JP2020188383A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

To move a communication device to an appropriate position.SOLUTION: A communication device 10 finds, based on history information, a communication area, which is a range of positions of the communication device 10 where communication speed with a wireless communication network NW is faster than the total of communication speeds with a plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4, determines, for each time zone, whether there is an overlapping area where the communication area overlaps all of individual areas for the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 to obtain necessary communication speeds, and positions a transmission/reception point at the overlapping area when a determination result is affirmative.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device.

In recent years, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) environment that relays communication between an information processing device indoors and a wireless communication network such as a mobile communication network by using a wireless router installed indoors has become widespread. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of arranging a wireless router at a position corresponding to a communication state between the wireless router and each of the wireless communication network and the information processing device. In this technology, the wireless router is self-propelled, and the communication speed between the wireless router and each of the wireless communication network and the indoor information processing device is measured. Then, the wireless router is moved to a position where the communication speed between the wireless router and the wireless communication network exceeds the first threshold value and the communication speed exceeds the second threshold value between the wireless router and the information processing device.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-072698

However, the communication speed required by the information processing device varies dynamically. For example, an information processing device may be used to send and receive e-mails during the daytime, while viewing a moving image during the nighttime. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since it is a requirement that the communication speed of the information processing device at the time of measurement exceeds the second threshold value to determine the position of the wireless router, the information processing device is required regardless of the time zone. It is necessary to set a second threshold value for the maximum communication speed. When a wireless router communicates with a plurality of information processing devices, the position of the wireless router that always satisfies the maximum communication speed does not always exist for all of the plurality of information processing devices. Further, when the information processing device is movable, the information processing device may be located at a position different from that at the time of measuring the communication speed. In this case, it is necessary to measure the communication speed again and move the wireless router according to the measurement result.
That is, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when there are a plurality of information processing devices whose positions and communication speeds change depending on the time zone, the position of the wireless router cannot be appropriately determined.

In order to solve the above problems, the communication device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be moved by a mobile mechanism, and relays communication between the wireless communication network and a plurality of information processing devices located indoors. A first communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication network, a second communication unit that wirelessly communicates with each of the plurality of information processing devices, and the first communication unit from the wireless communication network. Based on the strength of the received signal, the first measuring unit that measures the first communication speed that can communicate between the first communication unit and the wireless communication network, the second communication unit, and the plurality of information processes. A second measuring unit that measures the second communication speed with each of the devices, a position detecting unit that detects the position of the communication device indoors, and measurement results of the first measuring unit and the second measuring unit, respectively. Based on the history information in which the position detection unit and the detection result of the position detection unit are associated with each other for each predetermined time zone, the communication speed required for communication between the second communication unit and each of the plurality of information processing devices is set to the time. The necessary communication for each of the plurality of information processing devices based on the communication speed estimation unit that estimates for each band, the measurement result of the second measurement unit and the detection result of the position detection unit in the history information. Based on the history information and the individual area specifying unit that specifies the individual area that is the range of the position of the communication device from which the speed can be obtained for each time zone, the information processing in which the first communication speed is the plurality of information processes. The communication area, which is the range of the position of the communication device that is larger than the total of the second communication speeds of the device, is obtained, and the presence or absence of the overlapping area, which is the area where all of the communication area and the individual areas overlap, is determined by the time. It has a determination unit for determining each band, and a movement control unit for positioning the communication device in the overlapping region by using the movement mechanism when the determination result of the determination unit is affirmative.

According to the communication device according to the present invention, the position of the communication device is determined using the history information related to communication, so that even if there are a plurality of information processing devices whose position and communication speed change depending on the time zone. The communication device can be moved to the appropriate position.

It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the system which uses the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which conceptually shows the state which arranged the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment indoors. It is a block diagram of the communication device in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the history information in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which conceptually shows the relationship between an individual area, a communication area, and an overlapping area. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation in the 1st mode of the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation in the 2nd mode of the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation in the 2nd mode of the communication apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the communication device in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the history information in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the map which is displayed using the map information schematically. It is a flowchart which shows the operation in the 2nd mode of the communication apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the map processing of the communication apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

[1. First Embodiment]
[1.1. Overview of systems that use communication devices]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a system 1 using the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment. The system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a communication device 10 and a plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. The communication device 10 communicates with each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 by indoor RI, and relays the communication between the wireless communication network NW and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___. In the following, when the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 are not distinguished, each of the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is also referred to as an information processing device 20_i. i is an integer of 1 or more and 4 or less.

The wireless communication network NW is a communication network such as a mobile communication network including a base station installed outside the indoor RI. In addition to the mobile communication network, the wireless communication network NW may include a communication device that communicates with the mobile communication network and performs wireless communication with the outside.

Each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is, for example, a portable information terminal such as a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a tablet terminal or a portable game machine, or fixed information such as a desktop PC. It is a terminal. Each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is used in indoor RI. An ID (identifier) used for communication with the communication device 10 is assigned to each of the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4.

The communication device 10 is a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) router having a function of connecting to a wireless communication network NW. The communication device 10 wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication network NW by the mobile communication method, and wirelessly communicates with a plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 by the wireless LAN method. The communication device 10 is configured to be capable of self-propelling indoor RI. By changing the position P of the communication device 10 in the indoor RI by this self-propelling, the communication state such as the communication speed between the communication device 10 and the wireless communication network NW and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is changed. Can be done.

FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing a state in which the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment is arranged in the indoor RI. In FIG. 2, the case where each of the information processing devices 20_1 and 20_2 is a notebook PC and each of the information processing devices 20_1 and 20_2 is a smartphone is illustrated. In FIG. 2, the communication device 10 and the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 in a certain time zone are shown by a solid line, and the communication device 10 and the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___ in another time zone are shown by a chain double-dashed line. ..

The higher the frequency band of the radio wave used for communication of the wireless communication network NW, the higher the straightness of the radio wave. Therefore, the radio wave is easily attenuated by the indoor RI, and the communication state between the communication device 10 and the wireless communication network NW is communicated. It is easily affected by the position P of the device 10. Therefore, the communication device 10 stores information on the communication status between the wireless communication network NW and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 as history information for each predetermined time zone, and moves based on the history information. To do. As will be described in detail later, the history information includes information on the amount of communication with each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 for each time zone. Therefore, the communication device 10 can be arranged at the target position PT suitable for the amount of communication required for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 for each time zone. In addition, the history information includes information for each time zone regarding the communication speed with the wireless communication network NW. Therefore, the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 described above can be arranged according to the required communication amount for each time zone.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment. The communication device 10 shown in FIG. 3 includes a processing device 110, a storage device 120, a transmission / reception device 130, an input device 140, an output device 150, a detection device 160, and a moving mechanism 170. These are connected to each other by a single bus or multiple buses.

The processing device 110 is a processor that controls the entire communication device 10, and is composed of, for example, a single chip or a plurality of chips. The processing device 110 is composed of, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, an arithmetic unit, registers, and the like. A part or all of the functions of the processing device 110 are realized by hardware such as DSP (Digital Signal Processor), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). You may. The processing device 110 executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

The storage device 120 is a recording medium that can be read by the processing device 110, and stores a plurality of programs including the control program P1 executed by the processing device 110 and various data including the history information D1 used by the processing device 110. .. The storage device 120 is an example of a “storage unit”. The storage device 120 is composed of, for example, one or more types of storage circuits such as ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and RAM (Random Access Memory). The control program P1 and the history information D1 will be described in detail later.

The transmission / reception device 130 is a device that communicates with another device. The transmission / reception device 130 includes a first communication unit 131 and a second communication unit 132. The first communication unit 131 is a communication circuit that communicates with the wireless communication network NW. The communication method between the first communication unit 131 and the base station of the wireless communication network NW is, for example, a wireless communication method such as LTE4G or 5G. The second communication unit 132 is a communication circuit that communicates with each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. The communication method between the second communication unit 132 and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is, for example, a wireless communication method such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) corresponding to the IEEE802.11 standard.

The input device 140 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives an input from the outside. For example, the input device 140 includes a power button, a reset button, and the like that specify turning on or off the power of the communication device 10. Further, the input device 140 includes a switch for switching between a preparation mode and an operation mode, which will be described later. The input device 140 outputs input information according to the user's operation to the processing device 110.

The output device 150 is an output device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. For example, the output device 150 is a device for notifying the user of the communication state between the communication device 10 and the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. More specifically, for example, the output device 150 includes five LED lamps. One of the five LED lamps is an LED lamp indicating a communication state with the wireless communication network NW, and a blinking state indicates a defect and a lighting state indicates a good state. The remaining four of the five LED lamps indicate the communication status between the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 according to the number of lights. By using the plurality of LED lamps as described above as the output device 150, it is possible to visually inform the user of the communication state between the communication device 10 and the wireless communication network NW or the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 in an easy-to-understand manner. The output device 150 may have a configuration integrated with the input device 140 (for example, a touch panel).

The detection device 160 is a device having a position detection function for detecting the position P of the communication device 10 in the indoor RI and an object recognition function for recognizing an object in the indoor RI. For example, the detection device 160 includes an inertial sensor such as an acceleration sensor and an angular velocity sensor, and outputs a signal corresponding to the position P of the communication device 10 (more specifically, the position of the antenna of the transmission / reception device 130) in the indoor RI. To do. Further, for example, the detection device 160 includes an object recognition sensor (environment recognition sensor) such as a TOF (Time Of Flight) sensor, and has a three-dimensional position and shape of an object around the communication device 10 in indoor RI. Outputs a signal containing object information about. The object information indicates the coordinate values of the coordinate system set in the object recognition sensor. The coordinate values are associated with the coordinate system set in the position detection unit 113, which will be described later. In addition to the above-mentioned sensor, the detection device 160 may have another sensor such as a pressure sensor. The position P of the communication device 10 in the indoor RI can also be obtained by using the detection result of the pressure sensor. Further, when the map information of the indoor RI is preset in the communication device 10 or the communication device 10 can acquire the map information from the outside, the above-mentioned object recognition function or object recognition sensor is omitted. You may.

The moving mechanism 170 is a mechanism for moving the communication device 10 in the indoor RI under the control of the processing device 110. For example, the moving mechanism 170 is an automatic guided vehicle, a flying object such as a drone, a walking robot, or the like. FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the moving mechanism 170 is an automatic guided vehicle. The automatic guided vehicle includes, for example, wheels, a motor for driving the wheels, and a drive circuit for driving the motors. The moving mechanism 170 is not limited to a configuration in which the communication device 10 is moved without a track, and may be a configuration in which the communication device 10 is moved along a track such as a rail.

[1.2. Communication device functions]
By executing the control program P1 read from the storage device 120, the processing device 110 executes the first measurement unit 111, the second measurement unit 112, the position detection unit 113, the target position estimation unit 114, the communication speed estimation unit 115, and the individual units. It functions as an area identification unit 116, a determination unit 117, a movement control unit 118, and a communication speed control unit 119.

The first measurement unit 111 determines the first communication speed DW capable of communicating between the first communication unit 131 and the wireless communication network NW based on the strength of the signal received by the first communication unit 131 from the wireless communication network NW. measure. For example, the first communication unit 131 acquires information on the reception strength from the first communication unit 131, and generates information indicating that the stronger the reception strength, the higher the communication speed. The information is associated with the time zone for each predetermined time zone and stored in the storage device 120 as the communication speed DW included in the history information D1.

The second measurement unit 112 measures the second communication speeds DL1 to DL4 between the second communication unit 132 and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. For example, the second communication unit 132 acquires information on the transmission amount of the second communication unit 132 for each information processing device 20_1 to 20_4 for each predetermined time zone, and the larger the transmission amount per time zone, the higher the communication speed. Generate information that indicates high. The information is stored in the storage device 120 as the second communication speeds DL1 to DL4 included in the history information D1 in association with the time zone for each predetermined time zone. Hereinafter, each of the second communication speeds DL1 to DL4 is also referred to as a second communication speed DLi.

The position detection unit 113 detects the position P of the communication device 10 in the indoor RI. More specifically, the position P can be said to be a transmission / reception point (antenna position) of the first communication unit 131 and the second communication unit 132 in the indoor RI. A two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinate system is preset in the position detection unit 113, and the position P detected by the position detection unit 113 is indicated by the coordinate value of the coordinate system. In the preparation mode described later, the position detection unit 113 detects the three-dimensional position and shape of the object around the communication device 10 in the indoor RI as obstacle information based on the signal from the detection device 160, and detects the three-dimensional position and shape of the object as obstacle information. Obstacle information is added to the above-mentioned coordinate system to create map information showing a map of indoor RI. Further, the position detection unit 113 detects the position P of the communication device 10 based on the signal from the detection device 160 and the map information in the operation mode described later. The detection result of the position detection unit 113 in the operation mode is associated with the time zone for each predetermined time zone and stored in the storage device 120 as the position information PA included in the history information D1. In the operation mode, the obstacle information may be acquired, and the map information may be updated using the obstacle information.

The target position estimation unit 114 estimates the target position PT of the communication device 10 in the indoor RI for each predetermined time zone. The target position estimation unit 114 has a first mode for determining the target position PT without using the history information D1 and a second mode for determining the target position PT using the history information D1. These modes can be switched according to the amount of information in the history information D1. For example, the target position estimation unit 114 determines whether or not the amount of information in the history information D1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, executes the first mode when the determination result is negative, and executes the first mode when the determination result is affirmative. Execute 2 modes. In the first mode, the target position estimation unit 114 selects, for example, one from a plurality of predetermined points in the map based on the above-mentioned map information in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals and sets them as the target position PT. .. On the other hand, in the second mode, the target position estimation unit 114 is measured by the second measurement unit 112 for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___ from the communication speed measured by the first measurement unit 111 in the overlapping region Ao described later. The position P of the communication device 10 that maximizes the value obtained by subtracting the total of the communication speeds is estimated as the target position PT for each predetermined time zone.

The communication speed estimation unit 115 sets the communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 required for communication between the second communication unit 132 and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 for each time zone based on the history information D1. presume. Hereinafter, each of the communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 is also referred to as a communication speed D'Li.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of history information D1. As shown in FIG. 4, the history information D1 includes the first communication speed DW which is the measurement result of the first measurement unit 111, the second communication speed DLi which is the measurement result of the second measurement unit 112, and the position detection unit 113. It includes information in which the position information PA, which is the detection result, is associated with each predetermined time zone. In FIG. 4, the time zone is every 10 minutes, but the width and interval of the time zone are arbitrary.

For example, the communication speed estimation unit 115 estimates the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 based on the second communication speeds DL1 to DL4 for each time zone included in the history information D1. The required communication speed D'Li is determined within a range not exceeding the second communication speed DLi. When there are a plurality of second communication speeds DLi in the same time zone, the required communication speed D'Li is a statistical value such as an average value, a median value, or a mode value of a plurality of second communication speeds DLi in the same time zone. It may be the maximum value among a plurality of second communication speeds DLi in the same time zone.

The individual area specifying unit 116 specifies the individual areas AL_1 to AL_4 for each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 for each time zone. The individual areas AL_1 to AL_4 are the range of the position P of the communication device 10 capable of obtaining the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 described above. The identification is performed based on the measurement result of the second measurement unit 112 and the detection result of the position detection unit 113 in the history information D1. For example, the individual area identification unit 116 acquires all the position information PAs in which the second communication speed DLi of the history information D1 is equal to or higher than the communication speed D'Li among the position information PAs included in the history information D1, and these positions. Regions that include the position based on the information PA within a predetermined range are specified as individual regions AL_1 to AL_1. In the following, each of the individual regions AL_1 to AL_4 will also be referred to as an individual region AL_i.

The determination unit 117 determines whether or not there is a position P of the communication device 10 capable of realizing the required communication speed D'Li described above. Specifically, first, the determination unit 117 determines that the first communication speed DW is larger than the total of the second communication speeds DLi of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___ based on the history information D1. The communication area C, which is the range of the position P, is obtained. Then, the determination unit 117 determines for each time zone whether or not there is an overlapping region Ao, which is an region where all of the communication region C and the individual regions AL_i overlap.

FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing the relationship between the individual areas AL_i (AL_1 to AL_4), the communication area C, and the overlapping area Ao. In FIG. 5, each of the individual regions AL_1 to AL_4 is indicated by a broken line, the region where the individual regions AL_1 to AL_4 overlap each other is indicated by a solid line, the communication region C is indicated by a dashed line, and the overlapping region Ao is hatched. Shown in range. As shown in FIG. 5, the overlapping area Ao is an area in which the individual areas AL_1 to AL_1 overlap each other and the communication area C overlaps. In FIG. 5, the shape of each region is simplified for convenience of explanation, but the actual shape of each region is the position information PA that satisfies the condition of each region among the position information PA included in the history information D1. The shape corresponds to the position indicated by.

The movement control unit 118 controls the movement mechanism 170 for each time zone based on the determination result of the determination unit 117. In particular, the movement control unit 118 controls the movement mechanism 170 to position the communication device 10 in the overlapping region Ao when the determination result of the determination unit 117 is affirmative. Further, the movement control unit 118 has a preparation mode for controlling the movement mechanism 170 for creating map information, and an operation mode for controlling the movement mechanism 170 using the map information. These modes can be switched by, for example, a switch of the input device 140 or the like. In addition, switching from the preparation mode to the operation mode is automatically performed after the map information is created. In the preparation mode, the communication device 10 is moved all over the indoor RI without using the target position PT determined by the target position estimation unit 114. For example, in the preparation mode, the communication device 10 is moved according to a predetermined movement pattern set in advance so as to avoid obstacles in the indoor RI based on the detection result of the detection device 160. In the operation mode, the communication device 10 is moved to the target position PT determined by the target position estimation unit 114 using the map information. In the present embodiment, the movement control unit 118 appropriately performs control or processing other than the movement control of the movement mechanism 170.

The communication speed control unit 119 adjusts the required communication speed D'Li described above. Specifically, the communication speed control unit 119 reduces the required communication speed D'Li when the determination result of the determination unit 117 is negative. At this time, the communication speed control unit 119 reduces the required communication speed D'Li according to a preset rule. For example, the communication speed control unit 119 reduces the highest communication speed among the required communication speeds D'Li for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 at a smaller rate than the other communication speeds. More specifically, for example, the communication speed D'L1 of the information processing device 20_1 is 100 Mbps, the communication speed D'L2 of the information processing device 20_2 is 60 Mbps, and the communication speed D'L3 of the information processing device 20_3 is 5 Mbps. Imagine a case. In this case, for example, the communication speed D'L1 is set to 99 Mbps (1% decrease), the communication speed D'L2 is set to 54 Mbps (10% decrease), and the communication speed D'L3 is set to 2.5 Mbps (50% decrease). Further, the communication speed D'L1 may not be lowered (0%), and the communication speed D'L2 and the communication speed D'L3 may be lowered.

Further, the communication speed control unit 119 may reduce the required communication speed D'Li for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 by a predetermined ratio for each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___. Good. More specifically, for example, the information processing device 20_1 managed by the father is reduced by 0%, the information processing device 20_2 managed by the mother is reduced by 10%, and the information processing device 20_3 managed by the child is reduced by 50%.

[1.3. Operation of communication device]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the communication device 10, first, the movement control unit 118 determines whether or not there is an instruction for the preparation mode (S1). When instructed to use the preparation mode, the movement control unit 118 sets the movement mode of the communication device 10 to the preparation mode, and moves the communication device 10 according to a predetermined movement pattern set in advance (S2). At this time, the position detection unit 113 acquires obstacle information in the indoor RI from the detection device 160 (S3). After that, the position detection unit 113 uses the obstacle information to generate map information indicating a map of the indoor RI (S4). Next, the position detection unit 113 stores the generated map information in the storage device 120 (S5), and ends the preparation mode (S6). After the end of the preparation mode, the movement control unit 118 determines whether or not there is an end instruction based on the power switch or the like of the communication device 10 (S7), and if there is an end instruction, ends the operation of the communication device 10. On the other hand, if there is no end instruction, the process returns to step S1 described above.

On the other hand, when there is no instruction of the preparation mode, the movement control unit 118 sets the movement mode of the communication device 10 to the first mode of the operation mode (S8 and S9), and moves the communication device 10 in the first mode (S10). ).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment in the first mode. As shown in FIG. 7, in the first mode, first, the first measuring unit 111 measures the first communication speed DW, and the second measuring unit 112 measures the second communication speed DLi (S101). Each of these measurement results is stored in the storage device 120. Next, the position detection unit 113 detects the position P of the transmission device 10 (S102). This detection result is stored in the storage device 120. After that, the movement control unit 118 determines whether or not the time is a predetermined time (S103), and repeats the above steps S101 and 102 until the predetermined time is reached. The predetermined time is the time for each length of each time zone of the history information D1.

When it is a predetermined time, the first measuring unit 111 calculates the first communication speed DW in the measured time zone, and the second measuring unit 112 sets the position P of the communication device 10 in the measured time zone. calculate. At this time, the first measurement unit 111 statistically processes the first communication speed DW stored in the storage device 120 over the length of the time zone. In addition, the second measurement unit 112 statistically processes the position P stored in the storage device 120 over the length of the time zone. After that, the first measurement unit 111 stores the calculated first communication speed DW in the storage device 120 as an element of the history information D1, and the second measurement unit 112 stores the calculated position P as an element of the history information D1. It is stored in the storage device 120 as the position information PA (S105).

Next, the target position estimation unit 114 selects one from a plurality of predetermined points in the map based on the map information in a predetermined order at predetermined time intervals and sets them as the target position PT (S106 and S017). After that, the movement control unit 118 controls the movement mechanism 170 to move the transmission / reception point to the target position PT (S108). After moving the transmission / reception point to the target position PT, the movement control unit 118 determines whether or not there is an end instruction based on the power switch or the like of the communication device 10 (S109), and if there is an end instruction, the first If one mode is terminated and there is no termination instruction, the process returns to step S101 described above.

Returning to FIG. 6, the first mode is repeated until the amount of information of the history information D1 becomes a predetermined amount or more (S11). When the amount of information in the history information D1 exceeds a predetermined amount, the movement control unit 118 sets the movement mode of the communication device 10 to the second mode of the operation mode (S12), and moves the communication device 10 in the second mode. (S13).

8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the operation of the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment in the second mode. As shown in FIG. 8, in the second mode, steps S201 to S205 similar to steps S101 to S105 of the first mode described above are executed. After the execution of step S205, the communication speed estimation unit 115 estimates the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 for each time zone based on the history information D1 (S206). Next, the individual area specifying unit 116 specifies the individual areas AL_1 to AL_4 for each time zone (S207). After that, the determination unit 117 determines the presence or absence of the overlapping region Ao between the individual regions AL_1 to AL_1 and the communication region C (S208).

When there is an overlapping region Ao, as shown in FIG. 9, the target position estimation unit 114 estimates the target position PT in the overlapping region Ao (S210). After that, the movement control unit 118 controls the movement mechanism 170 to move the transmission / reception point to the target position PT in the same manner as in step S108 of the first mode described above (S211). After moving the transmission / reception point to the target position PT, the movement control unit 118 determines whether or not there is an end instruction based on the power switch or the like of the communication device 10 (S212), and if there is an end instruction, the first When the two modes are terminated and there is no termination instruction, the process returns to step S201 described above.

Returning to FIG. 6, the second mode is repeated until the history information D1 is reset based on the reset switch of the input device 140 or the like (S14). When the history information D1 is reset, the movement control unit 118 shifts to the above-mentioned step S8.

In the above communication device 10, when the determination result of the determination unit 117 is affirmative, the movement control unit 118 positions the position P of the communication device 10 in the overlapping area Ao based on the history information D1, so that the position and the communication speed are increased. Even when there are a plurality of changing information processing devices 20_1 to 20___, the communication device 10 can be moved to an appropriate position.

Further, as described above, the maximum value is obtained by subtracting the total of the second communication speeds DL1 to DL4 for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 from the first communication speed DW in the overlapping area Ao by the target position estimation unit 114. The position P of the communication device 10 is estimated as the target position PT for each predetermined time zone. Then, when the determination result of the determination unit 117 is affirmative, the movement control unit 118 positions the position P of the communication device 10 at the target position PT. Therefore, the actual communication speeds of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 satisfy the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4.

Further, as described above, when the communication speed control unit 119 determines that the determination unit 117 is negative, the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 are set until the determination result of the determination unit 117 becomes affirmative. Decrease. As a result, even if the position P of the communication device 10 cannot be optimized based only on the history information D1, the communication state between the communication device 10 and the wireless communication network NW and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 is optimized as much as possible. It will be in a close state.

Here, the communication speed control unit 119, for example, sets the highest communication speed among the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 as a smaller ratio than the other communication speeds. Decrease with. When a high communication speed is required, for example, watching a moving image is applicable. When the communication speed is significantly reduced in viewing a moving image, the playback quality of the moving image may be significantly deteriorated, such as pausing the playback of the moving image. On the other hand, the communication speed of browsing a Web page is lower than that of playing a moving image. Even if the communication speed is reduced when browsing a Web page, the degree of deterioration in quality is small as compared with the playback of a moving image. That is, the larger the required communication speed, the greater the influence of the deterioration of quality due to the decrease of the communication speed. As described above, since the highest communication speed is reduced at a smaller rate than other communication speeds, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the quality of the entire system.

Further, the communication speed control unit 119 sets the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 for the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 at a predetermined ratio for each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___. Decrease. Therefore, the communication speed required for the information processing device used by the father can be reduced by a small rate as compared with the communication speed required for the information processing device used by the child. By reducing the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 as described above, it is possible to meet the demands of each user who uses the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 as much as possible.

[2. Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. For the elements whose actions and functions are the same as those of the first embodiment in the embodiments illustrated below, the reference numerals used in the description of the first embodiment will be diverted and detailed description of each will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the communication device 10A according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication device 10A and the communication device 10 of the first embodiment described above, except that the control program P2 is stored in the storage device 120 instead of the control program P1 of the first embodiment described above. The same is true. As the control program P2 is stored in the storage device 120, the history information D2 and the map information D3 are stored in the storage device 120 instead of the history information D2 of the first embodiment.

By executing the control program P2 read from the storage device 120, the processing device 110 adds the functions of the processing device 110 of the first embodiment described above to the acquisition unit 181 and the map information generation unit 182 and the transmission control unit 183. Functions as.

The acquisition unit 181 receives the position information PBi regarding the position of the information processing device 20_i in the indoor RI and the quality information IRi regarding the reception strength between the information processing device 20_i and the second communication unit 132 from each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. And get. For example, when the information processing device 20_i has an NFC (Near Field Communication) function, this acquisition is performed by mounting the NFC function on the input device 140 and bringing the information processing device 20_i into contact with the input device 140. .. The position information PBi and the quality information IRi are associated with each predetermined time zone and stored in the storage device 120 as information DTi included in the history information D2. The reception strength is an example of the communication quality between the second communication unit 132 and each of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. The communication quality is not limited to the reception strength, and may be, for example, throughput or error rate.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of history information D2 in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the history information D2 includes information DTi in which the position information PBi and the quality information IRi are associated with each predetermined time zone in addition to the history information D1 of the first embodiment described above. In FIG. 11, the correspondence between the history information D1 and the information DTi for each time zone is one-to-one, but the correspondence is not limited to this and is arbitrary.

The position information PBi can be generated (updated) as follows, for example, when the information processing device 20_i has an inertial sensor such as an angular velocity sensor and an NFC function. First, the NFC function is also mounted on the input device 140, and the information processing device 20_i is brought into contact with the input device 140 so that the information processing device 20_i acquires the position information PA of the communication device 10 as the position information PBi. The information processing device 20_i calculates a relative position from the communication device 10 by integrating the detection result of the acceleration sensor, and based on the position and the position of the communication device 10, the information processing device in the indoor RI. Generate (update) the position information PBi of 20_i.

The map information generation unit 182 generates map information D3 that shows the relationship between the detection result of the position detection unit 113 and the position information PBi and the quality information IRi acquired by the acquisition unit 181 for each predetermined time zone. The map information D3 is stored in the storage device 120 in association with the time zone for each predetermined time zone. The map information D3 may be generated periodically at predetermined time intervals, or may be generated at a timing based on an instruction from the information processing device 20_i.

The transmission control unit 183 causes the second communication unit 132 to execute a process of transmitting the map information D3 to one or more of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4. The map information D3 may be transmitted periodically at predetermined time intervals, or may be performed at a timing based on an instruction from the information processing device 20_i.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a map MP displayed using the map information D3. As shown in FIG. 12, the map MP is displayed on the display panel of the information processing apparatus 20_i. The map MP shown in FIG. 12 includes an image GR showing the strength of the reception intensity of the signal from the communication device 10. The image GR includes regions GR1, GR2, GR3 and GR4. The regions GR1, GR2, GR3, and GR4 indicate that the reception intensity is stronger in this order, and are represented by different colors or shades depending on the degree of reception intensity, for example. In the example shown in FIG. 12, in addition to the image GR, the map MP includes an image GD indicating the position of the information processing device 20_i. The image GD includes an image GD1 indicating the position of the information processing device 20_1, an image GD2 indicating the position of the information processing device 20_2, an image GD3 indicating the position of the information processing device 20_3, and an image GD4 indicating the position of the information processing device 20_2. And, including. Further, the position P of the communication device 10 is also displayed on the map MP.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication device 10A according to the second embodiment in the second mode. As shown in FIG. 13, the second mode of the present embodiment is the same as the second mode of the above-described first embodiment except that the map processing (S300) is executed between steps S202 and S203.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a map process of the communication device 10A according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, in the map processing, first, the acquisition unit 181 acquires the position information PBi and the quality information IRi from the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20___, and stores the acquired position information PBi and the quality information IRi in the storage device 120. Is stored in (S301). Next, the map information generation unit 182 determines whether or not there is an instruction to transmit the map information D3 (S302). The map information generation unit 182 ends the map processing when there is no instruction to transmit the map information D3.

When instructed to transmit the map information D3, the map information generation unit 182 generates the map information D3 and stores it in the storage device 120 (S303). Then, the transmission control unit 183 transmits the generated map information D3 to the second communication unit 132 (S304), and ends the map processing.

In the above communication device 10A, the map MP can be displayed on one or more of the plurality of information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4, if necessary. Therefore, the communication status of the communication device 10 and the position P of the communication device 10 in the past or future time zone can be visually notified to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. As a result, a more optimum communication state can be obtained at the user's discretion.

[3. Modification example]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments exemplified above. A specific mode of modification is illustrated below. Two or more aspects arbitrarily selected from the following examples may be merged.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the communication device 10 is a wireless router that communicates with the wireless communication network NW, but is not limited to this, and is a repeater that communicates with the wireless communication network NW via the wireless router. You may. Further, the communication between the wireless communication network NW and the plurality of information processing devices 20_i may be relayed via the plurality of communication devices 10.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the communication speed estimation unit 115 may estimate the required communication speeds D'L1 to D'L4 based on the learning model in which the history information D1 is learned. In this case, there is an advantage that it is easy to provide a communication state according to the request of each user who uses the plurality of information processing devices 20_i. For example, a learning model is obtained by performing machine learning using teacher data in which the time zone in the history information D1 and the ID for each of the information processing devices 20_1 to 20_4 are input data and the communication speed DLi in the history information D1 is used as label data. .. Further, for example, the mode for creating the learning model is executed before the operation mode, and after the learning model is constructed, the position of the communication device is estimated using the learning model in the operation mode.
Here, the time zone may include the day of the week, the month, and the day as shown in FIG. 4, may include a part thereof, or may not include the day of the week, the month, and the day. Moreover, SVM (support vector machine) may be used as a learning model.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 117 may estimate the first communication speed DW based on the learning model in which the history information D1 is learned. For example, a learning model is obtained by performing machine learning using teacher data using the time zone and position information PA in the history information D1 as input data and the first communication speed DW as label data. Further, for example, the mode for creating the learning model is executed before the operation mode, and after the learning model is constructed, the first communication speed DW is estimated using the learning model in the operation mode. For example, when 5G is adopted for communication between the communication device 10 and the wireless communication network, millimeter waves are used for communication. Millimeter waves have high straightness, and reception intensity depends on the weather. In the rainy season, when it rains easily, the first communication speed DW tends to decrease compared to autumn. Since the learning model has already learned the relationship between the time zone and the position information PA and the first communication speed DW, the first communication speed DW in consideration of the season can be estimated by using the learning model. Further, weather data indicating the weather may be added as input data of the learning model. In this case, the first communication speed DW can be estimated in consideration of the weather.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, one or both of the moving mechanism 170 and the storage device 120 (storage unit) may be provided outside the communication device 10. Further, a part or all of the storage device 120 may be provided on a server or the like outside the communication device 10.

(5) The block diagram used in the description of each of the above-described embodiments shows blocks for functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Further, the means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by one physically and / or logically coupled device, or directly and / or indirectly by two or more physically and / or logically separated devices. (For example, wired and / or wireless) may be connected and realized by these plurality of devices.
Further, the word "device" used in the description of each of the above-described embodiments may be read as another term such as a circuit, a device, or a unit.

(6) The order of the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. in each of the above-described embodiments may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, the methods described herein present elements of various steps in an exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

(7) In each of the above-described embodiments, the input / output information and the like may be stored in a specific place (for example, a memory). Input / output information and the like can be overwritten, updated, or added. The output information and the like may be deleted. The input information or the like may be transmitted to another device.

(8) In each of the above-described embodiments, the determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1) or by a boolean value (Boolean: true or false). However, it may be performed by comparing numerical values (for example, comparing with a predetermined value).

(9) In each of the above-described embodiments, the storage device 120 is a recording medium that can be read by the processing device 110, and examples thereof include a ROM and a RAM. However, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (for example, a compact disk, a digital disk, etc.) Applications Discs, Blu-ray® disks), smart cards, flash memory devices (eg cards, sticks, key drives), CD-ROMs (Compact Disc-ROMs), registers, removable disks, hard disks, floppies (registered) Trademarks) Disks, magnetic strips, databases, servers and other suitable storage media. The program may also be transmitted from the network. The program may also be transmitted from the communication network via a telecommunication line.

(10) In each of the above embodiments, the information, signals, and the like described may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description are voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. It may be represented by a combination of.

(11) Each function illustrated in FIG. 2 is realized by any combination of hardware and software. In addition, each function may be realized by a single device, or may be realized by two or more devices configured as separate bodies from each other.

(12) The program exemplified in each of the above-described embodiments is called an instruction, an instruction set, a code, or a code segment regardless of whether it is called a software, firmware, middleware, microcode or hardware description language, or by another name. , Program code, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, execution threads, procedures or functions, etc. should be broadly interpreted to mean.
Further, software, instructions, and the like may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, the software uses wired technology such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twist pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and / or wireless technology such as infrared, wireless and microwave to websites, servers, or other When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission medium.

(13) In each of the above-described embodiments, the information, parameters, and the like may be represented by absolute values, relative values from predetermined values, or other corresponding information. May be good. For example, the radio resource may be indexed.

(14) In each of the above-described embodiments, the communication device 10 includes a case where it is a mobile station. Mobile stations can be subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, wireless, depending on the trader. It may also be referred to as a terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term.

(15) In each of the embodiments described above, the term "connected", or any variation thereof, means any direct or indirect connection or connection between two or more elements. It can include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" to each other. The connections between the elements may be physical, logical, or a combination of these. As used herein, the two elements are by using one or more wires, cables and / or printed electrical connections, and, as some non-limiting and non-comprehensive examples, radio frequencies. It can be considered to be "connected" to each other by using electromagnetic energies such as electromagnetic energies having wavelengths in the region, microwave region and light (both visible and invisible) regions.

(16) In each of the above embodiments, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based on" unless otherwise stated. In other words, the statement "based on" means both "based only" and "at least based on".

(17) Any reference to elements using designations such as "first", "second" as used herein does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations can be used herein as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, references to the first and second elements do not mean that only two elements can be adopted there, or that the first element must somehow precede the second element.

(18) As long as "including", "comprising", and variations thereof in each of the embodiments described above are used herein or within the scope of the claims, these terms are used. As with the term "prepare", it is intended to be comprehensive. Furthermore, the term "or" as used herein or in the claims is intended not to be an exclusive OR.

(19) In the whole of the present application, if articles are added by translation, for example a, an and the in English, unless the context clearly indicates that these articles are not. Including multiple.

(20) It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented as modifications and modifications without departing from the gist and scope of the present invention, which is determined based on the description of the scope of claims. Therefore, the description herein is for illustrative purposes only and has no limiting implications for the present invention. In addition, a plurality of aspects selected from the aspects illustrated in the present specification may be combined.

10 ... Communication device, 10A ... Communication device, 12 ... Storage device, 20_1 ... Information processing device, 20_2 ... Information processing device, 20_3 ... Information processing device, 20___ ... Information processing device, 20_i ... Information processing device, 111 ... First measurement Unit, 112 ... 2nd measurement unit, 113 ... position detection unit, 114 ... target position estimation unit, 115 ... communication speed estimation unit, 116 ... individual area identification unit, 117 ... judgment unit, 118 ... movement control unit, 119 ... communication Speed control unit, 120 ... storage device, 131 ... first communication unit, 132 ... second communication unit, 170 ... mobile mechanism, 181 ... acquisition unit, 182 ... map information generation unit, 183 ... transmission control unit, AL_1 to AL_4 ... Individual area, Ao ... Overlapping area, C ... Communication area, D'DL3 ... Communication speed, D'L1 ... Communication speed, D'L2 ... Communication speed, D'L3 ... Communication speed, D'Li ... Communication speed, D1 ... History information, D2 ... History information, D3 ... Map information, DL1-DL4 ... Communication speed, DW ... Communication speed, IRi ... Quality information, NW ... Wireless communication network, P1 ... Control program, P2 ... Control program, PBi ... Location information , PT ... Target position, RI ... Indoor.

Claims (9)

It is a communication device that can be moved by a mobile mechanism and relays communication between a wireless communication network and a plurality of information processing devices located indoors.
The first communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication network,
A second communication unit that wirelessly communicates with each of the plurality of information processing devices,
Based on the strength of the signal received from the wireless communication network, the first communication unit measures the first communication speed capable of communicating between the first communication unit and the wireless communication network, and the first measurement unit.
A second measuring unit that measures the second communication speed between the second communication unit and each of the plurality of information processing devices, and a second measuring unit.
A position detection unit that detects the position of the communication device indoors, and
Based on the history information in which the measurement results of the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit and the detection results of the position detection unit are associated with each predetermined time zone, the second communication unit and the plurality of A communication speed estimation unit that estimates the communication speed required for communication with each of the information processing devices for each time zone, and
The communication device capable of obtaining the required communication speed for each of the plurality of information processing devices based on the measurement result of the second measurement unit and the detection result of the position detection unit in the history information. An individual area identification unit that specifies an individual area that is a range of positions for each time zone,
Based on the history information, a communication area which is a range of positions of the communication devices whose first communication speed is larger than the total of the second communication speeds of the plurality of information processing devices is obtained, and the communication area and the communication area are obtained. A determination unit that determines the presence or absence of an overlapping region, which is an region that overlaps all of the individual regions, for each time zone.
If the determination result of the determination unit is affirmative, it has a movement control unit that positions the communication device in the overlapping region by using the movement mechanism.
Communication device. In the overlapping region, the position of the communication device that maximizes the value obtained by subtracting the total of the second communication speeds of the plurality of information processing devices from the first communication speed is set as the target position and estimated for each time zone. It has a target position estimation unit and
When the determination result of the determination unit is affirmative, the movement control unit positions the transmission / reception point at the target position.
The communication device according to claim 1. When the determination result of the determination unit is negative, the communication speed control unit is provided to reduce the required communication speed until the determination result of the determination unit becomes affirmative.
The communication device according to claim 1 or 2. The communication speed control unit reduces the highest communication speed among the required communication speeds of the plurality of information processing devices at a small rate as compared with other communication speeds.
The communication device according to claim 3. The communication speed control unit reduces the required communication speed of the plurality of information processing devices by a predetermined rate for each device of the plurality of information processing devices.
The communication device according to claim 3. The communication speed estimation unit estimates the required communication speed based on the learning model that has learned the history information.
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An acquisition unit that acquires position information regarding the position of the information processing device and quality information regarding communication quality between the information processing device and the second communication unit from each of the plurality of information processing devices.
A map information generation unit that generates map information that shows the relationship between the detection result of the position detection unit, the position information, and the quality information for each time zone.
It has a transmission control unit that causes the second communication unit to execute a process of transmitting the map information to one or more of the plurality of information processing devices.
The communication device according to claim 1 or 2. A moving mechanism for moving the first communication unit and the second communication unit, and
It has a storage unit for storing the history information and
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The communication device is a wireless router that communicates with the wireless communication network, or a repeater that communicates with the wireless communication network via the wireless router.
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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