JP7131825B2 - Wireless communication system, wireless access point, wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and wireless terminal connection destination guidance program - Google Patents

Description

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

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

Here, the plurality of connection destination candidates on the side of the base unit are not limited to the case where all of them are wireless access points. As shown in FIG. The same is true even if This repeater is a type of parent device having a function of relaying signals transmitted and received between a wireless terminal and a wireless access point. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless environment in which both a wireless access point and a repeater exist as connection destination candidates for a wireless terminal in a current wireless communication system.

In other words, in the example of FIG. 8, when the wireless terminal 30a exists in a position where it can receive radio waves from both the wireless access point 10a and the repeater 20a, the wireless terminal 30a can receive the radio waves from the wireless access point 10a. , and relay device 20a, and the one predicted to have the highest communication efficiency is selected as the connection destination.

JP 2007-110373 A

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

With the current technology, if there are multiple connection destination candidate parent devices for a child device wireless terminal, the wireless terminal side decides which parent device to select and connect to. The wireless access point, repeater, or user of the wireless terminal on the side of the base unit cannot be involved.

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

Further, in such a wireless terminal connection method, the wireless terminal selects and determines a connection destination by focusing only on communication throughput, and considers the degree of congestion on the wireless access point side and repeater side, which are candidates for the connection destination. Therefore, there is a possibility that the determined connection destination wireless access point or repeater will be biased, resulting in concentration of load or connection to a wireless access point or repeater with poor communication quality. There is

Furthermore, when the channel user wants to specify the connection destination of the wireless terminal, it is necessary to delete the profile information about all master units other than the connection destination to be connected from the storage part of the wireless terminal, which is troublesome. Furthermore, if there are other wireless access points using the same SSID (Service Set Identifier: wireless access point identifier) and password as multiple connection destination candidates, the wireless access point of the connection destination does not conform to the specifications of the wireless terminal. It is dependent and the user of the wireless terminal cannot be involved. Therefore, there is a possibility of connecting to another wireless access point having the same unknown SSID and password, and this possibility is a security problem to be solved.

(Object of the present invention)
In view of the problems to be solved as described above, the present invention provides a method for determining a connection destination to which a wireless terminal on the slave side should be connected in a wireless environment in which there are a plurality of master devices that are connection destination candidates for wireless terminals on the slave side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication system, a wireless access point, a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and a wireless terminal connection destination guidance program for guiding a wireless terminal to connect to the determined connection destination determined by the device side. and

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

(1) A wireless communication system according to the present invention comprises:
In a wireless communication system in which there are multiple wireless access points serving as base units to which wireless terminals carried by users can be connected,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. do,
It is characterized by

(2) A wireless access point according to the present invention,
A wireless access point that serves as a base unit to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected,
provided in a wireless communication system with other wireless access points,
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the other wireless access points, holding the information about the degree of congestion at each of the other wireless access points in a mutually shared state;
And,
When there is a connection request from the wireless terminal,
Selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the held information about the degree of congestion at each of the own wireless access point and the other wireless access points, By notifying each of the other wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
When the own wireless access point is determined as the connection destination, and when the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, it returns an affirmative response to the connection request and establishes connection with the wireless terminal. ,
If any of the other wireless access points is determined as the connection destination and the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, the connection request is not acknowledged without returning an acknowledgment. discard the connection request,
It is characterized by

(3) A wireless terminal connection destination guidance method according to the present invention includes:
In a wireless communication system having a plurality of wireless access points serving as base units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, a connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the base unit side. a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method for guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. do,
It is characterized by

(4) The wireless terminal connection destination guidance program according to the present invention is
In a wireless communication system having a plurality of wireless access points serving as base units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, a connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the base unit side. a wireless terminal connection destination guiding program for causing a computer installed in the wireless access point to execute a process of guiding the wireless terminal to connect to the determined connection destination,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. do,
It is characterized by

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

That is, in the present invention, in a wireless environment in which a plurality of wireless access points (relays are also included as master devices) exist on the master device side, the wireless terminal on the slave device side can be connected to the master device by: In order to perform control on the wireless access point side, which is the parent device, information on the degree of congestion of each of the multiple wireless access points is shared. Since the connection destination of the wireless terminal is selected and determined from among a plurality of wireless access points based on the information on the degree of congestion received, it is possible to guide the connection destination of the wireless terminal of the slave unit to the determined connection destination. can. Therefore, it is possible to distribute the load on the master device side and improve the communication quality.

1 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of exchanging information between a wireless access point, a repeater, and a wireless terminal in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of internal configurations of a wireless access point, a repeater, and a wireless terminal in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. In the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, the element added in addition to the vendor specific field of the beacon signal transmitted and received between the wireless access point and the repeater It is a schematic diagram which shows an example. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of a wireless access point in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a flow chart showing an example of operation of a repeater in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 as one embodiment of the present invention; As an operation example of the present invention, a transition indicating an example of the transition state of the added control information flag is added as an element to the beacon signal transmitted and received by the wireless access point and the repeater shown in FIGS. It is a diagram. FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of exchange of information between wireless access points and wireless terminals when a plurality of wireless access points and a management wireless access point are installed; 1 is a schematic diagram showing a wireless environment in which both a wireless access point and a repeater exist as connection destination candidates for a wireless terminal in a current wireless communication system; FIG.

Preferred embodiments of a wireless communication system, a wireless access point, a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method, and a wireless terminal connection destination guidance program according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, a wireless communication system, a wireless access point, and a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method according to the present invention will be described. It goes without saying that the wireless terminal connection destination guidance program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. In addition, it goes without saying that the reference numerals attached to each drawing below are added to each element for convenience as an example to aid understanding, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated embodiments. stomach.

(Characteristics of the present invention)
Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the outline of the features of the present invention will be described first. According to the present invention, when a wireless terminal (STA: station) on the slave side is in a wireless environment in which there are a plurality of wireless access points (AP: wireless access points) on the side of the base unit that are candidates for connection destinations of wireless terminals (STA: station) on the slave side, the wireless terminal can use Each wireless access point shares and retains information about the degree of congestion at each wireless access point of a band that can be used, and when a connection request is received from a wireless terminal, information about the degree of congestion at each wireless access point is provided. Based on the information, the optimum wireless access point is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and only the wireless access point determined as the connection destination responds to the connection request from the wireless terminal. The main feature is to guide the connection destination of

Here, only a wireless access point, which is a wireless connection device having a function of connecting wireless terminals and connecting to other networks, is shown as a parent device. However, a repeater (RP) that relays signals sent and received between a wireless terminal and a wireless access point, which is a wireless connection device, is also a type of parent device, and is a candidate for connection destinations of wireless terminals on the slave side. In an environment where there are multiple wireless access points (i.e., wireless connection devices) and repeaters as master devices, the repeater may perform the same operation as the wireless access point (i.e., wireless connection device) described above. It is one of the main features.

Therefore, the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) side and the repeater side as the base unit control the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and the load distribution and communication of the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) and the repeater are achieved. Quality can be improved. In addition, as described above, by equipping the wireless access point (that is, the wireless connection device) side or the repeater side with the function of selecting and determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal, it is possible to respond to the connection request of the wireless terminal. All unspecified number of wireless terminals can be guided to the optimum connection destination without depending on the functions of the terminals.

In other words, in the case of the current technology, when there are multiple parent devices (wireless access points or repeaters) that are connection destination candidates for the wireless terminal on the child device side, the wireless terminal on the child device side is connected to each of the multiple parent devices. If the SSID (identifier of the wireless access point or repeater) is located in a location where it can be detected, or if the wireless terminal on the slave side has profile information about multiple masters, the above-mentioned As described above, to which master (wireless access point or repeater) the wireless terminal on the slave side is connected is determined depending on the specification of the wireless terminal on the slave side.

On the other hand, in the present invention, information is shared among a plurality of parent devices using a management frame, and when a connection request is received from a wireless terminal on the side of a child device, the information shared by each parent device is shared. After selecting and determining the optimum parent device to which the wireless terminal of the child device should be connected based on the above, only the parent device determined as the connection destination responds (affirmatively) to the connection request from the child device. response), but the parent device other than the parent device determined as the connection destination does not respond to the connection request from the child device, so that the parent device guides the connection destination of the child device. can be controlled to

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

In addition, in order to share information between a plurality of master devices, by adding the information to a beacon signal and exchanging information, even when a plurality of master devices exist in different networks, , the information can be shared among a plurality of parent devices, and even if the parent devices exist in different networks, the child device can determine the optimum parent device as a connection destination.

(Embodiment of the present invention)
Next, an embodiment of a radio communication system according to the present invention will be described. In the case of a wireless communication system in which there are a plurality of wireless access points serving as connection destination candidates for a wireless terminal, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, unlike the case of the current technology shown in FIG. In response to a connection request from a wireless terminal, the base unit selects and determines the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and the wireless terminal is connected to the determined connection destination. A configuration is adopted that has a connection destination guidance function to guide the destination.

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of exchanging information among wireless access points, repeaters, and wireless terminals in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A case is shown in which the wireless terminal 30 to be used exists at a position where it can receive radio waves from both the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 . In other words, the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 exist as master devices as candidates for the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 serving as the slave device. shows the case where the connection destination guidance function peculiar to the present invention is provided.

Here, the wireless access point 10 is a wireless connection device having a function of connecting wireless terminals to each other and connecting to other networks. It is a device that relays signals transmitted and received to and from the terminal 30 . The wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 share information about their respective congestion levels as the connection destination guidance function, and perform exactly the same operation in terms of controlling the connection destination of the wireless slave device. Therefore, in the following description, in order to simplify the description, the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20, which are wireless connection devices, will not be clearly distinguished from each other. In some cases, the repeater 20 is collectively described by the term "wireless access point".

In the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless terminal 30 sends an AUTH (Authentication) signal conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard to the wireless access point 10, for example, as a connection request signal. (sequence Seq1), the wireless access point 10 that has received the AUTH signal suspends the response to the received AUTH signal. Then, the wireless access point 10 sends a data request (a data request ( Data Request) signal is transmitted (sequence Seq2).

When the repeater 20 receives a data request signal from the wireless access point 10, the repeater 20 extracts information stored in advance as information on the degree of congestion corresponding to the request of the data request signal, It is returned to the requesting wireless access point 10 as a data response signal (sequence Seq3). Here, the information about the degree of congestion is information indicating the degree of congestion in the band that can be used by the wireless terminal 30, such as information indicating the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value. The information of the RSSI value in the repeater 20 is, for example, the SSID (Service Set ID) of the master unit, which is transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 for master unit inquiry prior to the transmission of the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30 . Identifier: Identifier of a wireless access point or repeater) can be obtained in advance by monitoring a probe request signal or the like with information.

When the radio access point 10 receives the congestion degree information, such as the RSSI value information, at the repeater 20 returned from the repeater 20 as a data response (Data Response) signal, the radio access point 10 indicates the congestion degree information at the own radio access point 10. For example, it compares with information about the RSSI value. Then, the wireless access point 10 selects the less congested device (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) in the comparison result as the transmission source of the AUTH signal for requesting authentication (that is, for requesting connection). It is determined as the connection destination of the terminal 30 . Then, the MAC address (MAC addr) specifying the device (wireless access point 10 or relay 20) determined as the connection destination is sent to the relay 20 as a connection destination determination notification (Access Point Notification) signal of the wireless terminal 30. (sequence Seq4). For example, when the wireless access point 10 determines that the repeater 20 is less crowded than its own wireless access point 10 and determines the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the repeater 20 is notified to the repeater 20 of the MAC address specifying the .

Transmission and reception of information between the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 (Data Request signal for requesting acquisition of congestion level information, Data Response signal for returning congestion level information, wireless terminal Transmission/reception of a determination notification (Access Point Notification) signal that notifies that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined, and a connection completion (Association Done) signal that notifies that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed) is a management frame. For example, the vendor specific field of the beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard is used.

When the wireless access point 10 determines the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the wireless access point 10 sends an Ack (Acknowledge) that is a response to the AUTH signal received by the wireless access point. A response) signal is not returned to the wireless terminal 30, and the suspended AUTH signal is discarded (sequence Seq5). As a result, the wireless terminal 30 detects the response timeout of the AUTH signal and retransmits the AUTH signal to another wireless access point, in the case of FIG. 1, to the repeater 20 (sequence Seq6).

When the repeater 20 receives the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30, the repeater 20 receives from the wireless access point 10 a notification of the MAC address indicating that the wireless terminal 30 is connected to the repeater 20 itself. by returning an Ack (acknowledgement) signal, which is a response to the AUTH signal (sequence Seq 7), to the wireless terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the wireless terminal 30, thereby authenticating the wireless terminal 30. connect wirelessly.

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

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

When the wireless unit 31 of the wireless terminal 30 shown in FIG. 2 broadcasts an IEEE 802.11 standard compliant Probe Request signal designating the wireless access point 10 as the SSID (Service Set Identifier) information for base inquiry. , both the radio section 11 of the radio access point 10 and the radio section 21 of the repeater 20 receive the probe request signal from the radio terminal 30 . Information about the RSSI value of the probe request signal received by each of the radio unit 11 of the radio access point 10 and the radio unit 21 of the repeater 20 and the MAC address of the radio terminal 30 that is the transmission source is obtained, The acquired information is written and held in the respective storage units 13 and 23 by the respective control units 12 and 22 as information indicating the respective congestion degrees. The RSSI value of the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30 written in the respective storage units 13 and 23 is overwritten and updated to the latest state each time the probe request signal is received from the wireless terminal 30. To go.

Further, when the control unit 12 of the wireless access point 10 confirms that the own wireless access point 10 is a device corresponding to the SSID information specified for base inquiry in the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30, The radio section 11 returns a response to the probe request signal to the radio terminal 30 of the transmission source. On the other hand, the controller 22 of the repeater 20 does not send back a response to the probe request signal because the connection destination specified by the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30 is not its own device.

Next, when the radio unit 31 of the radio terminal 30 receives a response (response to the transmitted probe request signal) returned from the radio access point 10, the control unit 32 generates a signal for authentication request (that is, for connection request). An AUTH (Authentication) signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard generated as is transmitted to the wireless access point 10 . Upon receiving the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30 , the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 transfers the received AUTH signal to the control unit 12 .

The control unit 12 selects the own wireless access point 10 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, which is the transmission source of the AUTH signal, rather than the repeater 20 or other wireless access points whose existence is recognized by the wireless terminal 30. In order to confirm whether or not the response to the received AUTH signal is temporarily suspended, a management frame is sent to the repeater 20 and other wireless access points to acquire information on the degree of congestion at each. Broadcast transmission is performed from the radio unit 11 .

For example, a beacon signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard is used as the management frame that is transmitted to acquire information about the degree of congestion in each. A data request flag for requesting the return of RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 held in the repeater 20 or another wireless access point in the vendor specific field of the beacon signal. (Data Request Flag) is turned on ('1') to generate a signal to which an element is added, and the radio section 11 broadcasts the generated beacon signal. Here, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 is congestion degree information regarding the band that can be used by the wireless terminal 30, and the repeater 20 or another wireless access point transmits the probe request signal from the wireless terminal 30. This is information about the RSSI value when received.

When the wireless unit 21 of the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted by the wireless access point 10, the control unit 22 analyzes the elements added to the beacon signal. As a result of the analysis, it is detected that the Data Request Flag requesting the element to return the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in its own repeater 20 is set to ON ('1'). Therefore, the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 stores information about the RSSI value of the radio terminal 30 in the own repeater 20 held in the storage unit 23 (that is, information about the RSSI value when the probe request signal is received from the radio terminal 30). ) is read out as congestion degree information in the repeater 20 concerned.

Then, the control unit 22 of the repeater 20, for example, sets the information about the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the own repeater 20 in the Vender Specific Field of the beacon signal, and the RSSI A signal is generated by adding an element with a Data Response Flag turned on ('1') indicating return of information about a value, and the generated beacon signal is broadcast from the wireless unit 21. do.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, devices recognized as connectable parent devices by the wireless terminal 30 are the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20, and other wireless access points are recognized. not recognized. Therefore, even if a wireless access point other than the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal broadcast from the wireless access point 10, the wireless access point other than the repeater 20 receives the signal from the wireless terminal 30. Since the probe request signal is not received, the wireless terminal 30 requested by the beacon signal from the wireless access point 10 is not received from the wireless access points other than the repeater 20. The operation of transmitting the RSSI value information of is not performed.

Next, when the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 receives the beacon signal broadcasted from the repeater 20, the element added to the beacon signal by the control unit 12 to parse As an analysis result, when the control unit 12 detects that the data response flag (Data Response Flag) indicating the return of the RSSI value information to the element is set to ON ('1'), the beacon signal acquires the information of the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the repeater 20 returned by .

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

Therefore, in such a case, the control unit 12 stores the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 in the storage unit 13, and also stores the fact that the repeater 20 has been determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. is generated and transmitted from the wireless unit 11.

As the connection destination determination notification signal, for example, information about the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is added to the Vender Specific Field of the beacon signal. An access point decision notification flag ( A signal is generated by adding an element whose Access Point Notification Flag is turned on ('1'). Then, the radio section 11 broadcasts the generated beacon signal.

Furthermore, in such a case, even if the control unit 12 receives an AUTH signal for requesting authentication (that is, for requesting connection) from the wireless terminal 30, it discards the AUTH signal and indicates a response to the AUTH signal. The operation of returning the Ack signal to the wireless terminal 30 is not performed. As a result, the wireless terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the AUTH signal detects the response timeout of the transmitted AUTH signal, and assumes that the wireless access point 10 that is the inquiry destination is in a state where it cannot be connected. , another master unit (relay 20 in this embodiment) is selected as a candidate for the next connection destination, and an AUTH signal is transmitted to the relay 20 .

On the other hand, when the wireless unit 21 of the repeater 20 receives the beacon signal transmitted by the wireless access point 10, the control unit 22 analyzes the elements added to the beacon signal. As a result of the analysis, if the wireless access point 10 has determined the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 to be the repeater 20, the access point determination indicating that the wireless access point to which the wireless terminal 30 is connected is determined in the element. It detects that the notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) is set to ON ('1') and that the MAC address of its own repeater 20 is set as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 . Therefore, the control unit 22 determines the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 to be connected, which the repeater 20 has determined as the connection destination, from the elements of the received beacon signal (or 20 and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30) are read out and stored in the storage unit 23. FIG.

Thereafter, when the radio section 21 receives the AUTH signal for requesting authentication (that is, for requesting connection) transmitted from the radio terminal 30 , the repeater 20 transfers the received AUTH signal to the control section 22 . The control unit 22 stores the MAC address of the authentication request destination designated by the AUTH signal as the MAC address of its own repeater and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 indicating the transmission source of the AUTH signal as the connection destination in the storage unit 23. It is confirmed whether or not the MAC address matches the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 held as information specifying the wireless terminal 30 determined as the own repeater 20 .

As a result of checking, if the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 as the transmission source matches the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 held in the storage unit 23, the control unit 22 determines that the wireless terminal 30 to be legitimately connected determines that it has received an AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30, performs an authentication operation to permit connection with the wireless terminal 30, and sends an Ack (Acknowledge) signal from the wireless unit 21 as an affirmative response to the received AUTH signal. It is returned to the wireless terminal 30 of the transmission source.

Furthermore, when the control unit 22 of the repeater 20 completes the connection with the wireless terminal 30 by returning the Ack signal, for example, the wireless terminal 30 and information about the element whose association done flag indicating that the connection has been completed is turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC address of the repeater 20 that is the connection destination Generates a signal with the addition of the containing element. Then, the radio section 21 broadcasts the generated beacon signal.

Then, when the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 receives the beacon signal broadcast-transmitted from the repeater 20, the control unit 12 adds the element added to the beacon signal to the To analyze. As an analysis result, when the control unit 12 detects that the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed is set to ON ('1') in the element, the control unit 12 automatically Relayed to the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 as a connection destination determination notification in the vendor specific field of the beacon signal periodically transmitted from the wireless unit 11 of the wireless access point 10 at a predetermined cycle. The element added to notify that the device 20 has been selected and decided is deleted, and the initial state in which no element is added is restored.

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

FIG. 3 shows a Vender Specific Field of a beacon signal transmitted and received between the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an additionally added element; In addition to the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20, if other wireless access points or repeaters are present as base units, even between the other wireless access points or repeaters, as shown in FIG. It goes without saying that elements similar to are sent and received.

In the case of the above-described embodiment, in the vendor specific field of the beacon signal shown in FIG. The 3rd to 7th lines are a control information flag column 42 that indicates the type of control information to be transmitted and received by a flag, and the 8th line "Station address" is the connection request The connection request source wireless terminal address column 43 indicates the MAC address of the original wireless terminal 30, and the "Access Point address" in the ninth line is the connection destination address column indicating the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination. 44, and "Rssi" on the tenth line is an RSSI value column 45 indicating the RSSI value of another wireless access point (including repeater 20) returned to wireless access point 10. FIG.

"Control Flag: 0X0100" shown in the first line (that is, the third line of the element) of the control information flag column 42 in FIG. Only the third flag is on ('1'), but all other flags are off ('0'). Here, as shown from the second line of the control information flag column 42 (that is, the fourth line of the element) onwards, the flags of the control information types, starting from the top, are the first flags from the bottom, and the flags are wireless access points. 10 indicates the data request flag for the congestion degree information return request transmitted to the relay 20 (including other wireless access points), and the second flag is the relay 20 (other wireless access points ) is returned to the wireless access point 10 for returning congestion degree information (Data response Flag). In addition, the third lowest flag indicates an access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) for connection destination determination notification transmitted by the wireless access point 10 to the repeater 20 (including other wireless access points), The fourth flag is a connection completion flag (Association done Flag).

In other words, as described above, each of the wireless access points (including repeaters) forming a plurality of base units transmits and receives information on the degree of congestion collected, notifies the connection destination of the wireless terminal, and completes connection with the wireless terminal. etc., using a vendor specific field of a beacon signal conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard, by transmitting and receiving to and from each of the wireless access points. share information on A control information flag as shown in FIG. 3, for example, is used as an identifier for identifying information to be transmitted and received by the vendor specific field of the beacon signal. In this way, in order to share information between a plurality of master units, information is exchanged by adding information for sharing as an element to the vendor specific field of the beacon signal. Thus, even when multiple master devices exist in different networks, it is possible to share the above information among multiple master devices, and even if the master devices are in different networks, the slave devices can share the information. An optimum base unit can be determined as a connection destination.

Note that the control information flag column 42 shown in FIG. 3 has an association done flag indicating that the wireless access point 10 has completed connection with the wireless terminal 30 from the repeater 20 in the above description. As an example, the setting state of the control information flag of the element added to the vendor specific field of the beacon signal when the beacon signal of ('1') is received. showing.

(Explanation of operation example of the present embodiment)
Next, an operation example of the wireless access point 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the wireless access point 10 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention. ), and returns a response signal to the probe request signal transmitted by specifying It shows an operation example after holding the information about the RSSI value of the signal. It should be noted that wireless access points and relays other than wireless access point 10 and relay 20 do not receive a probe request signal from wireless terminal 30 .

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

On the other hand, when the wireless access point 10 receives the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30 (Yes in step S101), the wireless access point 10 checks the degree of congestion regarding wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30 at the other wireless access points and the repeater 20. A control information flag that turns on ('1') a data request flag (Data Request Flag) requesting transmission of RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the wireless access point or repeater 20, and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 is added as an element to generate a beacon signal, which is broadcast-transmitted (step S102).

After that, the wireless access point 10 monitors whether or not a predetermined time (n seconds) has elapsed as a time limit for responses from other wireless access points or repeaters 20 (step S103). If the predetermined time (n seconds) has not yet passed (No in step S103), next, from another wireless access point or repeater 20, as information indicating the degree of congestion related to wireless communication with the wireless terminal 30, , another wireless access point or repeater 20 checks whether or not the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 has been returned (step S104).

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

On the other hand, in step S103, when it is detected that a predetermined period of time (n seconds) has elapsed since the broadcast transmission of the beacon signal (Yes in step S103), other wireless access points and repeaters 20 determines that the wireless access point 10 has not acquired RSSI value information with the wireless terminal 30, and determines its own wireless access point 10 as the wireless terminal 30's connection destination. Then, the wireless access point 10 turns on ('1') the access point determination notification flag indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is determined, and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. A beacon signal to which information about the address and the MAC address of the own wireless access point 10 determined as the connection destination is added as an element is generated and broadcasted (step S105). Thereafter, the wireless access point 10 returns an Ack signal to the wireless terminal 30 as a positive response to the AUTH signal received from the wireless terminal 30 in step S101 (step S106).

Furthermore, the wireless access point 10 that has returned the acknowledgment to the AUTH signal notifies the other wireless access points and the repeater 20 that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed. That is, the wireless access point 10 turns on ('1') an association done flag indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed, the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the connection A beacon signal is generated by adding an element of information about the MAC address of the previous own wireless access point 10 and is broadcast-transmitted (step S107). Thereafter, the wireless access point 10 returns to normal operation (step S112).

Further, in step S104, if the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 is returned as congestion degree information only from, for example, the repeater 20 among the other wireless access points and the repeater 20 (Yes in step S104), The access point 10 compares the returned RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 in the relay 20 with the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in its own wireless access point 10 . In other words, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the own wireless access point 10 is lower than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the relay 20 returned, and the own wireless access point 10 is lower than the relay 20. It is checked whether the congestion level is high (step S108).

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

On the other hand, the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the own wireless access point 10 is lower than the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 at the repeater 20, and the congestion degree of the own wireless access point 10 is higher than that of the repeater 20. is high (Yes in step S108), the wireless access point 10 determines the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. FIG. Then, the wireless access point 10 turns on ('1') the access point determination notification flag indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is determined, and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. A beacon signal to which information about the address and the MAC address of the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination is added as an element is generated and broadcasted (step S109).

After that, the wireless access point 10 monitors the beacon signal from the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination, and determines whether the connection between the repeater 20 and the wireless terminal 30 of the connection target child device is completed. It shifts to the state of monitoring whether or not That is, the wireless access point 10 connects with the control information flag that turns on ('1') the association done flag indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30. It continues to monitor the transmission of a beacon signal from the repeater 20 to which information about the MAC address of the previous repeater 20 is added as an element (step S110).

The wireless access point 10 receives information on the control information flag with the association done flag turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC address of the repeater 20 as the connection destination. When the beacon signal added as an element is received from the repeater 20, the connection of the wireless terminal 30 is detected from the beacon signal periodically transmitted from the own wireless access point 10 at a predetermined cycle. The element added for notifying that the repeater 20 has been selected and decided as the first is deleted (step S111). Thereafter, the wireless access point 10 returns to normal operation (step S112).

Next, an operation example of the repeater 20 shown as one embodiment of the present invention in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the repeater 20 in the wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the present invention. An operation example after the RSSI value at the time of intercepting the Probe Request) signal has been obtained as the congestion degree information at the time of connection between the wireless terminal 30 and its own repeater 20 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a normal operation in which the relay 20 has acquired the RSSI value of the wireless terminal 30 (step S200), the transmission of the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 in the repeater 20 itself is performed. A beacon signal to which a control information flag with a data request flag to be requested (Data Request Flag) set to ON ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 are added as elements is transmitted to the wireless access point 10. (step S201). Then, unless a beacon signal to which the control information flag with the data request flag turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 are added as elements and added (step No in S201), the operation of step 201 is repeated.

On the other hand, the repeater 20 generates a beacon signal to which the control information flag with the data request flag turned on ('1') and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 are added as elements. When received from the wireless access point 10 (Yes in step S201), the wireless terminal 30 performs an operation of returning information indicating the degree of congestion in the repeater 20 of the band that the wireless terminal 30 intends to use. That is, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') the RSSI value information of the wireless terminal 30 and the data response flag (Data Response Flag) indicating the return of the RSSI value information in the repeater 20 itself, and the control information flag and the corresponding RSSI value information. A beacon signal to which the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 is added as an element is generated and broadcasted (step S202).

After that, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined, and the MAC of the wireless terminal 30. It monitors whether or not a beacon signal to which information about the address and the MAC address of the wireless access point 10 or the repeater 20 determined as the connection destination is added as an element is transmitted from the wireless access point 10. continue (step S203). Then, the control information flag with the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) turned on ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC of the wireless access point 10 or the own repeater 20 determined as the connection destination The operation of step 203 is repeated unless a beacon signal to which information about the address is added as an element is received (No in step S203).

On the other hand, the repeater 20 sets the control information flag with the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) set to ON ('1'), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the wireless access point 10 determined as the connection destination or itself. When a beacon signal to which information about the MAC address of the repeater 20 is added as an element is received from the wireless access point 10 (Yes in step S203), the element of the received beacon signal is set. It is checked whether or not the MAC address of the repeater 20 coincides with the MAC address of its own repeater 20 (step S204).

If the MAC address set in the element of the received beacon signal matches the MAC address of its own repeater 20 (Yes in step S204), the repeater 20 is connected to the wireless access point 10. , it is determined that the repeater 20 itself is selected and determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 in . Therefore, after that, the repeater 20 continues to monitor whether or not an AUTH signal for requesting authentication (that is, for requesting connection) has been transmitted to its own repeater 20 from the wireless terminal 30 to be connected ( step S205). Unless an AUTH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 (No in step S205), the operation of step 205 is repeated.

On the other hand, when the repeater 20 receives the AUTH signal transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 to be connected to its own repeater 20 (Yes in step S205), the repeater 20 sends an Ack signal indicating a positive response to the received AUTH signal. By returning it to the wireless terminal 30 (step S206), the state of connecting with the wireless terminal 30 to be connected is established.

After that, when the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') the connection completion flag (Association done Flag) indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 is completed. and the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30 and the MAC address of its own repeater 20 as a connection destination are added as elements and a beacon signal is broadcast, thereby enabling the wireless access point 10 and other wireless access point (step S207). Thereafter, the repeater 20 returns to normal operation (step S210).

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

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

On the other hand, the repeater 20 turns on ('1') the association done flag indicating that the connection with the wireless terminal 30 has been completed from the wireless access point 10 determined as the connection destination or another wireless access point. ), the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the MAC address of the wireless access point to which it is connected as elements. ), from the beacon signal periodically transmitted from the repeater 20 in a predetermined cycle, the RSSI information of the wireless terminal 30 is additionally added as the congestion degree information in the repeater 20 to return. Delete the element that was in the original (step S209). Thereafter, the repeater 20 returns to normal operation (step S210).

Next, in the operation examples of the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5, the transition state of the control information flag added as an element of the beacon signal to be broadcast is will be further described with reference to the transition diagram of FIG. FIG. 6 shows the transition of the control information flag added as an element to the beacon signal transmitted and received by the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as an operation example of the present invention. 4 is a transition diagram showing an example of states; FIG. In the transition diagram of FIG. 6, the circled boxes indicate the setting state of the control information flag, and the hexadecimal numbers in the circled boxes are retained for setting in the elements of the beacon signal. It shows the setting contents of the control information flag. An arrow line connecting the circled boxes indicates a condition that causes a transition of the setting state of the control information flag.

In FIG. 6, when the wireless access point 10 and repeater 20 are in the normal operating state, all of the control information flags are in the off ('0') state, and the state is '0X0000' (state 0). It's becoming In state 0, when an AUTH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30, the state transitions to state 1, and the control information flag turns on ('1') the first data request flag from the bottom. It is set, and the setting state of the control information flag transits to the data request state (state 1) of '0X0001'.

In state 0, when a beacon signal with a data request flag on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), state 2 is entered. After the transition, the second data response flag (Data Response Flag) from the lowest is set to ON ('1'), and the setting state of the control information flag is set to '0X0010' data response state ( Transition to state 2).

In state 0, no AUTH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30, and any of the control information flags other than the data request flag is on ('1') from another wireless access point. '), the normal operation state (state 0) is maintained.

Next, the data request state (state 1) in which the first data request flag (Data Request Flag) from the lowest is set to ON ('1') and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X0001' will be described. . In state 1, when a beacon signal with a data request flag set to ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), the wireless terminal 30 itself If it is the base unit that has received the AUTH signal from (in the case of the wireless access point 10 in FIG. 4 described above), the data request state (state 1) is maintained. However, if it is not the parent device that has received the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30 (if it is the repeater 20 in FIG. 4), the state transitions to state 2, and the control information flag is set to , the second lowest data response flag (Data Response Flag) is set to ON ('1'), and the set state of the control information flag transits to the data response state (state 2) of '0X0010'.

In state 1, when a beacon signal with a data response flag on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), state 3 is entered. After transition, the control information flag is a connection in which the third access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) from the lowest is set to ON ('1') and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X0100'. It transits to the first determination notification (access point determination notification) state (state 3).

Also, in state 1, when a beacon signal with an access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) being ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), In state 4, the control information flag indicates that the fourth lowest connection completion flag (Association done Flag) is set to ON ('1') and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X1000'. Transition to the completed state (state 4).

Further, in state 1, data request flag, data response flag, access point decision notification flag from other wireless access points (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) ) other than the control information flag is ON ('1'), it is determined that an exception state in which an invalid control information flag is received has occurred. Then, it transits to the normal operation state (state 0), all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the setting state of the control information flag transits to the state (state 0) of '0X0000'. .

Next, the data response state (state 2) in which the second lowest data response flag (Data Response Flag) is set to ON ('1') and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X0010' will be described. , in state 2, when a beacon signal with an access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) being ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), is the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the state transitions to state 4, and the fourth lowest control information flag (Association done Flag) is set to ON ('1'). Then, the setting state of the control information flag transits to the connection completion state (state 4) of '0X1000'.

Further, in state 2, when a beacon signal with a data request flag on ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), data It remains in the response state (state 2).

Also, in state 2, a beacon signal with an access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) being ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20). is not the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, or other control information flags other than the data request flag and the access point determination notification flag are sent from other wireless access points. receives a beacon signal that is ON ('1'), it is determined that an exception state has occurred in which an invalid control information flag is received, and transitions to state 0. , all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the set state of the control information flag transits to the normal operation state ((state 0) of '0X0000'.

Next, the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag), which is the third from the lowest, is set to ON ('1'), and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X0100'. In the determination notification) state (state 3), when a beacon signal with an association done flag set to ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) , transitions to state 0, all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the set state of the control information flag transitions to the normal operation state (state 0) of '0X0000'.

Further, in state 3, if the wireless terminal 30 itself is the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, it returns an Ack signal to the wireless terminal 30 as a response to the AUTH signal received from the wireless terminal 30, and transitions to state 4. As for the control information flags, the 4th lowest connection completion flag (Association done flag) is set to ON ('1'), and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X1000' in the connection completion state (state 4). Transition.

Also, in State 3, the wireless terminal 30 itself is not the connection destination, and any control information flag other than the association done flag is sent from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20). When receiving a beacon signal that is ON ('1'), the connection destination determination notification (access point determination notification) state (state 3) is maintained.

Next, the connection completion state (state 4) in which the fourth lowest connection completion flag (Association done Flag) is set to ON ('1') and the setting state of the control information flag is '0X1000' will be described. . In state 4, after transmitting a beacon signal with an association done flag on ('1'), a timeout ( Time out) occurs, the state transitions to state 0, all of the control information flags are set to off ('0'), and the setting state of the control information flag is the normal operation state (state 0 ).

Also, in state 4, when a beacon signal with any of the control information flags set to ON ('1') is received from another wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20), the connection is completed. The state (state 4) is maintained.

(Description of effects of the present embodiment)
As described in detail above, in this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in a wireless environment in which a plurality of wireless access points (relays are also included as the parent device) exist on the parent device side, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 on the child device side to the parent device side is determined by the parent device side. In order to perform control on the side of a certain wireless access point 10 or repeater 20, information on the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access point 10 and the repeater 20 is shared by both sides. wireless access point 10 determines either the wireless access point 10 or the repeater 20 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 based on the shared congestion degree information. can guide the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 of the child unit. Therefore, it is possible to distribute the load on the master device side and improve the communication quality.

(Another embodiment of the present invention)
Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, and it is possible to apply other embodiments as described below.

<Another Embodiment 1 of the Present Invention>
In the above-described embodiment, the case where one wireless access point 10 and one repeater 20 form a parent device has been described, but the number of devices forming a parent device is not limited to this number. For example, even if the number of each of the wireless access points and repeaters is two or more, by following the same procedure as in the above-described embodiment, the wireless terminal 30 can be connected on the master side. The destination can be selected and determined, and the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be guided to the determined connection destination.

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

<Another Embodiment 3 of the Present Invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is selected and determined using information indicating the degree of congestion (for example, RSSI value information) at the wireless access point 10 or repeater 20 on the base side. As described above, the operation of determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is not limited to automatic determination based on such congestion degree information. For example, it is possible for the user of the wireless terminal 30 to designate in advance any one of the wireless access point 10 and repeater 20 on the master side as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 .

A connection in which the MAC address specifying the wireless terminal 30 is associated with the MAC address of the parent device (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) designated by the user of the wireless terminal 30 as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30. A pre-registration table is prepared in advance and stored in advance in the storage unit 13 of the wireless access point 10 or the storage unit 23 of the repeater 20 on the master side. Thereafter, when an AUTH signal for authentication is transmitted from the wireless terminal 30 to any device forming the base unit, such as the wireless access point 10, the wireless access point 10 stores the The connection destination may be determined by referring to the connection destination registration table.

That is, each of the plurality of wireless access points (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20 in the case of the above-described embodiment) pre-registers the wireless access point of the parent device that the user of wireless terminal 30 has specified in advance as a connection destination. When the connection destination registration table is stored in each storage unit, when determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30, the wireless terminal 30 is registered based on the information on the degree of congestion of each wireless access point. The operation of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as the connection destination is not performed. Then, instead of such operation, the wireless access point registered as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 in the connection destination registration table is determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 .

Then, information on the MAC address of the wireless terminal, the MAC address of the determined connection destination wireless access point (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20 in the case of the above-described embodiment), and an access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) is set to ON ('1'), and broadcasted from the wireless access point 10 to guide the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 to the connection destination specified in advance by the user. can be done.

<Another Embodiment 4 of the Present Invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of a wireless environment in which one wireless access point 10 and one repeater 20 exist has been described. Even in a wireless environment with a plurality of repeaters, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be guided to the connection destination determined by the wireless access point on the master side or the repeater side. However, when a plurality of wireless access points exist, depending on the situation, there is a possibility that the wireless access points are installed at positions where communication between them is impossible.

Therefore, in order to cope with such a case, as shown in FIG. 7, a management wireless access point is separately installed to manage each wireless access point by arranging it in a position where communication with each wireless access point is possible. may become necessary. FIG. 7 is a network configuration showing an example of exchange of information between wireless access points and wireless terminals when a plurality of wireless access points and a management wireless access point are installed, unlike the case of FIG. It is a diagram.

As shown in FIG. 7, three wireless access points, a first wireless access point 51, a second wireless access point 52, and a third wireless access point 53, are installed as wireless access points on the base side of the wireless terminal 30. In the case of a wireless environment in which wireless access points are connected, the management wireless access point 54 for managing each wireless access point communicates with the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53, respectively. located where it is possible.

7, the basic operation for determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 is the same as in the embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 5. By doing so, the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 can be selected and determined at the management wireless access point 54 . That is, the management wireless access point 54 collects information on the degree of congestion of each wireless access point of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53, thereby An optimal wireless access point can be selected and determined as a destination.

Then, the management wireless access point 54 adds and adds elements with the MAC address of the determined wireless access point, the MAC address of the wireless terminal 30, and the access point determination notification flag (Access Point Notification Flag) being ON ('1'). Information on the determined connection destination is notified to each of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53 by broadcasting the beacon signal. be able to.

The operation of determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 according to the order of the sequence (Seq) numbers shown in FIG. 7 will be further described. First, for example, when the wireless terminal 30 designates the first wireless access point 51 and transmits an AUTH signal for authentication request (sequence Seq11), the first wireless access point 51 receiving the AUTH signal , suspends the response to the received AUTH signal, and transmits a data request signal requesting the return of the congestion degree information to the management wireless access point 54 (sequence Seq12).

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

Each of the first wireless access point 51, the second wireless access point 52, and the third wireless access point 53, upon receiving a data request signal from the management wireless access point 54, holds the data request signal in advance. Information about the degree of congestion of the band used by wireless terminal 30 at its own wireless access point, such as RSSI information, is retrieved and returned as a data response signal to management wireless access point 54 that is the source of the request (sequence Seq14).

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

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

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

The first wireless access point 51, which has received the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30 in sequence Seq11, receives the information from the management wireless access point 54 indicating that the wireless terminal 30 is connected to its own first wireless access point 51. When receiving the information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 instead of the point 51, the AUTH signal is sent back to the wireless terminal 30 without returning to the wireless terminal 30 an Ack signal as an acknowledgment of the previously received AUTH signal. is discarded (sequence Seq16).

Further, after the second wireless access point 52 receives information indicating the MAC address of the third wireless access point 53 as information indicating that the connection destination of the wireless terminal 30 has been determined from the management wireless access point 54, When the AUTH signal is received from the wireless terminal 30 (sequence Seq17), as in the case of the first wireless access point 51, an Ack signal, which is a positive response to the AUTH signal from the wireless terminal 30, is returned to the wireless terminal 30. AUTH signal is discarded (sequence Seq18).

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

<Another Embodiment 5 of the Present Invention>
Further, in the above-described embodiment, at the time of a connection request from the wireless terminal 30, each master unit shares the degree of congestion on the side of each master unit in the band used by the wireless terminal 30, thereby enabling the connection of the wireless terminal 30. A case has been described in which the master device (wireless access point 10 or repeater 20) to be the first one is determined, but the timing of sharing the degree of congestion on the side of each master device is not limited to this point of time. For example, even before receiving a connection request from the wireless terminal 30 or even after being connected to the wireless terminal 30, the degree of congestion on the side of each master unit is updated regularly at a predetermined cycle. You may make it carry out the operation|movement which updates to and shares.

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

That is, for example, while the wireless terminal 30 is connected to the repeater 20 , the user carrying the wireless terminal 30 leaves the vicinity of the repeater 20 and approaches the wireless access point 10 . In this case, the congestion degree at the repeater 20 sharing the information about the congestion degree is deteriorated, the congestion degree at the wireless access point 10 is improved, and the congestion degree at the repeater 20 is improved. A case may occur in which a state exceeding the degree of congestion at the wireless access point 10 is detected. When such a state is detected, the repeater 20 intentionally cuts off the connection with the wireless terminal 30 to cause the wireless terminal 30 to reconnect. can be guided to switch the connection destination to the wireless access point 10 .

The configuration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, it should be noted that such embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention and do not limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications can be made for a particular application without departing from the spirit of the invention.

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

Claims (9)

In a wireless communication system in which there are multiple wireless access points serving as base units to which wireless terminals carried by users can be connected,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. death,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
When the user of the wireless terminal holds a connection destination registration table in which the wireless access point of the parent device previously designated as the connection destination is registered in advance,
When determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
Instead of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the information about the congestion degree of each wireless access point,
determining a wireless access point registered as a connection destination of the wireless terminal as a connection destination of the wireless terminal by referring to the connection destination registration table;
A wireless communication system characterized by: As the wireless access point serving as the parent device to which the wireless terminal can be connected,
It includes not only a wireless connection device having a function of connecting between the wireless terminals and a connection with another network, but also a repeater having a function of relaying signals transmitted and received between the wireless connection device and the wireless terminal. ,
The wireless communication system according to claim 1, characterized by: Each of the plurality of wireless access points
information on the degree of congestion at each of the wireless access points by periodically collecting the information on the degree of congestion at a predetermined cycle and transmitting/receiving the collected information on the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points; are regularly updated and shared with each other,
And,
When detecting that the congestion level at the wireless access point connected to the wireless terminal has exceeded the congestion level at any other wireless access point,
The wireless access point in a state of being connected with the wireless terminal,
Cutting off the connection state with the wireless terminal being connected and changing the connection destination of the wireless terminal to any other wireless access point with the lowest congestion degree in the latest state;
The wireless communication system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by: As information on the degree of congestion,
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value in the band used by the wireless terminal, number of connected wireless terminals, throughput value between connected wireless terminals, use of the same channel, etc. using any one or more information of the number of wireless access points of
4. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by: Each of the plurality of wireless access points
Information on transmission/reception of the collected information on the degree of congestion, notification of connection destination determination of the wireless terminal, and information on completion of connection with the wireless terminal are stored in a vendor field of a beacon signal conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard ( Vender Specific Field) is used to transmit and receive with each of the wireless access points,
5. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by: The connection request from the wireless terminal is performed using an authentication request (Authentication) signal conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard.
6. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by: A wireless access point that serves as a base unit to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected,
provided in a wireless communication system with other wireless access points,
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the other wireless access points, holding the information about the degree of congestion at each of the other wireless access points in a mutually shared state;
And,
When there is a connection request from the wireless terminal,
Selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the held information about the degree of congestion at each of the own wireless access point and the other wireless access points, By notifying each of the other wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
When the own wireless access point is determined as the connection destination, and when the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, it returns an affirmative response to the connection request and establishes connection with the wireless terminal. ,
If any of the other wireless access points is determined as the connection destination and the connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal, the connection request is not acknowledged without returning an acknowledgment. Abandon the connection request and
When the user of the wireless terminal holds a connection destination registration table in which the wireless access point of the parent device previously designated as the connection destination is registered in advance,
When determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
Instead of performing an operation of selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on information on the degree of congestion in each of the held wireless access point and the other wireless access points,
determining a wireless access point registered as a connection destination of the wireless terminal as a connection destination of the wireless terminal by referring to the connection destination registration table;
A wireless access point characterized by: In a wireless communication system having a plurality of wireless access points serving as base units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, a connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the base unit side. a wireless terminal connection destination guidance method for guiding the connection of the wireless terminal to the determined connection destination,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. death,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
When the user of the wireless terminal holds a connection destination registration table in which the wireless access point of the parent device previously designated as the connection destination is registered in advance,
When determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
Instead of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the information about the congestion degree of each wireless access point,
determining a wireless access point registered as a connection destination of the wireless terminal as a connection destination of the wireless terminal by referring to the connection destination registration table;
A wireless terminal connection destination guidance method characterized by: In a wireless communication system having a plurality of wireless access points serving as base units to which a wireless terminal carried by a user can be connected, a connection destination of the wireless terminal is determined by the wireless access point on the base unit side. a wireless terminal connection destination guiding program for causing a computer installed in the wireless access point to execute a process of guiding the wireless terminal to connect to the determined connection destination,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
By collecting information about the degree of congestion in a band that can be used by the wireless terminal and transmitting/receiving the collected information about the degree of congestion to and from each of the wireless access points, hold information about the degree of congestion in a state in which they are shared with each other;
And,
When the wireless terminal issues a connection request to one of the plurality of wireless access points,
Any of the wireless access points that have received the connection request,
selecting and determining an optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal from among the plurality of wireless access points based on the held information about the degree of congestion of each of the wireless access points; By notifying each of the plurality of wireless access points of information indicating the wireless access point determined as the connection destination of the wireless terminal as a determination notification regarding the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
when a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, returning an acknowledgment to the connection request and establishing a connection with the wireless terminal;
When a connection request is transmitted from the wireless terminal to a wireless access point other than the wireless access point determined as a connection destination, the connection request is discarded without returning an acknowledgment to the connection request. death,
Each of the plurality of wireless access points
When the user of the wireless terminal holds a connection destination registration table in which the wireless access point of the parent device previously designated as the connection destination is registered in advance,
When determining the connection destination of the wireless terminal,
Instead of selecting and determining the optimum wireless access point as a connection destination of the wireless terminal based on the information about the congestion degree of each wireless access point,
determining a wireless access point registered as a connection destination of the wireless terminal as a connection destination of the wireless terminal by referring to the connection destination registration table;
A wireless terminal connection destination guidance program characterized by:

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