JP4705652B2 - Wireless terminal and wireless communication method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio terminal and a radio communication method, and in particular, communicates between a radio terminal capable of selecting a communication channel to be used for communication with a radio relay apparatus from a plurality of communication channels, and the radio terminal and the radio relay apparatus. The present invention relates to a wireless communication method for establishing a connection.

  In wireless communication, passive scanning and active scanning are known as methods for performing connection processing (attribute processing) between a wireless terminal and a wireless relay device (for example, an access point in a wireless LAN). In the passive scan, when the network identifier (SSID) included in the beacon signal transmitted from the wireless relay device matches the SSID that can be used on the wireless terminal side, the wireless terminal transmits an attribution request signal ( (Authentication). On the other hand, in the active scan, a response request signal (Probe Request) with an SSID added to all communication channels set as communication targets by the communication terminal is transmitted to the wireless relay device, and a response signal (Probe Response) is transmitted in response to the response request signal. The connection request signal is transmitted to one of the wireless relay devices that has transmitted ().

  A wireless terminal configured to support both passive scanning and active scanning is also known (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). For example, in the wireless terminal described in Patent Document 1, either one of the two types is selected so that the search time of the wireless relay device and the consumed wireless resource and power consumption can be adaptively controlled. It is configured.

Furthermore, as a method related to both methods, even when there are channels that cannot be used due to deterioration of radio conditions, etc., communication channel setting changes and free channel detection are performed at predetermined time intervals in order to search for available channels. A wireless communication system configured to establish a connection between a wireless terminal and a wireless relay device by performing is known (see Patent Document 3).
JP 2005-12539 A JP 2004-140778 A JP 2006-109074 A

  Since the wireless terminal described in Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that the beacon signal from the wireless relay device includes the SSID when the passive scan is performed, the stealth SSID in which the SSID is not included in the beacon signal from the viewpoint of security. It was not possible to support the method called. Therefore, it is conceivable to configure the wireless terminal so that active scanning is performed preferentially. However, since response request signals are transmitted to all channels set as communication targets in active scanning as described above, In the case of a wireless terminal using a communication channel (for example, an IEEE802.11a communication channel that shares a frequency with a weather radar) that is prohibited from transmitting radio waves in Japan, such a configuration cannot be used.

  In addition, in the wireless terminal described in Patent Document 2, in order to cope with the case where the wireless relay device does not transmit the SSID, information indicating that the wireless relay device does not transmit the SSID is stored in association with the SSID. By using the connection list table by the wireless terminal, it is possible to support the stealth SSID. However, since the wireless terminal transmits a connection request signal to the wireless relay device according to the connection list table, similarly to the wireless terminal described in Patent Document 1, the wireless terminal uses a channel in which outdoor radio wave transmission is prohibited. There was a risk of it.

  Also, in the wireless communication system described in Patent Document 3, the configuration is such that the communication channel setting is changed and the empty channel is detected at predetermined time intervals, so that the wireless terminal uses a channel for which radio wave transmission is prohibited. It was not possible to avoid sending a connection request signal to the wireless relay device.

  Therefore, the present invention can establish a communication connection even if the network identifier is not received from the wireless relay device in advance, and avoids the use of a channel prohibited from being used in a specific place such as outdoors. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless terminal and a wireless communication method that can perform communication.

A radio terminal according to the present invention is a radio terminal capable of selecting a communication channel used for communication with a radio relay apparatus from a plurality of communication channels, and for specifying a communication channel used by the radio relay apparatus It consists of wireless receiving means for receiving channel specifying information from the wireless relay device, and a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal and that is not prohibited from being used. Storing means for storing the first used channel information group, channel attribute determining means for determining whether or not the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group, and channel attribute determination If the means determines that the channel identification information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group, at least Channel control means for generating a first connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information, and channel control means Wireless transmission means for transmitting the first connection request signal generated by step (b) to the wireless relay device.

  According to the present invention, when the channel identification information received from the radio relay apparatus belongs to the first used channel information group, the communication channel specified by the channel identification information is not a communication channel that is prohibited from being used. The wireless terminal can determine and transmit a connection request signal to the wireless relay device. That is, a communication channel used for transmitting a connection request signal from a wireless terminal is determined based on an attribute of channel specifying information for specifying a communication channel used by the wireless relay device. Therefore, even if the network identifier is not transmitted from the wireless relay device in advance, the wireless terminal uses the same communication channel as that used by the wireless relay device without performing an active scan. It is possible to transmit a connection request signal, and it is possible to prevent the wireless terminal from using a channel that is prohibited from being used in a specific place such as outdoors.

  Further, in the wireless terminal, when the channel attribute determining means determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group, the channel control means sends the first connection request In addition to the signal, a communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group, and using a communication channel different from the communication channel specified by the channel specification information, The second connection request signal for requesting establishment of the communication connection may be generated, and the wireless transmission unit may be configured to transmit the second connection request signal generated by the channel control unit to the wireless relay device. Good. With this configuration, when the communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group is a communication channel that is not prohibited from being used, connection request signals are transmitted for a plurality of communication channels. It can be transmitted to the wireless relay device. Therefore, even if the establishment of a communication connection on one communication channel fails, it is possible to attempt to establish a communication connection on another communication channel, so that more reliable communication between the wireless terminal and the wireless relay device is possible. Can establish a communication connection.

Further, in the above wireless terminal, the storage means is a plurality of pieces of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal, and a plurality of pieces constituting the first used channel information group. A second used channel information group composed of used channel information different from the used channel information is further stored, and the channel specifying information received by the wireless attribute receiving means belongs to the second used channel information group. The channel control means uses the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information to use the third communication unit for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the radio relay apparatus. The connection request signal is generated, and the wireless transmission means transmits the third connection request signal generated by the channel control means to the wireless relay device. It may be configured to be. With this configuration, communication channels having different attributes can be assigned to the first use channel information group and the second use channel information group. Specifically, the channel specifying information belonging to the first used channel information group is only information corresponding to a communication channel whose use is not prohibited, and the channel specifying information belonging to the second used channel information group is used. By using only those that correspond to communication channels that may be prohibited, use wireless channels only when the wireless relay device is using them. be able to.

  In addition to being described as an invention related to a wireless terminal as described above, the present invention can be described as an invention related to a wireless communication method as follows.

That is, the wireless communication method of the present invention is for establishing a communication connection between a wireless relay device and a wireless terminal that can select a communication channel to be used for communication with the wireless relay device from a plurality of communication channels. A wireless communication method, wherein a wireless terminal receives channel identification information for identifying a communication channel used by the wireless relay device from the wireless relay device, and the wireless terminal receives the channel identification information in the wireless reception step. First used channel information group composed of a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal and whose use is not prohibited. Channel attribute determining step for determining whether or not the channel belongs, and the channel specifying information in the channel attribute determining step is the first used channel information A first connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with a wireless relay device using at least the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information A channel control step of generating a wireless terminal at the wireless terminal, and a wireless transmission step of transmitting the first connection request signal generated at the channel control step from the wireless terminal to the wireless relay device.

  In the wireless communication method, when it is determined in the channel attribute determination step that the channel specifying information belongs to the first used channel information group, in the channel control step, in addition to the first connection request signal, A communication channel corresponding to the used channel information constituting one used channel information group, and requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using a communication channel different from the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information And generating a second connection request signal for transmitting the first connection request signal and the second connection request signal generated in the channel control step to the wireless relay device in the wireless transmission step. .

  The invention relating to the above wireless communication method is an invention having technical features corresponding to the invention relating to the above wireless terminal and having the same operations and effects.

  According to the present invention, a communication channel used for transmission of a connection request signal from a wireless terminal is determined based on an attribute of channel specifying information for specifying a communication channel used by the wireless relay device. Therefore, even if the network identifier is not received from the wireless relay device in advance, there is no need to perform active scan, and the wireless communication device uses the same communication channel as the wireless relay device to connect to the wireless relay device. The request signal can be transmitted, and the wireless terminal can be prevented from using a channel that is prohibited from being used in a specific place such as outdoors.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a wireless terminal and a wireless communication method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, a communication network system to which a wireless terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

  As shown in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the communication network system 1 includes a wireless terminal 10, a plurality of wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, 24, and devices such as servers and control stations (none of which are shown). ) And a communication network N including a mobile communication network. The wireless terminal 10 can select a communication channel to be used for communication with the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, 24 from a plurality of communication channels, and the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, 24 can be selected. It is possible to connect to the communication network N via For the communication connection between the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24, for example, a wireless LAN standard defined as IEEE802.11a can be applied. Examples of the wireless terminal 10 include a communication terminal such as a personal computer and a mobile phone corresponding to the wireless LAN, and examples of the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 include a wireless LAN access point.

  IEEE802.11a is a specification of a wireless LAN that performs wireless communication in the 5.2 GHz band. Specifically, a wireless terminal, a wireless relay device, and a wireless terminal using a frequency of about 20 MHz between 5170 MHz and 5330 MHz. Communicate between the two. The frequency used for communication is called a channel. In the case of IEEE802.11a, eight channels of 36 ch, 40 ch, 44 ch, 48 ch, 52 ch, 56 ch, 60 ch, and 64 ch can be used. Note that a wireless LAN configured in accordance with the IEEE 802.11a standard shares a frequency band of 5250 MHz to 5350 MHz (52 ch, 56 ch, 60 ch, 64 ch) with a weather radar in Japan. Therefore, in order to avoid radio wave interference, the wireless terminal that is the slave station of the wireless LAN and the wireless relay device that is the master station must avoid the channel corresponding to the frequency used by the weather radar.

  Next, details of the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24 constituting the communication network system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, elements constituting the wireless terminal 10 and functions thereof will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the wireless terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless terminal 10 functionally includes a wireless reception unit 101 (wireless reception unit), a storage unit 102 (storage unit), and a channel attribute determination unit 103 (channel attribute determination unit). A channel control unit 104 (channel control means) and a wireless transmission unit 105 (wireless transmission means).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the wireless terminal 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the wireless terminal 10 physically relays any one of the CPU 151, the RAM 152 and the ROM 153 that are storage devices, and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24. N is configured as a communication device including a communication module 154 that is a transmission / reception device that transmits and receives data by connecting to N, a display device 155 such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device 156 such as a numeric keypad and a cross key. Each function described in FIG. 2 has a communication module 154, a display device 155, and an input device under the control of the CPU 151 by loading predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 151 and the RAM 152 shown in FIG. This is realized by operating 156 and reading and writing data in the RAM 152 and ROM 153.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2, a communication channel to be used for communication with the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 is selected from a plurality of communication channels, and the connection target is selected from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24. Each functional element of the wireless terminal 10 that is a wireless terminal that can be selected from 24 will be described.

  The wireless reception unit 101 is a part that receives signals and data transmitted from the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24. The radio reception unit 101 can receive channel specifying information for specifying the communication channel used by the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 from the radio relay apparatus and notify the channel attribute determination unit 103. It is configured to be able to. As the channel specifying information, for example, a beacon signal transmitted from a wireless relay device can be used. As will be described later, in this embodiment, the beacon signal only needs to be able to read the communication channel used by the wireless relay device, and does not need to include the identifier (SSID) of the wireless relay device. .

  The storage unit 102 stores various data used by the wireless terminal 10, and stores a first used channel information group, a second used channel information group, a network identifier (SSID), and the like. The first use channel information group is composed of a plurality of use channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal 10. The second used channel information group is a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal in the same manner as the first used channel information group, The channel information is composed of channel information that is different from the plurality of channel information constituting the first channel information group.

  FIG. 4 shows the use channel information stored in the storage unit 102 and the wireless terminal when the wireless LAN standard of IEEE802.11a is applied to communication between the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24. It is a table | surface which illustrates operation | movement of. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first use channel information group is composed of use channel information regarding four communication channels of 36 ch, 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch, and the second use channel information group is 52 ch, 56 ch, 60 ch, and 64 ch. Used channel information on the four communication channels. Scan order and attributes are defined in the use channel information regarding each communication channel. In the example shown in FIG. 4, “indoor / outdoor determination required” and “channel usage determination not required” are set in the used channel information (communication channel) belonging to the first used channel information group as the attributes of the communication channel. In the usage channel information (communication channel) belonging to the second usage channel information group, “indoor / outdoor determination required” and “channel usage determination required” are set. As will be described later, the attribute of “no channel use determination required” receives any one of the channel specifying information corresponding to the used channel information (communication channel) belonging to the first used channel information group. In this case, the channel control unit 104 generates a connection request signal using all communication channels corresponding to the channel specifying information belonging to the first used channel information group. Further, as described above, the four communication channels of 36 ch, 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch are channels that are not shared with the weather radar, and are shared with the four communication channels weather radar of 52 ch, 56 ch, 60 ch, and 64 ch. A channel (ie, a channel that needs to be avoided when used by weather radar).

  The channel attribute determination unit 103 refers to the data stored in the storage unit 102, and the channel specifying information received by the wireless reception unit 101 belongs to the first used channel information group or the second used channel information group It is a part for determining whether or not. For example, when a beacon signal transmitted from a wireless relay device is used as channel identification information, the channel attribute determination unit 103 receives a notification of a beacon signal received by the wireless reception unit 101 and transmits the beacon signal transmitted. Read the channel. Then, the channel attribute determination unit 103 refers to the information stored in the storage unit 102 to determine whether the read communication channel belongs to the first use channel information group or the second use channel information group. . Note that the channel attribute determination unit 103 notifies the channel control unit 104 of the determination result regarding the channel identification information and can temporarily store the determination result regarding the data stored in the storage unit 102 and the channel identification information. It is configured as follows. For example, when a beacon signal transmitted from a wireless relay device is used as channel specifying information, the channel attribute determination unit 103 can temporarily store the presence or absence of a beacon signal detection in each communication channel.

  The channel control unit 104 is a part that performs processing related to the communication channel used by the wireless terminal 10. For example, according to the determination result regarding the channel specifying information notified from the channel attribute determination unit 103, the wireless relay devices 21, 22, A connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with any of 23 and 24 is generated. Specifically, the channel controller 104 determines at least the channel identification information when the channel attribute determination unit 103 determines that the channel identification information received by the wireless reception unit 101 belongs to the first used channel information group. A connection request signal (first connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with one of the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 using the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by Is output to the wireless transmission unit 105.

  When the channel attribute determination unit 103 determines that the channel identification information received by the wireless reception unit 101 belongs to the first used channel information group, the channel control unit 104 determines that the first connection request signal In addition, it is a communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group, and using a communication channel different from the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information, the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, A connection request signal (second connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with any one of 24 is generated. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, when the wireless reception unit 101 receives a 36-channel beacon signal, the channel attribute determination unit 103 uses the channel specification information (communication channel) received by the wireless reception unit 101 as the first used channel information. Judge as belonging to a group. Then, the channel control unit 104 generates a connection request signal using 36 ch, and uses the first use channel information group according to “channel use determination unnecessary” that is an attribute of the communication channel belonging to the first use channel information group. The connection request signal is generated for each of the 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch communication channels without determining the reception of the beacon signal for 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch, which are other communication channels belonging to.

  Further, when the channel attribute determining unit 103 determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving unit 101 belongs to the second used channel information group, the channel control unit 104 is specified by the channel specifying information. A connection request signal (third connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with any one of the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 is generated using only the same communication channel as the communication channel. . In the case of the example shown in FIG. 4, when the wireless reception unit 101 receives a 52ch beacon signal, the channel attribute determination unit 103 uses the channel specification information (communication channel) received by the wireless reception unit 101 as the second used channel information. Judge as belonging to a group. Then, the channel control unit 104 generates a connection request signal using 52ch. When the wireless reception unit 101 receives a beacon signal of 60 ch, the channel control unit 104 generates a connection request signal using 60 ch. That is, the other communication channels 56ch, 60ch, and 64ch belonging to the second use channel information group are automatically set according to the “channel use determination required” that is the attribute of the communication channel belonging to the second use channel information group. The connection request signal is generated after confirming reception of the beacon signal without generating a connection request signal.

  As described above, the used channel information is associated with the communication channel, and information for determining the generation of a connection request signal to be transmitted to the wireless relay device by the channel control unit 104 (that is, the attribute of the communication channel). ) Is included. Based on the attribute of the communication channel, which is one of the used channel information, the channel control unit 104 corresponds to the channel specifying information even when the beacon signal including the channel specifying information is not received. It is determined whether or not to generate a connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using the communication channel.

  The wireless transmission unit 105 is a part that transmits signals and data to the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24. The wireless transmission unit 105 is configured to transmit a connection request signal or the like to the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 using a communication channel corresponding to the connection request signal input from the channel control unit 104. Yes. When the IEEE802.11a wireless LAN standard is applied to communication between the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24, the wireless transmission unit 105 is connected with a network identifier (SSID) added thereto. A request signal (response request signal; Probe Request), an attribution request signal (Authentication), or the like is transmitted to the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24.

  With the configuration as described above, the wireless terminal 10 wirelessly transmits from the wireless terminal using the same communication channel used by the wireless relay device even if the network identifier is not received from the wireless relay device 20 in advance. A connection request signal can be transmitted to the relay device. Therefore, the wireless terminal 10 can avoid performing an active scan using a channel that is prohibited from being used in a specific place such as outdoors.

  Next, elements constituting the wireless communication device 21 and functions thereof will be described. Note that the wireless communication devices 22, 23, and 24 have the same configuration and functions as the wireless communication device 21, and therefore, the description of the wireless communication device 21 will be omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the wireless communication device 21. Functionally, the wireless communication device 21 includes a wireless transmission unit 201, a storage unit 202, a control unit 203, a wireless reception unit 204, and an external interface 205, as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the wireless communication device 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication device 21 physically includes a CPU 251, a RAM 252 and a ROM 253 that are storage devices, a display device 254 that includes an LED or the like that displays an operation state, and a wireless terminal. 10 includes a first communication module 255 that is a transmission / reception device that transmits / receives data to / from 10, a second communication module 256 that is a transmission / reception device that transmits / receives data to / from apparatuses constituting the communication network N, and the like. It is configured as a communication device. Each function described in FIG. 5 has a display device 254 and a first communication module 255 under the control of the CPU 251 by reading predetermined computer software on hardware such as the CPU 251 and the RAM 252 shown in FIG. This is realized by operating the second communication module 256 and reading and writing data in the RAM 252 and ROM 253.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, elements and functions of the wireless communication device 21 that is a wireless communication device capable of selecting a communication channel to be used for communication with the wireless terminal 10 from a plurality of communication channels will be described. To do.

  The wireless transmission unit 201 is a part that transmits signals and data to the wireless terminal 10. The wireless transmission unit 201 transmits signals such as a beacon signal and a response request signal (Probe Request) to the wireless terminal 10 using a communication channel selected according to an instruction from the control unit 203.

  The storage unit 202 is a part that stores various data used by the wireless communication device 21, and stores data related to settings and approvals such as a network identifier (SSID), for example.

  The control unit 203 is a part that controls the operation of the wireless communication device 21 and, as described above, performs control related to selection of a communication channel used for communication with the wireless terminal 10 and transmission of a beacon signal and a response request signal. In addition, control related to data transmission / reception with the devices constituting the communication network N is performed.

  The wireless reception unit 204 is a part that receives signals and data transmitted from the wireless terminal 10. The wireless reception unit 204 receives, for example, a connection request signal and an attribution request signal including a network identifier. The external interface 205 is a part that transmits and receives signals and data to and from the devices constituting the communication network N.

  With the configuration described above, the wireless communication device 21 transmits and receives various signals and data to the wireless terminal 10 while selecting a communication channel to be used for communication with the wireless terminal 10 from a plurality of communication channels. It can be carried out.

  The wireless communication method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, it is a case where the wireless LAN standard of IEEE802.11a is applied to communication between the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, 24, and the wireless terminal 10 is outdoors (all channels are used). A description will be given assuming that the user moves between a prohibited place) and indoors (a place where the use of a specific channel may be prohibited). In addition, as a specific example, FIG. 4 illustrating the use channel information stored in the storage unit 102 and the operation of the wireless terminal is appropriately referred to.

  First, main processing in the wireless terminal 10 that stops radio wave transmission for all channels and monitors reception of channel identification information (beacon signal) at a predetermined cycle will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the radio terminal 10 starts the main process in response to a scan trigger generated in the terminal as the predetermined period elapses, the first use channel information group transmitted from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 The first use channel information group determination process including determination of reception of channel identification information (beacon signal) belonging to and determination of the transmission target of the connection request transmission signal is performed (step S1). Subsequently, the second including determination of reception of channel specifying information (beacon signal) belonging to the second used channel information group transmitted from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 and determination of the transmission target of the connection request transmission signal. Use channel information group determination processing is performed (step S2). After completing the two determination processes, it is determined whether or not there is a communication channel as a transmission target of a connection request signal for establishing a communication connection with any of the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 (step S3). ) If there is no communication channel to be transmitted (NO in step S3), it is determined that the communication area is out of range and the main process is terminated. On the other hand, if there is a communication channel to be transmitted (YES in step S3), connection processing (step S4) is performed.

  In this main process, even after the connection process in step S4 is completed and a communication connection is established with any one of the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24, the predetermined cycle elapses. By monitoring the occurrence of the scan trigger generated at the same time (step S5), the first use channel information group determination process or the second use channel information group determination process is repeatedly executed. Specifically, the wireless terminal 10 determines that it is within the communicable area until a scan trigger is generated, and maintains the communication connection (in the case of NO in step S5). On the other hand, if a scan trigger has occurred (YES in step S5), it is next determined whether communication is in progress (step S6). If communication is in progress (YES in step S6), it is determined that the wireless terminal 10 is located indoors (a place where the use of a specific channel may be prohibited), and second usage channel information A group determination process (step S2) is executed. On the other hand, if communication is not being performed (NO in step S6), it is determined that the wireless terminal 10 is located outdoors (a place where the use of all channels is prohibited), and the first used channel information group Processing is executed from the determination processing (step S1). By performing such a process, as long as the wireless terminal 10 is located indoors, the first use channel information group determination process is omitted, and not only the processing time is shortened but also the wireless terminal for the process. The power consumed by 10 can be saved.

  Next, a first used channel information group in which the channel specifying information received by the wireless terminal 10 includes a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal 10. A first use channel information group determination process for determining whether or not a beacon signal of any of the four communication channels of 36 ch, 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch has been received in the example of FIG. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the wireless terminal 10 starts the first use channel information group determination process, the use channel information of the first use channel information group (in the example of FIG. 4, 36ch, 40ch, Use channel information regarding four communication channels of 44ch and 48ch) is set (step S11). Next, the radio terminal 10 receives channel specifying information for specifying the communication channel used by the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 (step S12). Radio reception step).

  After confirming the reception of the channel specifying information, the wireless terminal 10 uses the plurality of used channel information in which the channel specifying information received in step S12 is associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal 10. (In the example of FIG. 4, it is a beacon signal using four communication channels of 36 ch, 40 ch, 44 ch, and 48 ch). Step S13: Channel attribute determination step).

  If it is determined in step S13 that the channel specifying information belongs to the first used channel information group (YES in step S13), at least wireless communication is performed using the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information. A connection request signal (first connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 is generated by the wireless terminal 10 and set as a transmission target of the connection request signal. (S14: channel control step). Then, the process of step S15 mentioned later is performed.

  Here, a case is considered where “channel usage determination unnecessary” as shown in FIG. 4 is set in the attribute of the used channel information belonging to the first used channel information group. In such a setting, when it is determined in step S13 that the channel specifying information belongs to the first used channel information group, in step S14, in addition to the first connection request signal, A communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the use channel information group, which is different from the communication channel (36ch in the example of FIG. 4) specified by the received channel specifying information (in the example of FIG. 4, For the three communication channels (40 ch, 44 ch, 48 ch), a wireless terminal transmits a connection request signal (second connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using the communication channel. 10 and set as the transmission target of the connection request signal.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S13 that the channel identification information does not belong to the first use channel information group (NO in step S13) or after the process of step S14 is completed, all of the first use channel information groups It is confirmed whether or not the reception confirmation of the channel identification information has been completed for the communication channel (step S15). If reception confirmation of channel identification information has been completed for all communication channels (YES in step S15), it is determined that there is no connection request signal transmission target, and the first use channel information group determination process is terminated. To do. If the channel identification information reception confirmation has not been completed for all communication channels (NO in step S15), the process returns to step S12 to receive channel identification information for communication channels for which reception confirmation has not been completed. Confirm and repeat the subsequent processing.

  Next, a second used channel information group in which the channel specifying information received by the wireless terminal 10 is composed of a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal 10. A second use channel information group determination process for determining whether or not a beacon signal of any of the four communication channels 52ch, 56ch, 60ch, and 64ch has been received in the example of FIG. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the wireless terminal 10 starts the second use channel information group determination process, the use channel information of the second use channel information group (in the example of FIG. 4, 52ch, 56ch, Use channel information regarding four communication channels of 60 ch and 64 ch) is set (step S21). Next, the radio terminal 10 receives channel specifying information for specifying the communication channel used by the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 (step S22). Radio reception step).

  After confirming the reception of the channel specifying information, the wireless terminal 10 uses the channel specifying information received in step S22 to correspond to each of a plurality of communication channels that the wireless terminal 10 can use. (In the example of FIG. 4, it is a beacon signal using four communication channels of 52 ch, 56 ch, 60 ch, and 64 ch). Step S23: Channel attribute determination step).

  When it is determined in step S23 that the channel specifying information belongs to the first used channel information group (YES in step S23), only the communication channel identical to the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information (in FIG. 4) In the example, the wireless terminal 10 sends a connection request signal (third connection request signal) for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 using only the 52ch communication channel). And set as a transmission target of the connection request signal (S24; channel control step). Then, the process of step S25 mentioned later is performed.

  Note that the attribute of the used channel information belonging to the second used channel information group is set to “require channel use determination” as shown in FIG. 4, and therefore the same as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information. Connection request signals are not generated for communication channels other than the communication channels (in the example of FIG. 4, three communication channels of 56 ch, 60 ch, and 64 ch), and are not set as transmission targets of connection request signals.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that the channel identification information does not belong to the first use channel information group (NO in step S23) or after the process of step S24 is completed, all of the second use channel information groups It is confirmed whether or not the reception confirmation of the channel identification information has been completed for the communication channel (step S25). If the reception confirmation of the channel identification information has been completed for all communication channels (YES in step S25), the second use channel information group determination process is terminated. If the channel identification information reception confirmation has not been completed for all communication channels (NO in step S25), the process returns to step S22 to receive channel identification information for communication channels for which reception confirmation has not been completed. Confirm and repeat the subsequent processing.

  Next, the connection request signal generated by the wireless terminal is transmitted from the wireless terminal 10 to the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, 24, and after mutual authentication, the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, 24 are transmitted. A connection process for establishing a communication connection with any of the above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that here, the wireless communication device 21 is described as the wireless relay device, so that the redundant description of the other wireless relay devices 22, 23, and 24 is omitted.

  First, the connection request signals (first to third connection requests) generated by the channel attribute determination unit 103 and the channel control unit 104 of the wireless terminal 10 in the first use channel information group determination process and the second use channel information group determination process. By confirming (signal), the communication channel set as the transmission target of the connection request signal is confirmed (step S41). In response to an instruction from the channel control unit 104, the wireless transmission unit 105 of the wireless terminal 10 transmits a connection request signal (Probe Request) with a network identifier (SSID) added to the communication channel confirmed in step S41, as a wireless relay device. 21 to the wireless reception unit 204 (step S42; wireless transmission step). Upon receiving the connection request signal, the control unit 203 of the wireless relay device 21 matches the network identifier added to the connection request signal with the network identifier set in the wireless relay device 21. Is confirmed (step S43).

  After confirming that the network identifiers match in step S43, the wireless transmission unit 201 of the wireless relay device 21 wirelessly transmits a response signal (Probe Response) in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 203 of the wireless relay device 21. It transmits to the radio | wireless receiving part 101 of the terminal 10 (step S44). After receiving the response signal in step S44, the channel control unit 104 of the wireless terminal 10 transmits the response signal having the strongest reception strength from the ones that received the response signal among the wireless relay devices 21, 22, 23, and 24. A wireless relay device is selected (step S45). Then, the channel control unit 104 of the wireless terminal 10 uses the same communication channel as the response signal transmitted by the selected wireless relay device, and transmits the attribution request signal (Authentication) to the wireless relay device via the wireless transmission unit 105. Is transmitted (step S46). Thereafter, mutual recognition is performed between the wireless terminal 10 and the selected wireless relay device (step S47). If the predetermined security check can be passed, the mutual approval is terminated, and the channel control unit 104 of the wireless terminal 10 confirms the completion of attribution (S48), and terminates the connection process.

  Through such processing, a communication connection is established between the wireless relay device and a wireless terminal that can select a communication channel to be used for communication with the wireless relay device from a plurality of communication channels.

  The operation and effect of the wireless terminal and the wireless communication method according to the present embodiment described above will be described.

  According to the radio terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, when the channel specifying information received from the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 belongs to the first used channel information group, the communication specified by the channel specifying information. The wireless terminal can determine that the channel is not a communication channel prohibited from being used, and can transmit a connection request signal to the wireless relay device. That is, the communication channel used for transmission of the connection request signal from the wireless terminal is determined based on the attribute of the channel specifying information for specifying the communication channel used by the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24. Therefore, even if the network identifier is not transmitted from the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, 24 in advance, the communication channel used by the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, 24 without performing active scan. It is possible to transmit a connection request signal from the wireless terminal 10 to the wireless relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24 using the same communication channel as the wireless communication channel, and wirelessly use a channel prohibited from being used in a specific place such as outdoors. Use of the terminal 10 can be avoided.

In the wireless terminal 10, when the channel attribute determining unit 103 determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving unit 101 belongs to the first used channel information group, the channel control unit 104 In addition to the connection request signal, the wireless relay device 21 uses a communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group, which is different from the communication channel specified by the channel specification information. , 22, 23, and 24, a second connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection is generated, and the wireless transmission unit 105 receives the second connection request signal generated by the channel control unit 104. You may comprise so that it may transmit to the radio relay apparatus 21,22,23,24. With this configuration, when the communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group is a communication channel that is not prohibited from being used, connection request signals are transmitted for a plurality of communication channels. The data can be transmitted to the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24. Therefore, even if the establishment of the communication connection on one communication channel fails, the establishment of the communication connection on another communication channel can be attempted, so that the wireless terminal 10 and the wireless relay device 21, A communication connection can be established with 22, 23, 24.

  Further, in the wireless terminal 10, the storage unit 102 is a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal, and constitutes a first used channel information group. A second usage channel information group composed of different usage channel information from the plurality of usage channel information is further stored, and the channel specification information received by the radio reception unit 101 by the channel attribute determination unit 103 is the second usage channel information. When it is determined that the channel belongs to the group, the channel control unit 104 uses only the same communication channel as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information, and communicates with the radio relay apparatuses 21, 22, 23, and 24. A wireless connection unit 105 generates a third connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection. Thus it may constitute a third connection request signal generated to be sent to the radio relay devices 21, 22, 23 and 24. With this configuration, communication channels having different attributes can be assigned to the first use channel information group and the second use channel information group. Specifically, the channel specifying information belonging to the first used channel information group is only information corresponding to a communication channel whose use is not prohibited, and the channel specifying information belonging to the second used channel information group is used. By using only those that correspond to communication channels that may be prohibited, use wireless channels only when the wireless relay device is using the communication channels that may be prohibited. be able to.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless LAN standard defined as IEEE 802.11a has been described as an example. However, a wireless LAN standard other than IEEE 802.11a (for example, IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.11g) It can also be applied to standards other than wireless LAN. In addition, communication channels, scan order, and attributes assigned to the first and second used channel groups can be selected as appropriate.

  Furthermore, in the description of the embodiment of the present invention, processing for determining the presence or absence of a communication channel that is a transmission target of a connection request signal is performed for both the first used channel information group and the second used channel information group. However, the second use is only performed when there is no communication channel to be transmitted in the first use channel information group or when the communication channel of the first use channel information group fails to belong to the communication connection destination. You may make it perform the process which determines the presence or absence of the communication channel made into the transmission target of a connection request signal about a channel information group.

  In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the number of wireless relay apparatuses is four has been described. However, the number of wireless relay apparatuses may be at least greater than four.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of the communication network to which the radio | wireless terminal and radio | wireless communication method which concern on embodiment of this invention are applied. It is a functional block diagram of the radio | wireless terminal which comprises a communication network system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of hardware about the radio | wireless terminal which comprises a communication network system. It is a figure which shows the table | surface which illustrates the use channel information stored in the storage part of a radio | wireless terminal, and operation | movement of a radio | wireless terminal. It is a functional block diagram of the radio relay apparatus which comprises a communication network system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of hardware about the radio relay apparatus which comprises a communication network system. It is a flowchart which shows the main process in a radio | wireless terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st use channel information group determination process regarding the channel specific information which the wireless terminal received. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd use channel information group determination process regarding the channel specific information which the radio | wireless terminal received. It is a flowchart which shows the connection process which establishes communication connection between a radio | wireless terminal and a radio relay apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication network system, 10 ... Wireless terminal, 21, 22, 23, 24 ... Wireless relay apparatus, 101 ... Wireless receiving part, 102 ... Storage part, 103 ... Channel attribute determination part, 104 ... Channel control part, 105 ... Wireless Transmission unit, 201 ... wireless transmission unit, 202 ... storage unit, 203 ... control unit, 204 ... wireless reception unit, N ... communication network.

Claims (5)

A wireless terminal capable of selecting a communication channel to be used for communication with a wireless relay device from a plurality of communication channels,
Radio receiving means for receiving, from the radio relay device, channel specifying information for specifying a communication channel used by the radio relay device;
Storage means for storing a first use channel information group composed of a plurality of use channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal and whose use is not prohibited ; ,
Channel attribute determining means for determining whether or not the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group;
When the channel attribute determining means determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group, it is at least the same as the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information Channel control means for generating a first connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using the communication channel of:
A wireless terminal comprising: a wireless transmission unit configured to transmit the first connection request signal generated by the channel control unit to the wireless relay device. When the channel attribute determining means determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the first used channel information group, the channel control means sends a first connection request signal In addition, a communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the first use channel information group, and using a communication channel different from the communication channel specified by the channel specification information, A second connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection between the two,
The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission unit transmits the second connection request signal generated by the channel control unit to the wireless relay device. The storage means is a plurality of used channel information associated with each of a plurality of communication channels that can be used by the wireless terminal, and the plurality of used channels constituting the first used channel information group A second usage channel information group composed of usage channel information different from the information is further stored;
When the channel attribute determining means determines that the channel specifying information received by the wireless receiving means belongs to the second used channel information group, the channel control means is specified by the channel specifying information. Generating a third connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the wireless relay device using only the same communication channel as the communication channel,
The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission unit transmits the third connection request signal generated by the channel control unit to the wireless relay device. A wireless communication method for establishing a communication connection between a wireless relay device and a wireless terminal capable of selecting a communication channel used for communication with the wireless relay device from a plurality of communication channels,
A radio reception step of receiving, from the radio relay device, channel identification information for identifying a communication channel used by the radio relay device at the radio terminal;
In the wireless terminal, the channel identification information received in the wireless reception step can be used by the wireless terminal and can be used in association with each of a plurality of communication channels that are not prohibited from being used. A channel attribute determination step for determining whether or not the channel belongs to a first use channel information group composed of channel information;
When it is determined in the channel attribute determining step that the channel specifying information belongs to the first used channel information group, at least the communication channel specified by the channel specifying information is used to use the wireless channel A channel control step of generating, at the wireless terminal, a first connection request signal for requesting establishment of a communication connection with the relay device;
A wireless communication method comprising: a wireless transmission step of transmitting the first connection request signal generated in the channel control step from the wireless terminal to the wireless relay device. When it is determined in the channel attribute determination step that the channel specifying information belongs to the first use channel information group, the channel control step includes the first use request signal in addition to the first connection request signal. Request for establishment of communication connection with the radio relay device using a communication channel corresponding to the use channel information constituting the channel information group and different from the communication channel specified by the channel specification information A second connection request signal for generating
5. The wireless communication according to claim 4, wherein, in the wireless transmission step, the first connection request signal and the second connection request signal generated in the channel control step are transmitted to the wireless relay device. Method.

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