JP2021048562A - Radio communication system, radio access point, method for guided connection to destination for radio terminal, and program for guided connection to destination for radio terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a radio communication system comprising a plurality of radio access points and relays as master units, in which the master unit side determines a destination master unit to which a radio terminal as a slave unit to connect.SOLUTION: A radio access point 10 and a relay 20 that function as master units collect and maintain respective information on the degree of congestion (congestion information) to be shared each other. When a connection request is transmitted from a radio terminal 30 to e.g. the radio access point 10 (Seq1), the radio access point 10 determines the best master unit to which the radio terminal 30 to connect on the basis of the maintained congestion information and notifies the relay 20 of information indicating the determined master unit as the connection destination, e.g. the relay 20 (Seq4). Then the radio access point 10 not determined as the connection destination discards the connection request by the radio terminal 30 (Seq5), and the relay 20 determined as the connection destination responds to the connection request by the radio terminal 30 with an acknowledgement and connects with the radio terminal 30 (Seq7).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a wireless access point, a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and a wireless terminal connection destination guidance program.

In the current wireless environment, in the case of a wireless environment in which there are multiple wireless access points (APs) on the master unit side that are candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal (STA: station) of the slave unit, the wireless terminal The wireless access point to which is connected depends on the determination of the wireless terminal side, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-110373 "Wireless access point selection method, wireless device and computer program". are doing. In the technique of Patent Document 1, the wireless terminal that selects the connection destination is provided with a function of calculating the communication throughput of each wireless access point, and the wireless access point that is expected to have the highest communication efficiency is connected to the connection destination. It is possible to select as.

Here, the multiple connection destination candidates on the master unit side are not limited to the case where all are wireless access points, and as shown in FIG. 8, there are wireless access points and repeaters (RPs). The same is true even if it is. This repeater is a kind of master unit having a function of relaying signals transmitted and received between a wireless terminal and a wireless access point. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless environment in which both a wireless access point and a repeater exist as connection destination candidates for wireless terminals in the current wireless communication system.

That is, in the example of FIG. 8, when the wireless terminal 30a is located at a position where radio waves from both the wireless access point 10a and the repeater 20a can be received, the wireless access point 10a is present at the wireless terminal 30a. The communication throughput of each of the repeater 20a and the repeater 20a is calculated, and the one predicted to have the highest communication efficiency is selected as the connection destination.

JP-A-2007-110373

However, in the current technology related to the present invention described above, there are the following problems to be solved.

With the current technology, if there are multiple connection destination candidate master units for the wireless terminal of the slave unit, the wireless terminal side decides which master unit to select and connect to, and the connection destination candidate. The configuration is such that the user of the wireless access point, repeater, or wireless terminal on the master unit side cannot be involved.

Therefore, in order to connect all wireless terminals to wireless access points and repeaters with good communication quality, a communication throughput calculation function is provided to all unspecified number of wireless terminals, and the connection with the best communication quality is provided. It's not realistic because you have to choose the destination first.

Further, in such a wireless terminal connection method, the wireless terminal selects and determines the connection destination by paying attention only to the communication throughput, and considers the degree of congestion on the wireless access point side and the repeater side, which are candidates for the connection destination. Since it is not done, there is a possibility that the wireless access point or repeater of the determined connection destination will be biased, the load will be concentrated, or the wireless access point or repeater with poor communication quality will be connected. There is.

Further, when the user of the channel to be used wants to specify the connection destination of the wireless terminal, it is necessary to delete the profile information about all the master units other than the connection destination to be connected from the storage unit of the wireless terminal, which is troublesome. Furthermore, if there are other wireless access points that use the same SSID (Service Set Identifier) and password as multiple connection destination candidates, the connection destination wireless access point will be in the specifications of the wireless terminal. It depends, and the user of the wireless terminal cannot be involved either. Therefore, there is a possibility of connecting to another wireless access point having the same SSID and password of unknown identity, and this possibility is a problem to be solved in terms of security.

(Purpose of the present invention)
In view of the problems to be solved, the present invention sets the connection destination to which the wireless terminal on the slave unit side should be connected in a wireless environment in which there are a plurality of master units that are candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal on the slave unit side. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system, a wireless access point, a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and a wireless terminal connection destination guidance program, which are determined by the machine side and guide the wireless terminal to connect to the determined connection destination. It is supposed to be.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the wireless communication system, the wireless access point, the wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and the wireless terminal connection destination guidance program according to the present invention mainly adopt the following characteristic configurations. ..

(1) The wireless communication system according to the present invention is
In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
It is characterized by that.

(2) The wireless access point according to the present invention is
A wireless access point that serves as a master unit to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected.
Installed in wireless communication systems along with other wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the other wireless access points, the own wireless access point and Information on the degree of congestion at each of the other wireless access points is held in a state of being shared with each other.
And,
When there is a connection request from the wireless terminal,
Based on the information on the degree of congestion of the own wireless access point and the other wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and the wireless terminal is determined. By notifying each of the other wireless access points of the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When the local wireless access point is determined as the connection destination, when the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, an affirmative response is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal. ,
If any of the other wireless access points is determined as the connection destination and the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, the connection request is not returned with an acknowledgment. Discard the connection request,
It is characterized by that.

(3) The wireless terminal connection destination guidance method according to the present invention is
In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, the connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the master unit side. This is a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method for guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
It is characterized by that.

(4) The wireless terminal connection destination guidance program according to the present invention is
In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, the connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the master unit side. A wireless terminal connection destination guidance program that executes a process of guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination by a computer mounted on the wireless access point.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
It is characterized by that.

According to the wireless communication system, the wireless access point, the wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and the wireless terminal connection destination guidance program of the present invention, the following effects can be mainly obtained.

That is, in the present invention, in a wireless environment in which a plurality of wireless access points (including a repeater is also included as a master unit) exist on the master unit side, the connection destination of the wireless terminal on the slave unit side to the master unit side is determined. In order to control on the wireless access point side, which is the master unit side, information on the congestion level of each of multiple wireless access points is shared, and when any wireless access point receives a connection request from a wireless terminal, it is shared. Since the connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from a plurality of wireless access points based on the information on the degree of congestion, it is possible to guide the connection destination of the wireless terminal of the slave unit to the determined connection destination. it can. Therefore, it is possible to distribute the load on the master unit side and improve the communication quality.

It is a network block diagram which shows an example of exchanging information with a wireless access point, a repeater, and a wireless terminal in the wireless communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the internal structure of the wireless access point, the repeater and the wireless terminal in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one Embodiment of this invention. As an embodiment of the present invention, in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1, an element added in addition to a vendor specific field of a Beacon signal transmitted / received between a wireless access point and a repeater. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation of the wireless access point in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation of the repeater in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one Embodiment of this invention. As an operation example of the present invention, a transition showing an example of the transition state of the control information flag added as an element to the Beacon signal transmitted / received by the radio access point and the repeater shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is a figure. It is a network block diagram which shows an example of the exchange of information with each wireless access point and a wireless terminal in the case where a plurality of wireless access points and a management wireless access point are installed. It is a schematic diagram which shows the wireless environment in which both a wireless access point and a repeater exist as a connection destination candidate of a wireless terminal in the current wireless communication system.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the wireless communication system, the wireless access point, the wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and the wireless terminal connection destination guidance program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In the following description, the wireless communication system, the wireless access point, and the wireless terminal connection destination guidance method according to the present invention will be described, but the wireless terminal connection destination guidance method can be executed by a computer as a wireless terminal connection destination guidance program. Needless to say, this may be carried out, or the wireless terminal connection destination guidance program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Further, it is needless to say that the drawing reference reference numerals attached to the following drawings are added to each element for convenience as an example for assisting understanding, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated embodiment. No.

(Features of the present invention)
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present invention, an outline of the features of the present invention will be described first. The present invention is used by a wireless terminal when there are a plurality of wireless access points (APs) on the master unit side that are candidates for connection to the wireless terminal (STA: station) on the slave unit side. Each wireless access point shares and holds information on the degree of congestion at each wireless access point in the band that can be enabled, and when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal, the information on the degree of congestion of each wireless access point is related. Based on the information, the most suitable wireless access point is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and only the wireless access point determined as the connection destination responds to the connection request from the wireless terminal. The main feature is to guide the connection destination of.

Here, as the master unit, only a wireless access point, which is a wireless connection device having a function of connecting wireless terminals to each other or connecting to another network, is shown. However, a repeater (RP: repeater) that relays signals transmitted and received between a wireless terminal and a wireless access point that is a wireless connection device is also a type of master unit, and is a candidate for a connection destination of a wireless terminal on the slave unit side. In an environment where there are a plurality of wireless access points (that is, wireless connection devices) and repeaters as master units, the repeaters may perform the same operations as the above-mentioned wireless access points (that is, wireless connection devices). It is one of the main features.

Therefore, the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) side or the repeater side controls the connection destination of the wireless terminal as the master unit, and the load distribution and communication of the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) and the repeater The quality can be improved. Further, as described above, by providing the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) side or the repeater side with a function of selecting and determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal, the wireless terminal can be wirelessly responded to the connection request. It is possible to guide an unspecified number of all wireless terminals to the optimum connection destination without depending on the function of the terminal side.

That is, in the case of the current technology, when there are a plurality of master units (wireless access points and repeaters) that are candidates for connection to the wireless terminal on the slave unit side, the wireless terminals on the slave unit side are each of the plurality of master units. If the SSID (wireless access point or repeater identifier) is located in a place where it can be detected, or if the wireless terminal on the slave unit side has profile information about multiple master units, the above-mentioned As described above, which master unit (wireless access point or repeater) the wireless terminal on the slave unit side connects to is determined depending on the specifications of the wireless terminal on the slave unit side.

On the other hand, in the present invention, information is shared between a plurality of master units using a management frame, and when a connection request is received from a wireless terminal on the slave unit side, the information shared by each master unit is used. After selecting and determining the optimum master unit to be the connection destination of the wireless terminal on the slave unit side, only the master unit determined as the connection destination responds to the connection request from the slave unit (affirmation). (Response), but the master unit other than the master unit determined as the connection destination operates so as not to respond to the connection request from the slave unit so that the master unit side guides the connection destination of the slave unit. Can be controlled to.

Here, as the information shared by each master unit, the connection destination of the slave unit is selected and determined by using the information on the degree of congestion such as the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value. Then, regarding the connection of the slave unit, it is possible to guide the master unit to have better communication quality. Furthermore, by using not only the RSSI value but also the information on the throughput value as a judgment material, it is possible to determine the master unit (wireless access point) using the upper network with higher communication quality as the connection destination. ..

Further, in order to share information among a plurality of master units, by adding the information to a Beacon signal and exchanging information, even when a plurality of master units exist in different networks. , The information can be shared among a plurality of master units, and even if the master units exist in different networks, the optimum master unit can be determined as the connection destination.

(Embodiment of the present invention)
Next, an embodiment of the wireless communication system according to the present invention will be described. In the case of a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that are candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the wireless access point 10a and the repeater 20a are candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30a. In the present embodiment, unlike the case of the current technology of FIG. 8, the wireless terminal is not on the wireless terminal side of the slave unit but on the wireless access point side and the repeater side of the master unit. It has a function to select and determine the connection destination, and in response to a connection request from the wireless terminal, the connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined on the master unit side, and the wireless terminal is connected to the determined connection destination. It adopts a configuration that has a connection destination guidance function that guides the destination.

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of exchanging information with a wireless access point, a repeater, and a wireless terminal in the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as in the case of FIG. 8, a user can use the network configuration diagram. The case where the wireless terminal 30 to be used exists at a position where the radio waves of both the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 can be received is shown. That is, two wireless access points 10 and a repeater 20 exist as master units as candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 of the slave unit, and both the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 forming the master unit exist. Shows the case where the connection destination guidance function peculiar to the present invention is provided.

Here, the wireless access point 10 is a wireless connection device having a function of connecting wireless terminals to each other and connecting to another network, and the repeater 20 is wireless with the wireless access point 10 which is a wireless connection device. It is a device that relays signals transmitted and received to and from the terminal 30. The wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 perform exactly the same operation as the connection destination guidance function in that they share information on their respective congestion levels and control the connection destination of the wireless slave unit. Therefore, in the following description, in order to simplify the description, when it is not necessary to clearly distinguish both the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 which are wireless connection devices, the wireless access point 10 is used. The repeater 20 may be collectively described by the term “wireless access point”.

In the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless terminal 30 connects, for example, an IEEE 802.11 standard compliant AUTOH (Authentication) signal to a wireless access point 10. (Sequence Seq1), the wireless access point 10 that has received the 802.11 signal temporarily suspends the response to the received 802.11 signal. Then, the wireless access point 10 requests another wireless access point, in the case of FIG. 1, the repeater 20 to return information on the degree of congestion in the band in which the wireless terminal 30 can be used (data request). Data Request) Signal is transmitted (Sequence Seq2).

When the repeater 20 receives the data request signal from the wireless access point 10, the repeater 20 takes out the information held in advance as the information on the degree of congestion corresponding to the request of the data request signal. It is returned as a data response signal to the requesting wireless access point 10 (sequence Seq3). Here, the information regarding the degree of congestion is information indicating the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal 30, and is, for example, information indicating an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value. Then, the information of the RSSI value in the repeater 20 is transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 for inquiring about the master unit prior to the transmission of the Identifier signal from the wireless terminal 30, for example, the SSID (Service Set) of the master unit. Identifier: It is possible to obtain in advance by monitoring a probe request signal or the like with information (identifier of wireless access point or repeater).

When the wireless access point 10 receives the congestion degree information in the repeater 20 returned from the repeater 20 as a data response signal, for example, information on the RSSI value, the wireless access point 10 indicates the congestion degree information in the own wireless access point 10. Compare with, for example, information about RSSI values. Then, in the comparison result, the wireless access point 10 uses the device (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) having less congestion as the source of the AUTOH signal for the authentication request (that is, the connection request). Determined as the connection destination of the terminal 30. Then, the MAC address (MAC addr) that identifies the device (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) determined as the connection destination is used as the connection destination determination notification (Access Point Notification) signal of the wireless terminal 30 to the repeater 20. Notify (Sequence Seq4). For example, when the wireless access point 10 determines that the repeater 20 is less congested than the own wireless access point 10 and determines that the repeater 20 is the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the repeater 20 is used. Notify the repeater 20 of the MAC address that identifies.

Information transmission / reception between the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 (data request signal for requesting acquisition of congestion degree information, data response signal for returning congestion degree information, wireless terminal). The transmission / reception of a decision notification (Access Point Notification) signal for notifying that the connection destination of the 30 has been determined, a connection completion (Association Done) signal for notifying that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed, etc.) is used as a management frame. For example, the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard is used.

When the wireless access point 10 determines the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the wireless access point 10 is Ack (Acknowledge: affirmative), which is a response to the AUTOH signal received by the wireless access point. Response) The held AUTOH signal is discarded without performing the operation of returning the signal to the wireless terminal 30 (sequence Seq5). As a result, the wireless terminal 30 detects the response timeout of the AUTOH signal and retransmits the AUTOH signal to the other wireless access point to the repeater 20 in the case of FIG. 1 (sequence Seq6).

When the repeater 20 receives the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30, the repeater 20 receives the notification of the MAC address indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is the own repeater 20 from the wireless access point 10, so that the AUTOH signal is received. By returning an Ac (Acknowledge: affirmative response) signal, which is a response of the AUTH signal, to the wireless terminal 30 of the source of the above (sequence Seq7), the wireless terminal 30 is authenticated and the wireless terminal 30 is connected to the wireless terminal 30. Wirelessly connect.

(Structure example of this embodiment)
Next, FIG. 2 is used as an example of the internal configurations of the wireless access point 10, the repeater 20, and the wireless terminal 30 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the wireless access point, the repeater, and the wireless terminal according to the present invention. I will explain. FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the wireless access point 10, the repeater 20, and the wireless terminal 30 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 have the same internal configuration with respect to the parts related to the present embodiment, and the wireless access point 10 has the wireless unit 11 and the control unit, respectively. 12. The storage unit 13 is inside, and the repeater 20 has a radio unit 21, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23 inside. Further, the wireless terminal 30 has a wireless unit 31 and a control unit 32 inside.

When the wireless unit 31 of the wireless terminal 30 shown in FIG. 2 broadcasts and transmits an IEEE 802.11 standard compliant probe request signal in which the wireless access point 10 is specified in the SSID (Service Set Identifier) information for inquiring about the master unit. Both the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 and the wireless unit 21 of the repeater 20 receive the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30. Then, information on the RSSI value of the probe request signal received by the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 and the wireless unit 21 of the repeater 20 and the MAC address of the source wireless terminal 30 is acquired. The acquired information is written and held in the respective storage units 13 and 23 by the respective control units 12 and 22 as information indicating the degree of congestion in each. Then, the RSSI value of the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30 written in each of the storage units 13 and the storage unit 23 is overwritten and updated to the latest state each time the probe request signal is received from the wireless terminal 30. To go.

Further, when the control unit 12 of the wireless access point 10 confirms that the own wireless access point 10 is a device corresponding to the SSID information designated for the master unit inquiry in the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30, the control unit 12 confirms that the device corresponds to the SSID information. A response to the probe request signal is returned from the wireless unit 11 to the wireless terminal 30 of the transmission source. On the other hand, the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 does not return a response to the probe request signal because the connection destination specified by the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30 is not its own device.

Next, when the wireless unit 31 of the wireless terminal 30 receives the response (response to the transmitted probe request signal) returned from the wireless access point 10, the control unit 32 signals for an authentication request (that is, for a connection request). The IEEE (Authentication) signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard generated as is transmitted to the wireless access point 10. When the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 receives the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30, the wireless unit 11 delivers the received AUTOH signal to the control unit 12.

The control unit 12 is most suitable as a connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 that is the source of the AUTOH signal, than the repeater 20 or other wireless access points that the wireless terminal 30 recognizes. In order to confirm whether or not, the return of the response to the received AUTOH signal is temporarily suspended, and the repeater 20 and other wireless access points are provided with a management frame for acquiring information on the degree of congestion at each. Broadcast transmission is performed from the radio unit 11.

For example, a Beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard is used as the management frame to be transmitted to acquire information on the degree of congestion in each. Then, a data request flag for requesting the return of RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 held by the repeater 20 or another wireless access point in the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal. A signal to which an element with (Data Request Flag) turned on ('1') is added is generated, and the generated Beacon signal is broadcast-transmitted from the radio unit 11. Here, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 is congestion degree information regarding a band that can be used by the wireless terminal 30, and the repeater 20 or another wireless access point sends a probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30. Information about the RSSI value when received.

When the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted by the wireless access point 10 in the radio unit 21, the control unit 22 analyzes an element added to the beacon signal in addition to the beacon signal. As an analysis result, it is detected that the data request flag ('1') for requesting the return of the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the self-repeater 20 is set to the element. Therefore, the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 has information on the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the self-repeater 20 held in the storage unit 23 (that is, information on the RSSI value when the probe request signal is received from the wireless terminal 30). ) Is read out as congestion degree information in the repeater 20.

Then, the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 sets, for example, an element in which information regarding the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the repeater 20 is set in the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal, and the RSSI. A signal is generated by adding an element in which the Data Response Flag indicating the return of information regarding the value is turned on ('1'), and the generated Beacon signal is broadcast-transmitted from the radio unit 21. To do.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the devices recognized as the master unit to which the wireless terminal 30 can be connected are the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20, and other wireless access points are used. I don't recognize it. Therefore, even if a wireless access point other than the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal broadcast-transmitted from the wireless access point 10, the other wireless access points other than the repeater 20 are from the wireless terminal 30. Since the probe request signal is not received, the wireless terminal 30 requested by the beacon signal from the wireless access point 10 from the wireless access points other than the repeater 20. The operation of transmitting the RSSI value information of is not performed.

Next, when the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 receives the beacon signal broadcasted from the repeater 20, the control unit 12 additionally adds an element to the beacon signal. To analyze. As a result of the analysis, when the control unit 12 detects that the Data Response Flag indicating the return of RSSI value information is set to ON ('1') in the element, the Beacon signal is detected. The information of the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the repeater 20 returned by the above is acquired.

Then, the control unit 12 compares the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the returned repeater 20 with the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the own wireless access point 10 held in the storage unit 13. As a result of comparison, when the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the returned repeater 20 is larger than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the own wireless access point 10, the repeater 20 is itself. Since the degree of congestion is lower than that of the wireless access point 10 and the communication quality is good, the repeater 20 in a state more suitable than the own wireless access point 10 is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30.

Therefore, in such a case, the control unit 12 holds the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 in the storage unit 13, and the repeater 20 is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. A connection destination determination notification signal is generated and transmitted from the radio unit 11.

As the connection destination determination notification signal, for example, in the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal, information regarding the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is input to the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. An access point determination notification flag (for notifying that the element set together with the address and the master unit (including not only the wireless access point but also the repeater) to be connected to the wireless terminal 30 are selected and determined. Generates a signal with the element with Access Point Notification Flag) turned on ('1') and added. Then, the generated Beacon signal is broadcast-transmitted from the radio unit 11.

Further, in such a case, even if the control unit 12 receives the AUTOH signal for authentication request (that is, connection request) from the wireless terminal 30, the control unit 12 discards the AUTOH signal and shows a response to the AUTOH signal. The operation of returning the Ac signal to the wireless terminal 30 is not performed. As a result, the wireless terminal 30 that is the source of the AUTOH signal detects the response timeout of the transmitted AUTOH signal, and considers that the wireless access point 10 of the inquiry destination is in a state where it cannot be connected. , Another master unit (repeater 20 in this embodiment) is selected as a candidate for the next connection destination, and an operation of transmitting an AUTOH signal to the repeater 20 is performed.

On the other hand, when the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted by the wireless access point 10 in the radio unit 21, the control unit 22 analyzes an element added to the beacon signal in addition to the beacon signal. As a result of the analysis, when the wireless access point 10 determines the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 to the repeater 20, the access point determination to the effect that the wireless access point to connect to the wireless terminal 30 has been determined for the element. It is detected that the notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) is set to on ('1') and the MAC address of the self-repeater 20 is set as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. Therefore, the control unit 22 determines the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 to be connected as the connection destination (or the self-repeater determined as the connection target) from the element of the received Beacon signal. (Both the MAC address of 20 and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30) are read out and stored in the storage unit 23.

After that, when the repeater 20 receives the AUTOH signal for authentication request (that is, for connection request) transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 in the wireless unit 21, the repeater 20 delivers the received AUTOH signal to the control unit 22. In the control unit 22, the MAC address of the authentication request destination specified by the AUTOH signal is the MAC address of the self-repeater, and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 indicating the source of the AUTOH signal is connected to the storage unit 23. It is confirmed whether or not the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 held as the information for identifying the wireless terminal 30 determined by the self-repeater 20 matches.

As a result of confirmation, if the MAC address of the source wireless terminal 30 matches the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 held in the storage unit 23, the control unit 22 controls the wireless terminal 30 to be legitimately connected. It is determined that the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30 is being received, an authentication operation is performed to allow connection with the wireless terminal 30, and an Ac (Acknowledge) signal is transmitted from the wireless unit 21 as a positive response to the received AUTOH signal. It is returned to the wireless terminal 30 of the transmission source.

Further, when the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 completes the connection with the wireless terminal 30 by returning the Ac signal, for example, the wireless terminal 30 and the wireless terminal 30 are set in the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal. Information about the element for which the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection has been completed is turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC address of the repeater 20 to which the connection is made. Generates a signal with the included elements added. Then, the generated Beacon signal is broadcast-transmitted from the radio unit 21.

Then, when the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 receives the beacon signal broadcasted from the repeater 20, the control unit 12 adds an element added to the beacon signal. To analyze. As a result of the analysis, when the control unit 12 detects that the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed is set to on ('1') in the element, it detects itself. The Beacon signal that is periodically transmitted from the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 to the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal is relayed to the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 as a connection destination determination notification. The element added to notify that the device 20 is selected and determined is deleted, and the initial state in which the element is not added is restored.

Here, the element additionally added as a connection destination determination notification to the vendor specific field of the beacon signal generated by the control unit 12 of the wireless access point 10 is as described above. , Notifies that the element in which the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 are set and the wireless access point of the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 are selected and determined. This is an element in which the Access Point Notification Flag is turned on ('1').

FIG. 3 shows a vendor specific field of a Beacon signal transmitted and received between the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the element added additionally. If another wireless access point or repeater exists in addition to the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 as the master unit, the other wireless access point or repeater may also be connected to FIG. Needless to say, elements similar to the above are transmitted and received.

In the case of the above-described embodiment, in the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal shown in FIG. 3, "Staion 1" in the second line is the identification name of the wireless terminal 30 of the connection request source. The connection request source wireless terminal column 41 is shown, the third to seventh lines are the control information flag column 42 indicating the type of control information to be transmitted / received by a flag, and the “Station address” in the eighth line is the connection request. The connection request source wireless terminal address field 43 indicating the MAC address of the original wireless terminal 30, and the "Access Point address" on the ninth line is the connection destination address field indicating the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination. 44, “Rssi” in the 10th line is an RSSI value column 45 indicating an RSSI value in another wireless access point (including the repeater 20) returned to the wireless access point 10.

The "Control Flag: 0X0100" shown in the first line (that is, the third line of the element) of the control information flag column 42 in FIG. 3 indicates the control information type flag in hexadecimal notation, from the bottom. It shows the case where only the third flag is on ('1'), but all the other flags are off ('0'). Here, as shown in the second line (that is, the fourth line of the element) and subsequent lines of the control information flag column 42, the first flag from the bottom is the wireless access point in order from the beginning of the control information type flag. 10 indicates a data request flag for a congestion degree information return request transmitted to the repeater 20 (including other wireless access points), and the second flag is the repeater 20 (other wireless access points). Indicates a data response flag for returning congestion degree information returned to the wireless access point 10. The third flag from the bottom indicates the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) for the connection destination determination notification transmitted by the wireless access point 10 to the repeater 20 (including other wireless access points). The fourth flag is the connection completion flag (Association) for connection completion notification transmitted to the wireless access point 10 (including other wireless access points) by the repeater 20 (including other wireless access points) determined as the connection destination. done Flag) is shown.

That is, as described above, each of the wireless access points (including the repeater) forming the plurality of master units sends and receives information on the collected congestion degree, notifies the determination of the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and completes the connection with the wireless terminal. By transmitting and receiving information related to each of the above and the like to and from each of the wireless access points using the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard, between the master units. Share information with. Then, for example, a control information flag as shown in FIG. 3 is used as an identifier for identifying information transmitted / received by the vendor specific field of the Beacon signal. In this way, in order to share information between multiple master units, information is exchanged by adding information for sharing as an element to the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal. Therefore, even when a plurality of master units exist in different networks, the information can be shared among the plurality of master units, and even if the master units are in different networks, the slave units can be used. The optimum master unit can be determined as the connection destination.

In the control information flag column 42 shown in FIG. 3, in the above description, the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the wireless access point 10 has completed the connection from the repeater 20 to the wireless terminal 30 is turned on. Taking as an example the setting state of the control information flag of the element added to the Vender Specific Field of the Beacon signal when the Beacon signal of ('1') is received. Shown.

(Explanation of Operation Example of This Embodiment)
Next, an operation example of the wireless access point 10 shown as an embodiment of the present invention in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the wireless access point 10 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, and is a SSID (Service Set Identifier) of the own wireless access point 10 from the wireless terminal 30. ) Is specified and the response signal to the probe request signal transmitted is returned, and the probe request received not only by the self-wireless access point 10 forming the master unit but also by each repeater 20. An operation example after holding the information about the RSSI value of the signal is shown. It should be noted that the wireless access point 10 and the repeater other than the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 indicate the case where the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30 is not received.

As shown in FIG. 4, during normal operation after the wireless access point 10 returns the response of the probe request signal to the wireless terminal 30 (step S100), the wireless terminal 30 is used for authentication request (step S100). That is, it continues to monitor whether or not the AUTO signal (for connection request) has been received (step S101). Then, unless the AUTOH signal is received (No in step S101), the operation of step 101 is repeated.

On the other hand, when the wireless access point 10 receives the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30 (Yes in step S101), the wireless access point 10 may check the degree of congestion related to wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30 at another wireless access point or repeater 20. The control information flag in which the data request flag ('1') for requesting the transmission of RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the wireless access point or the repeater 20 is turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30. Is added as an element to generate an added beacon signal, which is broadcast and transmitted (step S102).

After that, the wireless access point 10 monitors whether or not a predetermined fixed time (n seconds) has elapsed as the return time limit from the other wireless access point or the repeater 20 (step S103). If the fixed time (n seconds) has not yet elapsed (No in step S103), then, as information indicating the degree of congestion related to wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30 from another wireless access point or repeater 20. , It is examined whether or not the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the other wireless access point or the repeater 20 has been returned (step S104).

If the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 has not yet been returned from the other wireless access point or repeater 20 (No in step S104), the process returns to step S102 and the data request flag is turned on. The broadcast transmission operation of the Beacon signal added by adding the control information flag set to ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 as elements is repeated.

On the other hand, in step S103, when it is detected that a predetermined fixed time (n seconds) has elapsed since the beacon signal was broadcast-transmitted (Yes in step S103), another wireless access point or repeater 20 Determines that the RSSI value information with the wireless terminal 30 has not been acquired, and the wireless access point 10 determines the own wireless access point 10 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. Then, the wireless access point 10 has a control information flag in which the access point determination notification flag ('1') indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined is turned on ('1') and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. Information about the address and the MAC address of the own wireless access point 10 determined as the connection destination is added as an element to generate an added beacon signal, which is broadcast and transmitted (step S105). After that, the wireless access point 10 returns the Ac signal to the wireless terminal 30 as an affirmative response to the AUTO signal received from the wireless terminal 30 in step S101 (step S106).

Further, the wireless access point 10 that has returned an affirmative response to the AUTOH signal notifies other wireless access points and the repeater 20 that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed. That is, the wireless access point 10 has a control information flag in which the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed is turned on ('1'), and the MAC address and connection of the wireless terminal 30. A beacon signal to which the information about the MAC address of the self-radio access point 10 is added to the element is generated and broadcast-transmitted (step S107). After that, the wireless access point 10 returns to the state at the time of normal operation (step S112).

Further, in step S104, when the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 is returned as congestion degree information only from, for example, the repeater 20 among the other wireless access points and the repeater 20 (Yes in step S104), the radio is wireless. The access point 10 compares the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the returned repeater 20 with the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the own wireless access point 10. That is, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the own wireless access point 10 is lower than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the returned repeater 20, and the own wireless access point 10 is higher than the repeater 20. It is confirmed whether or not the degree of congestion is high (step S108).

The RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the local wireless access point 10 is not lower than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the repeater 20, and the local wireless access point 10 is not more congested than the repeater 20. If it is determined that there is (No in step S108), the own wireless access point 10 is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, and the process proceeds to step S105.

On the other hand, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the local wireless access point 10 is lower than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the repeater 20, and the local wireless access point 10 is more congested than the repeater 20. When it is determined that the value is high (Yes in step S108), the wireless access point 10 determines the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. Then, the wireless access point 10 has a control information flag in which the access point determination notification flag ('1') indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined is turned on ('1') and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. Information about the address and the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination is added as an element to generate an added Beacon signal, which is broadcast and transmitted (step S109).

After that, the wireless access point 10 monitors the Beacon signal from the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination, and has the connection between the repeater 20 and the wireless terminal 30 of the slave unit to be connected completed? It shifts to the state of monitoring whether or not. That is, the wireless access point 10 connects with the control information flag in which the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed is turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30. It continues to monitor that the Beacon signal added by adding the information about the MAC address of the repeater 20 as an element is transmitted from the repeater 20 (step S110).

The wireless access point 10 provides information on the control information flag with the connection completed flag (Association done Flag) turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC address of the repeater 20 to which the connection is made. When the beacon signal added as an element is received from the repeater 20, the wireless terminal 30 is connected from the beacon signal that is periodically transmitted from the own wireless access point 10 at a predetermined cycle. The element added and added to notify that the repeater 20 has been selected and determined as a destination is deleted (step S111). After that, the wireless access point 10 returns to the state at the time of normal operation (step S112).

Next, an operation example of the repeater 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the repeater 20 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, and is a probe request (probe request) transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 to the wireless access point 10. Probe Request) The RSSI value when the signal is intercepted is used as the congestion degree information when the wireless terminal 30 and the self-repeater 20 are connected, and an operation example after the acquired state is shown.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the normal operation in which the repeater 20 has already acquired the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 (step S200), the transmission of the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the self-repeater 20 is performed. The wireless access point 10 is the Beacon signal to which the control information flag with the requested data request flag turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 are added as elements and added. Continue to monitor whether or not the data has been transmitted from (step S201). Then, unless the control information flag with the data request flag turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 are added as elements and the added beacon signal is received (step). No) of S201), the operation of step 201 is repeated.

On the other hand, the repeater 20 adds a control information flag in which the data request flag is turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 as elements, and adds a beacon signal. When the data is received from the wireless access point 10 (Yes in step S201), the operation of returning the information indicating the degree of congestion in the self-repeater 20 in the band to be used by the wireless terminal 30 is performed. That is, the repeater 20 is the control information flag in which the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the self-repeater 20 and the data response flag indicating the return of the RSSI value information (Data Response Flag) are turned on ('1') and the repeater 20. A Beacon signal added by adding the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 as an element is generated and broadcast-transmitted (step S202).

After that, the repeater 20 sets the control information flag in which the access point notification flag ('1') indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined is turned on ('1') and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. Monitors whether or not a beacon signal added by adding information about the address and the MAC address of the wireless access point 10 or the self-repeater 20 determined as the connection destination as an element has been transmitted from the wireless access point 10. Continue to (step S203). Then, the control information flag with the access point notification flag turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC of the wireless access point 10 or the self-repeater 20 determined as the connection destination. Unless the Beacon signal to which the information related to the address is added as an element is received (No in step S203), the operation of step 203 is repeated.

On the other hand, the repeater 20 determines the control information flag with the access point notification flag turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the wireless access point 10 or itself determined as the connection destination. When a beacon (Beacon) signal to which information about the MAC address of the repeater 20 is added as an element is received from the wireless access point 10 (Yes in step S203), it is set in the element of the received beacon (Beacon) signal. It is confirmed whether or not the MAC address is the same as the MAC address of the self-repeater 20 (step S204).

If the MAC address set in the element of the received Beacon signal matches the MAC address of the self-repeater 20 (Yes in step S204), the repeater 20 is set to the wireless access point 10. In, it is determined that the self-repeater 20 is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. Therefore, the repeater 20 then continues to monitor whether or not the AUTOH signal for the authentication request (that is, for the connection request) has been transmitted to the own repeater 20 from the wireless terminal 30 to be connected (that is, for the connection request). Step S205). Then, unless the AUTOH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 (No in step S205), the operation of step 205 is repeated.

On the other hand, when the repeater 20 receives the AUTOH signal transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 to be connected to the self-repeater 20 (Yes in step S205), the repeater 20 outputs an Ac signal indicating an affirmative response to the received AUTOH signal. By returning the signal to the wireless terminal 30 (step S206), the state shifts to the state of connecting to the wireless terminal 30 to be connected.

After that, when the repeater 20 completes the connection with the wireless terminal 30, the control information flag with the connection completed flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed turned on ('1'). And the wireless access point 10 and others by broadcasting and transmitting the added beacon (Beacon) signal by adding information about the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of the self-repeater 20 as the connection destination as an element. Notify the wireless access point of (step S207). After that, the repeater 20 returns to the normal operation state (step S210).

Further, in step S204, if the MAC address set in the element of the received beacon (Beacon) signal does not match the MAC address of the self-repeater 20 (No in step S204), the repeater 20 Is a case where the self-repeater 20 is not determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, and the wireless access point 10 or another wireless access point indicated by the MAC address set in the element is determined as the connection destination. judge.

Therefore, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') a connection completed flag ('1') indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed from the wireless access point 10 or another wireless access point determined as the connection destination. ), The MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of the wireless access point to which the wireless terminal is connected are added as elements to monitor the transmission of the Beacon signal. Continue to (step S208). Then, the control information flag in which the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed is turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the wireless access as the connection destination Unless the Beacon signal to which the information regarding the MAC address of the point is added as an element is received (No in step S208), the operation of step 208 is repeated.

On the other hand, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') a connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed from the wireless access point 10 or another wireless access point determined as the connection destination. ), The MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of the wireless access point to which the wireless terminal is connected are added as elements to receive the added beacon (Beacon) signal (Yes in step S208). ), The Beacon signal that is periodically transmitted from the self-repeater 20 at a predetermined cycle is additionally added to return the RSSI information of the wireless terminal 30 as the congestion degree information in the repeater 20. The existing element is deleted (step S209). After that, the repeater 20 returns to the normal operation state (step S210).

Next, in the operation example of the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5, the transition state of the control information flag additionally added as an element of the beacon signal to be broadcast is transmitted. Will be further described with reference to the transition diagram of FIG. FIG. 6 shows a transition of a control information flag added as an element to the Beacon signal transmitted / received by the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as an operation example of the present invention. It is a transition diagram which shows an example of a state. In the transition diagram of FIG. 6, the circled box indicates the setting state of the control information flag, and the hexadecimal value in the circled box is held for setting in the element of the Beacon signal. Indicates the setting contents of the control information flag. The arrow lines connecting the boxes marked with circles indicate the conditions that cause the transition of the control information flag setting state.

In FIG. 6, when the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 are in the normal operating state, both of the control information flags are in the off state ('0') and in the state of '0X0000' (state 0). It has become. Then, when the AUTOH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 in the state 0, the state transitions to the state 1, and the first data request flag (Data Request Flag) from the lower level is turned on ('1') as the control information flag. Once set, the control information flag setting state transitions to the data request state (state 1) of '0X0001'.

Further, in the state 0, when a beacon (Beacon) signal with the data request flag turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20), the state 2 is set. After transitioning, the control information flag is set to the second lowest data response flag (Data Response Flag) to be on ('1'), and the control information flag setting state is the data response state ('0X0010'). Transition to state 2).

Further, in the state 0, the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30 is not received, and any of the control information flags other than the data request flag (Data Request Flag) is turned on ('1) from another wireless access point. When the Beacon signal of') is received, the state of the normal operating state (state 0) is maintained.

Next, the data request state (state 1) in which the first data request flag (Data Request Flag) from the bottom is set to on ('1') and the control information flag setting state is '0X0001' will be described. .. In state 1, when a beacon signal with a data request flag turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), the wireless terminal 30 itself receives a Beacon signal. In the case of the master unit receiving the AUTOH signal from the above (when the wireless access point 10 in FIG. 4 described above), the data request state (state 1) is maintained. However, if it is not the master unit that received the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30 (when it was the repeater 20 in FIG. 4 described above), the state transitions to the state 2 and the control information flag is set. , The second data response flag from the bottom (Data Response Flag) is set to on ('1'), and the setting state of the control information flag transitions to the data response state (state 2) of '0X0010'.

Further, in the state 1, when a Beacon signal with the data response flag turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20), the state 3 is set. After transitioning, the control information flag is set to the third access point decision notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) from the bottom to on ('1'), and the control information flag setting state is '0X0100'. Transition to the prior decision notification (access point decision notification) state (state 3).

Further, in the state 1, when a Beacon signal with the access point determination notification flag ('1') turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20), Transitioning to state 4, the control information flag is set to the fourth connection completion flag (Association done Flag) from the bottom to on ('1'), and the control information flag setting state is '0X1000'. Transition to the completed state (state 4).

Further, in the state 1, the data request flag (Data Request Flag), the data response flag (Data Response Flag), and the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20). If any of the control information flags other than) is on ('1') and a Beacon signal is received, it is determined that an exception state has occurred in which an invalid control information flag has been received. Then, it transitions to the normal operation state (state 0), all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the setting state of the control information flag transitions to the state (state 0) of '0X0000'. ..

Next, the data response state (state 2) in which the second data response flag (Data Response Flag) from the bottom is set to on ('1') and the control information flag setting state is '0X0010' will be described. , In the state 2, when the beacon (Beacon) signal with the access point determination notification flag ('1') turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20), it itself. When is the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the state 4 is set and the control information flag is set to the fourth connection completion flag (Association done Flag) from the lower level to on ('1'). Then, the setting state of the control information flag transitions to the connection completion state (state 4) of '0X1000'.

Further, in the state 2, when a Beacon signal of the data request flag on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20), data is obtained. The state of the response state (state 2) is maintained.

Further, in the state 2, a Beacon signal with the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20). However, if it is not the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, or other control information flags other than the data request flag (Data Request Flag) and the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) from other wireless access points. When any of the above ('1') Beacon signals are received, it is determined that an exception state has occurred in which an invalid control information flag has been received, and the state transitions to state 0. , All of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the setting state of the control information flag transitions to the normal operation state ((state 0) of '0X0000'.

Next, the third access point decision notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) from the bottom is set to on ('1'), and the connection destination decision notification (access point) whose control information flag setting state is '0X0100' When a Beacon signal with the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) turned on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (radio access point 10 or repeater 20) in the decision notification) state (state 3). , Transition to the state 0, all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the setting state of the control information flag transitions to the normal operation state (state 0) of '0X0000'.

Further, in the state 3, when the user is the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, when the Ac signal is returned to the wireless terminal 30 as a response to the AUTO signal received from the wireless terminal 30, the state 4 is entered. As for the control information flag, the fourth connection completion flag (Association done Flag) from the bottom is set to on ('1'), and the setting state of the control information flag is set to the connection completion state (state 4) of '0X1000'. Transition.

Further, in the state 3, any of the control information flags other than the connection completed flag (Association done Flag) from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) and not the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. When the Beacon signal of the flag on ('1') is received, the state of the connection destination determination notification (access point determination notification) state (state 3) is maintained.

Next, the connection completion state (state 4) in which the fourth connection completion flag (Association done Flag) from the bottom is set to on ('1') and the control information flag setting state is '0X1000' will be described. .. In the state 4, after the Beacon signal with the connection completed flag (Association done Flag) turned on ('1') is transmitted, a predetermined elapsed time as the time for returning to the normal state elapses and a timeout ( When Time out) occurs, the state transitions to state 0, all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the control information flag setting state is '0X0000', which is the normal operating state (state 0). ).

Further, in the state 4, when any of the control information flags is on ('1') Beacon signal is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), the connection is completed. The state of the state (state 4) is maintained.

(Explanation of the effect of this embodiment)
As described in detail above, the following effects can be achieved in the present embodiment.

That is, in a wireless environment in which a plurality of wireless access points (including a repeater is also included as a master unit) exist on the master unit side, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 on the slave unit side to the master unit side is set on the master unit side. In order to control on the side of a certain wireless access point 10 or repeater 20, information on the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access point 10 and repeater 20 is shared by both parties, and for example, a connection request from the wireless terminal 30 is made to the wireless access point 10. At that time, the wireless access point 10 determines either the wireless access point 10 or the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 based on the shared congestion degree information, so that the determined connection destination It is possible to guide the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 of the slave unit to. Therefore, it is possible to distribute the load on the master unit side and improve the communication quality.

(Other Embodiments of the present invention)
The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, and other embodiments as described below can also be applied.

<Other Embodiment 1 of the present invention>
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of wireless access points 10 forming the master unit is one and the number of repeaters 20 is one has been described, but the number of units forming the master unit is not limited to such a number. For example, even if the number of wireless access points and repeaters is an arbitrary number of two or more, the wireless terminal 30 can be connected on the master unit side by following the same procedure as in the case of the above-described embodiment. The destination can be selected and determined, and the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be guided to the determined connection destination.

<Other Embodiment 2 of the present invention>
In the above-described embodiment, RSSI value information of the usable band of the wireless terminal 30 in the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 is used as information indicating the degree of congestion in the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 forming the master unit. Although the case has been described, the information indicating the degree of congestion is not limited to such RSSI value information. For example, the number of wireless terminals already connected to each of the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 on the master unit side, the throughput value between the connected wireless terminals, or the same channel is used. It is possible to replace it with information such as the number of other wireless access points, and it is also possible to use a plurality of pieces of such information in combination.

<Other Embodiment 3 of the present invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is selected and determined by using the information indicating the degree of congestion in the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 on the master unit side (for example, RSSI value information). As described above, the operation of determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is not limited to the case of automatically determining the connection destination based on the congestion degree information. For example, the user of the wireless terminal 30 can specify in advance any device among the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 on the master unit side as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30.

Then, a connection in which the MAC address that identifies the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of the master unit (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) designated as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 by the user of the wireless terminal 30 are associated with each other. The pre-registration table is created in advance and stored in advance in the storage unit 13 of the wireless access point 10 on the master unit side or the storage unit 23 of the repeater 20. After that, when the wireless terminal 30 transmits an authentication AUTOH signal to any device forming the master unit, for example, the wireless access point 10, the wireless access point 10 is held in the storage unit 13. The connection destination may be determined by referring to the connection destination registration table.

That is, each of the plurality of wireless access points (in the case of the above-described embodiment, the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20) register in advance the wireless access point of the master unit designated as the connection destination by the user of the wireless terminal 30 in advance. When the connection destination registration table is stored in each storage unit, when determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the wireless terminal 30 is based on information on the degree of congestion of each wireless access point. The operation of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as the connection destination is not performed. Then, instead of such an operation, the wireless access point registered as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 in the connection destination registration table is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30.

Then, the MAC address of the wireless terminal, the MAC address information of the determined wireless access point of the connection destination (in the case of the above-described embodiment, the wireless access point 10 or the repeater 20) and the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag). By generating a Beacon signal set to ON ('1') and transmitting it by broadcast from the wireless access point 10, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is guided to the connection destination specified in advance by the user. Can be done.

<Other Embodiment 4 of the present invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of a wireless environment in which one wireless access point 10 and one repeater 20 exist has been described, but as described above in the other embodiment 1, the wireless access point has been described. Even in a wireless environment in which a plurality of repeaters exist, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be guided to the wireless access point on the master unit side or the connection destination determined on the repeater side. However, when a plurality of wireless access points exist, in some cases, they may be installed at a position where communication between the wireless access points is impossible.

Therefore, in order to deal with such a case, as shown in FIG. 7, it is arranged at a position where communication with each wireless access point is possible, and a management wireless access point for managing each wireless access point is separately installed. May be necessary. FIG. 7 is a network configuration showing an example of information exchange between each wireless access point and a wireless terminal when a plurality of wireless access points and a management wireless access point are installed, unlike the case of FIG. It is a figure.

As shown in FIG. 7, three wireless access points, a first wireless access point 51, a second wireless access point 52, and a third wireless access point 53, are installed as wireless access points on the master unit side of the wireless terminal 30. In the case of a wireless environment, the management wireless access point 54 for managing each wireless access point communicates with each of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53. Is placed in a position where

Even in the case of the configuration as shown in FIG. 7, the same operation as in the above-described embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 is performed with respect to the basic operation for determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. By doing so, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be selected and determined at the management wireless access point 54. That is, the management wireless access point 54 connects the wireless terminal 30 by collecting information on the degree of congestion of each wireless access point of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53. The optimum wireless access point can be selected and determined as a destination.

Then, the management wireless access point 54 is added by adding an element in which the determined wireless access point MAC address, the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) are ON ('1'). By broadcasting the Beacon signal, the information about the determined connection destination is notified to each of the wireless access points of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53. be able to.

The operation of determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 according to the order of the sequence (Seq) numbers shown in FIG. 7 will be further described. First, when the wireless terminal 30 specifies, for example, the first wireless access point 51 and transmits an AUTOH signal for an authentication request (sequence Seq11), the first wireless access point 51 that has received the AUTOH signal , The response to the received AUTO signal is temporarily suspended, and the data request signal requesting the return of the congestion degree information is transmitted to the management radio access point 54 (sequence Seq12).

The management wireless access point 54 receives the data request signal from the first wireless access point 51, and the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53 take the opportunity of receiving the data request signal. A data request signal requesting the return of each congestion degree information is transmitted to each wireless access point of (Sequence Seq13).

When each radio access point of the first radio access point 51, the second radio access point 52, and the third radio access point 53 receives the data request signal from the management radio access point 54, each of them holds in advance. Information on the degree of congestion of the band used by the wireless terminal 30 in the own wireless access point, for example, RSSI information is taken out and returned as a data response signal to the requesting management wireless access point 54 (sequence Seq14).

The management wireless access point 54 is a congestion degree information, for example, RSSI, which is returned as a data response signal from each wireless access point of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53. When the information regarding the value is received, the congestion degree information at each radio access point of the first radio access point 51, the second radio access point 52, and the third radio access point 53, for example, the information regarding the RSSI value is compared.

Then, in the comparison result, the management wireless access point 54 determines the device having the least degree of congestion as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 that is the connection request source, that is, the wireless terminal 30 that is the source of the AUTOH signal. Then, the MAC address (MAC addr) that identifies the device determined as the connection destination is notified to each wireless access point of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53 ( Sequence Seq15).

For example, when the management wireless access point 54 determines that the third wireless access point 53 has the least congestion in the band used by the wireless terminal 30, and determines the third wireless access point 53 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. Notifies information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 to each wireless access point of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53.

As information indicating that the first wireless access point 51, which has received the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30 in the sequence Seq11, has determined the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 from the management wireless access point 54, the self-first wireless access When the information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 is received instead of the point 51, the AUTOH signal is not returned to the wireless terminal 30 as an Ac signal which is a positive response to the previously received AUTOH signal. Is discarded (sequence Seq16).

Further, after the second wireless access point 52 receives the information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 as the information indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined from the management wireless access point 54, after that, When the AUTOH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 (sequence Seq17), the Ac signal, which is an affirmative response to the AUTOH signal from the wireless terminal 30, is returned to the wireless terminal 30 as in the case of the first wireless access point 51. Without doing so, the AUTOH signal is discarded (sequence Seq18).

Further, after the third wireless access point 53 receives the information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 as the information indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined from the management wireless access point 54. When the AUTOH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 (sequence Seq19), the own third wireless access point 53 is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, so that the first wireless access point 51 and the second wireless access point Unlike the case of 52, by returning the Ac signal, which is a positive response to the AUTO signal from the wireless terminal 30, to the wireless terminal 30 (sequence Seq20), the wireless terminal 30 is wirelessly connected.

<Other Embodiment 5 of the present invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the wireless terminal 30 is connected by sharing the degree of congestion on the master unit side in the band used by the wireless terminal at the time of the connection request from the wireless terminal 30. The case where the master unit (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) to be used is determined has been described, but the timing of sharing the degree of congestion on each master unit side is not limited to this time. For example, even before receiving the connection request of the wireless terminal 30, or after connecting to the wireless terminal 30, the congestion degree of each master unit is periodically updated at a predetermined cycle. It is also possible to carry out the operation of updating to and sharing.

By periodically updating and sharing information on the degree of congestion to the latest state, for example, after connecting the wireless terminal 30 to the master unit, the connected master unit becomes congested and the degree of congestion of the master unit is increased. If the congestion level of the other master unit is exceeded, the connection status with the connected wireless terminal 30 is cut off, and the other master unit with the lowest congestion level in the latest state is wirelessly connected. It is possible to dynamically change the connection destination of the terminal 30.

That is, for example, while the wireless terminal 30 is connected to the repeater 20, a user carrying the wireless terminal 30 moves away from the vicinity of the repeater 20 and approaches the vicinity of the wireless access point 10. In this case, the repeater 20 sharing the information on the degree of congestion deteriorates the degree of congestion in the self-repeater 20, improves the degree of congestion in the wireless access point 10, and reduces the degree of congestion in the self-repeater 20. A state in which the degree of congestion of the wireless access point 10 is exceeded may be detected. When such a state is detected, the repeater 20 intentionally cuts off the connection with the wireless terminal 30 to cause the wireless terminal 30 to reconnect, and at the time of the reconnection, the wireless terminal 30 It is possible to induce the connection destination to be switched to the wireless access point 10.

The configuration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, it should be noted that such embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention and do not limit the invention in any way. Those skilled in the art can easily understand that various modifications can be made according to a specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Wireless access point (AP)
10a wireless access point (AP)
11 Radio unit 12 Control unit 13 Storage unit 20 Repeater (RP)
20a repeater (RP)
21 Wireless unit 22 Control unit 23 Storage unit 30 Wireless terminal (STA)
30a wireless terminal (STA)
31 Wireless unit 32 Control unit 41 Connection request source wireless terminal column 42 Control information flag column 43 Connection request source wireless terminal address column 44 Connection destination address column 45 RSSI value column 51 First wireless access point 52 Second wireless access point 53 Third Wireless access point 54 Management wireless access point 100 Wireless communication system

Claims (10)

In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
A wireless communication system characterized by the fact that. As the wireless access point serving as the master unit to which the wireless terminal can be connected,
Includes not only a wireless connection device having a function of connecting wireless terminals to each other or connecting to another network, but also a repeater having a function of relaying signals transmitted and received between the wireless connection device and the wireless terminal. ,
The wireless communication system according to claim 1. Each of the plurality of wireless access points
Information on the degree of congestion is collected periodically at a predetermined cycle, and the collected information on the degree of congestion is transmitted to and received from each of the wireless access points to provide information on the degree of congestion at each of the wireless access points. Share with each other regularly and up to date
And,
When it is detected that the degree of congestion at the wireless access point connected to the wireless terminal exceeds the degree of congestion at any of the other wireless access points.
The wireless access point in a state of being connected to the wireless terminal is
The connection state with the wireless terminal being connected is cut off, and the connection destination of the wireless terminal is changed to any other wireless access point having the lowest congestion degree in the latest state.
The wireless communication system according to claim 1 or 2. As information on the degree of congestion,
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value in the band used by the wireless terminal, the number of connected wireless terminals, the throughput value between the connected wireless terminals, and others using the same channel. Use any one or more of the information on the number of wireless access points in the above.
The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication system is characterized by the above. Each of the plurality of wireless access points
Information related to the transmission / reception of the collected information regarding the degree of congestion, the notification of determination of the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and the completion of the connection with the wireless terminal can be sent to the vendor field of the Beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard. Vender Specific Field) is used to send and receive to and from each of the wireless access points.
The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The connection request from the wireless terminal is made by using an authentication request signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard.
The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Each of the plurality of wireless access points
When the user of the wireless terminal holds a connection destination registration table in which the wireless access point of the master unit specified in advance as the connection destination is registered in advance.
When deciding the connection destination of the wireless terminal
Instead of performing an operation of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as the connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the information on the congestion degree of each wireless access point.
With reference to the connection destination registration table, the wireless access point registered as the connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the wireless communication system is characterized by the above. A wireless access point that serves as a master unit to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected.
Installed in wireless communication systems along with other wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the other wireless access points, the own wireless access point and Information on the degree of congestion at each of the other wireless access points is held in a state of being shared with each other.
And,
When there is a connection request from the wireless terminal,
Based on the information on the degree of congestion of the own wireless access point and the other wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and the wireless terminal is determined. By notifying each of the other wireless access points of the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When the local wireless access point is determined as the connection destination, when the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, an affirmative response is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal. ,
If any of the other wireless access points is determined as the connection destination and the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, the connection request is not returned with an acknowledgment. Discard the connection request,
A wireless access point that features that. In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, the connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the master unit side. This is a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method for guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
A wireless terminal connection destination guidance method characterized by the fact that. In a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points that serve as master units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, the connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the master unit side. A wireless terminal connection destination guidance program that executes a process of guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination by a computer mounted on the wireless access point.
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information on the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting and receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, the said in each of the wireless access points. Keep information about congestion shared with each other
And,
When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal to any of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that received the connection request
Based on the information about the congestion degree of each of the held wireless access points, the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from the plurality of wireless access points, and the wireless access point is determined. By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points the information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a decision notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, an acknowledgment is returned to the connection request to connect to the wireless terminal.
When a connection request is sent from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as the connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. To do,
A wireless terminal connection destination guidance program characterized by this.

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