JP5339460B2 - Wireless LAN access point apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless LAN access point device with an improved power saving performance. <P>SOLUTION: The wireless LAN access point device performing communication by a plurality of antennas by an MIMO technique is equipped with: a plurality of radio parts for controlling the plurality of antennas respectively; and a control part for controlling the power supply of the plurality of radio sections by the using situation of a connecting destination device to perform communication with. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless local area network (LAN) access point apparatus, and more particularly to a wireless LAN access point apparatus having a plurality of antennas that are MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology and a control method thereof.

  Conventionally, in a wireless LAN access point apparatus having a plurality of antennas, which is a MIMO technology, reception is always possible with a plurality of antennas. Therefore, standby power is generated.

  Various prior arts related to the present invention are known.

  For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2009-49982 (Patent Document 1) discloses a wireless LAN access point using MIMO.

  Also, the re-published patent WO 2007/080760 (Patent Document 2) discloses a mobile phone in which antenna switching is performed in accordance with its own use state (connection state).

  Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-81702 (Patent Document 3) discloses a wireless reception device that can achieve low power consumption when receiving wireless packets of a plurality of streams using MIMO. The wireless receiving device disclosed in Patent Document 3 always demodulates a wireless packet by turning on the power of the minimum necessary reception branch according to the number of received wireless packet streams.

JP 2009-49982 A Republished patent WO2007 / 080760 JP 2007-81702 A

  However, Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above have the following problems.

  First, Patent Document 1 merely discloses a wireless LAN access point using MIMO, and does not disclose any technique for realizing power saving.

  Patent Document 2 merely discloses a technical idea for determining the connection status of the mobile phone itself and realizing appropriate antenna switching.

  In Patent Document 3, the power supply to the antenna is turned on and off according to the number of streams used by the wireless packet transmitted from the other party. As a result, power saving cannot be expected when the connection partner apparatus to be communicated transmits in a plurality of streams.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless LAN access point device with improved power saving performance and a control method thereof.

A wireless LAN access point device according to the present invention is a wireless LAN access point device having a plurality of antennas that are MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, and communicates with a plurality of wireless units that respectively control the plurality of antennas . A control unit that manages the power supply of a plurality of radio units according to the usage status of the connection destination device to be connected, the connection destination device to be communicated has a network device, and the usage status is the connection status of the network device And the transmission rate and / or link rate of the network device, the control unit determines whether the network device is connected and determines the transmission rate and / or link rate of the network device, It is characterized in that standby power is reduced by controlling the power supply of the wireless unit .

  In the present invention, standby power is reduced by controlling the power supply of the radio unit according to the usage status of the connection partner apparatus to be communicated.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system containing the wireless LAN access point apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless LAN access point device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless LAN access point device shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the wireless LAN access point apparatus based on 2nd Example of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless LAN access point device shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a wireless unit power control table used in the wireless LAN access point device shown in FIG. 4.

  Next, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, features of the invention will be described.
The present invention manages a power supply of a radio unit that controls each antenna in a wireless LAN access point apparatus having a plurality of antennas, which is a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technique, depending on the usage status of a connection partner apparatus to communicate with Thus, it is characterized by reducing standby power.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication system including a wireless LAN access point device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated communication system, the wireless LAN access point device 20 includes a wired line such as an IEEE802.11n handset 31 that supports MIMO technology, an IEEE802.11gb handset 32 that does not support MIMO technology, and Ethernet (registered trademark). It is conceivable that a plurality of network devices (connection partner devices) such as an electronic device 60 such as a personal computer connected at 50 are connected.

  It is assumed that the wireless LAN access point apparatus 20 communicates with a connection partner apparatus (network device) using a plurality of antennas by MIMO technology. In this case, the link rate with the slave unit is 150 Mbps for one antenna and 300 Mbps for two antennas. However, the wireless link rate of 300 Mbps may be said to be excessive performance depending on the opposite network device (destination apparatus).

  For example, it is assumed that the wireless LAN access point device 20 communicates with a personal computer (electronic device) 60 connected via a wired line 50 that is 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet. In this case, a wireless link rate of 150 Mbps is sufficient.

  The IEEE802.11gb slave unit 32 has a maximum link speed of 54 Mbps. For this reason, when the wireless LAN access point device 20 communicates with the IEEE802.11gb slave device 32 in the opposite direction, the wireless LAN access point device 20 does not need to use two antennas.

  In the wireless LAN access point device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, by controlling the power supply of the wireless unit by properly using the number of antennas to be used according to the connection status (use status) of these network devices 31, 32, and 60, Realizes power saving.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the wireless LAN access point device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment is an embodiment where two antennas are used.

  In FIG. 2, the wireless LAN access point device 20 controls a first antenna 21, a first wireless unit 22 that controls the first antenna 21, a second antenna 23, and a second antenna 23. A second wireless unit 24 and a wireless LAN control unit 25 are provided.

  The wireless LAN control unit 25 includes a wireless LAN link unit 251 that performs connection with the wireless LAN slave unit, a wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 that manages a connection state with the wireless LAN slave unit, the first wireless unit 22, and the first wireless unit 22. And a wireless unit power management unit 253 that manages the power supply of the two wireless units 24.

  Management frames such as beacons are transmitted and received with one antenna without using MIMO technology. The wireless LAN link unit 251 exchanges the management frame with the wireless LAN slave unit for connection.

  Assume that the connected wireless LAN slave device is an IEEE 802.11n slave device 31 (FIG. 1). In this case, the wireless LAN link unit 251 transmits and receives data frames by the plurality of antennas 21 and 23 and the wireless units 22 and 24 using MIMO technology.

  In a state where the wireless LAN slave unit is not connected, data frames are not transmitted / received. For this reason, communication by the plurality of antennas 21 and 23 and the radio units 22 and 24 does not occur.

  In a state where the wireless LAN slave unit is not connected, the wireless unit power management unit 253 supplies standby power only to the necessary wireless unit (the first wireless unit 22 in the first embodiment). Reduce.

  When the wireless LAN slave unit is connected and data frame transmission / reception occurs, the wireless unit power management unit 253 includes a plurality of wireless units (the first wireless unit 22 and the second wireless unit 22 in the first embodiment). Power is supplied to two of the radio units 23).

  In any case, as will be described later, the wireless LAN control unit 25 controls the power sources of the plurality of wireless units 22 and 24 according to the usage status of the connection partner apparatus to be communicated. In other words, as will be described later, the wireless LAN control unit 25 controls the power sources of the plurality of wireless units 22 and 24 by determining whether the wireless LAN slave unit is connected. As will be described later, the wireless unit power management unit 253 manages the power sources of the plurality of wireless units 22 and 24 based on the determination result of the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252.

  Next, the operation of the wireless LAN access point device 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in a state where the wireless LAN slave unit is not connected, the wireless LAN control unit 25 supplies power only to the first wireless unit 22 using the wireless unit power management unit 253 (step S31).

  Next, in response to a connection request or disconnection request from the wireless LAN slave unit, the wireless LAN control unit 25 uses the wireless LAN link unit 251 to connect to or disconnect from the wireless LAN slave unit (step S32).

  When it is determined that the connection is successful (“connection successful” in step S33), the wireless LAN control unit 25 holds the connected information in the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252, and uses the wireless unit power management unit 253, Both the first radio unit 22 and the second radio unit 24 supply power (step S34).

  When it is determined that the connection has been disconnected (“disconnect” in step S33), the wireless LAN control unit 25 uses the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 to check whether there are any other wireless LAN slave devices connected (step S35). ).

  If there is no other wireless LAN slave device connected (YES in step S35), the wireless LAN control unit 25 supplies power only to the first wireless unit 22 using the wireless unit power management unit 253. (Step S31).

  The first embodiment of the present invention described above has the following effects.

  There is an effect of power saving compared to the conventional case. The reason is that standby power is reduced by controlling the power supply of the wireless unit according to the usage status of the counterpart device to be communicated.

  Another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a wireless LAN access point device 20A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is also an embodiment in which two antennas are used.

  4, the configurations of the first and second antennas 21 and 23, the first and second radio units 22 and 24, and the wireless LAN control unit 25 are the same as those in the block diagram of FIG.

  Further, the control unit 40 of the wireless LAN access point apparatus 20A determines the link speed, the wired line control unit 46 that controls the wired line 50 (FIG. 1) such as Ethernet, the other network device control unit 47 that controls other network devices, and the link speed. A link speed determination unit 48 and a wireless unit power control ON / OFF setting unit 49 are provided.

  As will be described later, the control unit 40 controls the power supply of the plurality of radio units 22 and 24 by determining the transmission speed and / or link rate of the network device. More specifically, the link speed determination unit 48 of the control unit 40 determines the link speed of the wireless LAN. The wired line control unit 46 of the wireless unit 40 functions as a transmission rate determination unit that determines the transmission rate of the wired line 50. The wireless unit power management unit 253 manages the power sources of the plurality of wireless units 22 and 24, as will be described later, based on the determination result of the link speed determination unit 48 and / or the transmission speed determination unit (wired line control unit) 46. To do.

  Instead, as will be described later, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the network device is connected, and determines the transmission speed and / or link rate of the network device. Control the power supply. More specifically, the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 manages the connection state with the wireless LAN slave unit. The link speed determination unit 48 of the control unit 40 determines the link speed of the wireless LAN. The wired line control unit 46 of the wireless unit 40 functions as a transmission rate determination unit that determines the transmission rate of the wired line 50. As will be described later, the wireless unit power management unit 253 is based on the determination result of the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 and the determination result of the link speed determination unit 48 and / or the transmission speed determination unit (wired line control unit) 46. The power sources of the plurality of radio units 22 and 24 are managed.

  Next, the operation of the wireless LAN access point device 20A according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the wireless unit power supply control table of FIG.

  First, in a state where the wireless LAN slave unit is not connected, the wireless LAN control unit 25 supplies power only to the first wireless unit 22 using the wireless unit power management unit 253 (step S51).

  Next, any network device is connected or disconnected (step S52). Here, the network device to be connected or disconnected is a wireless LAN slave connected via a wireless LAN or a personal computer (electronic device) 60 connected via a wired line 50 such as Ethernet. Or other network devices (for example, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)). Each of these network devices is subjected to disconnection control by the wireless LAN control unit 25, the wired line control unit 46, and the other network device control unit 47.

  Here, the wireless LAN control unit 25 uses the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 to check whether the IEEE 802.11n slave unit 31 (FIG. 1) is present in the connected wireless LAN slave unit (step S53). .

  When there is no IEEE802.11n cordless handset 31 (NO in step S53), data communication by the MIMO technology is not performed. Therefore, the wireless LAN control unit 25 uses the wireless unit power management unit 253 to perform the first wireless communication. Power is supplied only to the unit 22 (step S51).

  When the IEEE802.11n slave unit 31 is present, the control unit 40 uses the link speed determination unit 48 to determine in what state the opposite network device is connected, and the wireless unit of FIG. The power sources of the radio units 22 and 24 are managed using the radio unit power management unit 253 in a combination such as a power control table.

  The combination shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and the number of opposite network devices may be increased depending on the apparatus, or power control of the wireless unit may be changed.

  Specifically, the control unit 40 (wireless LAN control unit 25) uses the wireless LAN connection determination unit 252 to check whether there are two or more IEEE802.11n slave units 31 in the connected wireless LAN slave units. Confirm (step S54).

  When there are two or more IEEE802.11n slave units 31 (YES in step S54), since the slave units can communicate at the maximum link speed (300 Mbps), the wireless LAN control unit 25 Using the power supply management unit 253, the first wireless unit 22 and the second wireless unit 24 are both supplied with power (step S57).

  Next, the wired line control unit 46 of the control unit 40 determines the transmission speed of the wired line 50 such as Ethernet (step S55).

  When the transmission speed of the Ethernet wired line 50 is 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet), the wireless LAN slave unit can provide a performance of 300 Mbps, which is a link speed of two antennas. Therefore, the control unit 40 (wireless LAN control unit 25) supplies power to both the first radio unit 22 and the second radio unit 24 using the radio unit power management unit 253 (step S57).

  When the transmission speed of the Ethernet wired line 50 is 100 Mbps (fast Ethernet), the link speed of the wireless LAN slave unit is not 300 Mbps using two antennas, but 150 Mbps using one antenna is sufficient.

  Next, the other network device control unit 47 of the control unit 40 determines the transmission speed of the other network device (step S56).

  When a network device having a transmission speed exceeding 100 Mbps is connected (YES in step S56), the control unit 40 (wireless LAN control unit 25) uses the wireless unit power management unit 253 to configure the first wireless unit 22. The second radio unit 24 supplies power (step S57).

  When the transmission speed does not exceed 100 Mbps (NO in step S56), the control unit 40 (wireless LAN control unit 25) supplies power to only the first wireless unit 22 using the wireless unit power management unit 253 (step). S51).

  Further, the wireless unit power control ON / OFF setting unit 49 may be able to set ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) of this function.

  In the wireless LAN access point device 20A having such a configuration, the link speed determination unit 48 (wired line control unit 46, other network device control unit 47) links to the network device connected to the wireless LAN access point device 20A. By determining the speed (transmission speed), the power sources of the plurality of radio units 22 and 24 are controlled. As a result, even if the connected device (network device) to be communicated can transmit and receive with a plurality of streams, if it is determined by the above determination that there is no need to use a plurality of streams, the number of streams is set to one. Power saving is possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  A wireless LAN access point device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a wireless LAN access point device capable of communicating with a plurality of antennas by MIMO technology, and a plurality of wireless units that respectively control the plurality of antennas, and a communication A control unit that controls the power sources of the plurality of radio units according to the usage status of the connection partner apparatus to be connected.

  In the wireless LAN access point device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connection partner device to be communicated may have a wireless LAN slave device, and the usage status may be a connection status of the wireless LAN slave device. . In this case, the control unit may be configured by a wireless LAN control unit that controls power sources of a plurality of wireless units by determining whether a wireless LAN slave unit is connected. The wireless LAN control unit includes: a wireless LAN connection determination unit that manages a connection state with a wireless LAN slave unit; and a wireless unit power source that manages power of a plurality of wireless units based on a determination result of the wireless LAN connection determination unit And a management unit.

  In the wireless LAN access point apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connection destination apparatus to be communicated has a network device, and the usage status is a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device. Good. In this case, the control unit may control the power sources of the plurality of radio units by determining the transmission speed and / or link rate of the network device. The network device may include a wireless LAN slave device connected via a wireless LAN and an electronic device connected via a wired line. In this case, the control unit includes a link speed determination unit that determines the link speed of the wireless LAN, a transmission speed determination unit that determines the transmission speed of the wired line, and a determination result of the link speed determination unit and / or the transmission speed determination unit. And a radio unit power management unit that manages power sources of a plurality of radio units.

  In the wireless LAN access point apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the connection partner apparatus to be communicated has a network device, and the usage status includes the connection status of the network device, the transmission speed of the network device, and And / or link rate. In this case, the control unit may control the power sources of the plurality of radio units by determining whether the network device is connected and determining the transmission speed and / or link rate of the network device. The network device may include a wireless LAN slave device connected via a wireless LAN and an electronic device connected via a wired line. In this case, the control unit includes a wireless LAN connection determination unit that manages the connection state with the wireless LAN slave unit, a link speed determination unit that determines the link speed of the wireless LAN, and a transmission speed that determines the transmission speed of the wired line. Based on the determination unit, the determination result of the wireless LAN connection determination unit, and the determination result of the link speed determination unit and / or the transmission speed determination unit, a wireless unit power management unit that manages the power of a plurality of wireless units May be configured.

  A method for controlling a wireless LAN access point apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a wireless LAN access point apparatus capable of communicating with a plurality of antennas using MIMO technology, and is a method for controlling a connection partner apparatus to communicate with. Controlling power supplies of a plurality of radio units that respectively control a plurality of antennas according to usage conditions.

  In the method of controlling a wireless LAN access point device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the connection partner device to be communicated has a wireless LAN slave device, and the usage status is a connection status of the wireless LAN slave device. Yes, the control step may control the power sources of a plurality of wireless units by determining whether a wireless LAN slave unit is connected. Instead, the connection destination apparatus to be communicated has a network device, the usage status is the transmission rate and / or link rate of the network device, and the control step includes the transmission rate of the network device and / or Alternatively, the power sources of a plurality of radio units may be controlled by determining the link rate.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with reference to embodiment (Example), this invention is not limited to the said embodiment (Example). Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment (example), the case where two antennas are used is described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable when three or more antennas are used. In the above embodiment, the case where the wired line is Ethernet (registered trademark) is described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to other wired lines.

(Supplementary Note 1) The connection destination apparatus to be communicated has a network device, and the usage status includes a connection status of the network device, a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device, and the control 9. The step of controlling power of the plurality of radio units by determining whether the network device is connected and determining a transmission rate and / or link rate of the network device. A method of controlling a wireless LAN access point device.

(Supplementary Note 2) A plurality of radio units that respectively control the plurality of antennas depending on the usage status of a connection partner apparatus to be communicated to a computer of a wireless LAN access point apparatus that can communicate with a plurality of antennas by MIMO technology A control program for a wireless LAN access point device for executing a procedure for controlling a power supply.

(Supplementary Note 3) The connection destination device to be communicated has a wireless LAN slave unit, the usage status is a connection status of the wireless LAN slave device, and the control procedure is connected to the wireless LAN slave device. The control program for a wireless LAN access point device according to appendix 2, which controls the power sources of the plurality of wireless units by determining whether or not the wireless LAN has been performed.

(Supplementary Note 4) The connection destination apparatus to be communicated has a network device, the usage status is a transmission rate and / or a link rate of the network device, and the control procedure is a transmission rate of the network device. The wireless LAN access point device control program according to appendix 2, wherein the control unit controls power sources of the plurality of wireless units by determining link rates.

(Supplementary Note 5) The connection destination apparatus to be communicated has a network device, and the usage status includes a connection status of the network device, a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device, and the control The wireless communication according to appendix 2, wherein the procedure determines whether the network device is connected and controls the power supply of the plurality of wireless units by determining a transmission rate and / or a link rate of the network device. Control program for LAN access point device.

20, 20A wireless LAN access point device 21 first antenna 22 first wireless unit 23 second antenna 24 second wireless unit 25 wireless LAN control unit 251 wireless LAN link unit 252 wireless LAN connection determination unit 253 wireless unit power supply Management unit 31 IEEE802.11n slave unit 32 IEEE802.11gb slave unit 40 Control unit 46 Wired line control unit 47 Other network device control unit 48 Link speed judgment unit 49 Wireless unit power control ON / OFF setting unit 50 Wired line 60 Personal computer ( Electronics)

Claims (3)

In a wireless LAN access point device capable of communicating with a plurality of antennas by MIMO technology,
A plurality of radio units respectively controlling the plurality of antennas;
A control unit for controlling the power of the plurality of radio units according to the usage status of the connection partner device to be communicated;
Bei to give a,
The connection partner apparatus to be communicated has a network device,
The usage status includes a connection status of the network device, a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device,
The control unit determines whether the network device is connected and controls a power supply of the plurality of radio units by determining a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device. Wireless LAN access point device. The network device includes a wireless LAN slave device connected via a wireless LAN, and an electronic device connected via a wired line,
The controller is
A wireless LAN connection determination unit for managing a connection state with the wireless LAN slave unit;
A link speed determination unit for determining a link speed of the wireless LAN;
A transmission rate determination unit for determining a transmission rate of the wired line;
Based on the determination result of the wireless LAN connection determination unit and the determination result of the link speed determination unit and / or the transmission speed determination unit, a wireless unit power management unit that manages the power of the plurality of wireless units;
The wireless LAN access point device according to claim 1 , comprising: A method of controlling a wireless LAN access point device capable of communicating with a plurality of antennas by MIMO technology,
Controlling power of a plurality of radio units for controlling the plurality of antennas according to the use status of a connection partner apparatus to be communicated;
Only including,
The connection partner apparatus to be communicated has a network device,
The usage status includes a connection status of the network device, a transmission speed and / or a link rate of the network device,
The control step determines whether the network device is connected, and determines the transmission speed and / or link rate of the network device, thereby controlling the power supply of the plurality of wireless units. Control method.

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