WO2021161493A1 - Wireless communication device and wireless communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method that enable improvement of transmission efficiency as well as realization of equivalent communication quality (delay) for a plurality of services. [Solution] Provided are a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method, in which: a multiplexing communication function section 24 of a transmission process unit generates multiplexed cells by dividing divisible IP packets among IP packets of a plurality of types of services, and acquires, connects, and outputs to an output scheduler 25 a plurality of multiplexed cells in accordance with a transmission capacity determined on the basis of a current communication system and a current wireless line state; and a wireless access control unit 12 acquires connected information, and configures and transmits a frame, whereby the proportion of a preamble or a header can be reduced as compared to a case when a frame is generated for each of the IP packets.

Description

Wireless communication device and wireless communication method

The present invention relates to a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method that communicate using one of a plurality of communication methods, and can guarantee communication quality for a plurality of services while improving the efficiency of wireless transmission in particular. Regarding possible wireless communication devices and wireless communication methods.

[Explanation of prior art]
The different types of data that exist on a network have different properties and require different qualities. For example, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is required to continuously secure a certain bandwidth although the data size is small. If this is not achieved, audio fluctuations and delays will occur.
In addition, the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) data of e-mail does not require a certain bandwidth, and the influence of delay and the like is not so large. However, when packet loss occurs, data is retransmitted, and the increase in traffic may affect other data communications.

To deal with these problems, the type of communication such as voice communication such as VoIP and mail communication is defined as a service, and the communication band and data output priority are determined according to the type of service, and the quality is appropriate for each service. The technology that guarantees the above is QoS (Quality of Service).

[Outline of QoS: Fig. 9]
The outline of QoS will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of QoS.
As shown in FIG. 9, the required quality differs depending on the type of service such as voice, video, and mail.
In order to realize QoS, there are two functions: (1) a priority discrimination function that discriminates services and stores data for each category (service type, category), and (2) a scheduling function that controls the output order of data. You will need it.

As a priority determination function, a method called Differentiated Services is adopted, and as a scheduling function, a PQ (Priority Queuing) or LLQ (Low Latency Quality) scheduling method is generally adopted.

In the example of FIG. 9, in a communication system in which the network shown on the left side of the figure and the network shown on the right side are connected by a communication line (for example, a wired line such as an optical cable), the communication device 61 provided in the network on the left side (for example, a wired line such as an optical cable). For example, by providing the above-mentioned priority determination function and scheduling function in a router that relays packets between networks), communication in the network on the right side from a communication terminal (IP telephone terminal, PC, etc.) in the network on the left side. It realizes QoS for transmission data (IP packet) to the terminal.

Further, in a wireless network constructed by IEEE802.11 (wireless LAN (Local Area Network)), a method called EDCA (Enhanced Distributed Channel Access) that controls the wireless transmission standby time according to the priority of data is the mainstream. It has become.

[Conventional communication device: FIG. 10]
In a conventional communication device, QoS is realized by a QoS function unit provided in a network unit that serves as an interface with a communication terminal.
The configuration of the conventional QoS functional unit will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a conventional QoS functional unit.
As shown in FIG. 10, the QoS function unit includes an input scheduler 81 arranged in a packet input unit that receives an input of an IP packet, and a packet queue 82 for each priority (by service) that stores the input IP packet. It has an output scheduler 83 provided in a packet output unit that extracts an IP packet from the packet queue 82.
The input scheduler 81 realizes a QoS priority determination function by Differentiated Services or the like. Further, the output scheduler 83 realizes a data scheduling function by the PQ method.

When the IP packet is input, the input scheduler 81 adds (inserts) data to the corresponding packet queue 82 according to the value (type of service) of the TOS (Type of Service) field of the IP packet.
The output scheduler 83 extracts IP packets in order from the packet queue 82 having the highest priority and passes them to the wireless access control unit. Further, the wireless standby time of each packet queue 82 is passed to the wireless access control unit.

[Wireless LAN frame: FIG. 11]
The schematic configuration of the wireless LAN frame will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless LAN frame.
As shown in FIG. 11, the frame of the wireless LAN is composed of a frame header, an IP packet header, and an IP packet payload.
The IP packet is composed of an IP packet header (20 bytes) and an IP packet payload (4 bytes to 1480 bytes).
The IP packet header includes information such as a TOS indicating the service type of the packet, a packet length, a packet ID, a source IP address, and a destination IP address.

[Conventional transmission frame: FIG. 12]
Next, the transmission frame in the conventional communication device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional transmission frame.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the conventional transmission frame, a frame is created in units of IP packets. That is, a preamble and various headers are added to each IP packet, and an FCS (Frame Check Sequence: error detection code) is added at the end.

Therefore, when the IP packet size is small, the overhead such as preamble and header information becomes large.
In particular, in the case of short data such as VoIP (voice) and response acknowledgment (ACK), the efficiency is significantly reduced.

[Related technology]
As a prior art relating to a communication device, there is Japanese Patent No. 4838956 (Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 describes a communication device that determines the number of connected IP packets according to the usage rate of subcarriers when transmitting using any of a plurality of communication methods.

Japanese Patent No. 4838956

As described above, in the conventional wireless communication device, a transmission frame is created for each IP packet. Therefore, when the IP packet size is small, the ratio of preambles, headers, etc. increases, and the transmission efficiency decreases. There was a problem.

Further, in the conventional wireless communication device, the communication quality is guaranteed by changing the priority for each service. Therefore, when the same communication quality (delay) is required for a plurality of services, the quality is guaranteed. There was a problem that it was difficult.

Note that Patent Document 1 does not describe that IP packets of a plurality of types of services are divided, multiplexed, and transmitted according to the transmission capacity determined by the communication method or the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method capable of improving transmission efficiency and guaranteeing equivalent communication quality for a plurality of services. ..

The present invention for solving the problems of the above-mentioned conventional example is a communication device that communicates using any one of a plurality of communication methods, and a transmission processing unit that performs transmission processing performs wireless transmission. Whether or not the input IP packet can be divided, the transmission unit, the packet queue that performs QoS processing of the undividable IP packet, the multiplexing communication function unit that divides and concatenates the divisible IP packet, and whether or not the input IP packet can be divided. Is determined, and if it cannot be divided, it is output to the packet queue, and if it can be divided, it is output to the multiplexing communication function unit. The multiplexing communication function unit divides the divisible IP packet input from the data type determination unit to generate a multiplexed cell, and the radio set at the time of transmission is provided. Multiple multiplexed cells are concatenated according to the communication capacity specified according to the communication method, and output to the output scheduler.

Further, in the above communication device, the present invention includes a frame / cell conversion unit in which the multiplexing communication function unit divides an input IP packet to generate a multiplexed cell, and a transmission information cell queue holding the multiplexed cell. , Among the multiplexed cells, the retransmission cell queue that holds the ones that may be retransmitted, and the output scheduler that acquires and concatenates multiple multiplexed cells from the retransmission cell queue and transmission information cell queue according to the communication capacity at the time of transmission. It is equipped with a cell connection unit that outputs to.

Further, in the above-mentioned communication device, in the above-mentioned communication device, the cell connecting unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue at the time of transmission.

Further, in the above communication device, the cell connecting unit acquires a multiplexed cell from the transmission information cell queue when the amount of data of the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted acquired from the retransmission cell queue is less than the communication capacity. , The multiplexed cell acquired from the transmission cell queue and the multiplexed cell acquired from the transmission information cell queue are concatenated and output.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above communication device, the output scheduler acquires an indivisible IP packet from the packet queue when the amount of data of the connected multiplexed cells from the cell connection unit is less than the communication capacity. , Output with concatenated multiplexed cells.

Further, the present invention is a communication method in a communication device that communicates using any one of a plurality of communication methods, and a transmission processing unit determines whether or not the input IP packet can be divided. If it can be divided, the IP packet is divided to generate a multiplexed cell, and a plurality of multiplexed cells are concatenated according to the communication capacity specified according to the set wireless communication method and transmitted.

Further, in the above communication method, the present invention is divided when the transmission processing unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted and the amount of data of the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted is less than the communication capacity. A multiplexed cell is acquired, and the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted and the divided multiplexed cell are concatenated and transmitted.

Further, in the above-mentioned communication method, in the above-mentioned communication method, the transmission processing unit acquires an indivisible IP packet when the amount of data of the concatenated multiplexed cell is less than the communication capacity, and the concatenated multiplexed cell. Send with.

According to the present invention, a communication device that communicates using any one of a plurality of communication methods, and a transmission processing unit that performs transmission processing is a transmission unit that performs wireless transmission and an indivisible IP packet. The packet queue that performs QoS processing, the multiplexing communication function unit that divides and concatenates the splittable IP packets, and determines whether the input IP packet can be split, and if it cannot be split. A data type determination unit that outputs to the packet queue and outputs to the multiplexing communication function unit if it can be divided, and an output scheduler that acquires data from the packet queue and the multiplexing communication function unit and outputs it to the transmitting unit as transmission data. The multiplexing communication function unit divides the divisible IP packet input from the data type determination unit to generate a multiplexing cell, and at the time of transmission, the communication specified according to the set wireless communication method. Since it is a communication device that connects multiple multiplexed cells according to the capacity and outputs it to the output scheduler, even IP packets of different services can be concatenated and transmitted in the same frame. Compared to the case where a frame is generated for each IP packet, the ratio of preambles and headers is suppressed to improve transmission efficiency, the same QoS (delay) can be realized for multiple services, and the amount of data according to the communication capacity. There is an effect that the transmission efficiency can be further improved by transmitting with.

Further, according to the present invention, the multiplexing communication function unit multiplexes the frame / cell conversion unit that divides the input IP packet to generate the multiplexed cell, the transmission information cell queue that holds the multiplexed cell, and the multiplexing. Of the cells, the retransmission cell queue that holds the cells that may be resent, and at the time of transmission, multiple multiplexed cells are acquired from the retransmission cell queue and transmission information cell queue according to the communication capacity, concatenated, and output to the output scheduler. Since the communication device is provided with the cell connecting portion, the multiplexed cells can be connected and retransmitted as needed, which has an effect of guaranteeing the reliability of communication.

Further, according to the present invention, since the cell connecting unit is the above-mentioned communication device that preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue at the time of transmission, the multiplexed cell requiring retransmission is preferentially transmitted. This has the effect of guaranteeing the reliability of communication.

Further, according to the present invention, it is a communication method in a communication device that communicates using any one of a plurality of communication methods, and the transmission processing unit determines whether or not the input IP packet can be divided. If it can be divided, the IP packet is divided to generate a multiplexed cell, and a plurality of multiplexed cells are concatenated according to the communication capacity specified according to the set wireless communication method to transmit. Since this method is used, even IP packets of different services can be transmitted in the same frame by concatenating the multiplexed cells, and the ratio of preambles and headers can be reduced compared to the case where a frame is generated for each IP packet. It is possible to suppress and improve the transmission efficiency, realize the same QoS (delay) for a plurality of services, and further improve the transmission efficiency by transmitting the data amount according to the communication capacity.

Further, according to the present invention, the transmission processing unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted, and when the amount of data of the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted is less than the communication capacity, the multiplexed cell is divided. Is used as the above-mentioned communication method in which the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted and the divided multiplexed cell are concatenated and transmitted. Therefore, the multiplexed cell requiring retransmission can be preferentially transmitted, and the communication reliability can be obtained. It has the effect of guaranteeing sex.

It is a block diagram of the structure of this communication device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the QoS function part 15 of this communication apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the concept of the transmission frame of this communication device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the format of a multiplexed cell. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the transmission part of the multiplexing communication function part 24. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the user information table. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the receiving part of the multiplexing communication function part 24. It is a sequence diagram which shows the example of the data acquisition at the time of communication. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of QoS. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the conventional QoS functional part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the frame of a wireless LAN. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional transmission frame.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Outline of Embodiment]
In the wireless communication device (the present communication device) according to the embodiment of the present invention, at the time of transmission, the cell division unit divides IP packets of a plurality of services, and the cell connection unit divides the information (multiplexed cell). Is acquired according to the transmittable capacity determined by the current communication method and wireless line status, multiplexed (concatenated) and output to the output scheduler, and the wireless access control unit acquires the concatenated information from the output scheduler. Then, the frame is constructed and transmitted, and even if there is a small IP packet, it can be inserted into the same frame as other information and transmitted, so that the transmission efficiency can be improved and a plurality of IP packets can be transmitted. It is possible to realize the same communication quality (delay) for the above services.

Further, in this communication device, the cell connecting unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell that needs to be retransmitted, and if there is a margin in the transmittable capacity, it acquires the multiplexed cell other than the retransmission, and if there is a further margin, it acquires the multiplexed cell other than the retransmission. , The output scheduler is designed to acquire undivided IP packets, and it is possible to improve the transmission efficiency by effectively utilizing the transmittable capacity while guaranteeing the reliability of communication.

[Configuration of this communication device: Fig. 1]
The configuration of this communication device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of the communication device.
As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 1 includes a network unit 11, a wireless access control unit 12, a wireless signal processing unit 13, and a high frequency unit 14.
The network unit 11 mainly serves as an interface with a communication terminal 2 or a control terminal 3 such as an IP telephone terminal or a PC, and exchanges IP packets with the wireless access control unit 12 and sets a communication method.

Further, as will be described later, the network unit 11 of the present device obtains the communicable capacity (transmissible capacity, communication capacity) that increases or decreases according to the communication method and the line condition, and notifies the wireless access control unit 12.

The wireless access control unit 12 monitors whether the wireless line is in use, and if it is available (the line is unused), outputs the IP packet input from the network unit 11 to the wireless signal processing unit 13. .. Further, in wireless communication, it is determined whether or not the data has reached the other party reliably, and if necessary, retransmission control is performed.

The radio signal processing unit 13 and the high frequency unit 14 perform processing such as correction code addition and modulation on the IP packet input from the radio access control unit 12 and transmit the IP packet to the radio space by the antenna.
In the configuration of the communication device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the portion that performs transmission processing corresponds to the transmission processing unit described in claim, and the wireless access control unit 12, the wireless signal processing unit 13, and the high frequency unit 14 are combined. Corresponds to the transmitter described in the claims.

The network unit 11 further includes a QoS function unit 15 and a communication method function unit 16.
The QoS function unit 15 performs processing for guaranteeing communication quality, and is provided with an input scheduler, a packet queue, and an output scheduler as in the conventional case, and features a data type determination unit 22 and multiplexing as features of the present device. It is provided with a communication function unit 24.
Further, the QoS function unit 15 of this communication device acquires an amount of data corresponding to the communication capacity specified from the wireless access control unit 12 at the time of transmission and outputs the data to the wireless access control unit 12.

The data type determination unit 22 reads the source IP address from the header of the input IP packet, inquires the multiplexing communication function unit 24 whether or not the multiplexing is possible, and distributes and outputs the IP packet based on the result. do.
Here, "multiplexing" means once dividing an IP packet into a specific length and concatenating a plurality of the divided data (cells).
The operation of the data type determination unit 22 will be described later.

The multiplexing communication function unit 24 divides the IP packet into a predetermined length for the IP packet that can be multiplexed, generates a multiplexing cell, concatenates the IP packet, and outputs the IP packet to the wireless access control unit 12.
Further, the multiplexing communication function unit 24 holds, among the multiplexing cells to be transmitted, those having a possibility of retransmission for retransmission.
The multiplexed communication function unit 24 will be described later.

The communication method function unit 16 controls to switch the communication method based on the information about the communication method and the line state from the control terminal 3.
Specifically, the communication method function unit 16 receives, for example, when communication method instruction information for instructing a communication method (access method) or a data carrier used for wireless communication is input from a dedicated control terminal 3. The settings of the wireless access control unit 12, the wireless signal processing unit 13, and the high frequency unit 14 are switched according to the input communication method instruction information. Setting information corresponding to a plurality of communication methods is stored in advance in each part of the communication device.
This makes it possible to change the communication method while the power is turned on.

Further, the communication method function unit 16 obtains a communication capacity (transmission capacity) according to the determined communication method, and notifies the wireless access control unit 12.
The communication capacity may be stored in advance in association with the communication method, or may be calculated. The calculation can be performed by, for example, the same method as in Patent Document 1.

[Outline of the QoS function unit 15 of this communication device: FIG. 2]
Next, the outline of the QoS function unit 15 of this communication device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the QoS function unit 15 of the communication device.
As shown in FIG. 2, the QoS function unit 15 of the network unit 11 of the communication device includes an input scheduler 21, a data type determination unit 22, a packet queue 23, a multiplexing communication function unit 24, and an output scheduler 25. It has.
Of these, the data type determination unit 22 and the multiplexing communication function unit 24 are newly provided. In addition, the operation of the output scheduler 25 is partially different from the conventional one.

The operation of the QoS function unit 15 will be briefly described.
In the QoS function unit 15 of this communication device, the IP packet input from the input scheduler 21 is sorted by the data type determination unit 22 depending on whether or not it can be multiplexed, and if multiplexing is possible, the multiplexing communication function unit 24 If it is not possible to multiplex, it is output to the packet queue 23 and stored in the queue for each type of service as in the conventional case.
Here, the demultiplexable / non-multiplexable corresponds to the divisible / non-dividable described in the claims.

The IP packet input to the multiplexing communication function unit 24 is divided into a plurality of multiplexing cells and stored in a queue.
Then, when there is a request for data acquisition from the wireless access control unit 12, the output scheduler 25 acquires data from the multiplexing communication function unit 24 and the packet queue 23 and outputs the data to the wireless access control unit 12.
At that time, the output scheduler 25 preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell of the multiplexing communication function unit 24, and if there is a margin in the transmission capacity (if the transmission capacity is not satisfied), further acquires an IP packet from the packet queue. I try to do it. This operation will be described later.

[Concept of transmission frame of this communication device: Fig. 3]
Next, the concept of the transmission frame of the communication device will be described with reference to FIG. 3A and 3B are explanatory views showing the concept of a transmission frame of the communication device, where FIG. 3A shows a conventional transmission frame and FIG. 3B shows a transmission frame of the communication device.
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), since the transmission frame was conventionally created for each IP packet, the ratio of the preamble and header information was large, but as shown in (b), the communication device of the present communication device. In the transmission frame, a plurality of IP packets are multiplexed and inserted into one transmission frame.

That is, a plurality of IP packets having different destinations and services are inserted in the multiplexed frame shown in FIG. 3 (b). As a result, the amount of information in the preamble and header can be significantly reduced, and the transmission efficiency can be improved.
In particular, when a small IP packet such as VoIP or a confirmation response is transmitted, the effect of improving efficiency becomes significantly large.
Further, even if the same communication quality (delay) is required for a plurality of services, it can be satisfied.

[Multiplexed cell format: Fig. 4]
Here, the format of the multiplexing cell inserted in the multiplexing frame will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the format of the multiplexed cell.
The multiplexing cell is information obtained by dividing an IP packet into a predetermined length and adding a header, and is generated by the multiplexing communication function unit 24.

The upper part of FIG. 4 shows the IP packet data (including the IP packet header) input to the multiplexing communication function unit 24. The data of the IP packet has a size of 24 bytes to 1500 bytes.

When generating a multiplexed cell, the IP packet data is divided into 64 bytes to generate a FragmentIPv4 Packet, and a header is added to each. In the example of FIG. 4, N multiplexed cells (multiplexed cells # 1 to # N) are generated by dividing the original IP packet into N packets and adding a header.

The contents of the header of the multiplexed cell will be described.
The header portion of the multiplexed cell includes an 8-byte Destination Node Address field, a 2-byte Frame Cont field, a 5-byte userID field, a 1-byte User ARQ field, and a 16-byte User Sequence Number field.

The Destination Node Address is information indicating the destination communication station address.
The Frame Cont is information indicating the start cell, intermediate cell, end cell, or single cell of the divided IP packet, and is used when the receiving side restores the multiplexed cell to the original IP packet.

The userID is information for identifying the source user (communication station in the own network).
User ARQ (Auto Repeat reQuest) is information that specifies whether or not a confirmation response is requested.
The User Sequence Number is information indicating a cell number, and is managed for each userID described above.
The Fragment IPv4 Packet is the information of the IP packet divided into a predetermined length (64 bytes in this case), and the IP header is always inserted in the first cell or the single cell.

In this way, since the destination and the order of the multiplexed cells are specified for each of the multiplexed cells generated by the communication device, even if they are inserted into different frames and transmitted, they are properly transmitted and received. It is a thing.

[Structure of Multiplexed Communication Function Unit (Transmitting Unit): Fig. 5]
The multiplexed communication function unit 24 of this communication device mainly includes a transmission function unit (transmission unit) that performs transmission processing and a reception function unit (reception unit) that performs reception processing. First, the configuration of the transmission unit of the multiplexing communication function unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a transmission unit of the multiplexing communication function unit 24.
As shown in FIG. 5, the transmission unit of the multiplexing communication function unit 24 includes a communication control unit 31, a frame / cell conversion unit 34, a transmission information cell queue 35, a retransmission cell queue 36, and a cell connection unit 37. ing.

Before explaining each part of the transmission part of the multiplexing communication function part 24, the operation of the data type determination part 22 will be described.
The data type determination unit 22 outputs the source IP address of the input IP packet to the communication control unit 31 of the multiplexing communication function unit 24, inquires whether multiplexing is possible (multiplexing enabled / disabled), and inquires. Based on the information on enabling / disabling multiplexing from the communication control unit 31, IP packets are distributed to the packet queue 23 or the frame / cell conversion unit 34. Multiplexing valid / invalid corresponds to the divisible / non-dividable described in the claims.
Specifically, when the data type determination unit 22 receives the multiplexing valid from the communication control unit 31, it outputs the IP packet to the frame / cell conversion unit 34, and when it receives the multiplexing invalid. , Output to the packet queue 23.

The communication control unit 31 controls multiplexing and retransmission.
Further, the communication control unit 31 includes a user information table 32 and a multiplexing-compatible node information table 33 as information for determining whether or not the IP packet input to the QoS function unit 15 can be multiplexed. ..

[Example of user information table: Fig. 6]
Here, an example of the user information table 32 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user information table.
The user information table 32 stores the IP address of the source that can be multiplexed and the information of valid / invalid retransmission for each user (IP address).
As shown in FIG. 6, the user information table 32 stores a user number, a source IP address, and valid / invalid resending (with / without resending) in association with each other.

That is, the IP packet transmitted from the user registered in the user information table 32 can be divided into multiplexed cells, and the IP packet from the user whose retransmission validity is stored is retransmitted. Indicates that there is a possibility of.

The multiplexing-compatible node information table 33 stores information on the multiplexing-compatible node among the communication stations to be communicated with. The information on the multiplexing-compatible node is obtained by extracting the information on the multiplexing-enabled node from the node information (node address and multiplexing enabled / disabled) notified from the wireless access control unit 12.
Here, "multiplexing enabled" for a node means that the original IP packet can be restored when a multiplexed frame is received, and the "multiplexing-enabled node" has a configuration that enables it. Indicates a node.

Then, the communication control unit 31 determines whether or not the source IP address input from the data type determination unit 22 is registered in the user information table 32, and further, the multiplexing support node information table 33 is supported for multiplexing. Determine if one or more node information is stored.

When the source IP address is registered in the user information table 32 and the information on the multiplexing-compatible node is stored in the multiplexing-compatible node information table 33, the communication control unit 31 is a data type determination unit. Outputs multiplexing enabled (multiplexable) for 22.
In other cases, the multiplexing invalidity (multiplexing impossible) is output.

Further, the communication control unit 31 outputs the retransmission valid / invalid information set for each user to the transmission information cell queue 35 described later.

The frame / cell conversion unit 34 divides the frame of the input IP packet as shown in FIG. 4, generates a plurality of multiplexed cells, and outputs the plurality of multiplexed cells to the transmission information cell queue 35. If the original IP packet is short, only one multiplexed cell may be generated (single cell).
The frame / cell conversion unit 34 corresponds to the cell division unit described above.

The transmission information cell queue 35 stores the multiplexed cell for transmission.
The retransmission cell queue 36 stores multiplexed cells that may be retransmitted.
Further, the retransmission cell queue 36 acquires a frame number list from the wireless access control unit 12 via the cell connecting unit 37, and holds the multiplexed cell input from the transmission information cell queue 35 in association with the frame number. back. Then, when the frame number that needs to be retransmitted is specified by the wireless access control unit 12, the corresponding multiplexed cell is output.

When the data acquisition request from the wireless access control unit 12 is input, the cell concatenation unit 37 acquires the multiplexed cells from the retransmission cell queue 36 and the transmission information cell queue 35, concatenates them, and outputs them to the output scheduler 25 as concatenated cells. ..

At that time, the cell connecting unit 37 acquires the multiplexed cell so that the amount of data is as close as possible to the transmission capacity. The transmission capacity is determined in the communication method function unit 16 according to the communication method, bandwidth, and line condition, and is notified from the wireless access control unit 12 to the cell connection unit 37 when a data acquisition request is made.
As described above, in this communication device, the transmission efficiency is further improved by inserting and transmitting data up to the upper limit of the transmission capacity.
Further, the cell connecting unit 37 preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell that needs to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue 36, and if there is a margin in the transmission capacity, acquires the multiplexed cell from the transmission information cell queue 35.

[Operation during transmission of the multiplexing communication function unit: Fig. 5]
The operation of the data type determination unit 22 and the multiplexing communication function unit 24 at the time of transmission will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.
When an IP packet is input to the QoS function unit 15 of the network unit 11 shown in FIG. 1, the data type determination unit 22 shown in FIG. 5 sends the IP packet to the communication control unit 31 of the multiplexing communication function unit 24. Inquire whether multiplexing is possible by attaching the source IP address.

The communication control unit 31 determines whether or not the input source IP address is registered in the user information table 32, and whether or not the information of the multiplexing compatible node is stored in the multiplexing compatible node information table 33. , When the source IP address is registered in the user information table 32 and the node information is stored in the multiplexing support mode information table 33, the IP packet is considered to be configurable (multiplexing enabled) and the data type. Respond to the determination unit 22.
If the source IP address is not registered in the user information table 32 or the node information is not stored in the multiplexing-compatible node information table 33, a response is made as non-multiplexing (multiplexing invalid).

If the IP packet is multiplexing enabled, it is output to the frame / cell conversion unit 34 by the data type determination unit 22, and if the IP packet is multiplexing disabled, it is output to the packet queue 23 similar to the conventional one. ..
The IP packet input to the frame / cell conversion unit 34 is divided into multiplexed cells and stored in the transmission information cell queue 35.

Further, the communication control unit 31 monitors the frame / cell conversion unit 34, and when an IP packet is input, acquires user information (source IP address), refers to the user information table 32, and refers to each user. Retransmission valid / invalid information is stored in the transmission information cell queue 35.
That is, the transmission information cell queue 35 waits in a state in which the multiplexed cell to which the retransmission valid / invalid information is attached is stored.

Then, when there is a data acquisition request from the wireless access control unit 12, the output scheduler 25 first acquires data from the multiplexing communication function unit 24 before acquiring data from the packet queue 23.
At that time, the output scheduler 25 acquires a list of frame numbers assigned by the wireless access control unit 12 at the time of transmission, and stores the list in the retransmission cell queue 36 via the cell connection unit 37.

Then, the cell connection unit 37 associates the multiplexed cell of the transmission information cell queue 35 to be acquired with the frame number in the frame number list. At the same time, it is confirmed whether or not the multiplexed cell to be acquired is resending valid, and if retransmission is valid, the multiplexed cell is inserted into the retransmission cell queue 36 and the frame number list is updated.
As a result, when a retransmission request with a frame number is received from the receiving device, the multiplexed cell to be resent is specified.

After that, the cell connection unit 37 acquires and concatenates the multiplexed cells according to the communication capacity specified by the wireless access control unit 12, and outputs the concatenated multiplexed cells (concatenated cells) to the output scheduler 25. ..

Here, the acquisition cell connecting unit 37 preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell corresponding to the retransmission frame number designated by the wireless access control unit 12 from the retransmission cell queue 36. Then, if there is still a margin in the capacity, the multiplexed cell to be newly transmitted is acquired from the transmission information cell queue 35 and concatenated.
If the communication capacity is still sufficient even after concatenating the multiplexed cells (retransmission, non-retransmission), the output scheduler 25 acquires the IP packet from the packet queue 23 and the wireless access control unit together with the concatenated cell. Output to 12.
In this way, the operation at the time of transmission in this communication device is performed.

In the above example, the concatenated cell or IP packet is inserted until the communication capacity reaches the upper limit regardless of the destination. However, the retransmission control is effective in the communication method and is stored in the packet queue 23. When the destination of the IP packet is a unicast address, the output scheduler 25 acquires and transmits a multiplexed cell or an IP packet having a matching destination.
Otherwise, it will be retrieved and sent regardless of the destination.

[Structure of Multiplexed Communication Function Unit (Receiver Unit): FIG. 7]
Next, the configuration of the receiving unit of the multiplexed communication function unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a receiving unit of the multiplexed communication function unit 24.
As shown in FIG. 7, the receiving unit of the multiplexing communication function unit 24 includes a cell decomposition unit 41, a reception information cell queue 42, and a cell / frame conversion unit 43.
The cell decomposition unit 41 decomposes the received concatenated cell into a multiplexed cell.
The reception information cell queue 42 stores the decomposed multiplexed cells.
The cell / frame conversion unit 43 appropriately acquires the multiplexed cell from the received information cell queue and restores the IP packet.

The operation of the multiplexed communication function unit (reception unit) will be described.
The concatenated cells received and demodulated by the antenna, the high frequency unit 14, and the radio signal processing unit 13 in FIG. 1 are input to the cell decomposition unit 41, decomposed into their respective multiplexed cells, and stored in the reception information cell queue 42. NS.

The reception information cell queue 42 identifies the multiplexed cell at the head of the IP packet based on the Frame Cont field of the multiplexed cell format, and extracts Total Length from the IP header inserted in the multiplexed cell.
Then, the received information cell queue 42 calculates the range of the Sequence Number of the multiplexed cell required for restoring the IP packet.

The reception information cell queue 42 determines whether or not all the multiplexed cells corresponding to the calculated Sequence Number range have been received based on the header information of the multiplexed cell, and if all have been received, the cell / frame conversion unit. A notification of completion of reception of all the multiplexed cells is output to 43.

When the cell / frame conversion unit 43 receives the notification of the completion of reception of all the multiplexed cells, the cell / frame conversion unit 43 acquires all the multiplexed cells corresponding to the range of the Sequence Number from the received information cell queue 42, and arranges them in a predetermined order except for the header. And combine to restore the IP packet from the multiplexed cell.
In this way, the receiving unit of the multiplexing communication function unit 24 of this communication device is operated.

[Data acquisition at the time of transmission: Fig. 8]
Next, an example of data acquisition at the time of transmission of this communication device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of data acquisition at the time of transmission.
As shown in FIG. 8, the wireless access control unit 12 constantly monitors the wireless signal to check whether communication is possible (S1).
Then, when it is determined that communication is possible, the wireless access control unit 12 outputs a data acquisition request to the cell connection unit 37 via the output scheduler 25 (S2). The data acquisition request includes information on the communication capacity and the frame number to be resent.

First, the cell connecting unit 37 acquires the multiplexed cell (retransmitted cell) corresponding to the frame number to be resent from the retransmission cell queue 36 (S3). Here, it is assumed that the amount of data in the retransmission cell is 40% of the communication capacity.

The cell connecting unit 37 compares the acquired data amount with the communication capacity, recognizes that there is still 60% free space, and acquires the multiplexed cell from the transmission information cell queue 35 (S4). Here, it is assumed that data equivalent to 60% of the communication capacity is acquired.

The cell concatenation unit 37 determines that 100% of the communication capacity has been acquired, concatenates the retransmission cell queue 36 and the multiplexed cells acquired from the transmission information cell queue 35 (S5), and concatenates the concatenated cells via the output scheduler 25. Is transmitted (output) to the wireless access control unit 12 (S6).
Then, the wireless access control unit 12 assembles the wireless frame and wirelessly transmits it with a capacity of 100% (S7).
In this way, in this communication device, since the multiplexed cells are taken in so that the amount of data in the frame is the upper limit of the communication capacity, the ratio of the preamble and the header is reduced, and the transmission efficiency can be further improved. Is.

In another example, when a data acquisition request is received from the wireless access control unit 12 (S11) and the cell connecting unit 37 acquires a multiplexed cell to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue 36 (S12), the amount of data is communicated. It is assumed that it is 40% of the capacity.

Next, it is assumed that when the cell connecting unit 37 acquires the multiplexed cell from the transmission information cell queue 35, it is 20% of the communication capacity (S13).
In this case, only 60% of the communication capacity has been acquired, and the capacity is still free, but if the multiplexed cell to be transmitted is finished, concatenate at this point (S14) and output the concatenated cell. Output to the scheduler 25 (S15).

The output scheduler 25 recognizes that the amount of data in the concatenated cell is 60% of the communication capacity, acquires an IP packet for 40% of the communication capacity from the packet queue 23 (S16), and wirelessly performs the IP packet together with the concatenated cell. Output to the access control unit 12.
Then, the wireless access control unit 12 inserts data corresponding to 100% of the communication capacity into the frame and performs wireless transmission (S17).
In this way, data acquisition at the time of transmission in this communication device is performed.

[Effect of Embodiment]
According to the communication device and the communication method, the transmission function unit (transmission unit) of the QoS function unit 15 determines whether or not the IP packet to be transmitted can be divided, and the data type determination unit 22 and the undividable IP packet. Data is acquired from the packet queue 23 that performs the QoS processing of the above, the multiplexing communication function unit 24 that divides and concatenates the divisible IP packets, and the packet queue 23 and the multiplexing communication function unit 24. In the multiplexing communication function unit 24, the frame / cell conversion unit 34 divides IP packets of a plurality of services, adds a specific header, and adds a multiplexed cell. Generated and stored in the transmission information cell queue 35, the multiplexed cell that may be retransmitted is stored in the retransmission cell queue 36, and when the cell connecting unit 37 receives the data acquisition request from the wireless access control unit 12, the radio A plurality of multiplexed cells are acquired from the retransmission cell queue 36 or the transmission information cell queue 35 and concatenated according to the communication capacity specified according to the communication method, a concatenated cell is generated, and the wireless access control unit is transmitted via the output scheduler 25. Since it is output to 12, IP packets of multiple services can be concatenated and inserted into one frame for transmission, compared to the case where a frame is generated for each IP packet with a small data size. It is possible to improve the transmission efficiency by reducing the ratio of preambles and headers, realize the same QoS (delay) for multiple services, and further improve the transmission efficiency by transmitting with the amount of data according to the communication capacity. Has the effect of being able to.

Further, according to the communication device and the communication method, when the cell connecting unit 37 preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell that needs to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue 36 at the time of acquiring the multiplexed cell, and does not reach the communication capacity. Since the multiplexed cell is acquired from the transmission information cell queue 35, there is an effect that the information that needs to be retransmitted can be preferentially transmitted to guarantee the reliability of communication.

Further, according to the communication device and the communication method, even if the cell connecting unit 37 acquires the multiplexed cell from the retransmission cell queue 36 and the transmission information cell queue 35 to generate a linked cell, the amount of data becomes the communication capacity. If it does not reach, the output scheduler 25 acquires an IP packet from the packet queue 23 and uses it together with the concatenated cell. Therefore, while maintaining the communication quality, the communication capacity is effectively utilized to improve the transmission efficiency. There is an effect that can be improved.

The present invention is suitable for a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method capable of improving transmission efficiency when communicating using any of a plurality of communication methods and guaranteeing the same communication quality for a plurality of services. There is.

1,61 ... Communication device, 2 ... Communication terminal, 3 ... Control terminal, 11 ... Network unit, 12 ... Wireless access control unit, 13 ... Wireless signal processing unit, 14 ... High frequency unit, 15 ... QoS function unit, 21,81 ... Input scheduler, 22 ... Data type judgment unit, 23, 82 ... Packet queue, 24 ... Multiplexed communication function unit, 25, 83 ... Output scheduler, 31 ... Communication control unit, 32 ... User information table, 33 ... Multiplexing support Node information table, 34 ... frame / cell conversion unit, 35 ... transmission information cell queue, 36 ... retransmission cell queue, 37 ... cell connection unit, 41 ... cell decomposition unit, 42 ... reception information cell queue, 43 ... cell / frame conversion unit

Claims (8)

1. A communication device that communicates using one of a plurality of communication methods.
   The transmission processing unit that processes the transmission
   A transmitter that performs wireless transmission and
   A packet queue that performs QoS processing of undividable IP packets,
   A multiplexed communication function unit that divides and concatenates IP packets that can be divided,
   A data type determination unit that determines whether or not the input IP packet can be divided, outputs it to the packet queue if it cannot be divided, and outputs it to the multiplexing communication function unit if it can be divided.
   It is provided with an output scheduler that acquires data from the packet queue and the multiplexing communication function unit and outputs the data as transmission data to the transmission unit.
   The multiplexing communication function unit divides the divisible IP packet input from the data type determination unit, adds a header including a destination to generate a multiplexed cell, and sets a wireless communication method at the time of transmission. A communication device that connects a plurality of the multiplexed cells according to the communication capacity specified according to the above and outputs the data to the output scheduler.
2. Multiplexed communication function unit
   A frame / cell conversion unit that divides the input IP packet to generate a multiplexed cell,
   The transmission information cell queue holding the multiplexed cell and
   A retransmission cell queue that holds the multiplexed cells that may be retransmitted, and
   The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a cell connection unit that acquires and concatenates a plurality of multiplexed cells from the retransmission cell queue and the transmission information cell queue according to the communication capacity at the time of transmission and outputs the multiplexed cells to the output scheduler.
3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the cell concatenating unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted from the retransmission cell queue at the time of transmission.
4. When the cell concatenation unit acquires the multiplexed cell from the transmission information cell queue when the amount of data of the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted acquired from the retransmission cell queue is less than the communication capacity, the cell concatenating unit acquires the multiplexed cell from the retransmission cell queue and obtains the multiplexed cell. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein the multiplexed cell acquired from the transmission information cell queue is concatenated and output.
5. When the amount of data in the concatenated multiplexed cell from the cell concatenated unit is less than the communication capacity, the output scheduler acquires an indivisible IP packet from the packet queue and outputs it together with the concatenated multiplexed cell. The communication device according to claim 4.
6. A communication method in a communication device that communicates using one of a plurality of communication methods.
   The transmission processing unit determines whether or not the input IP packet can be divided, and if it can be divided, the IP packet is divided and a header including the destination is added to generate a multiplexed cell, which is set. A communication method in which a plurality of the multiplexed cells are concatenated and transmitted according to a communication capacity specified according to the wireless communication method.
7. The transmission processing unit preferentially acquires the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted, and when the amount of data of the multiplexed cell to be retransmitted is less than the communication capacity, acquires the divided multiplexed cell and retransmits the data. The communication method according to claim 6, wherein the multiplexed cell to be used and the divided multiplexed cell are concatenated and transmitted.
8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein the transmission processing unit acquires an undividable IP packet and transmits the undividable IP packet together with the concatenated multiplexed cell when the amount of data in the concatenated multiplexed cell is less than the communication capacity. ..

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