WO2010134145A1 - Data communication apparatus, home network system, data communication method, program, integrated circuit - Google Patents

Data communication apparatus, home network system, data communication method, program, integrated circuit Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2010134145A1
WO2010134145A1 PCT/JP2009/006684 JP2009006684W WO2010134145A1 WO 2010134145 A1 WO2010134145 A1 WO 2010134145A1 JP 2009006684 W JP2009006684 W JP 2009006684W WO 2010134145 A1 WO2010134145 A1 WO 2010134145A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
communication
data
transmission
setting information
communication path
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PCT/JP2009/006684
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French (fr)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
吉崎哲也
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パナソニック株式会社
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Publication of WO2010134145A1 publication Critical patent/WO2010134145A1/en

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
    • H04L12/2805—Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a data communication device that efficiently controls a communication path without interfering with other communication when performing data communication that requires a large communication capacity such as video data between communication terminals.
  • the present invention relates to a data communication device applied to in-home communication wiring.
  • communication when performing data communication that requires a large communication capacity such as video data between communication terminals, information (hereinafter referred to as “communication”) that identifies the communication capacity required between communication terminals and the corresponding communication.
  • communication information
  • the communication control information is transmitted and received before the actual data communication is started.
  • the communication terminal and the switch on the communication path allocate necessary communication capacity based on the shared communication control information, and start communication if allocation is possible.
  • a conventional technique aims at efficient use of a large-scale network such as a line operator or a provider (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
  • Patent Document 1 communication nodes such as routers and switches existing in a network hold information on communication capacity with existing communication nodes and existing data.
  • a technique for establishing a communication path by transferring an optimal data packet in accordance with a user request is disclosed.
  • communication can be started at each node on the communication path after management of communication capacity information and the like is completed. Therefore, there is a problem that a delay occurs from the communication request to the start of communication, and further, the delay time varies depending on the management information processing time of each node.
  • the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and a data communication apparatus, a home network system, a data communication method, a program, and a data communication apparatus capable of performing communication with a communication bandwidth guaranteed with a smaller processing amount than in the past. And an integrated circuit.
  • a data communication apparatus is connected to an external apparatus via a plurality of communication paths and performs data communication with the external apparatus.
  • a usage setting information storage unit that stores usage setting information indicating the usage of each of the plurality of communication paths, and a transmission request including information for identifying the usage are received and used for the usage from the usage setting information.
  • a transmission request determination unit that determines the communication path, and transmission control that receives transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit A part.
  • communication with guaranteed communication bandwidth can be performed by associating the communication path with the application.
  • the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed.
  • the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art.
  • the use setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the use, the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the use, and the priority among the plurality of communication paths. Then, the transmission request determination unit determines that the communication path that is usable and has the highest priority among the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the application is the communication path that is used for the application. May be. According to the configuration described above, it is possible to increase the processing efficiency of the communication request source such as the application or the OS while increasing the usage rate of the communication path.
  • the usage setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the usage.
  • the transmission request determining unit determines that two or more of the communication paths that can be used for the application are the communication paths used for the application, and the transmission control unit includes:
  • the transmission data may be transmitted using the two or more communication paths determined by the transmission request determination unit as one virtual communication path. According to the said structure, the utilization factor of a some communication channel can be raised.
  • the data communication device monitors reception requests from the plurality of communication paths, selects a communication path that has received the reception requests, and the communication selected by the communication path monitoring section.
  • a reception control unit that receives reception data from the path.
  • communication with guaranteed communication bandwidth can be performed by associating the communication path with the application.
  • the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed.
  • the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art.
  • the usage setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and an application used for the usage.
  • the data communication apparatus further identifies the application used for the purpose acquired from the reception request from the usage setting information, and notifies the application of reception of the reception request. May be provided. According to the above configuration, it is possible to start an application or the like corresponding to a use, or call a function such as an application or an OS.
  • the data communication apparatus sends an adjustment request indicating that data communication is performed using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit before the transmission data is transmitted by the transmission control unit. You may provide the communication path selection part transmitted to an external device.
  • the data communication device includes a reception control unit that receives reception data from the communication channel, and a communication channel monitoring unit that causes the reception control unit to receive the reception data from the communication channel indicated by the adjustment request. May be provided. As in the above configuration, the actual communication may be started after adjusting which communication path is used on the transmission side and the reception side in advance.
  • a home network system includes the above-described data communication device and an external device connected to the data communication device via the plurality of communication paths. For example, when a plurality of applications are operating simultaneously on the data communication device and each communicates with an external device via the communication channel, the utilization rate of the communication channel can be improved.
  • a data communication method provides a data communication method including an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths. Let the device perform data communication with an external device. Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination step for determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received. And a transmission control step of transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
  • a program according to an aspect of the present invention is provided in a data communication apparatus that includes an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths. And data communication with an external device. Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination step for determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received. And a transmission control step of transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
  • An integrated circuit is a data communication apparatus including an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths.
  • an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths.
  • To perform data communication with an external device Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination unit that determines the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received.
  • a transmission control unit that transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit.
  • the present invention can be realized not only as a data communication apparatus but also as an integrated circuit for realizing the functions of the data communication apparatus, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such functions. Needless to say, such a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and a transmission medium such as the Internet.
  • the data communication apparatus of the present invention it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use.
  • the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of application setting information.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a home network system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a multiple communication path.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.
  • the data communication device 1 is connected to an external device (not shown) via a plurality of communication paths, and performs data communication with the external device.
  • the data communication apparatus 1 includes a transmitting unit 101 and a receiving unit 102.
  • the transmission unit 101 includes a communication path usage setting unit 10101, a usage setting information storage unit 10102, a transmission request determination unit 10103, and a transmission control unit 10104.
  • the incoming call unit 102 includes a communication path usage setting unit 10201, a usage setting information storage unit 10202, a reception request determination unit 10203, a communication path monitoring unit 10204, and a reception control unit 10205.
  • Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like.
  • the processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
  • the transmission unit 101 is a block for starting data communication.
  • the communication channel usage setting unit 10101 sets usage setting information indicating the usage of each of the plurality of communication channels in the usage setting information storage unit 10102.
  • the application setting information is typically initially set when the data communication apparatus 1 is installed. Also, it may be set as needed when a new application is added or when a new communication path is added.
  • the plurality of communication paths may be a plurality of physically independent communication paths, or one that logically controls one physical communication path as a plurality of communication paths by a method such as frequency multiplexing.
  • the method for setting the usage setting information may be a method for setting each terminal individually, or a method for distributing setting information from a terminal corresponding to a server to another client terminal.
  • the usage setting information storage unit 10102 stores the usage setting information set by the communication path usage setting unit 10101.
  • An example of application setting information set in the application setting information storage unit 10102 is shown in FIG.
  • the application setting information shown in FIG. 2 indicates a correspondence relationship between an application, one or more communication paths that can be used for the application, and a priority between one or more communication paths.
  • communication channels A, B, and C there are three communication channels A, B, and C that can be used for “network TV viewing” for viewing network broadcasts such as IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision).
  • IPTV Internet Protocol TeleVision
  • the communication paths C and D can be used. Even when VOD viewing is performed, a communication path can be selected according to priority.
  • the communication channel C is shared with network TV viewing.
  • the communication path E is allocated exclusively for browsing Web pages.
  • the application setting information storage unit 10102 may store application setting information in which an arbitrary application of a communication channel and a communication channel that can be used for the application are associated one-to-one, one-to-one, or one-to-many. it can.
  • many-to-one is, for example, a case where both the intended use X and use Y can select the same communication path.
  • the communication path C can be used redundantly for both “network TV viewing” and “VOD viewing”.
  • one-to-one is a case where, for example, when there are a plurality of communication paths, a communication path that can be selected for an arbitrary application X is limited to only one communication path.
  • the communication path used for the “browsing web page” is only the communication path E, and the communication path E is only used for the “browsing web page”. It can be used.
  • one-to-many is a case where a plurality of communication paths can be selected for an arbitrary application X when there are a plurality of communication paths, for example.
  • a plurality of communication paths can be selected for an arbitrary application X when there are a plurality of communication paths, for example.
  • the priority at the time of selecting each communication path may be information that can change the priority at any time according to the external condition by including not only the priority order of selection but also external condition information.
  • the application setting information storage unit 10102 may be a volatile memory that temporarily stores information, a non-volatile memory or a hard disk that permanently stores information. That is, the specific configuration of the usage setting information storage unit 10102 is not particularly limited.
  • the transmission request determination unit 10103 receives a transmission request for requesting transmission of transmission data from an application, an OS, or the like.
  • This transmission request can include information identifying the application.
  • the transmission request determination unit 10103 can identify the use from the destination port number of the TCP header. Specifically, if “80” is set in the destination port number, it is determined that “Web page browsing”.
  • the transmission request determination unit 10103 can also select a communication path from the priority and communication status when selecting each communication path.
  • the use status of the communication channel of the transmission control unit 10104, the request priority of the application and OS, and the like are used. For example, when a transmission request for “VOD viewing” is received, it is possible to use the communication channel D with the highest priority among the communication channels C and D associated with the application (used for transmission / reception of other data). Is not determined). If it is usable, the communication path D is selected, and if it is not usable, it is determined whether or not the communication path C can be used.
  • a QoS (Quality of Service) item in the IP header can be used as the “request priority”.
  • the transmission request determination unit 10103 may simultaneously select a plurality of communication paths according to transmission requests from applications, OSs, and the like. At this time, the transmission control unit 10104 can perform data communication by controlling a plurality of selected communication paths as one virtual communication path. Note that the application or OS makes such a transmission request when, for example, the communication band necessary for transmission of transmission data exceeds the band of individual communication paths of a plurality of communication paths.
  • the communication bandwidth is virtually controlled as one communication path.
  • link aggregation that bundles a plurality of physical communication paths into one may be used.
  • the transmission control unit 10104 transmits transmission data to the receiving unit 102 of another data communication device (hereinafter referred to as “external device”) using the communication path selected by the transmission request determination unit 10103.
  • the external device has a function equivalent to that of the data communication device 1.
  • the receiving unit 102 is a block that starts data communication in response to a request from an external device.
  • the communication path monitoring unit 10204 monitors a plurality of communication paths and selects a communication path that has a reception request. For example, the communication path monitoring unit 10204 receives a reception request when a data packet having its own destination information is received or when a data packet having the multicast group information to which it belongs is received on an arbitrary communication path. The communication channel is selected. In addition, when the transmission unit 101 of the external apparatus treats a plurality of communication paths as a single communication path and transmits transmission data, the plurality of communication paths may be selected.
  • the reception control unit 10205 performs data communication with the transmission unit 101 of the external device. Also, the reception control unit 10205 notifies the communication path monitoring unit 10204 of the communication status of each of the plurality of communication paths. For example, the communication path monitoring unit 10204 is notified of data packet destination information and multicast group information.
  • the data communication apparatus 1 When the incoming call unit 102 activates an appropriate application or calls an OS function, the data communication apparatus 1 further includes a communication channel usage setting unit 10201, a usage setting information storage unit 10202, and a reception request determination unit 10203. Can be provided. In addition, in the usage setting information, a correspondence relationship between the usage and the application used for the usage is added. In the first embodiment, an example in which the communication path usage setting unit 10201, the usage setting information storage unit 10202, and the reception request determination unit 10203 are provided is described, but it is not essential.
  • the functions of the communication path usage setting unit 10201 and the usage setting information storage unit 10202 of the incoming call unit 102 are the same as those of the communication path usage setting unit 10101 and the usage setting information storage unit 10102 of the transmission unit 101, and thus description thereof is omitted.
  • the transmission unit 101 and the reception unit 102 may share the same communication channel usage setting unit 10101 and usage setting information storage unit 10102.
  • the reception request determination unit 10203 determines the usage of the communication path that has received the reception request, based on the usage setting information stored in the usage setting information storage unit 10202.
  • the reception request determination unit 10203 notifies the application and OS of the reception request and usage.
  • the reception request determination unit 10203 receives a reception request from a plurality of communication paths at the same time, or when the reception request includes information indicating that communication is performed using a plurality of communication paths.
  • the plurality of communication paths may be selected at the same time.
  • the reception control unit 10205 can also perform data communication by controlling a plurality of selected communication paths as one virtual communication path.
  • the transmission unit 101 Before transmitting / receiving data (such as during installation), the transmission unit 101 stores application setting information indicating a correspondence relationship between a communication path and an application in the application setting information storage unit 10102 based on setting information from an application or an OS. Accumulate.
  • the transmission request determination unit 10103 of the transmission unit 101 selects an appropriate communication path from the application setting information based on information identifying the application included in the transmission request received from the application or the OS. Then, the transmission control unit 10104 starts data communication using the selected communication path.
  • the communication path monitoring unit 10204 monitors a plurality of communication paths, and determines whether the data is for itself using the destination information of the data packet. If it is determined that the data is for itself, the reception control unit 10205 receives the data. Also, the reception request determination unit 10203 determines the usage corresponding to the communication path based on the usage setting information, and notifies the reception request and usage to the application or the OS. Further, the incoming call unit 102 performs subsequent data communication by starting an appropriate application.
  • the usage method of the communication path usage setting unit 10201 and the usage setting information storage unit 10202 in the receiving unit 102 is the same as the usage method of the communication path usage setting unit 10101 and the usage setting information storage unit 10102 in the transmission unit 101. Is also possible.
  • the receiving terminal can automatically start an application corresponding to the application, and call a function such as an application or an OS.
  • processing in the first embodiment may be realized by software. Then, this software may be distributed by software download or the like. Further, this software may be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed. On the other hand, it can also be realized as an integrated circuit that executes the processing in the first embodiment. This also applies to other embodiments in this specification.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the data communication apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment.
  • the data communication device 2 includes a transmitting unit 201 and a receiving unit 202.
  • the transmission unit 201 includes a communication channel usage setting unit 20101, a usage setting information storage unit 20102, a transmission request determination unit 20103, a communication channel selection unit 20104, and a transmission control unit 20105.
  • the incoming call unit 202 includes a communication path monitoring unit 20201 and a reception control unit 20202.
  • Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like.
  • the processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
  • the transmission unit 201 is a block for starting data communication.
  • the communication channel usage setting unit 20101 sets usage setting information indicating the usage of each of a plurality of communication channels in the usage setting information storage unit 20102.
  • the application setting information is typically initially set when the data communication apparatus 2 is installed. Also, it may be set as needed when a new application is added or when a new communication path is added.
  • the plurality of communication paths may be a plurality of physically independent communication paths, or one that logically controls one physical communication path as a plurality of communication paths by a method such as frequency multiplexing.
  • the method for setting the usage setting information may be a method for setting each terminal individually, or a method for distributing setting information from a terminal corresponding to a server to another client terminal.
  • the usage setting information storage unit 20102 stores the usage setting information set by the communication path usage setting unit 20101.
  • An example of application setting information set in the application setting information storage unit 20102 is shown in FIG. The description of FIG. 2 is omitted.
  • the application setting information storage unit 20102 may also store application setting information in which an arbitrary application of a communication channel and a communication channel that can be used for the application correspond to one-to-one, one-to-one, or one-to-many. it can. Details have already been described and will be omitted.
  • the priority at the time of selecting each communication path may be information that can change the priority at any time according to the external condition by including not only the priority order of selection but also external condition information.
  • the application setting information storage unit 20102 may be a volatile memory that temporarily stores information, a non-volatile memory that stores information permanently, or a hard disk. That is, the specific configuration of the usage setting information storage unit 20102 is not particularly limited.
  • the transmission request determination unit 20103 receives a transmission request from an application, an OS, or the like.
  • This transmission request can include information identifying the application.
  • the transmission request determination unit 20103 can identify the usage from the destination port number of the TCP header. Specifically, if “80” is set in the destination port number, it is determined that “Web page browsing”.
  • the transmission request determination unit 20103 can also select a communication path from the priority and communication status when selecting each communication path.
  • the use status of the communication channel of the transmission control unit 20105, the request priority of the application and OS, and the like are used. For example, when a transmission request for “VOD viewing” is received, it is possible to use the communication channel D with the highest priority among the communication channels C and D associated with the application (used for transmission / reception of other data). Is not determined). If it is usable, the communication path D is selected, and if it is not usable, it is determined whether or not the communication path C can be used.
  • a QoS (Quality of Service) item in the IP header can be used as the “request priority”.
  • the transmission request determination unit 20103 may simultaneously select a plurality of communication paths according to transmission requests from applications, OSs, and the like.
  • the transmission control unit 20105 can perform data communication by controlling the selected plurality of communication paths as one virtual communication path.
  • the application or OS makes a transmission request as described above, for example, when the communication band necessary for transmission of transmission data exceeds the band of individual communication paths of a plurality of communication paths.
  • the communication bandwidth is virtually controlled as one communication path.
  • link aggregation that bundles a plurality of physical communication paths into one may be used.
  • the communication path selection unit 20104 Prior to transmission of transmission data by the transmission control unit 20105, the communication path selection unit 20104 sends an adjustment request indicating that data communication is performed using the selected communication path to the incoming unit 202 of the external device. To send. Thereby, adjustment and selection of a communication path can be performed between data communication apparatuses that perform data communication.
  • Specific communication path selection methods include, for example, a method of selecting a communication path requested by the transmission unit 201, a method of selecting a communication path requested by the receiving unit 202 of another data communication apparatus, and management of communication paths There is a method of inquiring a server to select a communication path. That is, it is only necessary to finally determine a communication path for performing data communication, and a specific method is not particularly limited.
  • the transmission control unit 20105 performs data communication with the incoming call unit 202 using the communication path selected by the communication path selection unit 20104.
  • the receiving unit 202 is a block that starts data communication in response to a request from an external device.
  • the communication channel monitoring unit 20201 receives an adjustment request from the communication channel selection unit 20104 of the external device, and performs adjustment and selection of a communication channel for performing data communication.
  • Specific methods for selecting a communication path include, for example, a method for selecting a communication path requested by the transmission unit 201 of the external device, a method for selecting a communication path requested by the receiving unit 202, and a server that manages the communication path. There are methods for inquiring and selecting a communication path. That is, it is only necessary to finally determine a communication path for performing data communication, and a specific method is not particularly limited.
  • the transmission unit 201 of the external apparatus treats a plurality of communication paths as one communication path and transmits transmission data
  • the plurality of communication paths may be selected.
  • the reception control unit 20202 performs data communication with the transmission unit 201 of the external device using the communication path selected by the communication path monitoring unit 20201.
  • the incoming call unit 202 notifies the application and OS of the reception request and usage.
  • the data communication apparatus 2 further includes the communication path use setting unit 10201, the use setting information storage unit 10202, and the configuration described in the first embodiment.
  • a reception request determination unit 10203 can also be provided.
  • the transmission unit 201 and the receiving unit 202 may share the same communication channel use setting unit 20101 and use setting information storage unit 20102.
  • the communication channel usage setting unit 20101 of the transmission unit 201 sets usage setting information indicating the correspondence between the communication channel and the usage based on the setting information from the application or OS before data transmission / reception (during installation or the like). And stored in the use setting information storage unit 20102.
  • the transmission request determination unit 20103 of the transmission unit 201 selects an appropriate communication path from the usage setting information based on the usage information included in the transmission request from the application or the OS.
  • the communication path selection unit 20104 transmits information on the communication path selected by the transmission request determination unit 20103 to the communication path monitoring unit 20201 of the external device as an adjustment request, and adjusts the communication path used for data communication.
  • the communication path for transmitting the adjustment request may be a communication path that actually performs data communication, or may be a communication path that is associated with the use of “transmission of adjustment request”.
  • the transmission control unit 20105 transmits the transmission data to the external device using the communication channel selected by the communication channel selection unit 20104.
  • the reception control unit 20202 of the external device receives the received data from the data communication device 2 using the communication path adjusted by the transmission / reception of the adjustment request.
  • the second embodiment it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use.
  • the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so the required cost can be reduced.
  • the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art.
  • the receiving terminal can automatically start an application corresponding to the application, and call a function such as an application or an OS.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the home network system 3 according to the third embodiment.
  • the home network system 3 includes a home network terminal 301, a home video server 302, a home router 303, and a multiplex communication path 304.
  • the home network terminal 301 includes a data communication device 30101, a video playback application 30102, an IPTV application 30103, and an Internet browser 30104.
  • the home video server 302 includes a data communication device 30201.
  • the home router 303 includes a data communication device 30301 and a broadband communication device 30302.
  • the home network terminal 301, the home video server 302, and the home router 303 are connected to each other by a multiplex communication path 304.
  • the home router 303 is connected to an external communication network via the broadband communication device 30302.
  • Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like.
  • the processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
  • the data communication device 30101, the data communication device 30201, and the data communication device 30301 included in the home network terminal 301, the home video server 302, and the home router 303 correspond to the data communication device 1 of the first embodiment.
  • the home network terminal 301 is a user terminal equipped with an application using network communication such as a video reproduction application 30102, an IPTV application 30103, and an Internet browser 30104.
  • a video reproduction application 30102 such as a video reproduction application 30102, an IPTV application 30103, and an Internet browser 30104.
  • home appliances such as digital televisions and recorders have equivalent functions.
  • the video playback application 30102 transmits a video distribution request to the home video server 302 and receives video data transmitted from the home video server 302 via the network. Next, the received video data is subjected to decryption of various encryptions and various decoding processes to perform video reproduction.
  • the distribution server that requests the video distribution is not limited to the in-home video server 302 but may be a video server outside the home via an external communication network.
  • the IPTV application 30103 is an application for viewing a network television for viewing a network broadcast. It receives video data distributed by multicast, such as digital terrestrial broadcast network retransmission, and plays back video.
  • multicast such as digital terrestrial broadcast network retransmission
  • the Internet browser 30104 is an application provided for use and browsing of the World Wide Web (hereinafter referred to as WWW).
  • the home video server 302 is a video server that distributes video content to a home network based on a request from the video playback application 30102.
  • a VOD server that performs one-to-one distribution
  • a multicast distribution server that performs one-to-many distribution
  • the home router 303 has a relay function for connecting the external communication network and the home communication network. In addition to the functions related to the present invention, it may have a function corresponding to a broadband router connected to an external communication network provided by various network providers.
  • the broadband communication apparatus 30302 has a function of performing destination conversion of data packets and the like in order to connect the outside communication network and the home communication network.
  • the multiple communication path 304 includes a plurality of communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
  • the communication paths A to E correspond to the communication paths A to E shown in FIG.
  • the multiplex communication path 304 is typically a LAN (Local Area Network).
  • FIG. 5 there is a method of performing data communication by superimposing communication signals on different frequency carriers on a physically single communication line as a method of the multiplex communication path 304. .
  • the video playback application 30102 requests the data communication device 30101 to communicate with the home video server 302.
  • the data communication apparatus 30101 determines the usage from the request from the video reproduction application 30102. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path to be used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The use at this time is “VOD viewing” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication channel D having the highest priority among the communication channels C and D that can be used for the application.
  • the data communication device 30101 starts data communication from the video reproduction application 30102 to the home video server 302 using the communication path D.
  • the data communication device 30201 of the home video server 302 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
  • the data communication apparatus 30201 determines that it is a video distribution request from the correspondence between the communication path D and the usage. Then, the video distribution function is called, and video distribution to the video reproduction application 30102 is started.
  • the IPTV application 30103 requests the data communication apparatus 30101 to participate in a multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel in order to receive data from an arbitrary network television distribution server in the outside communication network.
  • the data communication device 30101 determines the usage from the request from the IPTV application 30103. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path to be used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The application at this time is “network television viewing” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication path A having the highest priority among the communication paths A, B, and C that can be used for the application.
  • the data communication apparatus 30101 requests the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 to participate in the multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel using the communication path A.
  • the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
  • the data communication device 30301 of the home router 303 detects a communication request to itself on the communication path A, the data reception request of any network television distribution server of the outside communication network is determined from the correspondence between the communication path A and the usage. to decide. Then, the remote communication network is requested via the broadband communication apparatus 30302 to participate in the multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel.
  • the Internet browser 30104 requests the data communication apparatus 30101 to communicate with an arbitrary WWW server on the outside communication network in order to receive data from an arbitrary WWW server on the outside communication network.
  • the data communication device 30101 determines the usage from the request from the Internet browser 30104. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The use at this time is “browsing a Web page” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication path E used for the application.
  • the data communication device 30101 requests the data communication device 30301 of the home router 303 to communicate with an arbitrary WWW server in the outside communication network using the communication path E.
  • the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
  • the data communication apparatus 30301 determines that it is a data communication request with an arbitrary WWW server in the outside communication network from the correspondence between the communication path E and the usage. To do. Then, a connection to an arbitrary WWW server is requested to the outside communication network via the broadband communication device 30302.
  • the home network terminal can automatically start an application or the like corresponding to the application, or call a function such as an application or an OS.
  • each process may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. May be.
  • processing in the above-described embodiment may be realized by a dedicated H / W (integrated circuit or the like), or the above-described processing procedure stored in a storage device (ROM, RAM, hard disk, or the like) can be executed.
  • a storage device ROM, RAM, hard disk, or the like
  • Such predetermined program data may be realized by being interpreted and executed by the CPU.
  • the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI (Large Scale Integration), but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor, or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after manufacturing the LSI.
  • a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.
  • the program data may be introduced into the storage device via a recording medium, or may be directly executed from the recording medium.
  • the recording medium refers to a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, a magnetic disk memory such as a flexible disk or a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD or BD, or a memory card such as an SD card.
  • the recording medium is a concept including a communication medium such as a telephone line or a conveyance path.
  • the present invention is advantageously used for data communication devices.

Abstract

A data communication apparatus (1) which is connected through a plurality of communication lines to an external device and exchanges data with the external device. Specifically, the data communication apparatus (1) is provided with: a function setting information storage unit (10102) which stores function setting information showing the function of each of the plurality of communication lines; a transmission request determining unit (10103) which receives a transmission request including the information identifying the function and determines, from the function setting information, the communication line that is used for that function; and a transmission control unit (10104) which receives transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmits the transmission data to the external device, using the communication line determined by the transmission request determining unit (10103).

Description

データ通信装置、ホームネットワークシステム、データ通信方法、プログラム、及び集積回路Data communication apparatus, home network system, data communication method, program, and integrated circuit
　本発明は、通信端末間で映像データなどの多大な通信容量を必要とするデータ通信を行う場合に、他の通信を妨げることなく通信路を効率的に制御するデータ通信装置等に関し、特に、宅内通信配線に適用するデータ通信装置等に関するものである。 The present invention relates to a data communication device that efficiently controls a communication path without interfering with other communication when performing data communication that requires a large communication capacity such as video data between communication terminals. The present invention relates to a data communication device applied to in-home communication wiring.
　従来のデータ通信装置において、通信端末間で映像データなどの多大な通信容量を必要とするデータ通信を行う場合は、通信端末間で必要な通信容量や該当する通信を識別する情報（以下「通信制御情報」という）を、通信端末と通信経路上にあるルータやスイッチとの間で共有するために、実際のデータ通信開始前に通信制御情報の送受信を行っていた。 In a conventional data communication apparatus, when performing data communication that requires a large communication capacity such as video data between communication terminals, information (hereinafter referred to as “communication”) that identifies the communication capacity required between communication terminals and the corresponding communication. In order to share the control information) between the communication terminal and the router or switch on the communication path, the communication control information is transmitted and received before the actual data communication is started.
　通信端末と通信経路上にあるスイッチとは、共有した通信制御情報に基づいて必要な通信容量を割当て、割当て可能であれば通信を開始する。但し、このような従来技術は、回線事業者やプロバイダなどの大規模ネットワークの効率的利用を目的としている（例えば、特許文献１参照）。 The communication terminal and the switch on the communication path allocate necessary communication capacity based on the shared communication control information, and start communication if allocation is possible. However, such a conventional technique aims at efficient use of a large-scale network such as a line operator or a provider (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
　特許文献１には、ネットワーク内に存在する各ルータやスイッチなどの通信ノードが、近傍の通信ノードとの通信容量や存在するデータに関する情報を保持している。そして、ユーザ要求に合わせて、最適なデータパケットの転送を行い、通信経路を確立する技術が開示されている。 In Patent Document 1, communication nodes such as routers and switches existing in a network hold information on communication capacity with existing communication nodes and existing data. A technique for establishing a communication path by transferring an optimal data packet in accordance with a user request is disclosed.
特開平１０－３２２３９３号公報Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-322393
　しかしながら、従来のデータ通信装置においては、通信端末と通信経路上にある各ノードとが、各通信で使用されている通信容量等の管理情報を保持する必要がある。また、通信要求がある度に参照、更新などの管理を行う必要があるため、多くのメモリ容量が必要であり、かつ高いＭＰＵ（Ｍｉｃｒｏ　Ｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｉｎｇ　Ｕｎｉｔ）などの処理性能が必要となる。その結果、コストが大きくなるという課題があった。 However, in the conventional data communication apparatus, it is necessary for the communication terminal and each node on the communication path to hold management information such as the communication capacity used in each communication. Further, since it is necessary to perform management such as reference and update each time there is a communication request, a large memory capacity is required, and processing performance such as high MPU (Micro Processing Unit) is required. As a result, there is a problem that the cost increases.
　また、通信経路上にある各ノードにおいて、通信容量情報等の管理が完了した後に通信が開始可能となる。そのため、通信要求から通信開始までに遅延が発生し、更には、遅延時間が各ノードの管理情報処理時間に依存して変動するという課題があった。 In addition, communication can be started at each node on the communication path after management of communication capacity information and the like is completed. Therefore, there is a problem that a delay occurs from the communication request to the start of communication, and further, the delay time varies depending on the management information processing time of each node.
　そこで、本発明は、このような状況に鑑みてなされたものであり、従来より少ない処理量で通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができるデータ通信装置、ホームネットワークシステム、データ通信方法、プログラム、及び集積回路を提供することを目的とする。 Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and a data communication apparatus, a home network system, a data communication method, a program, and a data communication apparatus capable of performing communication with a communication bandwidth guaranteed with a smaller processing amount than in the past. And an integrated circuit.
　本発明の一形態に係るデータ通信装置は、複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、当該外部装置とデータ通信を行う。具体的には、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部と、用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定部と、前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御部とを備える。 A data communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to an external apparatus via a plurality of communication paths and performs data communication with the external apparatus. Specifically, a usage setting information storage unit that stores usage setting information indicating the usage of each of the plurality of communication paths, and a transmission request including information for identifying the usage are received and used for the usage from the usage setting information. A transmission request determination unit that determines the communication path, and transmission control that receives transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit A part.
　上記構成のように、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことにより、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。さらに、従来技術より少ない処理制御により、通信開始までの遅延を小さくすることができる。 As in the above configuration, communication with guaranteed communication bandwidth can be performed by associating the communication path with the application. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed. Furthermore, the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art.
　また、前記用途設定情報は、前記用途と、当該用途に使用され得る複数の前記通信路と、前記複数の通信路相互間の優先度との対応関係を示している。そして、前記送信要求判定部は、前記用途に使用され得る複数の通信路のうち、使用可能で且つ前記優先度が最も高い前記通信路を、当該用途に使用される前記通信路であると判定してもよい。上記構成によれば、通信路の使用率を高めると同時に、アプリケーションやＯＳ等の通信要求元の処理効率も高めることができる。 Further, the use setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the use, the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the use, and the priority among the plurality of communication paths. Then, the transmission request determination unit determines that the communication path that is usable and has the highest priority among the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the application is the communication path that is used for the application. May be. According to the configuration described above, it is possible to increase the processing efficiency of the communication request source such as the application or the OS while increasing the usage rate of the communication path.
　また、前記用途設定情報は、前記用途と、当該用途に使用され得る複数の前記通信路との対応関係を示している。そして、前記送信要求判定部は、前記用途に使用され得る複数の通信路のうち、２以上の前記通信路を当該用途に使用される前記通信路であると判定し、前記送信制御部は、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記２以上の通信路を１つの仮想的な通信路として前記送信データを送信してもよい。上記構成によれば、複数の通信路の利用率を高めることができる。 Further, the usage setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the usage. Then, the transmission request determining unit determines that two or more of the communication paths that can be used for the application are the communication paths used for the application, and the transmission control unit includes: The transmission data may be transmitted using the two or more communication paths determined by the transmission request determination unit as one virtual communication path. According to the said structure, the utilization factor of a some communication channel can be raised.
　さらに、該データ通信装置は、前記複数の通信路からの受信要求を監視し、前記受信要求を受け付けた前記通信路を選択する通信路監視部と、前記通信路監視部によって選択された前記通信路から受信データを受信する受信制御部とを備えてもよい。 Further, the data communication device monitors reception requests from the plurality of communication paths, selects a communication path that has received the reception requests, and the communication selected by the communication path monitoring section. A reception control unit that receives reception data from the path.
　上記構成のように、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことにより、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。さらに、従来技術より少ない処理制御により、通信開始までの遅延を小さくすることができる。 As in the above configuration, communication with guaranteed communication bandwidth can be performed by associating the communication path with the application. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed. Furthermore, the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art.
　また、前記用途設定情報は、前記用途と、当該用途に使用されるアプリケーションとの対応関係を示している。そして、該データ通信装置は、さらに、前記受信要求から取得される用途に使用される前記アプリケーションを前記用途設定情報から特定し、当該アプリケーションに対して前記受信要求の受信を通知する受信要求判定部を備えてもよい。上記構成によれば、用途に対応したアプリケーション等を起動したり、アプリケーションやＯＳ等の機能を呼び出すことができる。 Further, the usage setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and an application used for the usage. The data communication apparatus further identifies the application used for the purpose acquired from the reception request from the usage setting information, and notifies the application of reception of the reception request. May be provided. According to the above configuration, it is possible to start an application or the like corresponding to a use, or call a function such as an application or an OS.
　さらに、該データ通信装置は、前記送信制御部によって前記送信データが送信されるのに先立って、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いてデータ通信を行うことを示す調整要求を外部装置に送信する通信路選択部を備えてもよい。同様に、該データ通信装置は、前記通信路から受信データを受信する受信制御部と、前記調整要求で示される前記通信路からの前記受信データを前記受信制御部に受信させる通信路監視部とを備えてもよい。上記構成のように、予め送信側と受信側とでどの通信路を使用するかを調整してから、実際の通信を開始してもよい。 Further, the data communication apparatus sends an adjustment request indicating that data communication is performed using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit before the transmission data is transmitted by the transmission control unit. You may provide the communication path selection part transmitted to an external device. Similarly, the data communication device includes a reception control unit that receives reception data from the communication channel, and a communication channel monitoring unit that causes the reception control unit to receive the reception data from the communication channel indicated by the adjustment request. May be provided. As in the above configuration, the actual communication may be started after adjusting which communication path is used on the transmission side and the reception side in advance.
　本発明の一形態に係るホームネットワークシステムは、上記記載のデータ通信装置と、前記複数の通信路を介して前記データ通信装置と接続される外部装置とを備える。例えば、データ通信装置上で複数のアプリケーションが同時に動作しており、それぞれが通信路を介して外部装置と通信を行っている場合等に、通信路の利用率を向上させることができる。 A home network system according to an aspect of the present invention includes the above-described data communication device and an external device connected to the data communication device via the plurality of communication paths. For example, when a plurality of applications are operating simultaneously on the data communication device and each communicates with an external device via the communication channel, the utilization rate of the communication channel can be improved.
　本発明の一形態に係るデータ通信方法は、複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせる。具体的には、用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定ステップと、前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定ステップで判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御ステップとを含む。 A data communication method according to an aspect of the present invention provides a data communication method including an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths. Let the device perform data communication with an external device. Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination step for determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received. And a transmission control step of transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
　本発明の一形態に係るプログラムは、複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせる。具体的には、用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定ステップと、前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定ステップで判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御ステップとを含む。 A program according to an aspect of the present invention is provided in a data communication apparatus that includes an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths. And data communication with an external device. Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination step for determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received. And a transmission control step of transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
　本発明の一形態に係る集積回路は、複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせる。具体的には、用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定部と、前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御部とを含む。 An integrated circuit according to an aspect of the present invention is a data communication apparatus including an application setting information storage unit that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and stores application setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths. To perform data communication with an external device. Specifically, a transmission request including information for identifying a use is received, a transmission request determination unit that determines the communication path used for the use from the use setting information, and transmission data corresponding to the transmission request is received. A transmission control unit that transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit.
　なお、本発明は、データ通信装置として実現できるだけでなく、データ通信装置の機能を実現する集積回路として実現したり、そのような機能をコンピュータに実行させるプログラムとして実現したりすることもできる。そして、そのようなプログラムは、ＣＤ－ＲＯＭ等の記録媒体及びインターネット等の伝送媒体を介して流通させることができるのは言うまでもない。 Note that the present invention can be realized not only as a data communication apparatus but also as an integrated circuit for realizing the functions of the data communication apparatus, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such functions. Needless to say, such a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and a transmission medium such as the Internet.
　本発明によるデータ通信装置によれば、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことによって、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。 According to the data communication apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed.
図１は、本発明の実施の形態１に係るデータ通信装置のブロック図である。FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 図２は、用途設定情報の一例を説明する概略図である。FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of application setting information. 図３は、本発明の実施の形態２に係るデータ通信装置のブロック図である。FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 図４は、本発明の実施の形態３に係るホームネットワークシステムのブロック図である。FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a home network system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 図５は、多重通信路の一例を説明する概略図である。FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a multiple communication path.
　以下、本発明の各実施の形態に係るデータ通信装置およびホームネットワークシステム等について図面を参照して説明する。なお、各実施の形態において同じ符号を付した構成要素は同様の動作を行うので、再度の説明を省略する場合がある。 Hereinafter, a data communication apparatus, a home network system, and the like according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the component which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in each embodiment performs the same operation | movement, re-explanation may be abbreviate | omitted.
　（実施の形態１）
　図１及び図２を参照して、実施の形態１に係るデータ通信装置１を説明する。図１は、実施の形態１に係るデータ通信装置１のブロック図である。このデータ通信装置１は、複数の通信路を介して外部装置（図示省略）と接続されており、当該外部装置との間でデータ通信を行う。 (Embodiment 1)
With reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the data communication apparatus 1 which concerns on Embodiment 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The data communication device 1 is connected to an external device (not shown) via a plurality of communication paths, and performs data communication with the external device.
　データ通信装置１は、発信部１０１、及び着信部１０２を具備する。発信部１０１は、通信路用途設定部１０１０１、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２、送信要求判定部１０１０３、及び送信制御部１０１０４を具備する。着信部１０２は、通信路用途設定部１０２０１、用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２、受信要求判定部１０２０３、通信路監視部１０２０４、及び受信制御部１０２０５を具備する。 The data communication apparatus 1 includes a transmitting unit 101 and a receiving unit 102. The transmission unit 101 includes a communication path usage setting unit 10101, a usage setting information storage unit 10102, a transmission request determination unit 10103, and a transmission control unit 10104. The incoming call unit 102 includes a communication path usage setting unit 10201, a usage setting information storage unit 10202, a reception request determination unit 10203, a communication path monitoring unit 10204, and a reception control unit 10205.
　上記の各部は、通常、ＣＰＵやメモリ等を備えるコンピュータ上で実行されるプログラムとして実現され得る。各部の処理手順は、通常、ソフトウェアで実現され、当該ソフトウェアはＲＯＭ等の記録媒体に記録されている。但し、ハードウェア（専用回路）で実現しても良い。 Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like. The processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
　発信部１０１は、データ通信を開始するブロックである。 The transmission unit 101 is a block for starting data communication.
　通信路用途設定部１０１０１は、複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に設定する。なお、用途設定情報は、典型的には、データ通信装置１を設置する際に初期設定されるものである。また、新たな用途を追加する場合、及び新たな通信路を増設する場合等に随時設定されることもある。 The communication channel usage setting unit 10101 sets usage setting information indicating the usage of each of the plurality of communication channels in the usage setting information storage unit 10102. The application setting information is typically initially set when the data communication apparatus 1 is installed. Also, it may be set as needed when a new application is added or when a new communication path is added.
　なお、通信路の用途には、ネットワークを利用したディジタルテレビ視聴、ＶＯＤ（Ｖｉｄｅｏ　Ｏｎ　Ｄｅｍａｎｄ）視聴、インターネットブラウザでのＷｅｂページの閲覧、リモートアクセス等、種々の形態があるが、本発明ではその形態は問わない。 Note that there are various forms of communication channel usage, such as digital TV viewing using a network, VOD (Video On Demand) viewing, web page browsing with an Internet browser, remote access, etc. Does not matter.
　複数の通信路とは、複数の物理的に独立した通信路であっても、周波数多重等の方法で一つの物理的な通信路を論理的に複数の通信路として制御するものでも良い。 The plurality of communication paths may be a plurality of physically independent communication paths, or one that logically controls one physical communication path as a plurality of communication paths by a method such as frequency multiplexing.
　用途設定情報を設定する方法は、端末個別に設定する方法でも、サーバに相当する端末から他のクライアント端末に設定情報を配信して設定するものでも良い。 The method for setting the usage setting information may be a method for setting each terminal individually, or a method for distributing setting information from a terminal corresponding to a server to another client terminal.
　用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２は、通信路用途設定部１０１０１によって設定された用途設定情報を蓄積する。用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に設定される用途設定情報の一例を図２に示す。図２に示される用途設定情報は、用途と、当該用途に使用され得る１以上の通信路と、１以上の通信路相互間の優先度との対応関係を示している。 The usage setting information storage unit 10102 stores the usage setting information set by the communication path usage setting unit 10101. An example of application setting information set in the application setting information storage unit 10102 is shown in FIG. The application setting information shown in FIG. 2 indicates a correspondence relationship between an application, one or more communication paths that can be used for the application, and a priority between one or more communication paths.
　具体的には、ＩＰＴＶ（Ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ　Ｐｒｏｔｏｃｏｌ　ＴｅｌｅＶｉｓｉｏｎ）等のネットワーク放送を視聴する「ネットワークテレビ視聴」を行う場合に利用できる通信路は、通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃの３つである。３つの通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃの中から１つの通信路を選択する際には、優先度の高いものから選択する。 Specifically, there are three communication channels A, B, and C that can be used for “network TV viewing” for viewing network broadcasts such as IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision). When one communication path is selected from the three communication paths A, B, and C, the communication path with the highest priority is selected.
　また、宅内映像サーバから「ＶＯＤ視聴」を行う場合には、通信路Ｃ、Ｄが利用可能である。ＶＯＤ視聴を行う場合にも優先度に従って通信路を選択することができる。また、通信路Ｃについては、ネットワークテレビ視聴とも共用している。 In addition, when performing “VOD viewing” from the home video server, the communication paths C and D can be used. Even when VOD viewing is performed, a communication path can be selected according to priority. The communication channel C is shared with network TV viewing.
　一方、Ｗｅｂページの閲覧には、通信路Ｅを専用に割当てている。 On the other hand, the communication path E is allocated exclusively for browsing Web pages.
　用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２は、通信路の任意の用途と、当該用途に使用され得る通信路とを多対１、１対１、もしくは１対多に対応させた用途設定情報を蓄積することもできる。 The application setting information storage unit 10102 may store application setting information in which an arbitrary application of a communication channel and a communication channel that can be used for the application are associated one-to-one, one-to-one, or one-to-many. it can.
　ここで、多対１とは、例えば、想定される用途Ｘと用途Ｙの両方が同一の通信路を選択可能とするような場合である。具体的には、図２に示されるように、通信路Ｃは、「ネットワークテレビ視聴」及び「ＶＯＤ視聴」の両方の用途に重複して使用できるようになっている。 Here, many-to-one is, for example, a case where both the intended use X and use Y can select the same communication path. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the communication path C can be used redundantly for both “network TV viewing” and “VOD viewing”.
　また、１対１とは、例えば、複数の通信路があった場合に、任意の用途Ｘに対して選択可能な通信路をただ１つの通信路のみに限定するような場合である。具体的には、図２に示されるように、「Ｗｅｂページの閲覧」の用途に使用される通信路は通信路Ｅのみであり、且つ通信路Ｅは「Ｗｅｂページの閲覧」の用途にのみ使用可能となっている。 Also, one-to-one is a case where, for example, when there are a plurality of communication paths, a communication path that can be selected for an arbitrary application X is limited to only one communication path. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the communication path used for the “browsing web page” is only the communication path E, and the communication path E is only used for the “browsing web page”. It can be used.
　また、１対多とは、例えば、複数の通信路があった場合に、任意の用途Ｘに対して複数の通信路を選択可能とするような場合である。具体的には、「ネットワークテレビ視聴」の用途に使用され得る通信路は、通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃの３つとなっている。 Also, one-to-many is a case where a plurality of communication paths can be selected for an arbitrary application X when there are a plurality of communication paths, for example. Specifically, there are three communication channels A, B, and C that can be used for the purpose of “network television viewing”.
　さらに、各通信路を選択する際の優先度とは、単なる選択を行う優先順位だけでなく、外部条件情報も含むことで外部条件によって優先度を随時変更可能な情報であっても良い。 Furthermore, the priority at the time of selecting each communication path may be information that can change the priority at any time according to the external condition by including not only the priority order of selection but also external condition information.
　なお、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２は、一時的に情報を蓄積する揮発性メモリのようなものや、恒久的に情報を蓄積する不揮発メモリやハードディスクのようなものでも良い。つまり、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２の具体的構成は、特に限定されない。 The application setting information storage unit 10102 may be a volatile memory that temporarily stores information, a non-volatile memory or a hard disk that permanently stores information. That is, the specific configuration of the usage setting information storage unit 10102 is not particularly limited.
　送信要求判定部１０１０３は、送信データの送信を要求する送信要求をアプリケーションやＯＳ等から受け付ける。この送信要求は、用途を識別する情報を含むことができる。例えば、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、ＴＣＰヘッダの宛先ポート番号から用途を識別することができる。具体的には、宛先ポート番号に「８０」が設定されていれば、「Ｗｅｂページの閲覧」であると判定する。また、要求元と用途とを対応付ける参照テーブルが別途存在する場合は、用途を識別する情報を送信要求に含める必要はない。 The transmission request determination unit 10103 receives a transmission request for requesting transmission of transmission data from an application, an OS, or the like. This transmission request can include information identifying the application. For example, the transmission request determination unit 10103 can identify the use from the destination port number of the TCP header. Specifically, if “80” is set in the destination port number, it is determined that “Web page browsing”. In addition, when there is a separate reference table that associates the request source with the usage, it is not necessary to include information for identifying the usage in the transmission request.
　送信要求判定部１０１０３は、各通信路を選択する際の優先度と通信状況とから通信路を選択することもできる。優先度と通信状況とから通信路を選択するには、送信制御部１０１０４の通信路の使用状況や、アプリケーションやＯＳの要求優先度等を利用する。例えば、「ＶＯＤ視聴」の送信要求を受け付けると、当該用途に対応付けられた通信路Ｃ、Ｄのうち、最も優先度の高い通信路Ｄが使用可能であるか（他のデータの送受信に使用されていないか）を判断する。そして、使用可能であれば通信路Ｄを選択し、使用可能でなければ通信路Ｃについて使用可能か否かを判断する。また、「要求優先度」には、例えば、ＩＰヘッダのＱｏＳ（Ｑｕａｌｉｔｙ　ｏｆ　Ｓｅｒｖｉｃｅ）の項目等を利用することができる。 The transmission request determination unit 10103 can also select a communication path from the priority and communication status when selecting each communication path. In order to select a communication channel from the priority and the communication status, the use status of the communication channel of the transmission control unit 10104, the request priority of the application and OS, and the like are used. For example, when a transmission request for “VOD viewing” is received, it is possible to use the communication channel D with the highest priority among the communication channels C and D associated with the application (used for transmission / reception of other data). Is not determined). If it is usable, the communication path D is selected, and if it is not usable, it is determined whether or not the communication path C can be used. In addition, for example, a QoS (Quality of Service) item in the IP header can be used as the “request priority”.
　また、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳ等からの送信要求に応じて複数の通信路を同時に選択してもよい。このとき、送信制御部１０１０４は、選択された複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として制御してデータ通信を行うこともできる。なお、アプリケーションやＯＳがこのような送信要求を行うのは、例えば、送信データの送信に必要な通信帯域が、複数の通信路の個々の通信路の帯域を上回っている場合等である。 Further, the transmission request determination unit 10103 may simultaneously select a plurality of communication paths according to transmission requests from applications, OSs, and the like. At this time, the transmission control unit 10104 can perform data communication by controlling a plurality of selected communication paths as one virtual communication path. Note that the application or OS makes such a transmission request when, for example, the communication band necessary for transmission of transmission data exceeds the band of individual communication paths of a plurality of communication paths.
　また、複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として扱う方法には、例えば、複数の通信路に送受信パケットを振り分けることで、通信帯域が拡張された一つの通信路として仮想的に制御するものがある。または、複数の物理的な通信路を１つに束ねるリンクアグリゲーションを利用してもよい。 In addition, in a method of handling a plurality of communication paths virtually as one communication path, for example, by assigning transmission / reception packets to the plurality of communication paths, the communication bandwidth is virtually controlled as one communication path. There is something. Alternatively, link aggregation that bundles a plurality of physical communication paths into one may be used.
　送信制御部１０１０４は、送信要求判定部１０１０３によって選択された通信路を使用して、他のデータ通信装置（以下「外部装置」と表記する）の着信部１０２に送信データを送信する。なお、以下の説明において、外部装置は、データ通信装置１と同等の機能を有しているものとして説明する。 The transmission control unit 10104 transmits transmission data to the receiving unit 102 of another data communication device (hereinafter referred to as “external device”) using the communication path selected by the transmission request determination unit 10103. In the following description, it is assumed that the external device has a function equivalent to that of the data communication device 1.
　一方、着信部１０２は、外部装置からの要求でデータ通信を開始するブロックである。 On the other hand, the receiving unit 102 is a block that starts data communication in response to a request from an external device.
　通信路監視部１０２０４は、複数の通信路を監視し、受信要求がある通信路を選択する。通信路監視部１０２０４は、例えば、自身の宛先情報を持ったデータパケットを受信した場合や、自身が属するマルチキャストグループ情報を持ったデータパケットを任意の通信路において受信した際に、受信要求があったと判断し、当該通信路を選択する。また、外部装置の発信部１０１が、複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として扱って送信データを送信した場合には、複数の通信路を選択することもあり得る。 The communication path monitoring unit 10204 monitors a plurality of communication paths and selects a communication path that has a reception request. For example, the communication path monitoring unit 10204 receives a reception request when a data packet having its own destination information is received or when a data packet having the multicast group information to which it belongs is received on an arbitrary communication path. The communication channel is selected. In addition, when the transmission unit 101 of the external apparatus treats a plurality of communication paths as a single communication path and transmits transmission data, the plurality of communication paths may be selected.
　受信制御部１０２０５は、外部装置の発信部１０１との間でデータ通信を行う。また、受信制御部１０２０５は、通信路監視部１０２０４に対して、複数の通信路各々の通信状況を通知する。例えば、データパケットの宛先情報やマルチキャストグループ情報を通信路監視部１０２０４に通知する。 The reception control unit 10205 performs data communication with the transmission unit 101 of the external device. Also, the reception control unit 10205 notifies the communication path monitoring unit 10204 of the communication status of each of the plurality of communication paths. For example, the communication path monitoring unit 10204 is notified of data packet destination information and multicast group information.
　また、着信部１０２が適切なアプリケーションを起動したり、ＯＳ機能を呼出したりする場合、データ通信装置１は、さらに、通信路用途設定部１０２０１、用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２、及び受信要求判定部１０２０３を備えることができる。また、用途設定情報には、用途と、当該用途に使用されるアプリケーションとの対応関係を追加しておく。なお、実施の形態１では、通信路用途設定部１０２０１と、用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２と、受信要求判定部１０２０３とを備えた例を説明しているが、必須ではない。 When the incoming call unit 102 activates an appropriate application or calls an OS function, the data communication apparatus 1 further includes a communication channel usage setting unit 10201, a usage setting information storage unit 10202, and a reception request determination unit 10203. Can be provided. In addition, in the usage setting information, a correspondence relationship between the usage and the application used for the usage is added. In the first embodiment, an example in which the communication path usage setting unit 10201, the usage setting information storage unit 10202, and the reception request determination unit 10203 are provided is described, but it is not essential.
　なお、着信部１０２の通信路用途設定部１０２０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２の機能は、発信部１０１の通信路用途設定部１０１０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２と共通するので、説明は省略する。 Note that the functions of the communication path usage setting unit 10201 and the usage setting information storage unit 10202 of the incoming call unit 102 are the same as those of the communication path usage setting unit 10101 and the usage setting information storage unit 10102 of the transmission unit 101, and thus description thereof is omitted.
　また、発信部１０１と着信部１０２との両方を備える場合には、発信部１０１と着信部１０２とで、同一の通信路用途設定部１０１０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２を共用してもよい。 Further, when both the transmission unit 101 and the reception unit 102 are provided, the transmission unit 101 and the reception unit 102 may share the same communication channel usage setting unit 10101 and usage setting information storage unit 10102.
　受信要求判定部１０２０３は、用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２に蓄積されている用途設定情報に基づいて、受信要求を受信した通信路の用途を判定する。また、受信要求判定部１０２０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳに対して受信要求と用途とを通知する。 The reception request determination unit 10203 determines the usage of the communication path that has received the reception request, based on the usage setting information stored in the usage setting information storage unit 10202. The reception request determination unit 10203 notifies the application and OS of the reception request and usage.
　また、受信要求判定部１０２０３は、複数の通信路から同時に受信要求を受信した場合、又は複数の通信路を使用して通信を行うことを示す情報が受信要求に含まれていた場合等に、当該複数の通信路を同時に選択してもよい。このとき受信制御部１０２０５は、選択された複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として制御してデータ通信を行うこともできる。 In addition, the reception request determination unit 10203 receives a reception request from a plurality of communication paths at the same time, or when the reception request includes information indicating that communication is performed using a plurality of communication paths. The plurality of communication paths may be selected at the same time. At this time, the reception control unit 10205 can also perform data communication by controlling a plurality of selected communication paths as one virtual communication path.
　以下、実施の形態１に係るデータ通信装置１の具体的な動作について説明する。 Hereinafter, a specific operation of the data communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.
　発信部１０１は、データの送受信を行う前（設置時等）に、アプリケーションやＯＳからの設定情報に基づいて、通信路と用途との対応関係を示す用途設定情報を用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に蓄積しておく。 Before transmitting / receiving data (such as during installation), the transmission unit 101 stores application setting information indicating a correspondence relationship between a communication path and an application in the application setting information storage unit 10102 based on setting information from an application or an OS. Accumulate.
　次に、発信部１０１の送信要求判定部１０１０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳから受け付けた送信要求に含まれる用途を識別する情報に基づいて、適切な通信路を用途設定情報から選択する。そして、送信制御部１０１０４は、選択された通信路を使用してデータ通信を開始する。 Next, the transmission request determination unit 10103 of the transmission unit 101 selects an appropriate communication path from the application setting information based on information identifying the application included in the transmission request received from the application or the OS. Then, the transmission control unit 10104 starts data communication using the selected communication path.
　一方、外部装置の着信部１０２では、通信路監視部１０２０４が複数の通信路を監視しており、データパケットの宛先情報等を利用して、自身に対するデータであるかの判断を行う。自身に対するデータであると判断した場合、受信制御部１０２０５は、当該データを受信する。また、受信要求判定部１０２０３は、用途設定情報に基づいて当該通信路に対応する用途を割出し、アプリケーションやＯＳに対して受信要求と用途とを通知する。さらに、着信部１０２は、適切なアプリケーションを起動させるなどして、以降のデータ通信を行う。 On the other hand, in the incoming unit 102 of the external device, the communication path monitoring unit 10204 monitors a plurality of communication paths, and determines whether the data is for itself using the destination information of the data packet. If it is determined that the data is for itself, the reception control unit 10205 receives the data. Also, the reception request determination unit 10203 determines the usage corresponding to the communication path based on the usage setting information, and notifies the reception request and usage to the application or the OS. Further, the incoming call unit 102 performs subsequent data communication by starting an appropriate application.
　なお、着信部１０２における通信路用途設定部１０２０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２の使用方法は、発信部１０１における通信路用途設定部１０１０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２の使用方法と同様であり、兼用も可能である。 Note that the usage method of the communication path usage setting unit 10201 and the usage setting information storage unit 10202 in the receiving unit 102 is the same as the usage method of the communication path usage setting unit 10101 and the usage setting information storage unit 10102 in the transmission unit 101. Is also possible.
　以上、実施の形態１によれば、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことによって、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。また、従来技術より少ない処理制御により、通信開始までの遅延を小さくすることができる。さらに、着信端末は、用途に対応したアプリケーション等の自動起動や、アプリケーションやＯＳ等の機能を呼び出すことができる。 As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so that the required cost can be suppressed. In addition, the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art. Furthermore, the receiving terminal can automatically start an application corresponding to the application, and call a function such as an application or an OS.
　なお、実施の形態１における処理は、ソフトウェアで実現しても良い。そして、このソフトウェアをソフトウェアダウンロード等により配布しても良い。また、このソフトウェアをＣＤ－ＲＯＭなどの記録媒体に記録して流布しても良い。一方、実施の形態１における処理を実行する集積回路として実現することも可能である。なお、このことは、本明細書における他の実施の形態においても該当する。 Note that the processing in the first embodiment may be realized by software. Then, this software may be distributed by software download or the like. Further, this software may be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed. On the other hand, it can also be realized as an integrated circuit that executes the processing in the first embodiment. This also applies to other embodiments in this specification.
　（実施の形態２）
　次に、図３を参照して、実施の形態２に係るデータ通信装置２を説明する。図３は、実施の形態２に係るデータ通信装置２のブロック図である。 (Embodiment 2)
Next, the data communication apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the data communication apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment.
　データ通信装置２は、発信部２０１、及び着信部２０２を具備する。発信部２０１は、通信路用途設定部２０１０１、用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２、送信要求判定部２０１０３、通信路選択部２０１０４、及び送信制御部２０１０５を具備する。着信部２０２は、通信路監視部２０２０１、及び受信制御部２０２０２を具備する。 The data communication device 2 includes a transmitting unit 201 and a receiving unit 202. The transmission unit 201 includes a communication channel usage setting unit 20101, a usage setting information storage unit 20102, a transmission request determination unit 20103, a communication channel selection unit 20104, and a transmission control unit 20105. The incoming call unit 202 includes a communication path monitoring unit 20201 and a reception control unit 20202.
　上記の各部は、通常、ＣＰＵやメモリ等を備えるコンピュータ上で実行されるプログラムとして実現され得る。各部の処理手順は、通常、ソフトウェアで実現され、当該ソフトウェアはＲＯＭ等の記録媒体に記録されている。但し、ハードウェア（専用回路）で実現しても良い。 Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like. The processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
　発信部２０１は、データ通信を開始するブロックである。 The transmission unit 201 is a block for starting data communication.
　通信路用途設定部２０１０１は、複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２に設定する。用途設定情報は、典型的には、データ通信装置２を設置する際に初期設定されるものである。また、新たな用途を追加する場合、及び新たな通信路を増設する場合等に随時設定されることもある。 The communication channel usage setting unit 20101 sets usage setting information indicating the usage of each of a plurality of communication channels in the usage setting information storage unit 20102. The application setting information is typically initially set when the data communication apparatus 2 is installed. Also, it may be set as needed when a new application is added or when a new communication path is added.
　なお、通信路の用途には、ネットワークを利用したディジタルテレビ視聴やＶＯＤ視聴、インターネットブラウザでのＷｅｂページの閲覧、リモートアクセス等、種々の形態があるが、本発明ではその形態は問わない。 There are various forms of communication channel usage, such as digital TV viewing and VOD viewing using a network, web page browsing with an internet browser, remote access, etc., but the present invention does not matter.
　複数の通信路とは、複数の物理的に独立した通信路であっても、周波数多重等の方法で一つの物理的な通信路を論理的に複数の通信路として制御するものでも良い。 The plurality of communication paths may be a plurality of physically independent communication paths, or one that logically controls one physical communication path as a plurality of communication paths by a method such as frequency multiplexing.
　用途設定情報を設定する方法は、端末個別に設定する方法でも、サーバに相当する端末から他のクライアント端末に設定情報を配信して設定するものでも良い。 The method for setting the usage setting information may be a method for setting each terminal individually, or a method for distributing setting information from a terminal corresponding to a server to another client terminal.
　用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２は、通信路用途設定部２０１０１によって設定された用途設定情報を蓄積する。用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２に設定される用途設定情報の一例を図２に示す。図２の説明は省略する。 The usage setting information storage unit 20102 stores the usage setting information set by the communication path usage setting unit 20101. An example of application setting information set in the application setting information storage unit 20102 is shown in FIG. The description of FIG. 2 is omitted.
　用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２は、通信路の任意の用途と、当該用途に使用され得る通信路とを多対１、１対１、もしくは１対多に対応させた用途設定情報を蓄積することもできる。詳細は既に説明したので、省略する。 The application setting information storage unit 20102 may also store application setting information in which an arbitrary application of a communication channel and a communication channel that can be used for the application correspond to one-to-one, one-to-one, or one-to-many. it can. Details have already been described and will be omitted.
　さらに、各通信路を選択する際の優先度とは、単なる選択を行う優先順位だけでなく、外部条件情報も含むことで外部条件によって優先度を随時変更可能な情報であっても良い。 Furthermore, the priority at the time of selecting each communication path may be information that can change the priority at any time according to the external condition by including not only the priority order of selection but also external condition information.
　なお、用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２は、一時的に情報を蓄積する揮発性メモリのようなものや、恒久的に情報を蓄積する不揮発メモリやハードディスクのようなものでも良い。つまり、用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２の具体的構成は、特に限定されない。 The application setting information storage unit 20102 may be a volatile memory that temporarily stores information, a non-volatile memory that stores information permanently, or a hard disk. That is, the specific configuration of the usage setting information storage unit 20102 is not particularly limited.
　送信要求判定部２０１０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳ等からの送信要求を受け付ける。この送信要求は、用途を識別する情報を含むことができる。例えば、送信要求判定部２０１０３は、ＴＣＰヘッダの宛先ポート番号から用途を識別することができる。具体的には、宛先ポート番号に「８０」が設定されていれば、「Ｗｅｂページの閲覧」であると判定する。また、要求元と用途とを対応付ける参照テーブル等が別途存在する場合は、用途を識別する情報を送信要求に含む必要はない。 The transmission request determination unit 20103 receives a transmission request from an application, an OS, or the like. This transmission request can include information identifying the application. For example, the transmission request determination unit 20103 can identify the usage from the destination port number of the TCP header. Specifically, if “80” is set in the destination port number, it is determined that “Web page browsing”. In addition, when there is a separate reference table or the like that associates the request source with the usage, it is not necessary to include information for identifying the usage in the transmission request.
　送信要求判定部２０１０３は、各通信路を選択する際の優先度と通信状況とから通信路を選択することもできる。優先度と通信状況とから通信路を選択するには、送信制御部２０１０５の通信路の使用状況や、アプリケーションやＯＳの要求優先度等を利用する。例えば、「ＶＯＤ視聴」の送信要求を受け付けると、当該用途に対応付けられた通信路Ｃ、Ｄのうち、最も優先度の高い通信路Ｄが使用可能であるか（他のデータの送受信に使用されていないか）を判断する。そして、使用可能であれば通信路Ｄを選択し、使用可能でなければ通信路Ｃについて使用可能か否かを判断する。また、「要求優先度」には、例えば、ＩＰヘッダのＱｏＳ（Ｑｕａｌｉｔｙ　ｏｆ　Ｓｅｒｖｉｃｅ）の項目等を利用することができる。 The transmission request determination unit 20103 can also select a communication path from the priority and communication status when selecting each communication path. In order to select a communication channel from the priority and the communication status, the use status of the communication channel of the transmission control unit 20105, the request priority of the application and OS, and the like are used. For example, when a transmission request for “VOD viewing” is received, it is possible to use the communication channel D with the highest priority among the communication channels C and D associated with the application (used for transmission / reception of other data). Is not determined). If it is usable, the communication path D is selected, and if it is not usable, it is determined whether or not the communication path C can be used. In addition, for example, a QoS (Quality of Service) item in the IP header can be used as the “request priority”.
　また、送信要求判定部２０１０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳ等からの送信要求に応じて複数の通信路を同時に選択してもよい。このとき、送信制御部２０１０５は、選択された複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として制御してデータ通信を行うこともできる。なお、アプリケーションやＯＳが上記のような送信要求を行うのは、例えば、送信データの送信に必要な通信帯域が、複数の通信路の個々の通信路の帯域を上回っている場合等である。 Further, the transmission request determination unit 20103 may simultaneously select a plurality of communication paths according to transmission requests from applications, OSs, and the like. At this time, the transmission control unit 20105 can perform data communication by controlling the selected plurality of communication paths as one virtual communication path. The application or OS makes a transmission request as described above, for example, when the communication band necessary for transmission of transmission data exceeds the band of individual communication paths of a plurality of communication paths.
　また、複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として扱う方法には、例えば、複数の通信路に送受信パケットを振り分けることで、通信帯域が拡張された一つの通信路として仮想的に制御するものがある。または、複数の物理的な通信路を１つに束ねるリンクアグリゲーションを利用してもよい。 In addition, in a method of handling a plurality of communication paths virtually as one communication path, for example, by assigning transmission / reception packets to the plurality of communication paths, the communication bandwidth is virtually controlled as one communication path. There is something. Alternatively, link aggregation that bundles a plurality of physical communication paths into one may be used.
　通信路選択部２０１０４は、送信制御部２０１０５によって送信データが送信されるのに先立って、選択された通信路を用いてデータ通信を行うことを示す調整要求を、外部装置の着信部２０２に対して送信する。これにより、データ通信を行うデータ通信装置同士で通信路の調整と選択とを行うことができる。 Prior to transmission of transmission data by the transmission control unit 20105, the communication path selection unit 20104 sends an adjustment request indicating that data communication is performed using the selected communication path to the incoming unit 202 of the external device. To send. Thereby, adjustment and selection of a communication path can be performed between data communication apparatuses that perform data communication.
　具体的な通信路の選択方法は、例えば、発信部２０１が要求する通信路を選択する方法や、他のデータ通信装置の着信部２０２が要求する通信路を選択する方法や、通信路を管理するサーバに問合せて通信路を選択する方法等がある。つまり、最終的にデータ通信を行う通信路を決定できれば良く、具体的な方法は特に限定されない。 Specific communication path selection methods include, for example, a method of selecting a communication path requested by the transmission unit 201, a method of selecting a communication path requested by the receiving unit 202 of another data communication apparatus, and management of communication paths There is a method of inquiring a server to select a communication path. That is, it is only necessary to finally determine a communication path for performing data communication, and a specific method is not particularly limited.
　送信制御部２０１０５は、通信路選択部２０１０４によって選択された通信路を使用して、着信部２０２とデータ通信を行う。 The transmission control unit 20105 performs data communication with the incoming call unit 202 using the communication path selected by the communication path selection unit 20104.
　一方、着信部２０２は、外部装置からの要求でデータ通信を開始するブロックである。 On the other hand, the receiving unit 202 is a block that starts data communication in response to a request from an external device.
　通信路監視部２０２０１は、外部装置の通信路選択部２０１０４からの調整要求を受信し、データ通信を行う通信路の調整と選択とを行う。 The communication channel monitoring unit 20201 receives an adjustment request from the communication channel selection unit 20104 of the external device, and performs adjustment and selection of a communication channel for performing data communication.
　具体的な通信路の選択方法は、例えば、外部装置の発信部２０１が要求する通信路を選択する方法や、着信部２０２が要求する通信路を選択する方法や、通信路を管理するサーバに問合せて通信路を選択する方法等がある。つまり、最終的にデータ通信を行う通信路を決定できれば良く、具体的な方法は特に限定されない。 Specific methods for selecting a communication path include, for example, a method for selecting a communication path requested by the transmission unit 201 of the external device, a method for selecting a communication path requested by the receiving unit 202, and a server that manages the communication path. There are methods for inquiring and selecting a communication path. That is, it is only necessary to finally determine a communication path for performing data communication, and a specific method is not particularly limited.
　なお、外部装置の発信部２０１が、複数の通信路を仮想的に１つの通信路として扱って送信データを送信した場合には、複数の通信路を選択することもあり得る。 In addition, when the transmission unit 201 of the external apparatus treats a plurality of communication paths as one communication path and transmits transmission data, the plurality of communication paths may be selected.
　受信制御部２０２０２は、通信路監視部２０２０１によって選択された通信路を使用して、外部装置の発信部２０１との間でデータ通信を行う。また、着信部２０２は、アプリケーションやＯＳに対し、受信要求と用途とを通知する。着信部２０２が適切なアプリケーションを起動したり、ＯＳ機能を呼出したりする場合、データ通信装置２は、さらに、実施の形態１で説明した通信路用途設定部１０２０１、用途設定情報蓄積部１０２０２、及び受信要求判定部１０２０３を備えることもできる。 The reception control unit 20202 performs data communication with the transmission unit 201 of the external device using the communication path selected by the communication path monitoring unit 20201. The incoming call unit 202 notifies the application and OS of the reception request and usage. When the receiving unit 202 activates an appropriate application or calls an OS function, the data communication apparatus 2 further includes the communication path use setting unit 10201, the use setting information storage unit 10202, and the configuration described in the first embodiment. A reception request determination unit 10203 can also be provided.
　なお、発信部２０１と着信部２０２とで、同一の通信路用途設定部２０１０１及び用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２を共用してもよい。 It should be noted that the transmission unit 201 and the receiving unit 202 may share the same communication channel use setting unit 20101 and use setting information storage unit 20102.
　以下、実施の形態２におけるデータ通信装置２の具体的な動作について説明する。 Hereinafter, a specific operation of the data communication apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment will be described.
　発信部２０１の通信路用途設定部２０１０１は、データの送受信を行う前（設置時等）に、アプリケーションやＯＳからの設定情報に基づいて、通信路と用途との対応関係を示す用途設定情報を、用途設定情報蓄積部２０１０２に蓄積しておく。 The communication channel usage setting unit 20101 of the transmission unit 201 sets usage setting information indicating the correspondence between the communication channel and the usage based on the setting information from the application or OS before data transmission / reception (during installation or the like). And stored in the use setting information storage unit 20102.
　次に、発信部２０１の送信要求判定部２０１０３は、アプリケーションやＯＳからの送信要求に含まれる用途情報に基づいて、適切な通信路を用途設定情報から選択する。 Next, the transmission request determination unit 20103 of the transmission unit 201 selects an appropriate communication path from the usage setting information based on the usage information included in the transmission request from the application or the OS.
　通信路選択部２０１０４は、送信要求判定部２０１０３において選択された通信路の情報を、調整要求として外部装置の通信路監視部２０２０１に送信し、データ通信に使用する通信路の調整を行う。なお、調整要求を送信する通信路は、実際にデータ通信を行う通信路であってもよいし、「調整要求の送信」という用途に対応付けられた通信路であってもよい。 The communication path selection unit 20104 transmits information on the communication path selected by the transmission request determination unit 20103 to the communication path monitoring unit 20201 of the external device as an adjustment request, and adjusts the communication path used for data communication. The communication path for transmitting the adjustment request may be a communication path that actually performs data communication, or may be a communication path that is associated with the use of “transmission of adjustment request”.
　次に、送信制御部２０１０５は、通信路選択部２０１０４において選択された通信路を使用して、外部装置に送信データを送信する。 Next, the transmission control unit 20105 transmits the transmission data to the external device using the communication channel selected by the communication channel selection unit 20104.
　一方、外部装置の受信制御部２０２０２は、調整要求の送受信によって調整された通信路を使用して、データ通信装置２からの受信データを受信する。 On the other hand, the reception control unit 20202 of the external device receives the received data from the data communication device 2 using the communication path adjusted by the transmission / reception of the adjustment request.
　以上、実施の形態２によれば、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことによって、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。また、従来技術より少ない処理制御により、通信開始までの遅延を小さくすることができる。さらに、着信端末は、用途に対応したアプリケーション等の自動起動や、アプリケーションやＯＳ等の機能を呼び出すことができる。 As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so the required cost can be reduced. In addition, the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art. Furthermore, the receiving terminal can automatically start an application corresponding to the application, and call a function such as an application or an OS.
　（実施の形態３）
　図４及び図５を参照して、実施の形態３に係るホームネットワークシステム３について説明する。図４は、実施の形態３に係るホームネットワークシステム３のブロック図である。 (Embodiment 3)
A home network system 3 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the home network system 3 according to the third embodiment.
　ホームネットワークシステム３は、ホームネットワーク端末３０１、宅内映像サーバ３０２、ホームルータ３０３、及び多重通信路３０４を具備する。 The home network system 3 includes a home network terminal 301, a home video server 302, a home router 303, and a multiplex communication path 304.
　ホームネットワーク端末３０１は、データ通信装置３０１０１、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２、ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３、及びインターネットブラウザ３０１０４を具備する。宅内映像サーバ３０２は、データ通信装置３０２０１を具備する。ホームルータ３０３は、データ通信装置３０３０１、及びブロードバンド通信装置３０３０２を具備する。 The home network terminal 301 includes a data communication device 30101, a video playback application 30102, an IPTV application 30103, and an Internet browser 30104. The home video server 302 includes a data communication device 30201. The home router 303 includes a data communication device 30301 and a broadband communication device 30302.
　ホームネットワーク端末３０１、宅内映像サーバ３０２、及びホームルータ３０３は、多重通信路３０４によって相互に接続されている。また、ホームルータ３０３は、ブロードバンド通信装置３０３０２を介して、宅外通信網に接続されている。 The home network terminal 301, the home video server 302, and the home router 303 are connected to each other by a multiplex communication path 304. The home router 303 is connected to an external communication network via the broadband communication device 30302.
　上記の各部は、通常、ＣＰＵやメモリ等を備えるコンピュータ上で実行されるプログラムとして実現され得る。各部の処理手順は、通常、ソフトウェアで実現され、当該ソフトウェアはＲＯＭ等の記録媒体に記録されている。但し、ハードウェア（専用回路）で実現しても良い。 Each of the above units can be realized as a program that is normally executed on a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like. The processing procedure of each unit is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).
　ホームネットワーク端末３０１、宅内映像サーバ３０２、ホームルータ３０３が各々備えるデータ通信装置３０１０１、データ通信装置３０２０１、データ通信装置３０３０１は、実施の形態１のデータ通信装置１に対応している。 The data communication device 30101, the data communication device 30201, and the data communication device 30301 included in the home network terminal 301, the home video server 302, and the home router 303 correspond to the data communication device 1 of the first embodiment.
　ホームネットワーク端末３０１は、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２、ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３、及びインターネットブラウザ３０１０４等のネットワーク通信を利用したアプリケーションを搭載したユーザ端末である。ディジタルテレビやレコーダ等の家電製品内に同等の機能を有する場合もある。 The home network terminal 301 is a user terminal equipped with an application using network communication such as a video reproduction application 30102, an IPTV application 30103, and an Internet browser 30104. In some cases, home appliances such as digital televisions and recorders have equivalent functions.
　映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２は、宅内映像サーバ３０２に映像配信要求を発信し、宅内映像サーバ３０２からネットワークを介して送信される映像データを受信する。次に、受信した映像データに対して、各種暗号の復号や各種デコード処理を行って、映像再生を行う。なお、映像配信を要求する配信サーバは、宅内映像サーバ３０２に限らず、宅外通信網を介した宅外の映像サーバであっても良い。 The video playback application 30102 transmits a video distribution request to the home video server 302 and receives video data transmitted from the home video server 302 via the network. Next, the received video data is subjected to decryption of various encryptions and various decoding processes to perform video reproduction. The distribution server that requests the video distribution is not limited to the in-home video server 302 but may be a video server outside the home via an external communication network.
　ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３は、ネットワーク放送を視聴するネットワークテレビ視聴を行うアプリケーションである。地上ディジタル放送のネットワーク再送信等、マルチキャストによって配信される映像データを受信し、映像再生を行う。 The IPTV application 30103 is an application for viewing a network television for viewing a network broadcast. It receives video data distributed by multicast, such as digital terrestrial broadcast network retransmission, and plays back video.
　インターネットブラウザ３０１０４は、Ｗｏｒｌｄ　Ｗｉｄｅ　Ｗｅｂ（以降、ＷＷＷとする）の利用、閲覧に供するアプリケーションである。 The Internet browser 30104 is an application provided for use and browsing of the World Wide Web (hereinafter referred to as WWW).
　宅内映像サーバ３０２は、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２からの要求に基づき、映像コンテンツを宅内のネットワークに配信する映像サーバである。映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２に対して、１対１に配信を行うＶＯＤサーバや、１対多の配信を行うマルチキャスト配信サーバのどちらであっても良い。 The home video server 302 is a video server that distributes video content to a home network based on a request from the video playback application 30102. For the video playback application 30102, either a VOD server that performs one-to-one distribution or a multicast distribution server that performs one-to-many distribution may be used.
　ホームルータ３０３は、宅外通信網と宅内通信網を接続する中継機能を有する。本発明に関わる機能の他に、各種ネットワークプロバイダが提供する宅外通信網に接続するブロードバンドルータに相当する機能を有しても良い。 The home router 303 has a relay function for connecting the external communication network and the home communication network. In addition to the functions related to the present invention, it may have a function corresponding to a broadband router connected to an external communication network provided by various network providers.
　ブロードバンド通信装置３０３０２は、宅外通信網と宅内通信網とを接続するために、データパケットの宛先変換等を行う機能を備える。そして、データ通信装置３０３０１との間でデータ通信を行い、データ通信装置３０３０１からの送信データを宅外通信網に転送すると共に、宅外通信網からの受信データをデータ通信装置３０３０１に転送する機能を有する。 The broadband communication apparatus 30302 has a function of performing destination conversion of data packets and the like in order to connect the outside communication network and the home communication network. A function of performing data communication with the data communication apparatus 30301, transferring transmission data from the data communication apparatus 30301 to the outside communication network, and transferring received data from the outside communication network to the data communication apparatus 30301. Have
　多重通信路３０４は、複数の通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅを備える。この通信路Ａ～Ｅは、図２に示される通信路Ａ～Ｅに対応する。多重通信路３０４は、典型的には、ＬＡＮ（Ｌｏｃａｌ　Ａｒｅａ　Ｎｅｔｗｏｒｋ）である。 The multiple communication path 304 includes a plurality of communication paths A, B, C, D, and E. The communication paths A to E correspond to the communication paths A to E shown in FIG. The multiplex communication path 304 is typically a LAN (Local Area Network).
　多重通信路３０４の方式としては、図５に示されるように、物理的に単一な通信線に対して、異なる周波数の搬送波（キャリア）に通信信号を重畳してデータ通信を行う方法がある。また、無線通信を使用して異なる周波数の搬送波（キャリア）に通信信号を重畳してデータ通信を行う方法もあるが、本発明は多重通信路の実現方法を問わない。 As shown in FIG. 5, there is a method of performing data communication by superimposing communication signals on different frequency carriers on a physically single communication line as a method of the multiplex communication path 304. . There is also a method of performing data communication by superimposing communication signals on carriers of different frequencies using wireless communication, but the present invention does not matter how to implement a multiple communication path.
　以下、実施の形態３におけるホームネットワークシステム３の具体的な動作について説明する。 Hereinafter, a specific operation of the home network system 3 in the third embodiment will be described.
　第一に、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２による映像再生について説明する。 First, video playback by the video playback application 30102 will be described.
　まず、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２は、データ通信装置３０１０１に対して、宅内映像サーバ３０２との通信を要求する。 First, the video playback application 30102 requests the data communication device 30101 to communicate with the home video server 302.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２からの要求から用途を判断する。そして、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に蓄積されている用途設定情報から、当該用途に使用する通信路を選択する。このときの用途は、図２に示される「ＶＯＤ視聴」である。そこで、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、当該用途に使用され得る通信路Ｃ、Ｄのうち最も優先度の高い通信路Ｄを選択する。 Next, the data communication apparatus 30101 determines the usage from the request from the video reproduction application 30102. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path to be used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The use at this time is “VOD viewing” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication channel D having the highest priority among the communication channels C and D that can be used for the application.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、通信路Ｄを使用して、宅内映像サーバ３０２に対する映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２からのデータ通信を開始する。 Next, the data communication device 30101 starts data communication from the video reproduction application 30102 to the home video server 302 using the communication path D.
　一方、宅内映像サーバ３０２のデータ通信装置３０２０１は、通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ上の自身への通信要求を監視している。 On the other hand, the data communication device 30201 of the home video server 302 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
　宅内映像サーバ３０２のデータ通信装置３０２０１は、通信路Ｄにおいて自身への通信要求を検知すると、通信路Ｄと用途との対応関係から、映像配信要求と判断する。そして、映像配信機能を呼び出し、映像再生アプリケーション３０１０２への映像配信を開始する。 When the data communication device 30201 of the home video server 302 detects a communication request to itself on the communication path D, the data communication apparatus 30201 determines that it is a video distribution request from the correspondence between the communication path D and the usage. Then, the video distribution function is called, and video distribution to the video reproduction application 30102 is started.
　第二に、ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３によるネットワークテレビ視聴について説明する。 Second, network TV viewing by the IPTV application 30103 will be described.
　ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３は、宅外通信網の任意のネットワークテレビ配信サーバからのデータを受信するために、データ通信装置３０１０１に対して、視聴チャンネルに相当するマルチキャストグループへの参加を要求する。 The IPTV application 30103 requests the data communication apparatus 30101 to participate in a multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel in order to receive data from an arbitrary network television distribution server in the outside communication network.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３からの要求から用途を判断する。そして、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に蓄積されている用途設定情報から、当該用途に使用する通信路を選択する。このときの用途は、図２に示される「ネットワークテレビ視聴」である。そこで、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、当該用途に使用され得る通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃのうち最も優先度の高い通信路Ａを選択する。 Next, the data communication device 30101 determines the usage from the request from the IPTV application 30103. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path to be used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The application at this time is “network television viewing” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication path A having the highest priority among the communication paths A, B, and C that can be used for the application.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、通信路Ａを使用して、ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１に対して、視聴チャンネルに相当するマルチキャストグループへの参加を要求する。 Next, the data communication apparatus 30101 requests the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 to participate in the multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel using the communication path A.
　一方、ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１は、通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ上の自身への通信要求を監視している。 On the other hand, the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
　ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１は、通信路Ａにおいて自身への通信要求を検知すると、通信路Ａと用途との対応関係から、宅外通信網の任意のネットワークテレビ配信サーバのデータ受信要求と判断する。そして、ブロードバンド通信装置３０３０２を介して宅外通信網に対して、視聴チャンネルに相当するマルチキャストグループへの参加を要求する。 When the data communication device 30301 of the home router 303 detects a communication request to itself on the communication path A, the data reception request of any network television distribution server of the outside communication network is determined from the correspondence between the communication path A and the usage. to decide. Then, the remote communication network is requested via the broadband communication apparatus 30302 to participate in the multicast group corresponding to the viewing channel.
　宅外通信網の任意のネットワークテレビ配信サーバが配信するマルチキャストグループへの参加が完了すると、宅外通信網からＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３までの映像配信経路が確保され、ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション３０１０３は通信路Ａを介して映像受信を開始する。 When participation in a multicast group distributed by an arbitrary network television distribution server in the outside communication network is completed, a video distribution route from the outside communication network to the IPTV application 30103 is secured, and the IPTV application 30103 passes through the communication path A. Start video reception.
　第三に、インターネットブラウザ３０１０４によるＷＷＷの利用、Ｗｅｂページの閲覧について説明する。 Third, the use of WWW and browsing of Web pages by the Internet browser 30104 will be described.
　インターネットブラウザ３０１０４は、宅外通信網の任意のＷＷＷサーバからのデータを受信するために、データ通信装置３０１０１に対して、宅外通信網の任意のＷＷＷサーバとの通信を要求する。 The Internet browser 30104 requests the data communication apparatus 30101 to communicate with an arbitrary WWW server on the outside communication network in order to receive data from an arbitrary WWW server on the outside communication network.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、インターネットブラウザ３０１０４からの要求から用途を判断する。そして、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、用途設定情報蓄積部１０１０２に蓄積されている用途設定情報から、当該用途に使用される通信路を選択する。このときの用途は、図２に示される「Ｗｅｂページの閲覧」である。そこで、送信要求判定部１０１０３は、当該用途に使用される通信路Ｅを選択する。 Next, the data communication device 30101 determines the usage from the request from the Internet browser 30104. Then, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects a communication path used for the application from the application setting information stored in the application setting information storage unit 10102. The use at this time is “browsing a Web page” shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission request determination unit 10103 selects the communication path E used for the application.
　次に、データ通信装置３０１０１は、通信路Ｅを使用して、ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１に対して、宅外通信網の任意のＷＷＷサーバとの通信を要求する。 Next, the data communication device 30101 requests the data communication device 30301 of the home router 303 to communicate with an arbitrary WWW server in the outside communication network using the communication path E.
　一方、ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１は、通信路Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ上の自身への通信要求を監視している。 On the other hand, the data communication apparatus 30301 of the home router 303 monitors communication requests to itself on the communication paths A, B, C, D, and E.
　ホームルータ３０３のデータ通信装置３０３０１は、通信路Ｅにおいて自身への通信要求を検知すると、通信路Ｅと用途との対応関係から、宅外通信網の任意のＷＷＷサーバとのデータ通信要求と判断する。そして、ブロードバンド通信装置３０３０２を介して宅外通信網に対して、任意のＷＷＷサーバへの接続を要求する。 When the data communication device 30301 of the home router 303 detects a communication request to itself on the communication path E, the data communication apparatus 30301 determines that it is a data communication request with an arbitrary WWW server in the outside communication network from the correspondence between the communication path E and the usage. To do. Then, a connection to an arbitrary WWW server is requested to the outside communication network via the broadband communication device 30302.
　宅外通信網の任意のＷＷＷサーバへの接続が完了すると、宅外通信網からインターネットブラウザ３０１０４までのデータ通信経路が確保される。そして、インターネットブラウザ３０１０４は、通信路Ｅを介してＷＷＷの利用、Ｗｅｂページの閲覧を開始する。 When the connection to an arbitrary WWW server in the outside communication network is completed, a data communication path from the outside communication network to the Internet browser 30104 is secured. Then, the Internet browser 30104 starts using the WWW and browsing the Web page via the communication path E.
　以上、本実施の形態によれば、通信路と用途との対応付けを行うことによって、通信帯域を保証した通信を行うことができる。また、従来技術と比較して、メモリ容量が少なく、かつＭＰＵなどの処理性能も低く抑えることができるので、所要コストを抑制できる。また、従来技術より少ない処理制御により、通信開始までの遅延を小さくすることができる。さらに、ホームネットワーク端末は、用途に対応したアプリケーション等の自動起動や、アプリケーションやＯＳ等の機能を呼び出すことができる。 As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform communication with a guaranteed communication band by associating a communication path with a use. In addition, compared with the prior art, the memory capacity is small, and the processing performance of the MPU or the like can be kept low, so the required cost can be reduced. In addition, the delay until the start of communication can be reduced with less processing control than in the prior art. Further, the home network terminal can automatically start an application or the like corresponding to the application, or call a function such as an application or an OS.
　また、上記各実施の形態において、各処理（各機能）は、単一の装置（システム）によって集中処理されることによって実現されてもよく、あるいは、複数の装置によって分散処理されることによって実現されてもよい。 In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. May be.
　なお、上記した実施の形態における処理は、専用のＨ／Ｗ（集積回路等）で実現されてもよいし、記憶装置（ＲＯＭ、ＲＡＭ、ハードディスク等）に格納された上述した処理手順を実行可能な所定のプログラムデータが、ＣＰＵによって解釈実行されることで実現されてもよい。 Note that the processing in the above-described embodiment may be realized by a dedicated H / W (integrated circuit or the like), or the above-described processing procedure stored in a storage device (ROM, RAM, hard disk, or the like) can be executed. Such predetermined program data may be realized by being interpreted and executed by the CPU.
　また、集積回路化の手法はＬＳＩ（Ｌａｒｇｅ　Ｓｃａｌｅ　Ｉｎｔｅｇｒａｔｉｏｎ）に限るものではなく、専用回路または汎用プロセッサで実現してもよいし、ＬＳＩ製造後に、プログラムすることが可能なＦＰＧＡ（Ｆｉｅｌｄ　Ｐｒｏｇｒａｍｍａｂｌｅ　Ｇａｔｅ　Ａｒｒａｙ）や、ＬＳＩ内部の回路セルの接続や設定を再構成可能なリコンフィギュラブル・プロセッサを利用してもよい。 Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI (Large Scale Integration), but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor, or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after manufacturing the LSI. Alternatively, a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.
　また、プログラムデータは、記録媒体を介して記憶装置内に導入されてもよいし、記録媒体上から直接実行されてもよい。なお、記録媒体は、ＲＯＭ、ＲＡＭ、フラッシュメモリ等の半導体メモリ、フレキシブルディスクやハードディスク等の磁気ディスクメモリ、ＣＤ－ＲＯＭやＤＶＤやＢＤ等の光ディスクやＳＤカード等のメモリカード等の記録媒体をいう。また、記録媒体は、電話回線や搬送路等の通信媒体も含む概念である。 Further, the program data may be introduced into the storage device via a recording medium, or may be directly executed from the recording medium. The recording medium refers to a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, a magnetic disk memory such as a flexible disk or a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD or BD, or a memory card such as an SD card. . The recording medium is a concept including a communication medium such as a telephone line or a conveyance path.
　本発明は、以上の実施の形態に限定されることなく、種々の変更が可能であり、それらも本発明の範囲内に包含されるものであることは言うまでもない。また、発明の趣旨を逸脱しない範囲で、複数の実施形態における各構成要素を任意に組み合わせても良い。 The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Moreover, you may combine each component in several embodiment arbitrarily in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention.
　本発明は、データ通信装置に有利に利用される。 The present invention is advantageously used for data communication devices.
１，２，３０１０１，３０２０１，３０３０１　データ通信装置
３　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ホームネットワークシステム
１０１，２０１　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　発信部
１０２，２０２　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　着信部
３０１　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ホームネットワーク端末
３０２　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　宅内映像サーバ
３０３　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ホームルータ
３０４　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　多重通信路
１０１０１，１０２０１，２０１０１　　　　　通信路用途設定部
１０１０２，１０２０２，２０１０２　　　　　用途設定情報蓄積部
１０１０３，２０１０３　　　　　　　　　　　送信要求判定部
１０１０４，２０１０５　　　　　　　　　　　送信制御部
１０２０３　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　受信要求判定部
１０２０４，２０２０１　　　　　　　　　　　通信路監視部
１０２０５，２０２０２　　　　　　　　　　　受信制御部
２０１０４　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　通信路選択部
３０１０２　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　映像再生アプリケーション
３０１０３　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ＩＰＴＶアプリケーション
３０１０４　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　インターネットブラウザ
３０３０２　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ブロードバンド通信装置 1, 2, 30101, 30201, 30301 Data communication device 3 Home network system 101, 201 Transmission unit 102, 202 Incoming unit 301 Home network terminal 302 In-home video server 303 Home router 304 Multiple communication channel 10101, 10201, 20101 Communication channel application setting Unit 10102, 10202, 20102 Application setting information storage unit 10103, 20103 Transmission request determination unit 10104, 20105 Transmission control unit 10203 Reception request determination unit 10204, 20201 Communication path monitoring unit 10205, 20202 Reception control unit 20104 Communication path selection unit 30102 Video reproduction The app Application 30103 IPTV application 30104 Internet browser 30302 Broadband communication device

Claims (11)

  1. 　複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、当該外部装置とデータ通信を行うデータ通信装置であって、
    　前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部と、
    　用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定部と、
    　前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御部とを備える
    　データ通信装置。     A data communication device connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and performing data communication with the external device,
    A use setting information storage unit that stores use setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths;
    A transmission request determination unit that receives a transmission request including information for identifying a use, and determines the communication path used for the use from the use setting information;
    A data communication apparatus comprising: a transmission control unit that receives transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit.
  2. 　前記用途設定情報は、前記用途と、当該用途に使用され得る複数の前記通信路と、前記複数の通信路相互間の優先度との対応関係を示しており、
    　前記送信要求判定部は、前記用途に使用され得る複数の通信路のうち、使用可能で且つ前記優先度が最も高い前記通信路を、当該用途に使用される前記通信路であると判定する
    　請求項１に記載のデータ通信装置。     The application setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the application, the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the application, and the priority between the plurality of communication paths,
    The transmission request determination unit determines that the communication path that can be used and has the highest priority among the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the application is the communication path that is used for the application. Item 4. The data communication device according to Item 1.
  3. 　前記用途設定情報は、前記用途と、当該用途に使用され得る複数の前記通信路との対応関係を示しており、
    　前記送信要求判定部は、前記用途に使用され得る複数の通信路のうち、２以上の前記通信路を当該用途に使用される前記通信路であると判定し、
    　前記送信制御部は、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記２以上の通信路を１つの仮想的な通信路として前記送信データを送信する
    　請求項１又は２に記載のデータ通信装置。     The usage setting information indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and the plurality of communication paths that can be used for the usage,
    The transmission request determination unit determines that two or more of the communication paths that can be used for the application are the communication paths used for the application,
    The data communication device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit transmits the transmission data using the two or more communication paths determined by the transmission request determination unit as one virtual communication path.
  4. 　該データ通信装置は、さらに、
    　前記複数の通信路からの受信要求を監視し、前記受信要求を受け付けた前記通信路を選択する通信路監視部と、
    　前記通信路監視部によって選択された前記通信路から受信データを受信する受信制御部とを備える
    　請求項１～３のいずれか１項に記載のデータ通信装置。     The data communication device further includes:
    A communication path monitoring unit that monitors reception requests from the plurality of communication paths and selects the communication path that has received the reception requests;
    The data communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a reception control unit that receives reception data from the communication channel selected by the communication channel monitoring unit.
  5. 　前記用途設定情報は、さらに、前記用途と、当該用途に使用されるアプリケーションとの対応関係を示しており、
    　該データ通信装置は、さらに、前記受信要求から取得される用途に使用される前記アプリケーションを前記用途設定情報から特定し、当該アプリケーションに対して前記受信要求の受信を通知する受信要求判定部を備える
    　請求項４に記載のデータ通信装置。     The usage setting information further indicates a correspondence relationship between the usage and the application used for the usage,
    The data communication apparatus further includes a reception request determination unit that identifies the application used for a use acquired from the reception request from the use setting information and notifies the application of reception of the reception request. The data communication apparatus according to claim 4.
  6. 　該データ通信装置は、さらに、前記送信制御部によって前記送信データが送信されるのに先立って、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いてデータ通信を行うことを示す調整要求を外部装置に送信する通信路選択部を備える
    　請求項１に記載のデータ通信装置。     The data communication apparatus further includes an adjustment request indicating that data communication is performed using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit before the transmission data is transmitted by the transmission control unit. The data communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a communication path selection unit that transmits to an external device.
  7. 　該データ通信装置は、さらに、
    　前記通信路から受信データを受信する受信制御部と、
    　前記調整要求で示される前記通信路からの前記受信データを前記受信制御部に受信させる通信路監視部とを備える
    　請求項６に記載のデータ通信装置。     The data communication device further includes:
    A reception control unit that receives reception data from the communication path;
    The data communication apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: a communication path monitoring unit that causes the reception control unit to receive the reception data from the communication path indicated by the adjustment request.
  8. 　請求項１～７のいずれか１項に記載のデータ通信装置と、
    　前記複数の通信路を介して前記データ通信装置と接続される外部装置とを備える
    　ホームネットワークシステム。     A data communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
    A home network system comprising: an external device connected to the data communication device via the plurality of communication paths.
  9. 　複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせるデータ通信方法であって、
    　用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定ステップと、
    　前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定ステップで判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御ステップとを含む
    　データ通信方法。     Data that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and causes a data communication apparatus including a use setting information storage unit that stores use setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths to perform data communication with the external device. A communication method,
    A transmission request determination step for receiving a transmission request including information for identifying a use, and determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information;
    A data communication method comprising: a transmission control step of receiving transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
  10. 　複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせるプログラムであって、
    　用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定ステップと、
    　前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定ステップで判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御ステップとを含む
    　プログラム。     A program that is connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and causes a data communication apparatus having a use setting information storage unit that stores use setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths to perform data communication with the external device. Because
    A transmission request determination step for receiving a transmission request including information for identifying a use, and determining the communication path used for the use from the use setting information;
    And a transmission control step of receiving transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmitting the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined in the transmission request determination step.
  11. 　複数の通信路を介して外部装置に接続され、前記複数の通信路それぞれの用途を示す用途設定情報を蓄積する用途設定情報蓄積部を備えるデータ通信装置に、外部装置とデータ通信を行わせる集積回路であって、
    　用途を識別する情報を含む送信要求を受け付け、前記用途設定情報から当該用途に使用される前記通信路を判定する送信要求判定部と、
    　前記送信要求に対応する送信データを受け付け、前記送信要求判定部によって判定された前記通信路を用いて外部装置に当該送信データを送信する送信制御部とを含む
    　集積回路。     Integration that allows a data communication device connected to an external device via a plurality of communication paths and having a use setting information storage unit that stores use setting information indicating the use of each of the plurality of communication paths to perform data communication with the external device. A circuit,
    A transmission request determination unit that receives a transmission request including information for identifying a use and determines the communication path used for the use from the use setting information;
    An integrated circuit including a transmission control unit that receives transmission data corresponding to the transmission request and transmits the transmission data to an external device using the communication path determined by the transmission request determination unit.
PCT/JP2009/006684 2009-05-18 2009-12-08 Data communication apparatus, home network system, data communication method, program, integrated circuit WO2010134145A1 (en)

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