the above (13), the dependent station 2 performs line determination based on the quality information held by itself (step S270, etc.).
(16) Each of the control station, the dependent station 1, and the dependent station 2 performs communication using the determined line after the line is determined.

  That is, in this embodiment, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit of any station other than the midway joining station transmits a request for newly executing line determination in response to receiving a signal including the midway joining request. That is why.

  As described above, in the communication system 200 according to the present embodiment, the time slot determination unit 110 uses the time synchronization function of the NSS to set the ALE time slot so that the time error is within a predetermined range. decide. That is, in this embodiment, the time synchronization of the ALE time slot is executed asynchronously with the ALE procedure. Therefore, according to the communication system 200 of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to wait for the completion of time synchronization within the ALE procedure, and the procedure for performing communication between stations for the time synchronization of the ALE time slot is unnecessary. It is.

  In the present embodiment, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 120 transmits the quality information of the own station for each line and receives the quality information of the other station from the other station. Then, after transmission and reception of quality information on which the line determination rule depends, the line determination unit 130 determines a line used for subsequent communication based on the held quality information. That is, a line used for subsequent communication is determined based on the stored quality information and a predetermined line determination criterion. That is, each station can independently perform the same line determination after obtaining the quality information on which the line determination criterion depends. Therefore, a procedure for performing communication between the stations to notify the determined line is unnecessary.

  Therefore, the communication system 200 according to the present embodiment analyzes signal quality for each line, and determines a line with high signal quality in a communication system including a plurality of stations that perform communication using a line with high signal quality. There is an effect that the time required for the process can be shortened.

  Further, in the communication system 200 according to the present embodiment, when the ALE time slot includes a fixed time slot for an intermediate subscriber station, the intermediate subscriber station can communicate with the existing subscriber station without disconnecting the connected line. Can join. That is, the procedure for once disconnecting the line and the procedure for notifying each station of the disconnection of the line are unnecessary. Therefore, in the communication system 200 of the present embodiment, when the ALE time slot includes a fixed time slot for a midway joining station, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the time required for re-determination of the line.

In particular, in the communication system 200 of the present embodiment, the quality information of the signal received at the control station is necessary for determining the line, but the quality information of the signal received at the subordinate station is not necessary. The transmission of quality information is minimized.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, the second embodiment of the present invention, which is the basis of the first embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the communication device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The number of communication devices (stations) included in the communication system of this embodiment is two or more.

  The communication system 205 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of stations 105, 106,. Each station can communicate using any one of a plurality of lines 141, 142,.

  Each of the stations 105, 106,... Includes a time slot determination unit 115, a quality information transmission / reception unit 125, and a line determination unit 135.

  The time slot determination unit 115 determines a time slot (ALE time slot) based on a time slot determination rule. The ALE time slot represents a set of transmission timings (fixed time slots) at which the stations 105, 106,... Transmit signals using any of the lines 141, 142,. The ALE time slot in the present embodiment is, for example, the ALE time slot in the first embodiment described above. The time slot determination rule in the present embodiment is, for example, the time slot determination rule in the first embodiment described above. The time slot determination unit 115 uses the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system to determine the ALE time slot so that the time error is within a predetermined range.

  Each of the stations 105, 106,... Has an ALE time slot in which a time difference occurs between the stations after the determination of the ALE time slot. However, since the time error of each ALE time slot can be kept within a predetermined range by using various procedures, the time difference can be reduced as much as necessary. An example of the procedure is to correct the time of the internal clock using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system at a necessary frequency according to the time accuracy of the internal clock (not shown) of each station. At this time, half of the time difference allowed between the ALE time slots is set as an allowable error in the internal clock, and the time correction of the internal clock may be performed at such a frequency that the error in the internal clock falls within the allowable error. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to identify the ALE time slots that each station has.

  The quality information transmission / reception unit 125 transmits or receives the quality information according to the ALE time slot determined by the time slot determination unit 115. The quality information in the present embodiment is information indicating the quality of the received signal. The quality information may not include the quality information when there is no quality information to be transmitted. The quality information in the present embodiment is, for example, the quality information in the first embodiment described above.

  The line determination criterion in the present embodiment is a reference for determining a certain line among the lines 141, 142,... Based on the quality information. The line determination criterion may depend on all quality information or only on some quality information. The line determination criterion is, for example, the line determination criterion in the first embodiment described above. The channel determination criterion is, for example, a criterion (for example, channel determination criterion A in the first embodiment) in which a channel is determined based only on signal quality information received by the station 105. Alternatively, the channel determination criterion is, for example, a criterion for determining a channel based on quality information of signals received by all stations 105, 106,... (For example, channel determination criterion B in the first embodiment). It is. The line determination criterion may include a criterion that defines an expiration date (for example, 30 minutes after measurement) of the dependent quality information. Further, the line determination criteria may include a standard that defines a time limit for determining the line, such as providing a line determination time-out time (for example, 5 minutes after the start).

More specifically, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 125 performs the following operation.
The quality information transmission / reception unit 125 includes a plurality of signals that are quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends and that can measure “quality information of the local station” related to the signal received by the local station. From other stations. Then, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 125 measures the quality information of the own station based on the received signal and holds it in the own station.
The quality information transmission / reception unit 125 transmits the quality information of the local station that is retained without being transmitted to other stations.
The quality information transmission / reception unit 125 receives from the other station a certain signal among a plurality of signals that are quality information on which the channel determination criterion depends and that include “quality information of the other station” related to the signal received by the other station. Receive. And the quality information transmission / reception part 125 hold | maintains the quality information of the other station contained in the received signal.

  The line determination unit 135 performs communication after the line determination based on the line determination criteria and the “local station quality information” and the “other station quality information” held by the local station quality information transmission / reception unit 125. One of the lines used by the own communication device is determined.

  Note that the ALE time slot of the communication system 205 in the present embodiment may include a fixed time slot for a midway joining station, as in the first embodiment. In this case, similarly to the station of the first embodiment, the stations 105, 106,..., Are signals including an intermediate join request from the intermediate subscriber station according to the ALE time slot even after the line is determined. The line determination may be performed again after receiving the midway join request.

  As described above, in the communication system 205 of the present embodiment, the time slot determination unit 115 uses the time synchronization function of the NSS to set the ALE time slot so that the time error is within a predetermined range. decide. That is, in this embodiment, the time synchronization of the ALE time slot is executed asynchronously with the ALE procedure. Therefore, according to the communication system 205 of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to wait for the completion of time synchronization within the ALE procedure, and the procedure for performing communication between stations for the time synchronization of the ALE time slot is unnecessary. It is.

  In the present embodiment, the quality information transmitting / receiving unit 125 transmits the quality information of the own station for each line and receives the quality information of the other station from the other station. Then, after transmission and reception of quality information on which the line determination rule depends, the line determination unit 135 determines a line to be used for subsequent communication based on the held quality information. That is, a line used for subsequent communication is determined based on the stored quality information and a predetermined line determination criterion. That is, each station can independently perform the same line determination after obtaining the quality information on which the line determination criterion depends. Therefore, a procedure for performing communication between the stations to notify the determined line is unnecessary.

  Therefore, the communication system 205 of this embodiment analyzes signal quality for each line, and determines a line with high signal quality in a communication system including a plurality of stations that perform communication using a line with high signal quality. There is an effect that the time required for the process can be shortened.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the communication device according to each embodiment of the present invention.

  The communication device 907 includes a storage device 902, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 903, a keyboard 904, a monitor 905, and an I / O (Input / Output) 908, which are connected via an internal bus 906. . The storage device 902 stores an operation program for the CPU 903 such as the line determination unit 135. The CPU 903 controls the entire communication device 907, executes an operation program stored in the storage device 902, and executes a program such as the line determination unit 135 and transmits / receives data via the I / O 908. The internal configuration of the communication apparatus 907 is an example. The communication device 907 may have a device configuration that connects a keyboard 904 and a monitor 905 as necessary.

  The communication device in each embodiment of the present invention described above may be realized by a dedicated device, but can also be realized by a computer (information processing device). In this case, the computer reads the software program stored in the storage device 902 to the CPU 903 and executes the read software program in the CPU 903. In the case of each of the above-described embodiments, the software program includes the function of each unit of the communication devices 101, 102, 103, and 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 or the communication devices 105 and 106 illustrated in FIG. It suffices that a description capable of realizing the function of each unit is provided. However, it is assumed that these units include hardware as appropriate. In such a case, the software program (computer program) can be regarded as constituting the present invention. Furthermore, a computer-readable storage medium storing such a software program can also be understood as constituting the present invention.

  The present invention has been exemplarily described with the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to such embodiments. In such a case, new embodiments to which such changes or improvements are added can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention. This is apparent from the matters described in the claims.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a purpose of shortening the time required for ALE in a communication apparatus having an ALE function.

101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 Communication device 110, 115 Time slot determination unit 120, 125 Quality information transmission / reception unit 130, 135 Line determination unit 141, 142 Line 200, 205 Communication system 902 Storage device 903 CPU
904 Keyboard 905 Monitor 906 Internal bus 907 Communication device 908 I / O

Claims (10)

A communication system comprising a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating using any of a plurality of lines,
Each of the plurality of communication devices is
A set of transmission timings at which the plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any of the plurality of lines so that the error falls within a predetermined range by using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system. Time slot determining means for determining a time slot based on a predetermined rule;
According to the time slot determined by the time slot determination means,
(I) Among the plurality of signals, based on quality information indicating signal quality, the quality information on which a predetermined criterion for determining a certain line among the plurality of lines depends, and The signal capable of measuring first quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device of the plurality of communication devices, and the first quality is based on the received signal. Measuring information and holding it in its own communication device;
(II) transmitting the first quality information that is retained without being transmitted to the other communication device;
(III) A signal out of the plurality of signals that is the quality information on which the reference depends and includes second quality information related to the signal received by the other communication device. Quality information transmitting / receiving means for receiving and holding the second quality information included in the received signal;
Any of the communication devices used for communication after the line determination based on the reference and the first quality information and the second quality information held by the quality information transmission / reception means of the communication device A communication system comprising: a line determining means for determining the line. The time slot further includes a transmission timing at which a communication device that joins communication midway among the plurality of communication devices transmits a signal using any of the plurality of lines,
Of the plurality of communication devices, the quality information transmitting / receiving means of the second communication device, which is different from the first communication device that joins midway, is provided after the line determination by the line determination means of the second communication device. In addition, in accordance with the time slot, the communication apparatus waits for transmission of the signal including the halfway join request for requesting the halfway join by any of the plurality of communication devices,
The quality information transmitting / receiving means of the first communication device transmits the signal including the midway join request according to the time slot,
The quality information transmission / reception means of the second communication device, according to the time slot,
(I) receiving the signal including the midway join request from the first communication device, measuring the first quality information based on the received signal and holding the measured signal in the communication device;
(II) transmitting the first quality information that has been retained without being transmitted to the other communication device;
(III) receiving a signal of the plurality of signals including the second quality information from the first communication device, and holding the second quality information included in the received signal,
The quality information transmitting / receiving means of the first communication device is configured according to the time slot.
(I) The signal capable of measuring the first quality information is received from the second communication device, and the first quality information is measured based on the received signal and held in the communication device. As well as
(II) transmitting the first quality information that is retained without being transmitted to the second communication device;
(III) receiving a signal of the plurality of signals including the second quality information from the second communication device, holding the second quality information included in the received signal,
The line determination unit of the first communication device and the second communication device is configured to use the reference and the first quality information and the second quality held by the quality information transmission / reception unit of the own communication device. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein any one of the lines used by the communication apparatus for communication after line determination is newly determined based on the information. The quality information transmitting / receiving means of the second communication apparatus newly executes the line determination after discarding the held quality information in response to receiving the signal including the midway join request. The communication system according to claim 2. 3. The quality information transmitting / receiving means of any one of the second communication devices transmits a request for newly executing the line determination in response to receiving the signal including the midway join request. The communication system according to 1. Transmission timing at which a plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any of a plurality of lines that can be used for communication so that the error falls within a predetermined range using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system. Time slot determination means for determining a time slot representing a set of the following based on a predetermined rule;
According to the time slot determined by the time slot determination means,
(I) Among the plurality of signals, based on quality information indicating signal quality, the quality information on which a predetermined criterion for determining a certain line among the plurality of lines depends, and The signal capable of measuring first quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device of the plurality of communication devices, and the first quality is based on the received signal. Measuring information and holding it in its own communication device;
(II) transmitting the first quality information that is retained without being transmitted to the other communication device;
(III) A signal out of the plurality of signals that is the quality information on which the reference depends and includes second quality information related to the signal received by the other communication device. Quality information transmitting / receiving means for receiving and holding the second quality information included in the received signal;
Any of the communication devices used for communication after the line determination based on the reference and the first quality information and the second quality information held by the quality information transmission / reception means of the communication device A communication apparatus comprising: a line determination unit that determines the line. In the reference, each of the plurality of communication devices is transmitted by a different transmission source from the first communication device, and is received by the first communication device using any one of the plurality of lines. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: selecting the line with the minimum value of the quality information at the plurality of transmission sources regarding the signal being the maximum among the plurality of lines. In the reference, each of the plurality of communication devices is transmitted by one of the plurality of communication devices, and any one of the plurality of lines is used, and the plurality of communication devices are different from the transmission source. For the signal received by each of the receiving destinations, the minimum value of the quality information at the plurality of receiving destinations, and the minimum value at the plurality of transmitting sources is the maximum among the plurality of lines. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, which regulates selection. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an expiration date of the quality information is defined in the reference. A line determination method in a communication system including a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating using any of a plurality of lines,
In each of the plurality of communication devices,
A set of transmission timings at which the plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any of the plurality of lines so that the error falls within a predetermined range by using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system. Determine the time slot based on a predetermined rule;
According to the determined time slot,
(I) Among the plurality of signals, based on quality information indicating signal quality, the quality information on which a predetermined criterion for determining a certain line among the plurality of lines depends, and The signal capable of measuring first quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device of the plurality of communication devices, and the first quality is based on the received signal. While measuring the information and holding it in its own communication device,
(II) while transmitting the first quality information that is retained without being transmitted to the other communication device,
(III) A signal out of the plurality of signals that is the quality information on which the reference depends and includes second quality information related to the signal received by the other communication device. And holding the second quality information included in the received signal,
Based on the reference and the first quality information and the second quality information held by the own communication device, any of the lines used by the own communication device for communication after determining the line is determined. ,
Line determination method. Transmission timing at which a plurality of communication devices transmit signals using any of a plurality of lines that can be used for communication so that the error falls within a predetermined range using the time synchronization function of the satellite positioning system. A time slot determination process for determining a time slot representing a set of
According to the determined time slot,
(I) Among the plurality of signals, based on quality information indicating signal quality, the quality information on which a predetermined criterion for determining a certain line among the plurality of lines depends, and The signal capable of measuring first quality information related to the signal received by the communication device is received from another communication device of the plurality of communication devices, and the first quality is based on the received signal. Measuring information and holding it in its own communication device;
(II) transmitting the first quality information that is retained without being transmitted to the other communication device;
(III) A signal out of the plurality of signals that is the quality information on which the reference depends and includes second quality information related to the signal received by the other communication device. And holding the second quality information included in the received signal;
Quality information transmission / reception processing
Based on the reference and the first quality information and the second quality information held by the own communication device, any of the lines used by the own communication device for communication after determining the line is determined. A line determination program that causes a computer to execute line determination processing.

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