JP4900703B2 - Ad hoc network system and ad hoc network repeater - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ad hoc network system, and more particularly to an ad hoc network system including an repeater, an ad hoc network repeater, and an ad hoc network terminal.

  There is known an ad hoc network that autonomously constructs a network between temporarily gathered mobile terminals. Each mobile terminal in this ad hoc network also has a data relay function, and even if the mobile terminals are in a distance where they cannot communicate directly with each other, the data relay function that the mobile terminal has without interposing a base station or access point, etc. Is used to set up a multi-hop communication path to enable communication between mobile terminals. Therefore, it does not depend on a specific network infrastructure, and is effective as a means for constructing a simple network in a disaster area or an outdoor activity place that does not have a network infrastructure.

An example has been disclosed in which an ad hoc network is used as a communication system between mobile units, and it is adapted to better adapt to various environmental differences and changes such as the operating environment and communication environment of mobile terminals in the field of activity. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.) Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for restoring communication to a mobile terminal that has been disconnected from the network. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for performing good information transmission over a relatively low-speed communication line.
JP 2004-165964 A (page 17, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-229173 (8th page, FIG. 1)

  By the way, since it is assumed that the mobile terminal can move freely, especially in communication between mobile terminals including multi-hop by relay, the communication path is not fixed and always moves depending on the movement position of each mobile terminal. Is set automatically. For this reason, in order to secure a more stable and flexible communication path while building an ad hoc network and maintaining a predetermined communicable area, for example, in disaster areas and outdoor activities that require a network communication environment, A technique is used in which a repeater for relaying communication between mobile terminals is arranged in advance in the target area. In arranging, it is necessary to determine whether or not the communicable area using the ad hoc network is appropriately developed in the area to be acted on, and to rearrange or withdraw as appropriate according to the activity status.

  However, each mobile terminal moves with its activity, and when the repeater is also arranged outdoors, it is difficult to use a commercial power source and a generator, and it depends on battery operation, so the power source is consumed. The operating status changes over time. In addition, the situation within the target area will change as well. In addition, these changes are difficult to predict in advance. For this reason, it is difficult to deal with changes in these situations in a short time, and in particular, in order to secure a communicable area, it is possible to conduct a timely review of addition, withdrawal, and relocation of repeaters. It was difficult.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an ad hoc network system and ad hoc that can efficiently plan the arrangement of repeaters when a predetermined communicable area is secured using an ad hoc network. An object is to provide a network repeater and an ad hoc network terminal.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ad hoc network system according to the present invention is an ad hoc network system including a plurality of ad hoc network terminals and a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters, wherein the ad hoc network repeater stores location information of its own device. A self-acquisition acquisition unit to acquire, a monitoring control unit to monitor the power remaining amount of the own device and control the transmission output of the own device based on the monitoring result, the position information of the acquired own device and the remaining power A message notification unit that transmits a notification message including a monitoring result to a predetermined ad hoc network terminal in the plurality of ad hoc network terminals at a predetermined time interval, and the predetermined ad hoc network terminal includes the ad hoc network repeater Receive a notification message from A message decoding unit that decodes the location information and the remaining power of the dehoc network repeater, calculates a communicable area between the ad hoc network terminals by the ad hoc network repeater based on the decoding result, and the calculation result And a display unit for generating display data and displaying the communicable area.

  The ad hoc network repeater of the present invention is self-position information for acquiring position information of the own apparatus in an ad hoc network repeater used in an ad hoc network system including a plurality of ad hoc network terminals and a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters. Including an acquisition unit, a monitoring control unit for monitoring the power remaining amount of the own device and controlling the transmission output of the own device based on the monitoring result, and the position information of the acquired own device and the monitoring result of the remaining power source And a message reporting unit that reports a report message to a predetermined ad hoc network terminal in the plurality of ad hoc network terminals at a predetermined time interval.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when securing a predetermined communication area using an ad hoc network, the ad hoc network system which can plan the arrangement | positioning of a repeater efficiently can be obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out an ad hoc network system, an ad hoc network repeater, and an ad hoc network terminal according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the overall configuration of an ad hoc network system according to the present invention. The ad hoc network system illustrated in FIG. 1 includes five ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e and five ad hoc network terminals (hereinafter referred to as mobile terminals) 12a to 12e. Here, the mobile terminal 12c is referred to as a headquarters terminal as a predetermined terminal among the plurality of ad hoc network terminals. Moreover, the arrow line which connects between each apparatus represents the communication path | route between the apparatuses ensured at a certain time, for example.

  The ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e relay communication between mobile terminals, between ad hoc network repeaters, or between a mobile terminal and an ad hoc repeater. In addition, it acquires its own location information and monitors the remaining amount of power, and reports the result to the headquarters terminal 12c, which is one of the mobile terminals in the network.

  When relaying communications, each ad hoc network repeater is equipped with an ad hoc routing protocol to perform a communication path search and hold a communication path. As a protocol for ad hoc routing, for example, proactive type TBRPF (Topology Dissociation Based on Reverse-Path Forwarding), OLSR (Optimized Link State Routing Protocol), etc. Vector Routing, DSR (The Dynamic Source Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks), and the like can be selected.

  These ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e can, for example, implement appropriate ad hoc networks in the area so that a mobile terminal in the target area of activity can secure a desired communicable area without leaving the network. It is arranged in a place. For this reason, for example, it has a portable structure with mobility, and it is often operated unattended and staying at the place of installation without receiving power supply from the outside during operation. Information on the own position and the remaining amount of power is provided to the headquarters terminal 12c, and the headquarters side can grasp the operation status of each ad hoc network repeater 11a to 11e in real time.

  The mobile terminals 12a to 12e communicate with each other by exchanging communication messages and the like in the ad hoc network. These mobile terminals are equipped with an ad hoc routing protocol similar to the above-described ad hoc network repeater, and freely move within the target area according to the activity of the operator, for example, carried by the operator. Along with the movement, a communication route search is also executed, and each communication route including multi-hop is updated and held.

  In the present embodiment, one of these mobile terminals 12a to 12e is a headquarter terminal 12c. In addition to the above, the headquarters terminal 12c receives a report of its own location information and the monitoring result of the remaining power from each of the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e, and displays a communicable area between mobile terminals based on the contents of the report To do. Thus, by providing the latest situation of the communicable area, it is possible to efficiently arrange the ad hoc network repeater for securing a predetermined communication area.

  Next, the configuration of the above-described ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e and the headquarters terminal 12c, which is one of mobile terminals, will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e according to the present invention. These are all configured in the same manner, and include a transmission / reception unit 21, a position information acquisition unit 22, a power supply monitoring unit 23, a message editing unit 24, and a transmission output control unit 25. The transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives various communication messages as radio signals to / from each device in the ad hoc network according to a predetermined protocol. In addition to the communication message to be relayed and the notification message for reporting the self-location information and the remaining power supply monitoring result to the headquarters terminal 12c, various communication messages to be transmitted / received include a control message for communication path search. Etc. The transmission output is controlled in stages by a transmission output control unit 25 described later.

  The position information acquisition unit 22 continuously acquires the position information of its own device, and sends the result to the message editing unit 24. The position information to be acquired is, for example, latitude / longitude information of the device itself, and can be acquired by using GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like. The power supply monitoring unit 23 monitors the state of the power supply of the own device including the remaining power by battery check or the like, and sends the result to the message editing unit 24.

  The message editing unit 24 edits the position information of the own device from the position information acquiring unit 22 and the monitoring result of the remaining power level from the power source monitoring unit 23 into a predetermined report message. Are sent to the transmission / reception unit 21 so as to be transmitted to the headquarters terminal 12c at a predetermined time interval corresponding to the monitoring result. The transmission output control unit 25 controls the transmission output of the transmission / reception unit 21 according to the monitoring result of the remaining power amount from the power monitoring unit 25. That is, for example, as the remaining amount of power decreases, the transmission / reception unit 21 is controlled to reduce the transmission output in a stepwise manner in order to reduce the power consumption and secure the operating time.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the headquarters terminal 12c according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the headquarter terminal 12 c includes a transmission / reception unit 31, a message input / output unit 32, a message decoding unit 33, a display data editing unit 34, and a display 35.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 transmits / receives various communication messages to / from each device in the ad hoc network as wireless signals according to a predetermined protocol. In addition to the normal communication message exchanged between mobile terminals and the notification message including the self-location information from each ad hoc network repeater 11a to 11e and the monitoring result of the remaining power, Includes control messages for communication path search. The message input / output unit 32 is an interface for delivering a communication message, a notification message, and the like with another mobile terminal transmitted / received via the transmission / reception unit 31 to the transmission / reception unit 31.

  The message decoding unit 33 receives and decodes the notification messages sent from the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e via the message input / output unit 32, obtains the position information and the remaining power monitoring results, and obtains them. Based on the obtained information, the communicable areas secured by the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e are calculated. In calculating the communicable area, for example, the relationship between the transmission output of the radio signal controlled by the remaining power of each ad hoc network repeater and its reach is formulated in advance, and calculated using this relational expression. It is possible to apply a technique such as obtaining the union of wireless signal reachability for each ad hoc network repeater.

  The display data editing unit 34 receives the calculation result of the communicable area from the message decoding unit 33, generates display data for graphical display, for example, and sends it to the display 35. The display 35 receives and displays this display data.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. 4 and the explanatory diagram of FIG. 5, the operations of the ad hoc network system, the ad hoc network repeater, and the ad hoc network terminal configured as described above. explain. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the ad hoc network system according to the present invention.

  First, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters 11 a to 11 e are arranged in a target activity area and the mobile terminals 12 a to 12 e start activities, an ad hoc network including these devices is It is formed and starts operation. The ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e and the mobile terminals 12a to 12e enter this network through various communication control procedures that they have (ST401). Each mobile terminal 12a to 12e moves to each other, and the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e perform point-to-point communication including multi-hop communication by relaying between the mobile terminals while relaying necessary communication. And various communication messages are exchanged (ST402).

  As the ad hoc network continues to operate in this way, the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e continuously acquire the position information of the own apparatus by the position information acquisition unit 22 and send it to the message editing unit 24 (ST403). ). Further, the power supply monitoring unit 23 monitors the remaining power of its own device, and sends the result to the transmission output control unit 25 and the message editing unit 24 (ST404).

  Based on the monitoring result of the remaining amount of power from the power monitoring unit 23, the transmission output control unit 25 controls the transmission output for the transmission / reception unit 21. That is, when the remaining amount of power is decreasing, the transmission output of the transmission / reception unit 21 is reduced stepwise according to the remaining amount to suppress power consumption and control to ensure a longer operating time of the device. To do. On the other hand, the message editing unit 24 edits the position information of the own device and the monitoring result of the remaining power amount into a predetermined notification message, and lengthens the time interval for reporting this notification message to the headquarters terminal 12c according to the remaining power amount. For example, control for making the operation time of the device longer is performed (ST405).

  When the predetermined transmission time for transmitting the notification message is reached (Y in ST406), the latest notification message is sent from the message editing unit 24 to the transmission / reception unit 21, and the notification message is sent from the transmission / reception unit 21 to the remaining power level. Is transmitted toward the headquarters terminal 12c with a transmission output corresponding to (ST407).

  On the other hand, the headquarters terminal 12c, which is one of the mobile terminals, receives notification messages addressed to itself from the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e. The received notification message is sent from the transmission / reception unit 31 to the message decoding unit 33 via the message input / output unit 32 (ST409).

  The message decoding unit 33 decodes the received notification message, and extracts the position information of the ad hoc network repeater that has transmitted the message and the monitoring result of the remaining power (ST410). Then, based on the transmission output controlled by the remaining amount of power, the range of wireless signals of the target ad hoc network repeater is calculated using the formulated relational expression, and this is used for communication between mobile terminals by relaying Possible area. Furthermore, for the notification messages from other ad hoc network repeaters arranged multiple times, the same calculation process is performed each time the notification is made and the range of the radio signal is calculated for each of the notification messages. In addition, a union of these plurality of reachable ranges is obtained and set as a new communicable area (ST411).

  The communicable areas between the mobile terminals 12a to 12e by the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e calculated by these procedures are sent to the display data editing unit 34 to become display data for graphical display and displayed on the display 35. Is done. An example of the display screen of the communicable area displayed on the display 35 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e are displayed as position graphical symbols on the screen corresponding to the respective positions, for example, against the background of the map including the area to be activated, The communicable areas are overlaid and displayed. Further, the remaining power of the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e can be identified by the density of each symbol. Furthermore, the mobile terminals 12a to 12e including the headquarters terminal 12c displaying this screen are also displayed at corresponding positions with graphical symbols, assuming that their position information is obtained mutually. (ST412).

  In this way, each of the ad hoc network repeaters 11a to 11e and the headquarters terminal 12c continues the necessary communication in the ad hoc network, including the operation of sending and receiving the notification message and displaying the communicable area. Then, when the operation end is instructed, the mobile terminal leaves the ad hoc network (ST408 and ST413).

  As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters are arranged in a target area of activity, and an ad hoc network is configured with a plurality of mobile terminals. In this ad hoc network, each ad hoc network repeater monitors its own location information and remaining power, and reports the result to a headquarter terminal as a predetermined terminal which is one of the mobile terminals. The headquarters terminal that has received the report calculates the communicable area between the mobile terminals secured by these ad hoc network repeaters from the report contents, and graphically displays this. In addition, a report from each ad hoc network repeater is periodically transmitted to the headquarters terminal at a predetermined time interval.

  Accordingly, it is possible to easily grasp the development status of the network including the target area of the activity in the communicable area, the status of following the change of the target area of the activity with time, and the like in a short time. In addition, even when the operation status of the ad hoc network repeater changes with time, the influence on the communicable area due to the change can also be grasped. Therefore, when a predetermined communication area is secured using an ad hoc network, an ad hoc network system capable of efficiently planning the arrangement of repeaters can be obtained.

  In particular, the headquarters terminal can plan and instruct timely relocation including expansion and removal based on the details of each ad hoc network repeater, and ensure a network communication environment at the activity site. Can be promoted smoothly.

  Furthermore, the ad hoc network repeater controls the transmission output and the notification interval of the notification message based on the monitoring result of the power remaining amount of the own device, thereby reducing the power consumption and securing the operation time. As a result, even when the remaining amount of power decreases, the stable communication path secured by these ad hoc network repeaters can be continued without interruption, and the above-described ad hoc network repeaters can be provided with sufficient time. Arrangement can be planned.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In particular, the number and arrangement of ad hoc network terminals including an ad hoc network repeater, a mobile terminal, and a headquarter terminal as a mobile terminal can be variously modified according to the operation mode.

  Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments.

The conceptual diagram which shows an example of a structure of the ad hoc network system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the ad hoc network repeater based on this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the ad hoc network terminal which concerns on this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the ad hoc network system which concerns on this invention. The figure which models and shows an example of the display screen of a headquarters terminal.

Explanation of symbols

11 Ad hoc network repeater 12 Mobile terminal 12c Headquarter terminal 21, 31 Transmitter / receiver 22 Location information acquisition unit 23 Power supply monitoring unit 24 Message editing unit 25 Transmission output control unit 32 Message input / output unit 33 Message decoding unit 34 Display data editing unit 35 Display vessel

Claims (4)

In an ad hoc network system composed of a plurality of ad hoc network terminals and a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters,
The ad hoc network repeater is
A self-position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the device;
A monitoring control unit that monitors the power remaining amount of the device and controls the transmission output of the device based on the monitoring result;
A message notification unit that transmits a notification message including the acquired location information of the own device and the monitoring result of the remaining power supply to predetermined ad hoc network terminals in the plurality of ad hoc network terminals at predetermined time intervals. ,
The predetermined ad hoc network terminal is:
Receiving a notification message from the ad hoc network repeater and decoding the position information and remaining power of the ad hoc network repeater, and communication between the ad hoc network terminals by the ad hoc network repeater is possible based on the decoding result A message decoding unit for calculating an area;
An ad hoc network system comprising: a display unit that generates display data based on the calculation result and displays the communicable area. The ad-hoc network relay based on the monitoring result of the remaining power, the ad hoc network system according to claim 1, further characterized by controlling the time interval of the notification message to be transmitted the the predetermined ad hoc network terminal addressed. In an ad hoc network repeater used in an ad hoc network system composed of a plurality of ad hoc network terminals and a plurality of ad hoc network repeaters,
A self-location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the device;
A monitoring control unit that monitors the power remaining amount of the device and controls the transmission output of the device based on the monitoring result;
A message notifying unit for notifying a predetermined ad hoc network terminal in the plurality of ad hoc network terminals of a notification message including the acquired position information of the own device and the monitoring result of the remaining power amount at a predetermined time interval; Ad hoc network repeater. Based on the monitoring result of the remaining power level, further to the predetermined ad hoc network terminal.
4. The ad hoc network repeater according to claim 3, wherein a time interval of a notification message to be transmitted is controlled.

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