JP6232308B2 - Channel selection apparatus, channel selection system, and channel selection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a channel selection device, a channel selection system, and a channel selection method.

  With the widespread use of wireless LANs, the number of homes with a wireless LAN environment is increasing. The wireless LAN environment is maintained by installing one or a plurality of access points in the home, and enables access to the Internet or the like at any location in the home by performing wireless communication with the access points.

  By the way, when a wireless LAN environment is prepared in a neighboring house, the user's house may be affected by radio waves transmitted from an access point installed in the neighboring house. Since the strength of the radio wave transmitted from the access point varies depending on the distance from the access point, the degree of interference varies greatly depending on the position in the house. For users who have established a wireless LAN environment, the user desires to use the Internet or the like at an arbitrary location in the home, and therefore, a mechanism that enables the wireless LAN to be used stably anywhere in the user's home is required.

  In this regard, Patent Document 1 measures the received signal strength of radio waves emitted from a plurality of access points of a wireless LAN at a plurality of measurement points, and uses the measured signal strength at each of the plurality of access points based on the received signal strength. There has been proposed a frequency channel assignment apparatus for adjusting a channel.

JP 2009-1003006 A

  However, the frequency channel allocation apparatus of Patent Document 1 is configured to adjust the channels of all access points that interfere with each other, thereby making it difficult to cause interference with communication using other channels. It is not always appropriate in situations where points are limited. In other words, in a wireless LAN environment maintained in the home, the user can only adjust the channel of the access point installed in the user's home, so a new mechanism for reducing interference in the wireless LAN environment of neighboring houses is required. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such a demand, and by simply adjusting the channel of a limited access point, stable communication is possible at any point in the communicable area corresponding to the access point. It is an object to provide a channel selection device, a channel selection system, and a channel selection method.

  The channel selection device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a radio wave intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point, measured by a terminal in a communicable area of the predetermined access point, and the other access point. An acquisition unit that acquires radio field intensity information including a channel used by the terminal from the terminal, and each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels based on the influence level of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel. A radio field intensity estimating unit that estimates the radio field intensity and a calculation that calculates an interference degree with respect to the radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the radio field intensity of each of the estimated other access points for each of the plurality of channels. And the calculated interference level of each of the plurality of channels , And a channel selector for selecting a channel of said given access point.

  The channel selection device selects, for each of the other access points, a radio wave intensity that has a relatively strong influence on the predetermined access point from the radio wave intensity of the other access point acquired by the acquisition unit. Further comprising an intensity selector, wherein the radio field intensity estimator is based on the influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel and the radio field intensity selected for each of the other access points. The radio field intensity of each of the other access points corresponding to the may be estimated.

The radio field strength selection unit may select the highest radio field strength among the radio field strengths of the other access points acquired by the acquisition unit for each of the other access points.
The acquisition unit further acquires the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point, and the radio field intensity selection unit includes the radio field intensity of the other access point acquired by the acquisition unit for each of the other access points. The radio field intensity that minimizes the value obtained by subtracting the radio field intensity of the other access point from the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point measured simultaneously by the terminal may be selected.

  The channel selection device further includes a radio field intensity selection unit that selects a radio field intensity of the other access point that has a relatively high influence on the channel for each of a plurality of channels, and the acquisition unit includes the predetermined access Further acquiring the radio field intensity of the point, the radio field intensity estimating unit, for each of the plurality of channels, the other radio wave intensity corresponding to the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity The radio field intensity of each of the other access points in the channel may be estimated based on the radio field intensity of the access point and the degree of influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel.

The radio field intensity selection unit may select the radio field intensity of the other access point having the highest radio field intensity for the channel for each of a plurality of channels.
The radio field intensity selection unit is configured to determine, based on the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point, the other access point among the other access points measured simultaneously with the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point for each of a plurality of channels. The radio wave intensity of the other access point that minimizes the value when the radio wave intensity is subtracted may be selected.
The radio field intensity selection unit may select the radio field intensity acquired within a predetermined period from the present time.

  A channel selection system according to a second aspect of the present invention is a channel selection system comprising a channel selection device and a terminal, wherein the terminal is a communication area of a predetermined access point, and the predetermined access point is A radio wave including a measurement unit that measures radio field intensity of another different access point and a channel used by the other access point, radio field intensity of the other access point, and a channel used by the other access point A transmission unit that transmits intensity information to the channel selection device, the channel selection device based on an acquisition unit that acquires the radio wave intensity information from the terminal and an influence level of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel. The radio field strength of each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels is estimated. A radio field intensity estimating unit that calculates, for each of the plurality of channels, a calculation unit that calculates an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the radio field intensity of each of the estimated other access points. And a channel selector that selects a channel of the predetermined access point based on the interference degree of each of the plurality of channels.

  The channel selection method according to the third aspect of the present invention includes a radio field strength of another access point different from the predetermined access point, measured by a terminal in a communicable area of the predetermined access point, and the other access point. Acquiring from the terminal radio field intensity information including a channel used by the terminal, and the degree of influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel, the each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels A step of estimating a radio field intensity, a step of calculating an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the radio field intensity of each of the estimated other access points for each of the plurality of channels. Based on the degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels. And a step of selecting a channel of said given access point.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform stable communication at any point in the communicable area corresponding to the access point by simply adjusting the channel of one access point.

It is a figure which shows the external environment of the channel selection system which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and the said channel selection system. It is a figure which shows the example of a relationship between the communicable area of the access point which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and the communicable area of several other access points. It is a function block diagram of the terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a function block diagram of the access point which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the electromagnetic wave intensity information memorize | stored in a memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the influence degree of the radio wave interference by the frequency interval of a channel. It is a figure which shows the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to each of the some channel estimated by the radio field intensity estimation part which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and the interference calculated by the calculation part. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing until a channel is selected in the access point according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to each of the some channel estimated by the radio field intensity estimation part which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, and the interference calculated by the calculation part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process until it selects a channel in the access point which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to each of the some channel estimated by the radio field intensity estimation part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, and the interference calculated by the calculation part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process until it selects a channel in the access point which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
<First Embodiment>
[Configuration of channel selection system S]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a channel selection system S and an external environment of the channel selection system S according to the first embodiment. The channel selection system S is connected to a plurality of external servers 3 via a network N such as the Internet. The channel selection system S includes a terminal 1 and a predetermined access point 2 that functions as a channel selection device.

  The terminal 1 is a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, and a game machine used by a resident of a predetermined house. The terminal 1 may be a fixed terminal such as a desktop personal computer.

  The predetermined access point 2 is installed in a predetermined house and communicates with the terminal 1 by radio. The predetermined access point 2 receives, for example, a broadcast signal such as cable television broadcast, converts it into a signal such as video and audio, and outputs it, or acquires content provided by the external server 3 on the Internet to obtain the terminal 1 It is a set-top box that can be transmitted wirelessly. The predetermined access point 2 may be a wireless LAN access point that does not have the above-described function. Hereinafter, the predetermined access point 2 is simply referred to as the access point 2.

  The plurality of other access points 5 are installed in a neighborhood of the predetermined residence where the access point 2 is installed, and communicate wirelessly with a user terminal (not shown) of the neighborhood home. . Hereinafter, the access point is also expressed as AP in the figure.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship example between a communicable area indicating an area where the access point 2 according to the first embodiment can communicate wirelessly and a communicable area of a plurality of other access points 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the user home 100, the access point 2 is installed in the living room, and the wireless LAN environment is maintained. The user performs wireless communication with the access point 2 using the terminal 1, thereby accessing the Internet or the like at an arbitrary position such as a living room, a bedroom, or a child room of the user house 100. On the other hand, other access points 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 are installed in neighboring homes 101-1, 101-2, and 101-3 near the user home 100.

  A plurality of ellipses indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2 indicate points where the radio wave intensity of each of the access points is equal, and the area inside the ellipse is an area that can be communicated via the access point. It is shown that. Here, the radio wave intensity refers to a received signal intensity (RSSI) of a radio wave transmitted from each access point.

  For example, in FIG. 2, three ellipses centered on the access point 2 are displayed. Of these three ellipses, the innermost ellipse indicates the point of the first radio wave intensity, and the inner ellipse indicates the second radio wave intensity point that is weaker than the first radio wave intensity. The outermost ellipse indicates a point of the third radio wave intensity that is weaker than the second radio wave intensity. Here, it is assumed that the terminal 1 can wirelessly communicate with the access point 2 in an area inside the outermost ellipse.

  In addition, radio waves transmitted from other access points 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 reach the user home 100 and interfere with the wireless LAN environment of the user home 100. At this time, the degree of interference differs between the living room, the bedroom, and the child room of the user home 100. That is, in the living room, the other access point 5-1 of the neighboring house 101-1 interferes strongly, in the bedroom, the other access point 5-2 of the neighboring house 101-2 strongly interferes, and in the child room, the neighboring house 101-3. The other access point 5-3 interferes strongly. Therefore, for example, if the channel of the access point 2 is set to a channel suitable for use in a living room, it may not necessarily be suitable for use in a bedroom or a child room.

  In this regard, in the channel selection system S, the channel of the access point 2 is set to a channel that can stably use the wireless LAN environment wherever the user home 100 is. Hereinafter, functional configurations of the terminal 1 and the access point 2 constituting the channel selection system S will be described.

[Configuration example of terminal 1]
FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the terminal 1 according to the first embodiment.
The terminal 1 includes an input unit 11, a display unit 12, a wireless unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

  The input unit 11 includes, for example, a button, a contact sensor arranged so as to overlap the display unit 12, and receives an operation input from the user of the terminal 1. When the terminal 1 is a desktop or notebook personal computer or the like, the input unit 11 may be configured with a mouse or a keyboard.

  The display unit 12 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The display unit 12 displays characters, graphics, and the like under the control of the control unit 15.

  The wireless unit 13 modulates the signal output from the control unit 15 to generate an RF (Radio Frequency) signal, and wirelessly transmits the RF signal to the access point 2 via an antenna (not shown). The radio unit 13 demodulates the RF signal received from the access point 2 via the antenna, and outputs a signal obtained by the demodulation to the control unit 15. Here, the wireless unit 13 is connected to the access point 2 by any one of the 13 channels defined in the 2.4 GHz band used in IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, and IEEE 802.11n, for example. Communicate. Note that the wireless unit 13 may perform communication at a frequency of 5 GHz band used in IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11n.

  The storage unit 14 is configured by, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 14 stores various programs for causing the terminal 1 to function. For example, the storage unit 14 stores a content acquisition program for causing the control unit 15 of the terminal 1 to function as a measurement unit 151, a transmission unit 152, and a content acquisition unit 153 described later. The storage unit 14 may read and store a program stored in a storage medium such as an external memory, or may store a program downloaded from an external device via the network N.

  The control part 15 is comprised by CPU, for example. The control unit 15 comprehensively controls functions related to the terminal 1 by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 14. The control unit 15 includes a measurement unit 151, a transmission unit 152, and a content acquisition unit 153.

  The measuring unit 151 measures the radio field intensity of the access point 2, the radio field intensity of another access point 5 different from the access point 2, and the channel used by the other access point 5 in the communicable area of the access point 2. To do. The measurement unit 151 acquires the MAC address and ESSID of another access point 5 at the time of measurement. For example, the measurement unit 151 starts measurement in response to the execution of the content acquisition program.

  Note that the measurement unit 151 may perform measurement periodically (for example, once a week) when the content acquisition program is being executed. The measurement unit 151 may perform measurement in the background when the content acquisition unit 153 acquires content from the external server 3, that is, when the user of the terminal 1 is browsing the content. Good.

  The transmission unit 152 includes information indicating the radio field intensity of the access point 2, information indicating the radio field intensity of the other access point 5, information indicating the channel used by the other access point 5, and the MAC of the other access point 5. Radio wave intensity information including the address and ESSID and the measured date and time are transmitted to the access point 2.

  The content acquisition unit 153 acquires content from the external server 3 via the access point 2 in response to the content acquisition operation performed by the input unit 11. When the acquired content is text information, image information, or video information, the content acquisition unit 153 displays the content on the display unit 12. When the acquired content includes audio information, the content acquisition unit 153 may output audio based on the audio information from a speaker (not shown) included in the terminal 1.

[Configuration example of access point 2]
Next, the functional configuration of the access point 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of the access point 2 according to the first embodiment. The access point 2 includes a wireless unit 21, a communication unit 22, a storage unit 23, and a control unit 24.

The radio unit 21 modulates the signal output from the control unit 24 to generate an RF signal, and wirelessly transmits the RF signal to the terminal 1 via an antenna (not shown). The radio unit 21 demodulates the RF signal received from the terminal 1 via the antenna and outputs a signal obtained by the demodulation to the control unit 24. Here, it is assumed that the wireless unit 21 communicates with the terminal 1 through any one of 13 channels defined in the 2.4 GHz band. The wireless unit 21 may perform communication at a frequency of 5 GHz band.
The communication unit 22 communicates with an external device by wire. Specifically, the communication unit 22 communicates with the external server 3 via the network N.

  The storage unit 23 is configured by, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 23 stores various programs for causing the access point 2 to function. The storage unit 23 may store a program downloaded from an external device via the network N.

  The control unit 24 is configured by a CPU, for example. The control unit 24 comprehensively controls functions related to the access point 2 by executing various programs stored in the storage unit 23. The control unit 24 includes an acquisition unit 241, a radio wave intensity selection unit 242, a radio wave intensity estimation unit 243, a calculation unit 244, a channel selection unit 245, a channel setting unit 246, and a content transmission unit 247.

  The acquisition unit 241 measures the radio field intensity of the access point 2, the radio field intensity of the other access point 5, the channel used by the other access point 5, and the other measured by the terminal 1 in the communicable area of the access point 2. Radio wave intensity information including the MAC address and ESSID of the access point 5 and the measured date and time is acquired from the terminal 1.

  When acquiring the radio field strength information, the acquiring unit 241 obtains the value obtained by subtracting the radio field strength of the other access point 5 from the radio field strength of the access point 2 and the No. In addition, it is stored in the storage unit 23. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the radio wave intensity information stored in the storage unit 23. As shown in FIG. 5, the radio field intensity information includes No, date, time, radio field intensity (RSSI_0) of the access point 2, the MAC address of the other access point 5, the ESSID of the other access point 5, and the other access point. 5, the channel strength of other access point 5 (RSSI of other AP), and the value obtained by subtracting the radio field strength of other access point 5 from the radio field strength of access point 2 (RSSI_0-other AP's RSSI).

  For each of the other access points 5, the radio field strength selection unit 242 selects a radio field strength that has a relatively strong influence on the access point 2 from the radio field strengths of the other access points 5 acquired by the acquisition unit 241.

  There are various methods for selecting a radio wave intensity that has a relatively strong influence on the access point 2, but in this embodiment, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 obtains each of the other access points 5 by the acquisition unit 241. Among the radio field strengths of the access point 5, the highest radio field strength is selected.

  For example, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 refers to the radio wave intensity information shown in FIG. 5 and selects “−40” [dBm] as the highest radio wave intensity for the other access point 5 whose ESSID is “OtherAP1”. Similarly, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 sets the radio wave intensity for “OtherAP2” to “−62”, the radio wave intensity for “OtherAP3” to “−55”, the radiowave intensity for “OtherAP4” to “−40”, and “OtherAP5”. The radio wave intensity is set to “−60”, and the radio wave intensity is set to “−65” for “OtherAP6”.

  Here, the radio field strength selection unit 242 selects a radio field strength that has a relatively strong influence on the access point 2 from the radio field strengths of other access points 5 acquired within a predetermined period (for example, one week) from the present time. May be. By doing so, even if there is a change in the arrangement status of other access points 5 in the neighborhood, the radio wave intensity of the other access points 5 can be selected in response to the change.

  In addition, when selecting the radio field strength of another access point 5, the radio field strength selection unit 242 removes the upper limit radio field strength using a percentile (for example, the 97th percentile) or the like, and selects the radio field strength for the access point 2. A radio wave intensity that has a relatively strong influence may be selected. By doing in this way, the radio field intensity can be selected by removing the radio field intensity measured by chance at the time of measurement.

  The radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 estimates the radio wave intensity of each of the other access points 5 corresponding to each of the plurality of channels based on the influence level of radio wave interference caused by the channel frequency interval, which is stored in the storage unit 23 in advance. To do. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the influence ω (Δchi) of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval (Δchi) of the channel. Here, “i” of Δchi is a value indicating an interval apart.

  In FIG. 6, the influence degree of the radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel in the 2.4 GHz band and the influence degree of the radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel in the 5 GHz band are shown. As shown in FIG. 6, the influence degree of radio wave interference varies depending on the frequency band of wireless communication. For example, in the 2.4 GHz band, when the channel is separated by 1, the influence ω (Δch1) of radio wave interference becomes −2 dBm, and when the channel is separated by 2, the influence ω (Δch2) of radio wave interference becomes −5 dBm. . In the 5 GHz band, when the channel is separated by 1, the influence ω (Δch1) of radio wave interference becomes −100 dBm.

  Specifically, the radio wave intensity estimation unit 243 determines the other radio wave intensity corresponding to each of the plurality of channels based on the radio wave interference influence level due to the channel frequency interval and the radio wave intensity selected for each of the other access points 5. The radio field intensity of each access point 5 is estimated. Hereinafter, the process of estimating the radio field intensity by the radio field intensity estimation unit 243 will be described using an example of estimating the radio field intensity of another access point 5 whose ESSID is “OtherAP1”.

  First, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 selects “−40” as the highest radio wave intensity for “OtherAP1”, and the channel corresponding to “OtherAP1” is “6”. The radio field intensity corresponding to channel “6” is “−40”.

  Subsequently, the radio wave intensity estimation unit 243 affects the radio wave intensity of the channels “5” and “7” whose frequency interval is one distance from the channel “6” on the radio wave intensity “−40” corresponding to the channel “6”. It is estimated as “−42” obtained by adding the degree “−2”. Further, the radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 changes the radio wave intensity corresponding to the channels “4” and “8” whose frequency interval is 2 away from the channel “6” to the radio wave intensity “−40” corresponding to the channel “6”. It is estimated that “−45” is obtained by adding the influence degree “−5”. Similarly, the radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 estimates the radio wave intensity corresponding to the channels “3” and “9” as “−50”, and sets the radio wave intensity corresponding to the channels “2” and “10” to “−68”. And the radio field intensity corresponding to the channels “1” and “11” is estimated to be “−140”.

  Further, since the frequency intervals of the channels “12” and “13” are 5 or more away from the channel “6”, the radio wave intensity estimation unit 243 determines the radio wave intensity corresponding to the channels “12” and “13” as follows: It is estimated that “−140” is obtained by adding the influence degree “−100” to the radio wave intensity “−40” corresponding to the channel “6”.

The calculation unit 244 calculates the degree of interference with the radio wave emitted by the access point 2 based on the estimated radio field intensity of each of the other access points 5 for each of the plurality of channels. Specifically, the calculation unit 244 calculates a value (CIR-RSSI_0) obtained by subtracting the radio wave intensity (RSSI_0) of the access point 2 from the power ratio (CIR) of the carrier-to-interference wave as the interference degree. This degree of interference is obtained by the following equation. Here, N is the number of other access points 5.

  Here, when the value (CIR-RSSI_0) calculated by the equation (1) is large, the degree of interference of the other access point 5 with respect to the access point 2 is small, and when the value calculated by the equation (1) is small, the access is performed. The degree of interference of the other access point 5 with respect to the point 2 is large.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the radio field intensity of another access point 5 corresponding to each of a plurality of channels estimated by the radio field intensity estimation unit 243 according to the first embodiment, and the interference degree calculated by the calculation unit 244. It is. In FIG. 7, since the CIR-RSSI_0 of the channel “1” is the largest, it can be confirmed that the channel with the smallest degree of interference of the other access point 5 with respect to the access point 2 is the channel “1”.

  The channel selection unit 245 selects the channel of the access point 2 based on the calculated interference levels of the plurality of channels. Specifically, the channel selection unit 245 selects the channel with the smallest interference degree of the other access point 5 with respect to the access point 2, that is, the channel with the highest value (CIR-RSSI_0) indicating the interference degree among a plurality of channels. select. In FIG. 7, since CIR-RSSI_0 of channel “1” is the largest, channel selection unit 245 selects channel “1”.

  In response to the channel selection unit 245 selecting a channel, the channel setting unit 246 sets the channel used by the radio unit 21 to the channel selected by the channel selection unit 245. The channel setting unit 246 may set a channel when the content transmission unit 247 is not transmitting content.

  The content transmission unit 247 acquires content from the external server 3 via the communication unit 22 in response to a content acquisition operation performed by the input unit 11 of the terminal 1. The content transmission unit 247 transmits the content acquired from the external server 3 to the terminal 1 via the wireless unit 21.

[Flow chart for channel selection]
Next, a processing flow until the channel is selected by the access point 2 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process flow until the channel is selected in the access point 2 according to the first embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the signal strength information is stored in the storage unit 23 by the acquisition unit 241.

First, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 acquires the radio wave intensity of each of the plurality of other access points 5 from the radio wave intensity information (S1).
Subsequently, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 selects the highest radio wave intensity among the radio wave intensity acquired from the radio wave intensity information for each of the plurality of other access points 5 (S2).

  Subsequently, the radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 estimates the radio wave intensity of each channel for each of the other access points 5 based on the influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channels (S3).

Subsequently, the calculation unit 244 calculates the interference degree for each channel based on the equation (1) (S4).
Subsequently, the channel selection unit 245 selects the channel of the access point 2 based on the calculated interference levels of the plurality of channels (S5).

[Effect in the first embodiment]
As described above, the access point 2 of the channel selection system S according to the first embodiment has the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 measured by the terminal 1 in the communicable area of the access point 2 by the acquisition unit 241. Radio wave intensity information including channels used by other access points 5 is acquired from the terminal 1, and the radio wave intensity estimation unit 243 supports each of a plurality of channels based on the degree of influence of radio wave interference due to the channel frequency interval. The radio field intensity of each of the other access points 5 is estimated, and the calculation unit 244 calculates the degree of interference with respect to the radio wave emitted by the access point 2 based on the estimated radio field intensity of each of the other access points 5 for each of a plurality of channels. And the channel selection unit 245 calculates each of the calculated channels. Based on the degree of coherence, to select the channel of the access point 2.

  In this way, the access point 2 can select a channel that is less susceptible to radio wave interference based on the degree of interference calculated based on the radio field intensity of the plurality of other access points 5. Here, since the plurality of other access points 5 are installed at different positions, the calculated interference degree takes the measurement results at the plurality of positions into consideration. Therefore, the access point 2 can select a channel capable of stable communication at a plurality of points in the communicable area corresponding to one access point.

  In addition, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 selects, for each of the other access points 5, the radio wave intensity that has a relatively strong influence on the access point 2 from the radio wave intensity of the other access points 5 acquired by the acquisition unit 241. The radio field intensity estimation unit 243 determines the other access point 5 corresponding to each of the plurality of channels based on the influence level of the radio wave interference due to the channel frequency interval and the radio field intensity selected for each of the other access points 5. Estimate each field strength. In addition, the radio field strength selection unit selects the highest radio field strength among the radio wave strengths of the other access points 5 acquired by the acquisition unit 241 for each of the other access points 5.

  In this way, the access point 2 calculates the degree of interference in each channel based on the radio field strength of the other access point 5 where the radio field strength of each of the plurality of other access points 5 is relatively strong. Then, a channel is selected based on the degree of interference. Therefore, the access point 2 can select a channel that can communicate stably at a point that is relatively susceptible to interference.

<Second Embodiment>
[Select the signal strength with the smallest value when subtracted from the signal strength of access point 2]
Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, attention is paid only to the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 and the radio field intensity that has a relatively strong influence on the access point 2 is selected. That is, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 selects the highest radio wave intensity among the radio wave intensity of the other access points 5 for each of the other access points 5.

  In this regard, the influence on the access point 2 may be appropriately calculated by considering not only the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 but also the radio field intensity of the access point 2 itself. That is, if the radio wave intensity of the access point 2 is sufficiently high, the influence on the access point 2 may be small regardless of the radio wave intensity of the other access points 5, and the radio wave intensity of the access point 2 is low. If so, the influence on the access point 2 may be large even if the radio wave intensity of the other access point 5 is low.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, the radio field intensity selecting unit 242 has a minimum radio field intensity obtained by subtracting the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 from the radio field intensity of the access point 2 for each of the other access points 5. Select. Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The radio field intensity selection unit 242 of the second embodiment is configured to determine, for each of the other access points 5, the access points 2 that are simultaneously measured by the terminal 1 out of the radio field strengths of the other access points 5 acquired by the acquisition unit 241. The radio wave intensity that minimizes the value obtained by subtracting the radio wave intensity of the other access point 5 from the radio wave intensity is selected.

  Specifically, the radio field intensity selecting unit 242 refers to the radio field intensity information shown in FIG. 5 and subtracts the RSSI of the other access point 5 from the RSSI of the access point 2 for each of a plurality of other access points 5. Select the signal strength that minimizes the value obtained. For example, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 selects the radio wave intensity “−40” corresponding to the value “−30” having the smallest subtraction result for the other access points 5 whose ESSID is “OtherAP4”.

  Similarly, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 sets the radio wave intensity of “OtherAP1” to “−40”, the radio wave intensity of “OtherAP2” to “−62”, the radiowave intensity of “OtherAP3” to “−65”, and “OtherAP5”. The radio field intensity “−65” and “OtherAP6” are selected as “−65”.

  The radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 determines each of the other access points 5 corresponding to each of the plurality of channels based on the influence degree of radio wave interference due to the channel frequency interval and the radio wave intensity selected for each of the other access points 5. Estimate the radio field intensity.

The calculation unit 244 calculates the degree of interference with the radio wave emitted by the access point 2 based on the estimated radio field intensity of each of the other access points 5 for each of the plurality of channels. For example, the calculation unit 244 calculates the interference degree based on the equation (1).
The channel selection unit 245 selects the channel having the highest value (CIR-RSSI_0) indicating the degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the radio field intensity of another access point 5 corresponding to each of a plurality of channels estimated by the radio field intensity estimation unit 243 according to the second embodiment, and the interference degree calculated by the calculation unit 244. It is. In FIG. 9, since CIR-RSSI_0 of channel “1” is the largest, it can be confirmed that the degree of interference of other access point 5 with respect to access point 2 is the smallest in channel “1”. Therefore, the channel selection unit 245 selects the channel “1”.

[Flow chart for channel selection]
Next, a processing flow until the channel is selected by the access point 2 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing until a channel is selected in the access point 2 according to the second embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the signal strength information is stored in the storage unit 23 by the acquisition unit 241.

First, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 acquires the radio wave intensity of another access point 5 from the radio wave intensity information (S11).
Subsequently, for each of the other access points 5, the radio field intensity selection unit 242 determines the radio field intensity that minimizes the value when the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 is subtracted from the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point 2. Select (S12).
Since the processing from S13 to S15 is the same as the processing from S3 to S5 of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[Effects of Second Embodiment]
As described above, the radio field intensity selecting unit 242 of the second embodiment is configured to determine, for each of the other access points 5, the access points simultaneously measured by the terminal 1 out of the radio field strengths of the other access points 5 acquired by the acquiring unit 241. 2. Select a radio wave intensity that minimizes the value obtained by subtracting the radio wave intensity of the other access point 5 from the radio wave intensity of 2, and select a channel using the degree of interference calculated based on the selected radio wave intensity. . In this way, the access point 2 selects a channel that can stably communicate at each point where the radio field strength of the plurality of other access points 5 is strongest relative to the radio field strength of the access point 2. can do.

<Third Embodiment>
[For each of the multiple channels, select the radio field strength of other access points that have a relatively high impact on the channel]
Subsequently, a third embodiment will be described. The channel to be set for the access point 2 is selected by comparing “CIR-RSSI_0” calculated by the equation (1) for each channel. Here, since the degree of influence of radio wave interference varies greatly depending on the frequency interval of the channel, the influence on the access point 2 varies greatly depending on the channel set for the other access point 5.

  Therefore, in the third embodiment, another access point 5 having a high influence is specified for each channel, and a channel suitable for the access point 2 is selected. That is, in the third embodiment, for each of a plurality of channels, the radio wave intensity of another access point (dominant access point) that has a relatively high influence on the channel is selected and measured at the same time as the selected radio wave intensity. The difference from the first embodiment is that the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 in each of the plurality of channels is estimated based on the radio field intensity of the other access point 5, and the other points are the same. In the third embodiment, it is possible to calculate an interference level based on another access point 5 that has a strong influence on each of a plurality of channels, and to select an optimal channel based on the interference level. .

  The radio field intensity selection unit 242 of the third embodiment selects the radio field intensity of another access point 5 that has a relatively high influence on the channel for each of a plurality of channels. Specifically, the radio field intensity selection unit 242 selects the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 having the highest radio field intensity for each channel for each of the plurality of channels. For example, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 refers to the radio wave intensity information shown in FIG. 5 and selects the radio wave intensity of another access point 5 that has a relatively high influence on the channel “1”. The other access point 5 having the highest influence on the channel “1” is an access point whose ESSID is “OtherAP6”, and the radio wave intensity is “−65”.

  Note that the radio field intensity selection unit 242 selects the radio field intensity of the access point 2 simultaneously measured by the terminal 1 instead of selecting the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 having the highest radio field intensity for the channel for each of the plurality of channels. On the other hand, the radio field intensity of another access point 5 that minimizes the value obtained by subtracting the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 may be selected.

  Subsequently, the radio field intensity estimation unit 243 determines the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 corresponding to the radio field intensity of the access point 2 measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity, and the frequency interval of the channel for each of the plurality of channels. The radio field intensity of each of the other access points 5 in the channel is estimated on the basis of the influence level of radio wave interference caused by.

  For example, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 refers to the radio wave intensity information shown in FIG. 5, and the other access point 5 measured at the same time as the access point whose ESSID “OtherAP6” has a relatively high influence on the channel “1”. Identify radio field strength. Here, the other access points 5 measured at the same time as the radio wave intensity “−65” of the access point with the ESSID “OtherAP6” are the access points with the ESSID “OtherAP4” and the access points with the ESSID “OtherAP5”. .

  Since the radio wave intensity of the access point with the ESSID “OtherAP4” is “−50” and the channel is “13”, the radio wave intensity of the access point of “OtherAP4” in the channel “1” has an influence degree “−100”. ”Is estimated to be“ −150 ”. In addition, since the radio wave intensity of the access point whose ESSID is “OtherAP5” is “−60” and the channel is “4”, the radio wave intensity of the access point of “OtherAP5” in the channel “1” has an influence degree “ It is estimated that “−70” is added to “−70”.

  Further, since the ESSIDs “OtherAP1,” “OtherAP2,” and “OtherAP3” are not simultaneously measured, the radio field intensity is estimated to be “−100”. Further, the influence level of the radio wave interference due to the channel frequency interval is added, and the radio wave intensity of the access point of “OtherAP1” in the channel “1” is “−200” and the radio wave intensity of the access point of “OtherAP2” is “−105” , The radio wave intensity of the access point of “OtherAP3” is estimated to be “−200”.

  The radio field intensity selection unit 242 is not limited to specifying the radio field intensity of another access point 5 corresponding to the radio field intensity of the access point 2 measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity, The radio field intensity of another access point 5 corresponding to the radio field intensity within a predetermined range (for example, within 3 dBm) from the radio field intensity of the access point 2 measured at the same time may be specified.

  The calculation unit 244 calculates the degree of interference according to the radio field strengths of all other access points 5 being estimated in one channel. For example, the calculation unit 244 calculates the interference degree based on the equation (1).

Note that the calculation unit 244 may calculate the degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels in response to the estimation of the radio field strength of each of the other access points 5 corresponding to all the channels.
The channel selection unit 245 selects the channel having the highest value (CIR-RSSI_0) indicating the degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the radio field intensity of another access point 5 corresponding to each of a plurality of channels estimated by the radio field intensity estimation unit 243 according to the third embodiment, and the interference degree calculated by the calculation unit 244. It is. In FIG. 11, since CIR-RSSI_0 of channel “1” is the largest, it can be confirmed that the degree of interference of other access point 5 with respect to access point 2 is the smallest in channel “1”. Therefore, the channel selection unit 245 selects the channel “1”.

[Flow chart for channel selection]
Next, a processing flow until the channel is selected by the access point 2 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing until the channel is selected in the access point 2 according to the third embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the signal strength information is stored in the storage unit 23 by the acquisition unit 241.

First, the radio wave intensity selection unit 242 acquires the radio wave intensity of another access point 5 from the radio wave intensity information (S21).
Subsequently, the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 selects one channel (S22), and selects the radio wave intensity of another access point 5 having the highest radio wave intensity for the selected channel (S23). Subsequently, the radio wave intensity estimating unit 243 estimates the radio wave intensity of the remaining other access points 5 (S24).
The calculating unit 244 calculates the degree of interference of the channel selected based on the estimated radio wave intensity (S25).

Subsequently, the radio field intensity selection unit 242 determines whether or not the calculation unit 244 has calculated the degree of interference for all channels (S26). If the radio wave intensity selecting unit 242 determines that the interference level has been calculated for all channels, the process proceeds to S27.
The channel selection unit 245 selects the channel having the highest value (CIR-RSSI_0) indicating the degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels (S27).

[Effect in the third embodiment]
As described above, the radio field intensity selection unit 242 of the third embodiment selects the radio field intensity of the other access point 5 having the highest radio field intensity for each channel, and is measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity. The radio field strength of each of the other access points 5 in the channel is estimated based on the radio field strength of the other access point 5 corresponding to the radio field strength of the access point 2 and the degree of influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel. By doing in this way, the access point 2 can calculate the interference degree of the point where interference is most likely to occur for each of the plurality of channels, and can select the optimum channel based on the interference degree.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. In particular, the specific embodiments of the distribution / integration of the devices are not limited to those illustrated above, and all or a part thereof may be added in arbitrary units according to various additions or according to functional loads. It can be configured functionally or physically distributed and integrated. For example, the function of the control unit 24 of the access point 2 described in the present embodiment may be implemented in another device different from the access point of the wireless LAN. Here, the other device may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet having a tethering function that allows itself to function as an access point. In addition, when the mobile terminal and the access point exist, the mobile terminal holds the measurement result of the radio wave intensity, selects a channel based on the radio wave intensity, and includes instruction information for instructing the channel change. You may make it transmit to an access point.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Terminal, 11 ... Input part, 12 ... Display part, 13 ... Radio | wireless part, 14 ... Memory | storage part, 15 ... Control part, 151 ... Measuring part, 152. ..Transmission unit, 153... Content acquisition unit, 2... Access point, 21... Radio unit, 22. ..Acquisition unit, 242 ... Radio wave intensity selection unit, 243 ... Radio wave intensity estimation unit, 244 ... Calculation unit, 245 ... Channel selection unit, 246 ... Channel setting unit, 247 ... Content transmission unit, 3 ... external server, N ... network, S ... channel selection system

Claims (11)

A channel selection device that functions as a predetermined access point,
A transmission unit that acquires content from an external device and transmits the content to the terminal;
The radio field strength information including the radio field intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point and the channel used by the other access point, measured by the terminal in the communicable area of the predetermined access point, An acquisition unit to acquire from the terminal;
For each of the other access points, a radio field strength selection unit that selects a radio field strength that has a relatively strong influence on the predetermined access point among the radio field strengths of the other access points acquired by the acquisition unit;
Based on the influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel and the radio wave intensity selected for each of the other access points, the radio wave intensity of each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels is calculated. A radio field strength estimation unit to estimate;
For each of the plurality of channels, a calculation unit that calculates an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
A channel selection unit that selects a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels;
A channel selection device comprising:   The radio field strength selection unit selects the highest radio field strength among the radio wave strengths of the other access points acquired by the acquisition unit for each of the other access points.
  The channel selection device according to claim 1.   The acquisition unit further acquires the radio wave intensity of the predetermined access point,
  For each of the other access points, the radio field strength selection unit is configured to determine, based on the radio field strength of the predetermined access point simultaneously measured by the terminal, from the radio field strength of the other access point acquired by the acquisition unit. Select the signal strength that minimizes the value when subtracting the signal strength of other access points.
  The channel selection apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A channel selection device that functions as a predetermined access point,
A transmission unit that acquires content from an external device and transmits the content to the terminal;
The radio wave intensity of the predetermined access point measured by the terminal in the communicable area of the predetermined access point, the radio wave intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point, and used by the other access point An acquisition unit that acquires radio field intensity information including a channel to be transmitted from the terminal;
For each of a plurality of channels, a radio field strength selection unit that selects a radio field strength of the other access point having a relatively high influence on the channel;
For each of the plurality of channels, the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity, and radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel A radio field intensity estimating unit that estimates the radio field intensity of each of the other access points in the channel based on the degree of influence;
For each of the plurality of channels, a calculation unit that calculates an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
A channel selection unit that selects a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels;
A channel selection device comprising:   The radio field intensity selection unit selects, for each of a plurality of channels, the radio field intensity of the other access point having the highest radio field intensity for the channel.
  The channel selection device according to claim 4.   The radio field intensity selection unit is configured to determine, based on the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point, the other access point among the other access points measured simultaneously with the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point for each of a plurality of channels. Select the signal strength of the other access point that minimizes the value when the signal strength is subtracted,
  The channel selection device according to claim 4 or 5.   The radio field intensity selection unit selects the radio field intensity acquired within a predetermined period from the present time,
  The channel selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A channel selection system comprising a channel selection device functioning as a predetermined access point and a terminal,
The terminal
A content acquisition unit for acquiring content from the predetermined access point;
In the communicable area of the predetermined access point, a measurement unit that measures the radio field intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point and the channel used by the other access point;
A transmitter that transmits radio field intensity information including the radio field intensity of the other access point and a channel used by the other access point to the channel selection device;
The channel selection device includes:
A content transmission unit that acquires content from an external device and transmits the content to the terminal;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the radio field intensity information from the terminal;
For each of the other access points, a radio field strength selection unit that selects a radio field strength that has a relatively strong influence on the predetermined access point among the radio field strengths of the other access points acquired by the acquisition unit;
Based on the influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel and the radio wave intensity selected for each of the other access points, the radio wave intensity of each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels is calculated. A radio field strength estimation unit to estimate;
For each of the plurality of channels, a calculation unit that calculates an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
A channel selection unit that selects a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels.
Channel selection system. A channel selection system comprising a channel selection device functioning as a predetermined access point and a terminal,
The terminal
A content acquisition unit for acquiring content from the predetermined access point;
In the communicable area of the predetermined access point , measure the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point, the radio field intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point, and the channel used by the other access point A measuring unit to perform,
A transmitter that transmits radio field intensity information including the radio field intensity of the other access point and a channel used by the other access point to the channel selection device;
The channel selection device includes:
A content transmission unit that acquires content from an external device and transmits the content to the terminal;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the radio field intensity information from the terminal;
For each of a plurality of channels, a radio field strength selection unit that selects a radio field strength of the other access point having a relatively high influence on the channel;
For each of the plurality of channels, the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity, and radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel A radio field intensity estimating unit that estimates the radio field intensity of each of the other access points in the channel based on the degree of influence;
For each of the plurality of channels, a calculation unit that calculates an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
A channel selection unit that selects a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels.
Channel selection system. A given access point executes,
Acquiring content from an external device and transmitting the content to the terminal;
The radio field strength information including the radio field intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point and the channel used by the other access point, measured by the terminal in the communicable area of the predetermined access point, Obtaining from the terminal;
For each of the other access points, a radio field strength that has a relatively strong influence on the predetermined access point is selected from the radio field strengths of the other access points indicated by the radio field strength information obtained in the obtaining step. And steps to
Based on the influence of radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel and the radio wave intensity selected for each of the other access points, the radio wave intensity of each of the other access points corresponding to each of a plurality of channels is calculated. Estimating, and
For each of the plurality of channels, calculating an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
Selecting a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels;
A channel selection method comprising: A given access point executes,
Acquiring content from an external device and transmitting the content to the terminal;
The radio wave intensity of the predetermined access point measured by the terminal in the communicable area of the predetermined access point, the radio wave intensity of another access point different from the predetermined access point, and used by the other access point Acquiring from the terminal radio field intensity information including a channel to be
For each of a plurality of channels, selecting a radio field intensity of the other access point having a relatively high influence on the channel;
For each of the plurality of channels, the radio field intensity of the other access point corresponding to the radio field intensity of the predetermined access point measured simultaneously with the selected radio field intensity, and radio wave interference due to the frequency interval of the channel Estimating the radio field strength of each of the other access points in the channel based on the degree of influence;
For each of the plurality of channels, calculating an interference degree with respect to a radio wave emitted by the predetermined access point based on the estimated radio wave intensity of each of the other access points;
Selecting a channel of the predetermined access point based on the calculated degree of interference of each of the plurality of channels;
A channel selection method comprising:

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