KR20200017681A - Channel monitoring method and apparatus in local area network - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a channel monitoring method in a short-range network of a channel monitoring device in one embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the steps of: detecting at least one ambient access point (AP) through a first interface to search at least one short-range communication channel used in environs; and scheduling monitoring time for the searched at least one short-range communication channel, and according to the scheduled time, monitoring packets transmitted/received through the at least one ambient access point by using a second interface. The second interface is an interface corresponding to a frequency band of the searched at least one short-range communication channel. The first interface regularly detects the at least one ambient access point to update information on at least one short-range communication channel used in environs. The present invention can reduce a cost of a packet monitoring device.

Description

CHANNEL MONITORING METHOD AND APPARATUS IN LOCAL AREA NETWORK}

The present invention relates to a channel monitoring method for a short-range communication network, and more particularly, to a method for efficiently monitoring a plurality of receiving channels using a small number of antennas.

Computers have typically communicated with each other over a wired local area network ('LAN'). However, in recent years, with increasing demands on mobile computers such as smartphones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, etc., computers perform transmissions over wireless media using wireless signals, infrared signals, and the like. Wireless local area networks ('WLANs') have been developed to enable communication between each other.

In order to promote the interoperability of WLANs with each other and with wired LANs, the IEEE 802.11 standard was developed as an international standard for WLANs. In general, the IEEE 802.11 standard is designed to provide users with the same interface as the IEEE 802 wired LAN while allowing data to be transmitted over the wireless medium.

According to the IEEE 802.11 standard, a terminal is authenticated by an access point of a WLAN and associated with the access point before obtaining a service from an access point (AP). During the authentication and association process, the terminal proceeds through three stages or states (ie, state 1, state 2, and state 3). In state 1, the terminal is unauthenticated and unassociated. In state 2, the terminal is authenticated but not associated. In state 3, the terminal is authenticated and associated. If the terminal has a connectivity problem, such as difficult to obtain a service from the access point, it may be difficult to determine the cause of the continuity problem.

Thus, in order to maintain continuity of service, it is necessary to monitor packets exchanged between one or more terminals and access points in a wireless local area network using a monitoring device arranged in a wireless local area network.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for monitoring a packet between a conventional access point and a terminal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the packet monitoring apparatus 130 monitors packets exchanged between the access point 120 and the terminal 110. At this time, the channel receiving equipment should be proportional to the number of channels for monitoring all channels, and a large number of local area network interfaces are required for this, which of course causes a burdensome price. Basically, WLAN operates 13 channels in the 2.4 GHz band and 24 channels in the 5 GHz band (the number of available channels may vary by country). Thus, in order to monitor this entire channel, the packet monitoring device 130 needs 37 scan interfaces, which makes the device very heavy and expensive. In general, the channel used in the surroundings is limited, and even though the probability of using the entire channel is extremely low, there is a problem that its utility is considerably low because the packet is monitored according to the provision of the above interface.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a short-range communication network multi-channel simultaneous monitoring method and apparatus for monitoring packets exchanged over a predetermined time in a plurality of reception channels with a small number of antennas will be.

A channel monitoring method in a local area network of a channel monitoring apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, to search for at least one peripheral access point (AP) through a first interface to use in the current surroundings Searching for at least one short-range communication channel, wherein a monitoring time is scheduled for the searched at least one short-range communication channel, and a packet transmitted and received through the at least one neighboring access point according to a scheduled time is used using a second interface. And monitoring, wherein the second interface is an interface corresponding to a frequency band of the searched at least one short-range communication channel, and the first interface periodically searches for the at least one neighboring access point in the current vicinity. Write down used In addition, information on one short-range communication channel may be updated.

The first interface and the second interface may include an antenna associated with a local area network.

The second interface may perform monitoring in a first section of a predefined monitoring period with respect to a first short range communication channel (the first short range communication channel is included in the at least one searched short range communication channel), and the second short range communication The channel (the second short range communication channel is included in the searched at least one short range communication channel) may be monitored in a second section following the first time of the predefined monitoring period.

When the first short-range communication channel is a channel in which a large number of packets are generated above the reference value among the at least one searched short-range communication channel, the first short-range communication channel may be controlled to be exclusively monitored through a third interface.

When the difference between the packet transmission / reception amount of the first local area communication channel and the packet transmission / reception amount of the second local area communication channel is less than a reference value when searching for the neighboring access point, the second interface and the third interface are substantially equal. Time can be controlled to perform monitoring.

The monitoring time for each of the searched at least one short-range communication channels may be allocated in proportion to the amount of packets transmitted and received in the corresponding short-range communication channel within a preset search time.

An apparatus for monitoring a channel in a local area network according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a first interface for searching for at least one peripheral access point, a second interface for monitoring packets of a first frequency band ( The first frequency band includes a frequency band associated with short-range communication) and a processor, wherein the processor searches for the at least one Peripheral Access Point (AP) through the first interface and is currently in the vicinity. Search for at least one short range communication channel to be used, and schedule a monitoring time for the searched at least one short range communication channel to transmit a packet transmitted and received through the at least one peripheral access point according to a scheduled time to the second interface. Control to monitor, The processor may control the first interface to periodically search for the neighboring access point to update information on at least one short-range communication channel used in the current neighbor.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a method for monitoring a channel in a local area network of a channel monitoring device includes a first access point (AP) around a channel monitoring device from a first terminal capable of short-range communication. Monitoring the first packet provided by the terminal; and checking a reception time of the first packet and a MAC address of the first terminal (the MAC address of the first terminal is included in the first packet). The monitoring of the first packet may include searching for at least one neighboring access point through a first interface included in the device to search for at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity (the at least one peripheral access). A point includes the first access point) and the searched at least one local area communication channel. Scheduling a monitoring time to monitor a packet transmitted and received through the searched at least one neighboring access point using a second interface, wherein the second interface is configured to search for the at least one short range communication channel. It may be an interface corresponding to the frequency band of.

The first interface may periodically search for the at least one neighboring access point and update information on at least one short-range communication channel used in the current neighbor.

The first packet includes a packet for requesting confirmation of going to a work place associated with the first access point, and the step of checking the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal includes: the first packet The method may include checking whether a reception time of is included in a time zone associated with attendance, and checking work attendance by comparing the MAC address of the first terminal and a pre-stored MAC address.

The first packet includes a packet for requesting a leave confirmation from a work location associated with the first access point, and the checking of the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal includes: the first packet The method may include checking whether a reception time is included in a time zone associated with leaving work, and checking work leaving by comparing the MAC address of the first terminal with a previously stored MAC address.

The channel monitoring method further comprises the step of monitoring at least one packet periodically transmitted and received from the first terminal to the first access point to determine whether the first terminal is actually present in the workplace associated with the first access point. can do.

The channel monitoring method may further include calculating an actual working time by subtracting a time that does not actually exist in the working place from the total working time calculated based on the working time to the working place and the leaving time from the working place. Can be.

The first packet includes a packet for confirming the time and attendance of the working place associated with the first access point, and the method comprises a first server (T & A) based on time and attendance information based on a monitoring result of the first packet. The server may further include providing information.

Time and attendance information provided to the server may include identification information of the first terminal, signal strength information and reception time information of the first packet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a channel monitoring apparatus in a local area network, including: a first interface for searching for at least one neighboring access point, and a second interface for monitoring packets of a first frequency band (the A first frequency band includes a frequency band associated with short-range communication) and a processor, wherein the processor includes a first terminal from a first terminal capable of short-range communication to a first access point (AP) around the channel monitoring apparatus. Monitoring the first packet to provide and checking the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal (the MAC address of the first terminal is included in the first packet), and the first packet In connection with the monitoring for the processor, the processor, through the first interface at least one peripheral liquid Search for an access point (the at least one neighboring access point includes the first access point) to search for at least one short-range communication channel currently used in the vicinity, and to monitor the at least one short-range communication channel. The first packet may be monitored by scheduling a packet by monitoring a packet transmitted and received through the searched at least one neighboring access point using a second interface according to a scheduled time.

The processor may control the first interface to periodically search for the at least one neighboring access point to update information on at least one local area communication channel used in the current neighbor.

A system for monitoring a channel in a local area network according to another embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is provided from a first terminal capable of short-range communication to a first access point (AP) around a channel monitoring apparatus. A monitoring device and the monitoring device configured to monitor a first packet, and to check a reception time of the first packet and a MAC address of the first terminal (the MAC address of the first terminal is included in the first packet). And a time and attendance management server managing time and attendance of a user associated with the first terminal based on the reception time information included in the first packet and the MAC address address of the first terminal.

According to the method and apparatus for multi-channel simultaneous monitoring of a short-range communication network according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the unit cost of packet monitoring equipment and to utilize a plurality of interfaces since the signal is received even when not individually paired with a client. It can be implemented at a lower power than the conventional method, and there is an effect of efficiently monitoring the packets of the use channel with a few interfaces.

In addition, when applied to time and attendance management, it is possible to grasp in real time whether the actual worker is in the working place has the effect of improving the efficiency of modern management.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for monitoring a packet between a conventional access point and a terminal;
2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart schematically showing a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method of covering a plurality of short range communication channels;
5A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a dedicated mode for exclusively monitoring a packet of a specific channel using an auxiliary monitoring interface;
5B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a split mode for splitting and monitoring multiple channels evenly;
6 is a view showing a system for performing time and attendance management of the work place using a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring device according to another embodiment of the present invention,
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a system for performing time and attendance management of a workplace by using the multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus of FIG. 6;
8 is a flowchart illustrating a time and attendance management method using a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As the present invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. The term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in the middle. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements in the drawings and redundant descriptions of the same elements will be omitted.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a controller 210, a peripheral AP scan interface 220, a 2.4 GHz scan interface 1 230-1, and a 2.4 GHz scan interface. 2 230-2, 5 GHz scan interface 1 240-1, and 5 GHz scan interface 2 240-2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller 210 may include a peripheral AP scan interface 220, a 2.4 GHz scan interface 1 230-1, a 2.4 GHz scan interface 2 230-2, and a 5 GHz scan interface 1 ( 240-1), overall control of the interface 2 (240-2) for 5GHz scanning is performed. This may be implemented as a central processing unit (CPU) such as a microprocessor, and instructions for driving the same may be stored in a separate memory (not shown). The controller 210 may check the reception time, the signal strength, and the IP or MAC address of the terminal associated with the packet, and store the received packet in a memory. In addition, the scan order and time of each interface can be scheduled.

The peripheral AP scanning interface 220 searches for an AP in the vicinity and searches for a short range communication channel currently used in the vicinity. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the short range communication method may include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC), and the like. . However, it is not necessarily limited thereto. The controller 210 first operates a peripheral AP scanning interface 220 to search for a short range communication channel currently used in the vicinity. The searched short-range communication channel information is provided to the control unit 210, and the control unit 210 schedules the packet transmission and reception to the interface of the appropriate frequency band with the corresponding information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the interface may be implemented as an antenna, the antenna may be connected to the device in advance, and may be detachably connected and operated using a connection means such as USB.

The 2.4 GHz scan interface 1 230-1 represents an interface for scanning a 2.4 GHz frequency band. If there is a communication channel of a first frequency band (for example, 2.4 GHz) among the channels searched through the peripheral AP scanning interface 220, the 2.4 GHz scanning interface 1 230-1 is basically operated to exchange between the AP and the terminal. Allows you to monitor incoming packets. At this time, if there are two or more channels currently operating in the periphery, the monitoring is performed by dividing with the 2.4 GHz scan interface 2 (230-2). However, if three or more channels of the first frequency band are in use, the 2.4GHz scan interface 1 230-1 and the 2.4GHz scan interface 2 230-2 are appropriately distributed and monitored according to the usage amount. Proper distribution here includes allocating and allocating time. Details related to scheduling over time will be described in more detail later with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

Interface 1 240-1 for 5GHz scan represents an interface for scanning a frequency band of 5GHz. If there is a communication channel of a second frequency band (for example, 5 GHz) among the channels searched through the neighboring AP scanning interface 220, a packet exchanged between the AP and the terminal by basically operating the 5 GHz scanning interface 1 240-1. To be monitored. At this time, if there is more than one second frequency related short-range communication channel operating in the current surroundings, monitoring is performed by dividing with 5 GHz scan interface 2 (240-2). That is, the first channel allows the interface 5240-1 for 5GHz scanning and the second channel 2240-2 for the 5GHz scanning to be monitored.

However, if three or more channels of the second frequency band are in use, this also uses the 5 GHz scan interface 1 (240-1) and 5 GHz scan according to the channel usage and / or packet transmission / reception amount, similar to the channel allocation method of the first frequency band. Interface 2 (240-2) for proper distribution and monitoring.

2.4GHz scan interface 1 (230-1) and 5GHz scan interface 1 (240-1) is the main to monitor the packets in the channel of the frequency band, if the channel use is difficult to handle a single interface, The 2.4 GHz scan interface 2 (230-2) and 5 GHz scan interface 2 (240-2) is controlled to operate in a manner that is put into the secondary role.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a 2.4 GHz scan interface 1 (230-1), a 2.4 GHz scan interface 2 (230-2), a 5 GHz scan interface 1 (240-1), a 5 GHz scan interface 2 (240 -2), but this is in accordance with the current WLAN standard is implemented by using 2.4GHz and 5GHz, the interface for the 2.4GHz scan interface 1 (230-1), 2.4GHz scan interface 2 ( 230-2) is a main scan interface and a secondary scan interface in a first frequency band other than 2.4 GHz, and a 5 GHz scan interface 1 (240-1) and a 5 GHz scan interface 2 (240-2) are a second non-5 GHz. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the frequency scan can operate as a main scan interface and a secondary scan interface.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to implement the role of the access point and the packet monitoring function as a device by mounting the configuration related to the monitoring in the access point. That is, the access point and the packet monitoring apparatus may be implemented as one device by coding a function of the controller 210 in the CPU of the access point and adding interfaces.

3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the device first searches for a channel currently being used in the vicinity by using the interface for scanning the neighbor AP (S310). At this time, it is not necessary to be paired with the access point. That is, it is not necessary to be paired with any one specific access point, and even if paired with another access point, the entire channel can be monitored with a small number of interfaces.

In particular, it is preferable that the device monitors only the channels used in the corresponding space (eg, the communicable range of the interface for scanning the neighboring AP) without searching all the channels. As a method of identifying a channel used in the corresponding space, a method of searching for a nearby local area communication (eg, Wi-Fi) access point and identifying a channel used therein is preferable. That is, monitoring is performed only for the use channel. This reduces the burden of searching the entire channel and avoids the heaviness of equipment from the search burden. Thus, low power designs are possible and production of low cost structures is also possible.

Then, the device monitors the packets transmitted and received by operating the interface corresponding to the frequency band of the short-range communication channel currently in use (S320). That is, when only the 2.4 GHz band is used, it is possible to wait 5 GHz, and to operate only the interface of the 2.4 GHz band. When two or more communication channels are in use in a specific frequency band, the monitoring is performed by appropriately distributing the interface with the auxiliary scan interface.

The device periodically searches for a neighboring channel using the neighboring AP scanning interface and updates the list for the channel used (S330). In step S320, the packet is monitored by using the interface of the frequency band corresponding to the currently used channel based on the updated list.

Regarding periodic list updates, in order to use a few interfaces to achieve a similar effect to many, it is recommended that the interface for peripheral AP scanning be busy periodically. Therefore, while searching for a neighboring channel according to a predetermined period, if the amount of packets as a result of the search is significant, it is desirable to reduce the period to perform the search. That is, a plurality of reference values may be determined, a section corresponding to the packet amount may be determined, and a period may be changed according to the section. If the packet amount is 100 packets per second, a variable search period setting may be considered in which the search period is searched for a peripheral use channel in units of 30 seconds, and the search period is increased in units of 1 minute when the detected packet amount drops to 50 packets per second. Then, the peripheral AP is periodically checked according to the discovery period set using the peripheral AP scanning interface, and the peripheral access channel list is updated based on the search result.

4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method of covering a plurality of short range communication channels.

Referring to FIG. 4, the monitoring device 410 according to an embodiment of the present invention searches for a channel currently being used in association with a channel search interface 412 (which may be referred to as a peripheral AP scan interface). In the embodiment of FIG. 4, two access points 420-1 (AP 1, 420-2: AP-2) may be discovered around the monitoring device 410, and corresponding APs 420-1, 420-2 may be discovered. In each case, one channel can be used to confirm that a total of two channels (CH 2 and CH 150) are used.

Accordingly, the monitoring device 410 may control to monitor channel 2 by using an interface of a first frequency band and to monitor channel 150 by using an interface of a second frequency band. Accordingly, packets exchanged through channel 2 between the terminals 430-1, 430-2, and 430-3 and the access point 1 420-1 can be monitored through the interface 1 (not shown), and the terminal 440 can be monitored. Packets exchanged through channel 150 between -1, 440-2 and access point 2 420-2 may be monitored through interface 2 (not shown).

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring device is not authorized based on various information related to the monitored packet (eg, packet transmission / reception time, packet source / destination IP or address, traffic amount, signal strength, etc.). Undetected devices can be detected. Then, the function of blocking the use of the device may be performed. Alternatively, it is possible to check whether the device using the short-range communication is staying at a specific place (which can be calculated based on the strength of the APs and the signal), and can be used to calculate the actual time of staying at the specific place.

FIG. 5A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a dedicated mode for exclusively monitoring a packet of a specific channel using an auxiliary monitoring interface.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the apparatus operates to schedule a time associated with signal reception to minimize unreceived signals. That is, minimizing reception shading. If you want to monitor the entire channel with a few short-range communication interfaces, you may have to scan by dividing the time, when the other channel is scanned, the shadow occurs on that channel. For example, while scanning channel 2, a situation may occur in which packets from other channels are not received. To minimize this, the device may use a dedicated mode.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the device may have more than one interface 512-1, 512-2 for one frequency band, one as the main interface 512-1 and one with the secondary interface ( 512-2). Of course, it is possible to have more than three interfaces, but this is expensive in terms of cost and equipment structure. In the situation where two interfaces 512-1 and 512-2 are provided for one band, the device checks the amount of received packets per channel so that the secondary interface 512-2 for the channel where the most packets are generated is present. ) Can have a dedicated scan.

According to the embodiment of Figure 5a, channels 2, 5 and 10 are currently used in the space monitored by the monitoring device, of which channel 10 is the most busy. In this case, assuming that channel 10 is much more used than channels 2 and 5, the device may allow the auxiliary monitoring interface 512-2 to receive channel 100% for channel 10 only. Judgment of the dedicated mode is that the usage of the most used channel (eg, channel 10) is greater than the sum of the remaining channels, or the amount of the channel is greater than the reference value by comparing the usage of the channel with a predetermined reference value. You can decide to use dedicated mode when using it. In this case, the main interface 512-1, which is not dedicated to a specific channel, may monitor a plurality of channels by dividing time. In relation to the division of time, a scheme of 1: 1 ratio, a scheme of changing the interval ratio within a specific period in proportion to the amount of packets, and the like may be considered. In the embodiment of FIG. 5A, the device allocates channels at a ratio of 1: 1 to perform monitoring. Therefore, channel 2 and 10 are alternately monitored at intervals of 0.5 seconds.

FIG. 5B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a split mode for splitting and monitoring multiple channels evenly.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the apparatus checks the amount of packets received for each channel, and if the difference in the amount of packet generation is not less than the reference value, the main interface 522-1 and the auxiliary interface 522-2 are equally channeled. You can control to scan by dividing. For example, assuming that there are four channels of used channels 2, 5, 10, and 13 in the reception space, the main interface 522-1 and the auxiliary interface 522-2 have an equal number of channels, that is, In addition, two channels can be assigned and monitored. This may be called a split mode. Accordingly, the main interface 522-1 may be assigned to channels 2 and 5, and the auxiliary interface 522-2 may be assigned to channels 10 and 13 and monitored. At this time, monitoring for a plurality of channels in one channel also depends on time division. Accordingly, the channel 2 and the channel 5 are alternately monitored by the main interface 522-1. At this time, the shift period may be set to 1: 1, or may be set in proportion to the packet amount and / or the number of packets.

The selection of the dedicated mode and the split mode may be determined by periodically evaluating the amount of packets received and / or the number of packets.

6 is a diagram illustrating a system for performing time and attendance management of a workplace by using a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the time attendance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a terminal 610, an access point 620 (AP), a monitoring device 630, and a time and attendance management server 640. .

Referring to FIG. 6, the terminal 610 is wirelessly connected to the access point 620 to use short-range communication resources. The terminal 610 may be implemented as any device having a short range communication function as well as a terminal such as a smart phone or a laptop.

The access point 620 exchanges a packet with the terminal 610 through at least one of preset channels.

The monitoring device 630 monitors packets transmitted and received between the access point 620 and the terminal 610 in real time through the method described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. In addition, as described above, the monitoring device 630 may be implemented as one device with the access point 620 in some cases. The monitoring device 630 receives a short range communication signal (eg, a Wi-Fi signal) to receive signal strength information, reception time information, source / destination IP and MAC address, traffic amount, packet type, AP identification information, terminal identification information, and the like. Can be identified. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring device 630 transmits at least one of signal strength information of exchanged packets, MAC address information of a related terminal, and reception time information to a server as an element related to time and attendance management.

The monitoring device 630 may determine the location of the terminal 610 based on the distance relation between the access points 620 and the signal strength of packets transmitted and received in real time. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether the information exists in a specific area (for example, working place) or outside the specific area by time slot using the reception time information of the packet.

The server 640 may determine whether or not time attendance (working, leaving work, working overtime, etc.) and the type of work (working in the working place, working outside the working place) based on the information received from the monitoring device 630.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a system for performing time and attendance management of a workplace using the multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 7, the terminal 710 activates short range communication and generates a short range wireless communication signal (Wi-Fi signal) when it is within the communication range of the access point 720 (S710). In some cases, a short range wireless communication signal may be generated at the moment of reporting an action related to going to work, leaving work, and / or working overtime through an application (APP) or web page related to attendance management. When the signal is generated in this way, the access point 720 receives the signal generated from the terminal 710 (S712). At this time, the monitoring device 730 operating in conjunction with the access point 720 monitors the packets exchanged between the terminal 710 and the access point 720 (S714), the signal strength information, reception time information, Information such as source / destination IP and MAC address, traffic amount, packet type, AP identification information, and terminal identification information is acquired (S716). Then, the information related to the time and attendance is confirmed (S718).

Actions related to time and attendance may include work, presence in the work area, work away, and overtime.

In the case of going to work, the MAC address of the terminal 710 transmitting the packet is compared with the MAC address of the pre-registered personal terminal to check whether the registered user is correct, and the specific position is based on the arrangement of the access point and the signal strength information. (E.g., whether or not you have actually reached your workplace) to determine if you are going to work. More specifically, the determination of going to work is confirmed that the attendance-related signal generated through the attendance action (operation such as a click in the app or a web page), and the sending device of the attendance-related signal is matched to the registered device-related information It is determined whether or not by the reception time of the attendance-related signal. Night work can be determined through a similar procedure to work.

Whether to work in the working place, it can be determined by checking whether there is a signal reception history from a specific terminal within a predetermined time interval at a specific location. The time zone without receiving history can be calculated by subtracting the total working hours from going to work to work.

In the case of leaving work, as well as going to work, accessing the attendance-related app or web page to perform the work-related operation, and the result of the comparison with the registered device information of the sending device of the signal generated accordingly, Can be.

In this way, after the information related to the time and attendance is processed in the monitoring device 730, the related information is provided to the time and attendance server 740 (S720). The attendance server 740 may manage attendance, working hours, etc. by counting the received attendance information (S722). Then, the information is provided to the terminal 710 of the users so that the user can see (S724).

8 is a flowchart illustrating a time and attendance management method using a multi-channel simultaneous monitoring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, in relation to the processing of the workday of the day, the monitoring apparatus checks the time of arrival by monitoring packets transmitted and received between the terminal and the access point in real time (S810). As described above, when the attendance-related signal generated through the app or the web page is received, the identification of the attendance time is based on the information of the device in which identification information such as the MAC address of the signal transmission terminal is registered based on the monitoring history of the packet. Is determined to be based on the location information of the terminal calculated based on the signal strength information of the packet exchanged with the at least one access point, based on the reception time information of the related packet.

Then, it is checked in real time based on a packet periodically exchanged between the terminal and the access point whether there is a real user in the working place (S820). Then, the leave time is checked (S830). The leave time is identified in a similar manner to the handling actions associated with the commute. Then, the actual working hours are calculated (S840). Actual working time is the total working time minus the working time minus the working time minus the time of departure. In other words, the time period without receiving history is calculated by subtracting the total working time.

The device may determine whether the actual working hours are more than the prescribed duty hours (S850). This may be done on a daily basis, or on a weekly and / or monthly basis in an enterprise using a flexible commuter.

If the actual working time is more than the required working time according to the determination result at step S850, the apparatus may determine that the normal working time is performed (S860), otherwise, it determines that the working time has not been filled and sends a warning message. It can be done to (S865).

The above embodiment of the present invention is a process related to filling a full duty time, and according to other embodiments of the present invention, whether the monitoring device is suitable for a commute within a predetermined time, and whether the departure from the workplace does not exceed the predetermined time. I can grasp etc.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the case of an exception situation in which work or leave work is not performed, a warning message is sent to the user of the terminal after 30 minutes has elapsed. In addition, when forgetting the process associated with time and attendance, a method of automatically determining the time of the signal reception closest to the time of going to work or leaving the office as time to attendance may be used. When a registered user terminal is lost or a smile occurs accidentally on a specific work day, a temporary attendance tag may be received from a human resources team of the company to check the attendance, and the monitoring device and the server may be attached to the temporary attendance tag. The device identification information may be stored or immediately input and stored to recognize the corresponding device. In this case, the T & A tag includes an RFID-based tag and has a function for entering and exiting a tag that generates a short range communication signal such as Wi-Fi. Other devices that can connect to Wi-Fi (laptops, smart pads, etc.) can also be admitted temporarily to enable time and attendance.

Although described above with reference to the drawings and embodiments, it does not mean that the scope of protection of the present invention is limited by the above drawings or embodiments, and those skilled in the art will have the spirit of the present invention described in the claims It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (18)

In the channel monitoring method in the local area network of the channel monitoring device,
Searching for at least one local access point (AP) through the first interface to search for at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity;
Scheduling a monitoring time for the searched at least one local area communication channel to monitor a packet transmitted and received through the at least one neighboring access point using a second interface according to a scheduled time;
The second interface is an interface corresponding to a frequency band of the at least one short range communication channel,
And the first interface periodically searches for the at least one neighboring access point to update information on at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity. The method of claim 1,
Wherein said first and second interfaces comprise antennas associated with a local area network. The method of claim 1, wherein the second interface,
Perform monitoring in a first section of a predefined monitoring period for a first short range communication channel, wherein the first short range communication channel is included in the at least one searched short range communication channel;
And a second local area communication channel, wherein the second local area communication channel is included in the searched at least one local area communication channel, performing the monitoring in the second section following the first time of the predefined monitoring period. Channel monitoring method in the local area network. The method of claim 3, wherein
A channel monitoring apparatus for controlling to monitor the first short range communication channel exclusively through a third interface when the first short range communication channel is a channel in which a large number of packets are generated above a reference value among the searched at least one short range communication channels. Channel monitoring method in local area network. The method of claim 4, wherein
When the difference between the packet transmission / reception amount of the first local area communication channel and the packet transmission / reception amount of the second local area communication channel is less than a reference value when the neighboring access point is searched, the second interface and the third interface are substantially equal. A channel monitoring method in a local area network of a channel monitoring device that controls monitoring by dividing time. The method of claim 1,
And a monitoring time for each of the at least one searched short-range communication channel is allocated in proportion to the amount of packets transmitted and received in the corresponding short-range communication channel within a preset search time. An apparatus for monitoring a channel in a local area network, the apparatus comprising:
A first interface for searching for at least one peripheral access point;
A second interface for monitoring packets of a first frequency band, the first frequency band including a frequency band associated with near field communication; And
Including a processor, wherein the processor
Search for the at least one Peripheral Access Point (AP) through the first interface to search for at least one local area communication channel currently used in the periphery; And
By scheduling a monitoring time for the searched at least one short-range communication channel to control to monitor the packet transmitted and received through the at least one peripheral access point using the second interface according to the scheduled time,
And the processor controls the first interface to periodically search for the neighboring access point to update information about at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity. In the channel monitoring method in the local area network of the channel monitoring device,
Monitoring a first packet provided from a first terminal capable of short-range communication to a first access point (AP) around the channel monitoring apparatus; And
Checking the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal, wherein the MAC address of the first terminal is included in the first packet; monitoring of the first packet includes:
Searching for at least one neighboring access point through a first interface included in the device to search for at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity, wherein the at least one neighboring access point comprises the first access point box;
Scheduling a monitoring time for the searched at least one local area communication channel to monitor a packet transmitted and received through the searched at least one neighboring access point using a second interface according to a scheduled time;
And the second interface is an interface corresponding to a frequency band of the searched at least one local area communication channel. The method of claim 1,
And the first interface periodically searches for the at least one neighboring access point to update information on at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity. The method of claim 8,
The first packet includes a packet for requesting confirmation of going to a place of work associated with the first access point,
Confirming the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal,
Checking whether a reception time of the first packet is included in a time zone associated with attendance; And
And checking the attendance by comparing the MAC address of the first terminal with the MAC address of the pre-stored terminal. The method of claim 8,
The first packet comprises a packet requesting work leave confirmation from a work location associated with the first access point,
Confirming the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal,
Confirming whether a reception time of the first packet is included in a time zone associated with work leaving; And
And checking work leaving by comparing the MAC address of the first terminal and the MAC address of the previously stored terminal. The method of claim 8,
And monitoring at least one packet periodically transmitted / received from the first terminal to the first access point to determine whether the first terminal is actually present in a working place associated with the first access point. Channel monitoring method in local area network. The method of claim 12,
A local area network of the channel monitoring apparatus further comprising the step of calculating the actual working time by subtracting the time that does not actually exist in the working place from the total working time calculated based on the time of going to the working place and the leaving time from the working place How to monitor channels within. The method of claim 8,
The first packet includes a packet for confirming a work attendance associated with the first access point,
The method may further include providing time and attendance information based on the monitoring result of the first packet to a first server, wherein the first server is a server that collects time and attendance information. Way. The method of claim 14,
The attendance information provided to the server includes the identification information of the first terminal, the signal strength information of the first packet, and the reception time information. A channel monitoring apparatus in a local area network,
A first interface for searching for at least one peripheral access point;
A second interface for monitoring packets of a first frequency band, the first frequency band including a frequency band associated with near field communication; And
Including a processor, wherein the processor,
Monitoring a first packet provided from a first terminal capable of short-range communication to a first access point (AP) around the channel monitoring apparatus; And
Control to confirm the reception time of the first packet and the MAC address of the first terminal, wherein the MAC address of the first terminal is included in the first packet,
In connection with monitoring for the first packet, the processor searches for at least one peripheral access point over the first interface, the at least one peripheral access point including the first access point. Search for at least one short-range communication channel used in
Monitoring the first packet by scheduling a monitoring time for the searched at least one local area communication channel and monitoring a packet transmitted and received through the searched at least one neighboring access point using a second interface according to a scheduled time; Channel monitoring device in the local area network. The method of claim 16,
And the processor controls the first interface to periodically search for the at least one neighboring access point to update information for at least one local area communication channel currently used in the vicinity. In a system for monitoring a channel in a local area network,
Monitoring a first packet provided from a first terminal capable of short-range communication to a first access point (AP) around a channel monitoring apparatus, receiving a first packet and a MAC address of the first terminal; A monitoring device for controlling to confirm that a MAC address of a first terminal is included in the first packet; And
Monitoring a channel in the local area network including a time and attendance management server for managing the attendance of the user associated with the first terminal based on the reception time information included in the first packet from the monitoring device and the MAC address address of the first terminal. System.

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