JP7212244B2 - Wireless communication system, communication control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system , communication control method and program.

In Patent Document 1, from a communication control device (higher-level device), a plurality of relay devices (base stations), and a plurality of mobile radio communication devices connected to any of the plurality of relay devices via a radio communication line, A configured wireless communication system is disclosed. A mobile radio communication device can move to the communication area of any relay device. need to know if there is Therefore, the communication control device periodically controls the relay devices to identify the communication control device located in the communication area of each relay device, and performs position information registration processing for registering the position information. The communication control device performs communication control processing such as setting of a communication channel for the mobile radio communication device based on the registered information.

Japanese Patent No. 5282521

In the wireless communication system described in Patent Literature 1, each of a plurality of relay devices performs position information registration processing and communication control processing based on the control of the communication control device. For this reason, the processing load is large, and the cost of a large number of relay devices required for the wireless communication system is increased, which in turn increases the cost of the wireless communication system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to reduce the processing load of a relay device.

In order to solve the above problems, a wireless communication system according to the present invention includes:
a communication control device;
a plurality of relay devices connected to the communication control device;
A radio communication system comprising: the plurality of relay devices; and a plurality of mobile radio communication devices that respectively perform radio communication via a plurality of radio communication lines,
The communication control device transmits first information to each of the plurality of relay devices,
Each of the plurality of relay devices transmits the first information received from the communication control device to the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any one of the plurality of radio communication lines allocated for communication. send and
Each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices scans the plurality of radio communication lines, and when the first information is received by the scanning, the radio communication line through which the first information is received is used by itself for future use. Set to the communication line used for communication,
After completing the setting, the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines is resumed .

Preferably, each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices, when receiving the first information, transmits the second information identifying the mobile radio communication device to the radio communication line through which the first information was received. It transmits to the communication control device through the relay device.

Preferably, the communication control device includes identification information of the relay device, identification information of the mobile radio communication device capable of communicating with the relay device, and a radio communication line allocated for communication to the relay device. storing the associated location information, and when receiving the second information from any of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any of the plurality of relay devices, the mobile radio communication device: It is determined that the mobile radio communication device is in a position where communication with the relay device is possible, and the identification information of the mobile radio communication device is associated with the identification information of the relay device to update the position information .

Preferably, when the plurality of mobile radio communication devices are communicating with each other via the communication control device, the communication control device includes the information to be sent to each of the mobile radio communication devices. Each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices includes third information indicating a radio communication line used for communication by any one of the plurality of relay devices relaying between each of the plurality of relay devices and the communication control device, When the third information is included in the information from, the wireless communication line indicated by this third information is set as the communication line to be used for communication thereafter.

Further, the communication control method according to the present invention includes:
A communication control device connected to a plurality of relay devices,
transmitting the first information to each of the plurality of relay devices that respectively perform wireless communication with the plurality of mobile wireless communication devices via a plurality of wireless communication lines;
Each of the plurality of relay devices,
transmitting the first information received from the communication control device to the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any of the plurality of radio communication lines allocated for communication;
each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices,
scanning the plurality of wireless communication lines, and when the first information is received by the scanning, setting the wireless communication line through which the first information is received as a communication line to be used in subsequent communication ;
After completing the setting, the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines is resumed.

Further, the program according to the present invention is
Computers of a plurality of mobile radio communication devices that respectively perform radio communication via a plurality of relay devices connected to a communication control device and a plurality of radio communication lines ,
scanning the plurality of wireless communication lines;
setting the wireless communication line through which the first information is received as a communication line to be used in subsequent communication by itself when the first information is received by the scanning ;
resuming the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines after completing the setting;
to run.

According to the present invention, it is possible to lighten the load of communication control processing of each of a plurality of relay apparatuses in a wireless communication system.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a radio communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of allocation of communication channels to relay devices shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication control device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relay device, a mobile radio communication device, and communication channels assigned to the relay device in the radio communication system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a relay device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mobile radio communication device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a communication sequence diagram of location information registration processing executed by a mobile wireless communication device, a relay device, and a communication control device in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a registration request signal transmission process (step S12) in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a registration request signal transfer process (step S14) in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a communication channel setting processing step S16 in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of registration signal transfer processing (step S18) in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8. FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a position information update process (step S20) in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 2 is a communication sequence diagram illustrating processing for communication channel allocation executed by a mobile radio communication device, a relay device, and a communication control device in a communication state; 15 is a flowchart of communication channel setting processing in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 14;

Hereinafter, a radio communication system, a communication control device, a mobile radio communication device, a communication control method, and a program according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to the same components or processes.

As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a communication control device 2 and m relay devices 3-1 and 3-2, which are communicably connected to each other via a network 100. , 3-m (m≧3), a server device 104, a terminal device 106, and n mobile radio communication devices 4-1, 4-2, . 3). In addition, hereinafter, any one of the “relay devices 3-1, 3-2, . Similarly, when any one of the "mobile radio communication devices 4-1, 4-2, .

In the radio communication system 1, voice communication and data communication are possible between the mobile radio communication devices 4 and between the mobile radio communication devices 4 via the relay device 3 via radio communication lines. Hereinafter, a "wireless communication line" is described as a "channel" in the embodiments, and is described as a "CH (CHannel)" in the drawings.

The network 100 includes a signal cable capable of transmitting digital signals, a telephone line, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a VPN (Virtual Private Network), and the like.

Server device 104 performs processing for services such as providing various information to relay device 3 and mobile radio communication device 4 via communication control device 2 .

The terminal device 106 receives information for the communication control device 2 and transmits the information to the communication control device 2 via the network 100 according to the operation by the user of the wireless communication system 1 . In addition, the terminal device 106 displays information transmitted from the communication control device 2 via the network 100 on a display device (not shown) to notify the user.

The plurality (m) of relay devices 3 are composed of installation-type wireless communication devices or the like.
Relay device 3-i (m≧i≧1) forms communication area 110-i in which communication with mobile radio communication device 4 is possible. Although only one mobile radio communication device 4 is shown in each communication area 110 in FIG. 1, the number of mobile radio communication devices 4 is arbitrary and may be zero. Also, the mobile radio communication device 4 in the communication area 110-i can move to another communication area 110. FIG. Therefore, the number of mobile radio communication devices 4 in each communication area 110 varies. Radio communication between the mobile radio communication device 4 and the relay device 3 uses K (K≧3) channels conforming to the standards established by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB). be done. Each channel is assigned a unique frequency according to the standard.

A unique channel among the K channels is assigned to the relay device 3-i for communication. The relay device 3-i communicates with the mobile radio communication device 4 within the communication area 110-i via the assigned channel.

In the following description, for ease of understanding, the relay device 3-i has the k-th (K≧k≧1) channel k (CHk) among K channels as illustrated in FIG. , shall be allocated for communication. It is also assumed that n mobile radio communication devices 4-ij (n≧j≧1) exist in the communication area 110-i that the relay device 3-i is in charge of.

The channel assigned to the repeater 3-i is the channel used for half-duplex transmission between the repeater 3-i and the mobile radio communication device 4-ij.

The communication control device 2 shown in FIG. 1 establishes communication paths between a plurality of mobile radio communication devices 4 via a plurality of relay devices 3, and performs control for transmitting voice and data therebetween.
As shown in FIG. 3 , the communication control device 2 has a control circuit 20 , a base band processing (BBP) circuit 220 and a network interface (NIF) circuit 222 .
Communication with a communication device on an external network (not shown) is also possible via the communication control device 2 .

NIF circuit 222 transmits communication frames to and from mobile radio communication device 4 via network 100 and relay device 3 . That is, the NIF circuit 222 transmits to the mobile radio communication device 4 a communication frame including the communication control information input from the BBP circuit 220 in the header portion. The NIF circuit 222 also receives a communication frame transmitted from the mobile radio communication device 4 and outputs it to the BBP circuit 220 . For example, a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packet can be used as a communication frame for transmitting information between the communication control device 2, relay device 3-i and mobile radio communication device 4-i-j.

The BBP circuit 220 extracts communication control information included in the header portion of the communication frame input from the NIF circuit 222 and outputs it to the control circuit 20 . The BBP circuit 220 also includes a communication frame portion including the communication control information input from the control circuit 20 in the header portion and the data transmitted between the mobile radio communication devices 4 in the payload portion (also called the data portion). generated and output to the NIF circuit 222 .

The control circuit 20 is a circuit that controls the overall operation of the communication control device 2, and as shown in FIG. 204 , a RAM (Random Access Memory) circuit 206 , an input/output circuit (I/O; Input/Output) 208 , a timer circuit 210 , a display device 212 and an operation device 214 . These components of control circuit 20 are communicatively connected via bus 200 .

The arithmetic processing circuit 202 executes programs stored in the ROM 204 .

ROM 204 includes a non-volatile memory element, and contains instruction codes for programs controlling BBP circuit 220 and NIF circuit 222, and programs for controlling communication between communication control device 2 and mobile radio communication device 4 (either (also not shown) is stored. As a program for controlling communication, there is a registration request signal transmission process (step S12 in FIG. It includes a program for executing position information update processing ( FIG. 8 : step S20) for updating position information indicating the correspondence between each relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4 based on the obtained information.

RAM 206 includes a volatile memory element, stores data required to execute a program, and outputs the stored data to arithmetic processing circuit 202 for execution of the program. That is, the programs stored in the ROM 204 are executed by the arithmetic processing circuit 202 using the RAM 206 as a work memory.

RAM 206 stores identification information of relay device 3-i, identification information of mobile radio communication device 4-ij capable of communicating with relay device 3-i, and a channel assigned for communication to relay device 3-i. (Communication channel) k are associated as illustrated in FIG. 5, stored and managed as position information. As the identification information, for example, IP address, call sign, etc. can be used. Arithmetic processing circuit 202 determines that mobile radio communication device 4-ij can communicate with relay device 3-i and mobile radio communication device 4-i-j via channel k. It can be determined that it is in the communication area 110-i of the device 3-i.

Further, arithmetic processing circuit 202 can count the number n of mobile radio communication devices 4-i-j existing in each communication area 110-i by referring to the position information shown in FIG. 2 is included in the position information shown in FIG. 5, the arithmetic processing circuit 202 stores the information shown in FIG. 2 separately from the information shown in FIG. and do not need to be managed.

Storing and managing the relay device 3-i and the mobile radio communication device 4-ij in association with each other is called location information registration. This location information registration enables setting of communication paths between mobile radio communication devices 4 existing within different communication areas 110 . For example, consider a case where the mobile radio communication device 4-1 (FIG. 1) designates the mobile radio communication device 4-2 as a communication partner. In this case, mobile radio communication device 4-1 (FIG. 1) notifies communication control device 2 via relay device 3-1 that mobile radio communication device 4-2 is the communication partner. At this time, the control circuit 20 determines that the mobile radio communication device 4-2 is located in the communication area 110-2 of the relay device 3-2 by referring to the position information illustrated in FIG. A communication path is set between the wireless communication devices 4-1 and 4-2 via the relay devices 3-1 and 3-2.

Arithmetic processing circuit 202 and ROM 204 function as a transmission section for transmitting a registration request signal S102, which will be described later, to mobile radio communication device 4 via relay device 3. FIG. Arithmetic processing circuit 202, ROM 204, and RAM 206 receive identification information transmitted from mobile radio communication device 4 via relay device 3, relay device 3 which relayed the identification information, and mobile radio communication device 3 specified by the identification information. It functions as a registration unit that associates and registers the communication device 4 as illustrated in FIG. The arithmetic processing circuit 202, ROM 204, and RAM 206 function as a control unit that controls communication based on registered information.

The I/O 208 shown in FIG. 4 is input from the arithmetic processing circuit 202 and outputs signals for controlling the BBP circuit 220 and the NIF circuit 222 to the BBP circuit 220 and the NIF circuit 222 . The I/O 208 also outputs signals from the BBP circuit 220 and the NIF circuit 222 to the arithmetic processing circuit 202 . The I/O 208 also outputs communication control information input from the BBP circuit 220 to the arithmetic processing circuit 202 . The I/O 208 also outputs communication control information from the arithmetic processing circuit 202 to the BBP circuit 220 .

Timer circuit 210 generates a signal indicating the timing of control of BBP circuit 220 and NIF circuit 222 and communication control with mobile radio communication device 4 , and outputs the signal to arithmetic processing circuit 202 .

The display device 212 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a liquid crystal display device, etc., and displays information input from the arithmetic processing circuit 202 for the user of the communication control device 2 . The operation device 214 includes a numeric keypad, a keyboard, etc., accepts user's operation of the communication control device 2 , and outputs the operation to the arithmetic processing circuit 202 . Alternatively, an image for GUI (Graphical User Interface) may be further displayed on the display device 212 .

Relay device 3 shown in FIG. 1 performs half-duplex transmission of voice, data, and communication control information with mobile radio communication device 4 within own communication area 110, as described above. Also, the relay device 3 relays communication control information between the communication control device 2 and the mobile radio communication device 4 within its own communication area 110 . Further, the relay device 3 relays voice and data with other relay devices.

The repeater 3 has a receiving antenna 300, a receiving (RX) circuit 302, a transmitting (TX) circuit 306, a transmitting antenna 308, a control circuit 30, a BBP circuit 320 and a NIF circuit 322, as shown in FIG.

The control circuit 30 has the same components as the control circuit 20 of the communication control device 2 shown in FIG. 4, and performs communication relay processing and communication control processing. The communication control process includes, for example, a registration request signal transfer process ( FIG. 8 : step S14) for transferring a registration request signal transmitted from the communication control device 2 to each mobile radio communication device 4 under management; It includes registration signal transfer processing (FIG. 8: step S18) for transferring the registration signal transmitted from the communication device 4 to the communication control device 2, and the like.

The BBP circuit 320 performs the same processing as the BBP circuit 220 of the communication control device 2 shown in FIG. For example, the BBP circuit 320 receives communication frames from the communication control device 2 and the mobile radio communication device 4 and outputs them to the control circuit 30, includes communication control information from the control circuit 30 in the header portion, and includes voice data and the like. A communication frame to be included in the payload portion is generated and a process of outputting it to the NIF circuit 322 is performed.

The NIF circuit 322 performs processing similar to that of the NIF circuit 222 of the communication control device 2 . For example, the NIF circuit 322 receives a communication frame from the communication control device 2 via the network 100 and outputs it to the BBP circuit 320, and transmits the communication frame input from the BBP circuit 320 via the network 100 to the communication control device. 2.

The control circuit 30 performs the same processing as the control circuit 20 of the communication control device 2 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Further, control circuit 30 controls RX circuit 302 to receive signals containing voice, data and communication control information from mobile radio communication device 4 via receiving antenna 300 on any of channels 1-K. Let Control circuit 30 also controls TX circuit 306 to transmit signals containing voice, data and communication control information to mobile radio communication device 4 via transmit antenna 308 on the same channel as RX circuit 302 .

RX circuit 302 decodes a communication frame from the radio signal received from mobile radio communication device 4 under the control of control circuit 30 and outputs the decoded communication frame to BBP circuit 320 . TX circuit 306 transmits a signal including the communication frame input from BBP circuit 320 to mobile radio communication device 4 under the control of control circuit 30 .

The mobile radio communication device 4 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a mobile radio communication device, and as shown in FIG. 410 , RX circuitry 412 and TX circuitry 414 .

The control circuit 40 is a microprocessor, that is, a computer having the same components as the control circuit 20 of the communication control device 2 shown in FIG. 4, and executes programs such as communication control processing. Control circuit 40 further controls switching circuit 402 , audio processing circuit 404 , additional circuit 410 , RX circuit 412 , TX circuit 414 and BBP circuit 420 . Further, the control circuit 40 receives a signal transmitted from the communication control device 2 via the relay device 3 while scanning the channel, and uses the channel on which the registration request signal is received as a subsequent communication channel (the communication channel of the own device). communication channel setting processing ( FIG. 8 : step S16) for registering as a channel to be used for communication and returning a registration signal.

Additional circuitry 410 is any circuitry or device that is connected to control circuitry 40 as required by the user.
For example, when the mobile radio communication device 4 is used as a navigation system, a GPS device is used as the additional circuit 410, for example. In this case, for example, the control circuit 40 notifies the current position obtained by the GPS device to the server device 104 via the relay device 3 . The server device 104 provides, for example, map information and navigation information to the requesting mobile radio communication device 4 based on the notified location information. Also, when a data IF circuit is used as the additional circuit 410 , the control circuit 40 performs data transmission with another device via the relay device 3 .

The RX circuit 412 performs the same operation as the RX circuit 302 of the relay device 3 under the control of the control circuit 40 . That is, RX circuit 412 receives the radio signal from relay device 3 via transmitting/receiving antenna 400 and switching circuit 402 , decodes the communication packet, and outputs the decoded communication packet to BBP circuit 420 .

The TX circuit 414 performs the same operation as the TX circuit 306 of the repeater 3 under the control of the control circuit 40 . That is, TX circuit 414 transmits a signal including a communication frame from BBP circuit 420 to communication control device 2 via switching circuit 402 and transmitting/receiving antenna 400 .

The BBP circuit 420 performs the same processing as the BBP circuit 320 of the relay device 3 under the control of the control circuit 40 . That is, the BBP circuit 420 outputs the communication frame input from the RX circuit 412 to the control circuit 40, includes communication control information input from the control circuit 40 in the header portion, and includes voice data in the payload portion. A frame is generated and output to TX circuit 414 .

The switching circuit 402 selects the RX circuit 412 or the TX circuit 414 under the control of the control circuit 40 to connect to the transmitting/receiving antenna 400 . By this switching, sharing of the transmitting/receiving antenna 400 of the RX circuit 412 and the TX circuit 414 is realized.

The audio processing circuit 404 includes an analog/digital (A/D) conversion circuit, a digital/analog (D/A) conversion circuit, an audio signal amplifier circuit, and the like (none of which is shown). Under the control of the control circuit 40, the audio processing circuit 404 converts the audio data input from the BBP circuit 420 into an analog audio signal and outputs it through the speaker 406 for the user to listen to. Further, under the control of the control circuit 40 , the voice processing circuit 404 converts the user's analog voice signal input via the microphone 408 into voice data and outputs the voice data to the BBP circuit 420 .

The RX circuit 412, the BBP circuit 420, and the control circuit 40 correspond to an example of the receiving section in the claims, and the control circuit 40 corresponds to an example of the setting section in the claims.

Next, the operation of the radio communication system 1 having the above configuration will be described.
In the radio communication system 1, communication between the mobile radio communication devices 4 belonging to different communication areas 110 via the relay device 3 and communication between the mobile radio communication devices 4 belonging to the same communication area 110 via the relay device 3 are possible. , direct communication between the mobile radio communication devices 4 belonging to the same communication area 110 without using the relay device 3, and various other operations are possible.
In the following, the characteristic position information registration processing in this embodiment will be mainly described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing sequence of position information registration processing executed by the communication control device 2, the relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4. As shown in FIG.
The location information registration process is started when the communication control device 2 transmits a registration request signal S100 requesting location information registration to all the relay devices 3 . First, the registration request signal transmission process (step S12) for transmitting the registration request signal S100 will be described with reference to FIG.

The control circuit 20 of the communication control device 2 executes a program for registering the position of the mobile radio communication device 4, and as shown in FIG. is initialized to 1.

In step S122, the control circuit 20 determines whether or not a predetermined time, for example, any time within the range of 30 to 180 seconds, has elapsed since the process for registering the location information was last completed. to judge. This time corresponds to the cycle of executing the position information registration process, and is set by the user's operation on the communication control device 2 via the terminal device 106, for example.
If the control circuit 20 determines that the predetermined time has passed (step S122: YES), the process proceeds to step S124, otherwise (step S122: NO), the process remains at step S122.

At step S 124 , control circuit 20 causes BBP circuit 220 to generate a communication frame including, in the header portion, communication control information requesting transmission of a registration signal used for position information registration of mobile radio communication device 4 . The BBP circuit 220 outputs the generated communication frame to the NIF circuit 222 . The NIF circuit 222 transmits the communication frame input from the BBP circuit 220, that is, the registration request signal S100 to the i-th relay device 3-i via the network 100. FIG.

In step S126, the control circuit 20 increases (increments) the value of the parameter i by one.

In step S<b>128 , the control circuit 20 determines whether the value of the parameter i is greater than the number m of the relay devices 3 . When the value of the parameter i is greater than the number m of relay devices 3 (step S128: YES), the control circuit 20 returns to the process of step S120. return to the process of

Through the processing of step S12 described above, the registration request signal S100 is transmitted from the communication control device 2 to all of the relay devices 3-1 to 3-m.

Upon receiving the registration request signal S100, the relay device 3 performs a registration request signal transfer process (step S14) for transferring the received registration request signal S100 to the mobile radio communication device 4 located within its own communication area 110. FIG.

The details of this registration request signal transfer process (step S14) will be described with reference to FIG. 10 using the relay device 3-i as an example. As shown in the location information in FIG. 5, it is assumed that channel k is assigned to relay device 3-i for communication. The control circuit 30 of the relay device 3-i continuously executes the registration request signal transfer process (step S14) shown in FIG. 10 in a time division manner while the power is on. First, in step S140, the control circuit 30 determines whether or not the registration request signal S100 has been received from the communication control unit 2.

If the control circuit 30 has received the registration request signal S100 (step S140: YES), it proceeds to the process of step S142, otherwise (step S140: NO), it remains in the process of step S140.

In step S142, control circuit 30 determines whether or not RX circuit 302 is receiving a carrier through channel k assigned to itself. If the carrier is being received (step S142: YES), it is understood that another device is communicating on channel k, so the process remains at step S142 so as not to interfere with the communication of the other device. When , (step S142: NO), the process proceeds to step S144. In other words, the control circuit 30 confirms that it can transmit and receive information to and from the mobile radio communication device 4 via the channel k assigned to itself.

At step S144, the control circuit 30 controls the TX circuit 306 to transmit the received registration request signal S100 to the mobile radio communication device 4 via the channel k assigned to itself. In order to distinguish from the registration request signal S100 transmitted from the communication control device 2 to the relay device 3, the registration request signal transferred to the mobile radio communication device 4 is denoted as the registration request signal S102. After that, the control circuit 30 returns to the process of step S140. The registration request signal S102 corresponds to an example of the first information in the claims.

The mobile radio communication device 4 executes the communication channel setting process (step S16), the details of which are shown in FIG. 11, and waits for reception of the registration request signal S102. Specifically, the control circuit 40 of the mobile radio communication device 4 executes a program for position registration of the mobile radio communication device 4, and when receiving the registration request signal S102, in step S160, the control circuit 40 itself registers another mobile radio. It is determined whether or not communication with the communication device 4 is being performed.

When the control circuit 40 is in a state of communicating with another mobile radio communication device 4 (step S160: YES), the control circuit 40 stays in the processing of step S160 in order to give priority to the communication, and other than this. Sometimes (step S160: NO), the process proceeds to step S162.

In step S162, the control circuit 40 initializes to 1 a processing parameter j indicating the communication channel number.

In step S164, control circuit 40 controls switching circuit 402 and RX circuit 412 to receive the signal on channel j.

In step S166, the control circuit 40 determines whether the communication frame received and decoded by the RX circuit 412 is the registration request signal S102. When the control circuit 40 receives the registration request signal (step S166: YES), it proceeds to the process of step S168, otherwise (step S166: NO), it proceeds to the process of step S172.

In step S168, control circuit 40 sets channel j as a communication channel used by mobile radio communication device 4 itself for communication. That is, when the first information is received, the communication line through which the first information was transmitted is set as the communication line to be used for subsequent communication.

In step S170, the control circuit 40 controls the BBP circuit 420 to set the identification information of the communication control unit 2 as the destination, the information used for position information registration, and the identification information of the own mobile radio communication device 4, such as a call sign. a communication frame, including (hereinafter "registration signal"). The control circuit 40 causes the TX circuit 414 to output the generated registration signal. Further, the control circuit 40 controls the switching circuit 402 and the TX circuit 414 to transmit the communication frame input from the BBP circuit 420, that is, the registration signal S104 at the timing when the channel CHj is free. Identification information is an example of second information in the claims.

After that, the control circuit 40 increments the parameter j (step S172).

In step S174, control circuit 40 determines whether the value of parameter j is greater than the number K of channels. When the value of the parameter j is greater than the number K of channels (step S174: YES), the control circuit 40 returns to the process of step S160 because the process for all channels has been completed; otherwise (step S174: NO), and there are unprocessed channels remaining, so the process returns to step S164.

As described above, in the wireless communication system 1,
Through the registration request signal transmission process (step S12) and the transfer process (step S14), the communication control device 2 causes the plurality of mobile radio communication devices 4 to transmit the registration request signal S102,
By the communication control channel setting process (step S16), the mobile radio communication device 4 scans K channels to receive signals (information), and when the received signal is the registration request signal S102, the registration request The channel on which the signal S102 is received is set as the subsequent communication channel of its own device. Also, the mobile radio communication device 4 that has received the registration request signal S102 transmits a communication frame containing the information used for location information registration and the identification information of its own device via the channel through which the registration request signal S102 has been sent. It is returned to the communication control device 2.

Relay device 3 continuously executes the transfer processing (step S18) shown in FIG.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, control circuit 30 of relay device 3 determines whether or not a communication frame has been received in step S180. Control circuit 30 proceeds to the process of step S182 when receiving (step S180: YES), and repeats the process otherwise (step S180: NO).

In step S182, control circuit 30 transfers the communication frame received from mobile radio communication device 4 to the destination via network 100. FIG. In the case of the registration signal S104, it is transferred to the communication control device 2. FIG.

The communication control device 2 continuously executes the location information update process (step S20), the details of which are shown in FIG. 13, and waits for reception of the registration signal S104. Specifically, the control circuit 20 of the communication control device 2 executes a program for changing the position information shown in FIG. In step S200, the control circuit 20 controls the BBP circuit 220 and determines whether or not the communication frame transmitted from the relay device 3 is the registration signal S104.

If the control circuit 20 determines that the received communication frame is the registration signal S104 (step S200: YES), it proceeds to the processing of step S202, otherwise (step S200: NO) returns to the processing of step S200.

In step S202, the control circuit 20 performs processing for updating the position information shown in FIG. 5 based on the received registration signal S104. For example, when a registration signal from a new mobile radio communication device 4-ij is received from the relay device 3-i, the entry corresponding to the relay device 3-i in the location information shown in FIG. The identification information of the communication device 4-ij is added and registered. As a result, the correspondence between relay device 3-i and mobile radio communication device 4-i-j is registered in RMA 206 as position information. Thereafter, communication of the mobile radio communication device 4-ij is controlled based on this position information. Note that the content of the control itself may be the same as the conventional one. In addition, although the registration signal from the mobile radio communication device 4-i-j has been continuously received from the relay device 3-i, the mobile radio communication device 4-i has received the last L (for example, L≧2) times. -j deletes the registration of the identification information of the mobile radio communication device 4-ij from the entry corresponding to the relay device 3-i in the location information shown in FIG. . After this process, the control circuit 20 returns to the process of step S200.

By repeating such an operation, the RAM 206 of the communication control device 2 holds the position information updated appropriately. Therefore, when the mobile radio communication device 4 moves within the communication area 110, the position information shown in FIG. is stopped, and communication is continued via the newly assigned communication channel with the relay device 3 in the destination communication area 110 . Therefore, the processing at the time of area movement becomes smooth and the load is reduced.

Next, the above operation will be described based on a specific example.
Assume now that the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 is located in the communication area 110-1 of the relay device 3-1, as shown in the position information of FIG. CH1 is set as a communication channel in the relay device 3-1.

In this state, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 transmits a registration request signal ( first information) is received (step 166: YES). The mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 registers the channel 1 as its future communication channel (step S168), and controls communication of the registration signal S104 including its own identification information (second information) on the channel 1. It is returned to the device 2 (step S170). If the previous communication channel and the current communication channel are the same, there is no need to register again.

The communication control device 2 receives the registration signal S104 and maintains the corresponding relationship between the relay device 3-1 and the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 on the positional information.

In this state, assume that the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 moves to the communication area 110-2 of the relay device 3-2. It is assumed that the communication area 110-1 of the relay device 3-1 and the communication area 110-2 of the relay device 3-2 have a part in common. A common area is hereinafter referred to as a common area.

Mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 first moves to a common area where communication area 110-1 of relay device 3-1 and communication area 110-2 of relay device 3-2 are common.

In this state, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 first receives a registration request signal from relay device 3-1 via channel 1 when parameter j=1 in the processing of FIG. step 166: YES). Mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 registers channel 1 as its own communication channel (step S168), and returns registration signal S104 including its own identification information to communication control device 2 via channel 1 (step S170). ).

Subsequently, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 updates parameter j to 2 (step S172), and receives a signal from relay device 3-2 via channel 2 (step S164). Then, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 also receives a registration request signal from relay device 3-2 (step 166: YES). Mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 registers channel 2 as a communication channel (step S168), and returns registration signal S104 including its own identification information to communication control device 2 via channel 2 (step S170). Thus, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 registers channel 1 and channel 2 as communication channels.

Communication control device 2 receives registration signal S104 from mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 via relay devices 3-1 and 3-2. Therefore, the communication control device 2 maintains the corresponding relationship between the relay device 3-1 and the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 on the position information, and Register the correspondence with 1-1.

Next, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 leaves the common area and moves only to communication area 110-2 of relay device 3-2.

In this state, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 cannot receive a registration request signal from relay device 3-1 when parameter j=1 in the process of FIG. 11 (step 166: NO). Therefore, the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 cannot register channel 1 as its own communication channel and cannot return the registration signal S104. Subsequently, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 receives a registration request signal from relay device 3-2 via channel 2 when parameter j is 2 (step 166: YES).

Therefore, mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 registers only channel 2 as its own communication channel (step S168), and returns registration signal S104 including its own identification information to communication control device 2 via channel 2. (step S170). Communication control device 2 receives registration signal S104 from mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 via relay device 3-2. Therefore, the communication control device 2 maintains the corresponding relationship between the relay device 3-2 and the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 on the position information. On the other hand, it counts the number of times the registration signal from mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 could not be received via relay device 3-1.

When the number of times of failure to receive the registration signal S104 from the mobile radio communication device 4-1-1 via the relay device 3-1 reaches L by repeating such an operation, the relay device Delete the correspondence between 3-1 and mobile radio communication device 4-1-1.

In the above description, when registration request signals are received on a plurality of channels in one communication channel setting process, all channels from which registration request signals are received are set as communication channels. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication channel of each mobile radio communication device 4 may be limited to one channel. In this case, for example, the control may be returned to step S160 after the processing of step S170 is completed. With such processing, for example, only the channel that receives the registration request signal first is registered as the communication channel of that mobile radio communication device 4 . Only the channel that received the registration request signal last is registered as the communication channel of the mobile radio communication device 4 .

On the other hand, it is also possible to include communication control information in the voice communication frame. This operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG.
In this example, mobile radio communication device 4-1 located in communication area 110-1 communicates with another mobile radio communication device 4 via relay device 3 between mobile radio communication device 4-2 located in communication area 110-2. It is assumed that communication is performed using

In addition, in FIG. 14, the relay device 3 is omitted in order to make the drawing easier to understand.
As shown in FIG. 14, during normal communication, mobile radio communication device 4-1 in a communication state transmits communication frame S220 via relay device 3 and network 100. FIG.
When terminating communication, mobile radio communication device 4-1 includes information indicating the end of information transmission in the header portion of one or more communication frames from the end. In addition, hereinafter, a communication frame including information indicating the end of transmission of information in the header portion will be referred to as an "end frame".

The communication control device 2 sequentially transfers communication frames other than the end frame to the mobile radio communication device 4-2 until the end frame is transmitted from the mobile radio communication device 4-1.

When the communication control device 2 receives the end frame transmitted from the mobile radio communication device 4-1, the communication control channel to be allocated to the mobile radio communication device 4-2 is added to the communication control information included in the header. is added (step S222). This assignment signal corresponds to an example of the third information in the claims.

The communication control device 2 either reads information indicating the channel to be assigned to the mobile radio communication device 4-2 from the information shown in FIG. 5 or newly generates it. When the control circuit 20 newly generates information indicating a channel to be assigned to the mobile radio communication device 4-2, the control circuit 20 uses this information to generate location information indicating the channel assigned to the mobile radio communication device 4-2. , update the mapping information.

The communication control device 2 transfers the end frame S224 with the allocation signal added to the header to the mobile radio communication device 4-2 via the relay device 3 (step S222). It is transferred to the relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4-2. The relay device 3 recognizes the newly allocated communication channel from the allocation signal.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of the communication channel setting process S24 executed by the relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4-2. The control circuit 30 or 40 of these devices extracts the communication control information contained in the header portion of the end frame transmitted from the communication control device 2 in step S240. The control circuit 30 or 40 proceeds to the process of step S242 when the allocation signal is included in the communication control signal (step S240: YES), otherwise (step S240: NO) remains in the process of step S240.

In step S242, control circuit 30 or 40 sets the channel indicated by the allocation information as the communication channel to be used thereafter by relay device 3 and mobile radio communication device 4-2, and returns to step S240. The processing described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 is also executed when the final frame is transmitted from mobile radio communication device 4-2 to mobile radio communication device 4-1.

In this embodiment, as described above, location registration and communication channel allocation are performed, so the number of additional processes to be performed by each of the plurality of relay devices 3 for location registration and the like is extremely small. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the load of communication control processing on each of the plurality of relay devices 3 can be reduced.

Further, in the radio communication system 1, since the communication areas 110 are set corresponding to each of the plurality of relay devices 3, communication between the mobile radio communication devices 4 in a wide range covered by the collection of the communication areas 110 can be performed. It can be carried out. Therefore, the power of the radio transmission signal of each relay device 3 can be reduced. Further, location registration of the mobile radio communication device 4 is performed each time communication between the mobile radio communication devices 4 is performed and at regular time intervals. Therefore, even if the mobile radio communication device 4 moves between the communication areas 110, the communication control device 2 can select an appropriate relay device 3 to relay the communication frame between the mobile radio communication devices 4, and the radio communication system 1 users can be provided with seamless communication services. That is, in the radio communication system 1, handover processing is realized.

FIG. 1 illustrates the case where one mobile radio communication device 4 exists in each communication area 110, but the number of mobile radio communication devices 4 that can exist in each communication area 110 is a predetermined number. Any of the following is acceptable. The number of mobile radio communication devices 4 that can exist in each communication area 110 is set, for example, according to the operation of the communication control device 2 by the user from the terminal device 106 .

When a plurality of mobile radio communication devices 4 exist in the same communication area 110, for communication between these mobile radio communication devices 4, for example, a communication channel assigned to the relay device 3 covering this communication area 110 is used. FIG. 1 exemplifies the case where the radio communication system 1 includes three or more relay devices 3 and three or more mobile radio communication devices 4. Two or more communication devices 4 may be included.

Also, if necessary, the radio communication system 1 may include a plurality of communication control devices 2, and the processing of the communication control device 2, the relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4 and the communication sequence between them may be changed. can.
Also, signals to be transmitted and received, communication frames, formats of information, and the like are arbitrary.

Also, the channel between the relay device 3 and the mobile radio communication device 4 may conform to other appropriate standards rather than the standards established by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses. 14 and 15 illustrate the process of assigning communication channels to the mobile radio communication device 4 using the end frame. 4 can be modified to assign communication channels.

Also, the configuration of the relay device 3 can be modified so that the RX circuit 302 and the TX circuit 306 share an antenna. Also, the configuration of the mobile radio communication device 4 can be modified such that the RX circuit 302 and the TX circuit 306 use separate antennas.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments are presented as examples and do not limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the present invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 wireless communication system 100 network 104 server device 106 terminal device 110 communication area 2 communication control device 20 control circuit 200 bus 202 arithmetic processing circuit 204 ROM
206 RAMs
208 I/O
210 Timer circuit 212 Display device 214 Operation device 220, 320, 420 BBP circuit 222, 322, 422 NIF circuit 3 Relay device 30 Control circuit 300 Receiving antenna 302, 412 RX circuit 306, 414 TX circuit 308 Transmitting antenna 4 Mobile radio Communication device 40 Control circuit 400 Transmission/reception antenna 402 Switching circuit 404 Audio processing circuit 406 Speaker 408 Microphone 410 Additional circuit

Claims (6)

a communication control device;
a plurality of relay devices connected to the communication control device;
A radio communication system comprising: the plurality of relay devices; and a plurality of mobile radio communication devices that respectively perform radio communication via a plurality of radio communication lines,
The communication control device transmits first information to each of the plurality of relay devices,
Each of the plurality of relay devices transmits the first information received from the communication control device to the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any one of the plurality of radio communication lines allocated for communication. send and
Each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices scans the plurality of radio communication lines, and when the first information is received by the scanning, the radio communication line through which the first information is received is used by itself for future use. Set to the communication line used for communication,
A wireless communication system that restarts the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines after completing the setting . When each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices receives the first information, each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices transmits the second information identifying the mobile radio communication device to the radio communication line through which the first information is received and the relay device. 2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission is performed to the communication control device via. The communication control device associates identification information of the relay device, identification information of the mobile radio communication device capable of communicating with the relay device, and a radio communication line allocated for communication to the relay device. store location information,
When the second information is received from any one of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any one of the plurality of relay devices, the mobile radio communication device indicates that communication with the relay device is determine that it is in a possible position, associate the identification information of the mobile radio communication device with the identification information of the relay device, and update the location information.
A wireless communication system according to claim 2. When a plurality of mobile radio communication devices are communicating with each other via the communication control device, the communication control device includes information to be sent to each of these mobile radio communication devices as communication with each of these mobile radio communication devices. including third information indicating a wireless communication line used for communication by any of the plurality of relay devices that relay with the control device;
When the information from the communication control device includes the third information, each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices selects the radio communication line indicated by the third information for the communication to be used by itself thereafter. The radio communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the radio communication system is set to a line. A communication control device connected to a plurality of relay devices,
transmitting the first information to each of the plurality of relay devices that respectively perform wireless communication with the plurality of mobile wireless communication devices via a plurality of wireless communication lines;
Each of the plurality of relay devices,
transmitting the first information received from the communication control device to the plurality of mobile radio communication devices via any of the plurality of radio communication lines allocated for communication;
each of the plurality of mobile radio communication devices,
scanning the plurality of wireless communication lines, and when the first information is received by the scanning, setting the wireless communication line through which the first information is received as a communication line to be used in subsequent communication ;
After completing the setting, restart the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines.
Communication control method. Computers of a plurality of mobile radio communication devices that respectively perform radio communication via a plurality of relay devices connected to a communication control device and a plurality of radio communication lines ,
scanning the plurality of wireless communication lines;
setting the wireless communication line through which the first information is received as a communication line to be used in subsequent communication by itself when the first information is received by the scanning ;
resuming the scanning of the plurality of wireless communication lines after completing the setting;
program to run.

Images