WO2022264334A1

WO2022264334A1 - Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, access point device, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2022264334A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/022921
Authority: WO
Inventors: 笑子篠原; 知之山田; 裕介淺井; 泰司鷹取
Original assignee: 日本電信電話株式会社
Priority date: 2021-06-16
Filing date: 2021-06-16
Publication date: 2022-12-22
Also published as: JPWO2022264334A1

Abstract

A wireless communication system according to an embodiment, in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communications, has a wireless communication control device that controls the wireless communications. The wireless communication control device comprises: a monitoring unit that monitors the transmission times with respect to the respective ones of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices; and a transferring unit that performs switching to a wireless communication channel that is a transferring destination of the currently used wireless communication channel when it is predicted that the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit will reach a predetermined upper limit value with respect to any one of the plurality of station devices.

Description

Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, access point device and program

Embodiments of the present invention relate to wireless communication systems, wireless communication methods, access point devices, and programs.

A wireless communication system comprising base stations and terminals is known.
A typical example of a wireless communication system is a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) for public use. In wireless LANs for public use, for example, a use-case in which data is transmitted from a base station to public computer terminals and smart phone terminals is assumed.
Furthermore, with the spread of IoT (Internet of Things) terminals in recent years, the number of use cases in which data is transmitted from the terminal side is increasing.

As wireless communication for this IoT, wireless communication systems using the Sub-1 GHz band, which is a frequency band that does not require a radio station license (unlicensed frequency band), have been institutionalized in countries around the world. Among them, in Japan, the 920 MHz band is allocated as the frequency band for electronic tag systems. Among them, a so-called LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) wireless communication system such as LoRa (Long Range) or WiSUN (Wireless Smart Utility Network) is used as an active electronic tag system. Also, the use of IEEE 802.11ah, which is one of the wireless LAN standards, is being considered.

In this way, from the viewpoint of allowing different wireless communication systems to share the same frequency band and coexist with each other, multiple restrictions are stipulated for transmitting terminals. One type of this constraint is a total transmission time limit (total transmission time limit).

This total transmission time limit defines the upper limit of the time during which data signals can be transmitted within one hour. For example, in the 920 MHz band, which is the frequency band used in Japan, the total transmission time limit is 360 seconds in one hour. This limit value is 10% when converted into the time rate, that is, the ratio of the transmittable time to the total time.

In addition, this total transmission time limit may apply if a transmitting device switches between multiple different or non-overlapping radio channels (sometimes referred to as radio frequency channels, or simply channels). As long as it is provided that the total transmission time of the data signal from that transmitting device is relaxed to 720 seconds in one hour. However, the condition is that the total transmission time, which is the sum of the transmission times on each channel, must be within 360 seconds in one hour.
This relaxation of the total transmission time limit corresponds to an increase in the communication load on the master station and the communication load on the terminals relaying the communication network caused by an increase in the number of terminals that are destinations of communication. It is a measure to

Also, IEEE 802.11ah, which is a wireless LAN standard for IoT, was originally formulated by improving wireless LAN for the purpose of large-capacity data communication for IoT, and even when the number of terminals is small, It is expected to be used for use cases with high traffic loads. In the above IEEE 802.11ah as well, from the viewpoint of increasing the communication capacity, there are expectations for a technology that can cope with the relaxation of the total transmission time limit.

If the time ratio in the total transmission time limit is set to 20%, control is required to switch between different channels while keeping the time ratio in the total transmission time limit of each channel to 10%.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a radio communication system apparatus capable of maximizing the total transmission time of radio signals and increasing the communication capacity. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication method, an access point device and a program.

A radio communication system according to an aspect of the present invention is a radio communication system in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform radio communication, and includes a radio communication control device that controls the radio communication, wherein the radio communication control a monitoring unit for monitoring transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices; When there is a device for which the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value, the currently used wireless communication channel is switched to the wireless communication channel that is the transition destination. and a transition processing unit that performs processing.

A wireless communication method according to an aspect of the present invention is a wireless communication method in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication, and the wireless communication is controlled by a wireless communication control device, wherein the wireless communication control monitoring, by a device, a transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a radio communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices; and by the radio communication control device, , a wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel transitions when there is an apparatus, among the plurality of station apparatuses, for which the monitored transmission time is expected to reach a preset upper limit. and performing switching processing to.

An access point device according to an aspect of the present invention is an access point device of a wireless communication system that performs wireless communication with a plurality of station devices, wherein in a wireless communication channel currently used between the plurality of station devices, the a monitoring unit for monitoring a transmission time between each of a plurality of station devices; and a transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit among the plurality of station devices is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value. and a transition processing unit that performs switching processing to a wireless communication channel that is a transition destination of the wireless communication channel that is currently used when there is a device that is using the wireless communication channel.

According to the present invention, it is possible to maximize the total transmission time of radio signals and increase the communication capacity.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration example of a radio communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the radio communication control device 10 in the radio communication system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the total transmission time of radio frames according to channel transitions in a radio communication system. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first example of control functions according to a radio communication control program (program) of the radio communication control device. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a first example of a procedure of control processing by a radio communication control device of a radio communication system. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of control functions according to the radio communication control program of the radio communication control device. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a second example of the procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device of the radio communication system. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a third example of the procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device of the radio communication system. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a fourth example of control processing procedures by the radio communication control device of the radio communication system.

Hereinafter, a wireless communication system, a wireless communication method, an access point device, and a program according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration example of a radio communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The wireless communication system of the embodiment includes an AP (access point device) 1, which is a master device of a wireless LAN, and a plurality of STAs (station devices) 2-1, 2-2, . N, and one or more STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N are connected to AP1 for communication. STA2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N may be collectively referred to as STA2 hereinafter.
Here, a cell composed of AP1 and STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N is called a BSS (Basic Service Set).

In the present embodiment, the total transmission time limit is relaxed by this BBS channel transition, that is, the process of switching the currently used wireless communication channel to another wireless communication channel that is the transition destination.

AP1 and STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N are connected to wireless communication controllers 20-1, 20-2, . Hereinafter, the radio communication control devices 20-1, 20-2, . The radio communication control devices 10, 20-1, 20-2, . . . , 20-N each have a function of exchanging radio environment information and control commands.
Note that the wireless communication control device 10 connected to the AP1 need not be connected to the AP1 as an external device of the AP1 when the wireless communication control program is installed in the AP or STA.
In addition, if the STA is a relatively sophisticated device and has a relatively large amount of computational capability, the wireless communication control device and its wireless communication control program are installed in the STA instead of the AP. good too.

It should be noted that the control for determining the timing of channel transition also includes monitoring of the total transmission time. When the monitoring of the total transmission time and the control of the channel transition timing are performed together, the radio communication control programs corresponding to AP1 and STAs 2-1, 2-2, . 10, 20-1, 20-2, . , . . . , 2-N, the same AP 1 and each STA 2-1, 2-2, . good.

Alternatively, the wireless communication control apparatus 10 connected to AP1 may collectively manage and control the total transmission time of each STA2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N.
Further, when the radio communication control apparatus 10 connected to the AP1 collectively monitors the radio communication system and determines and decides the timing of channel transition (change), the transmission statuses of the STAs and APs of other BBSs are considered. Control to judge and decide by

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the radio communication control device 10 in the radio communication system.
The radio communication control device 10 includes a control circuit (processor) 11 .
The control circuit 11 includes a memory 12 such as a flash ROM and a hard disk drive including a storage medium 13a such as a magnetic disk via a system and data bus. 13, a user interface 14 including keys, switches, and external input terminals for external operation by the user, and a wired communication module for communicating with the outside. (wired communication module) 15 or (and) wireless communication module (wireless communication module) 16, and timer 17 that manages the time during which the channel is scanned, i.e. the transition time of the channel, etc. are connected.

The control circuit 11 operates according to the wireless communication control program stored in the control program area 12a of the memory 12, based on the management information stored in or read from the management information area 12b of the memory 12, to control the wireless communication control device 10. controls the operation of each part of the

, 20-N paired with STAs 2-1, 2-2, . hardware.

Note that AP1, STA2-1, 2-2, . or/and may be configured by hardware including a wireless communication module or the like.

When the wireless communication control program possessed by the wireless communication control device 10 of AP1 is installed in AP1, the wireless communication control program is stored in advance in the control program area of the memory in AP1, for example. It may be stored together with an AP control program for executing a predetermined operation as AP (access point device) 1 . In this case, the AP1 has the functions of the wireless communication control device 10 by itself.

, 20-N corresponding to STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N on a one-to-one basis. When installed, the wireless communication control program is, for example, stored in advance in the control program area of the memory within the STA 2, together with an STA control program for executing a predetermined operation as the STA (station equipment) 2. may be stored. In this case, the STA2 also has the function of the radio communication control device 20 by itself.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the total transmission time of radio frames according to channel transitions in a radio communication system.
Channel transitions are necessary to avoid channels with high utilization rates, avoid interference with other radio signals, and to meet the total transmission time limit per hour based on radio-related regulations. become.

Here, it is assumed that channel "1" and channel "2" exist as different non-overlapping channels, and AP1 and STA2 perform a channel transition to switch the currently used channel to channel "1" or "2". Assume.

First, AP1 and STA2 communicate by exchanging radio frames using channel "1". During this time, each wireless communication terminal transmits so that the total transmission time per hour does not exceed the limit value defined for one channel.
However, when it is necessary to transmit more than the limit value, and it is decided to use channel "2" for transmission due to the necessity of channel transition, communication on channel "1" is stopped and transition is made to channel "2". to communicate.
After that, it is necessary to communicate on channel "2" so as not to exceed the limit value defined for one channel as well. Furthermore, it is necessary to control the total transmission time per hour for transmission on two channels for each wireless communication terminal so as not to exceed the limit value.

As a result, the total transmission time per hour using the channel can be reduced, but communication cannot be performed from the start of channel transition (switching) until STA2 completes connection to AP1 (channel transition time Tc).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first example of control functions according to the radio communication control program of the radio communication control device 10. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the radio communication control apparatus 10 includes a setting unit 10a, a determination unit 10b, a channel transition processing unit 10c, and a communication control unit 10d as functions executed by the control circuit 11 according to the radio communication control program. including.

The setting unit 10a cooperates with the AP 1, for example, to determine the available channels, the timing for determining whether channel switching is necessary, such as time and communication state, reference values for determination of necessity, and the timing for starting channel switching. , time, etc., necessary for determining a channel transition schedule, according to an operation from the user interface 14. FIG. This setting includes default.

The determination unit 10b performs determination processing including determination of necessity of channel transition, determination of channel switching timing, and determination of the connection state with the STA 2, for example, based on the management information set by the setting unit 10a.
The channel transition processing unit 10c performs channel transition processing, for example, in cooperation with the processing in the setting unit 10a and the determination unit 10b. The operation of the communication control section 10d will be described later.

In the radio communication system configured as described above, the control circuit of the radio communication control device 10 controls the operation of each part in cooperation with AP1 and STA2 according to the instructions described in the radio communication control program, and the software ( software) and hardware cooperate to realize a channel switching function as will be described later in the explanation of the operation.

Next, operations of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment will be described. Here, an operation related to determination of channel switching timing will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a first example of a procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device 10 of the radio communication system.
Here, control processing for determining the timing of periodic channel transition control will be described. Hereinafter, the control by each part of the radio communication control device 10 will be explained, but when the function of each part of the radio communication control device 10 is incorporated into the AP1, the control by this AP1 may be used.

First, the setting unit 10a of the radio communication control apparatus 10 uses the channel used in the BSS and the timing of the next channel transition, which is the transition to the predetermined channel, for the subsequent channel transition schedule. is set in the control program to start counting by the timer 17 (s11).

Next, the setting unit 10a sets the upper limit traffic rate with each terminal, ie, the STA2, and the communication control unit 10d starts communication with each terminal (s12). This upper limit traffic rate is the upper limit of the data rate of transmission data, and in the radio communication control apparatus 10, transmission is restricted or the data rate is set so that packets are not transmitted at a data rate higher than this. or At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set according to the law of the frequency band used.
For example, if the time rate of the total transmission time on a plurality of channels is 20%, this 20% is set as the upper limit traffic rate.
However, considering that a certain amount of time is required for BSS channel transitions, the time rate may be set to less than 20% in order to reduce the frequency of channel transitions.

In this state, communication is continued until the timer 17 notifies the timing of the next channel transition (s13).
Then, when the determination unit 10b determines that the timer 17 has notified the next channel transition timing (Yes in s14), the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the above channel transition processing (s15). When the transition to the new channel is completed by this processing, the process returns to s11 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

Note that the channel transition timing must be set so that the total transmission time in one channel does not exceed the limit.
For example, if the limit of the total transmission time on one channel is 360 seconds per hour, that is, if the percentage of the total transmission time on one channel is 10%, the upper limit traffic rate is fixed and two When the rate of total transmission time is raised to 20% by switching between two channels, the upper limit of the continuous use of one channel is 30 minutes.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of control functions according to the radio communication control program of the radio communication control device 10. As shown in FIG.
In the example shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication control device 10 includes a setting unit 10a, a determination unit 10b, a channel transition processing unit 10c, a communication control unit 10d, and a function executed by the control circuit 11 according to the wireless communication control program. It includes a channel monitor 10e.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a second example of the procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device 10 of the radio communication system.
Here, control processing for determining the timing of channel transition control while monitoring the channel will be described.

First, the setting unit 10a of the radio communication control apparatus 10 sets the channel used in the BBS and the timing of the next channel transition in the control program for use in the subsequent channel transition schedule, and the timer 17 counts. is started (s21). In this setting, multiple channels used for channel transition are registered.
Also, the count value by the timer 17 is used for determining the monitoring period by the channel monitoring unit 10e.
Note that the monitoring period is one unit of the period for monitoring whether or not the total transmission time of the transmitting terminal complies with the law.
For example, if the law stipulates that the total transmission time is "per hour," this one hour is the monitoring period.

Next, the setting unit 10a sets the upper limit traffic rate with each terminal, that is, the STA2, and then the communication control unit 10d starts communication (s22). At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set according to the law of the frequency band used. For example, if the time rate of the total transmission time on a plurality of channels is 20%, the upper limit traffic rate is set based on this 20%.

Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information, that is, the count value of the timer 17 and the past transmission time record, and starts monitoring the transmission time of the transmitting terminal (s23).
During this monitoring, communication is continued until the value counted by the timer 17 from the start of monitoring reaches the value at the end timing of the monitoring period (s24).
However, the transmission time on the current channel is determined by the determination unit 10b that there is STA2, which is a transmission terminal that is expected to exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time defined by law per channel, that is, the duty ratio. If so (Yes in s25), the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the channel transition (s26).
When the transition to the new channel is completed by this process, the process returns to s21 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

On the other hand, when the transmission time on the current channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time and the value counted by the timer 17 reaches the end timing of the monitoring period (Yes in s27), s23. , the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information, and starts monitoring the transmission time again. If s27 returns No, the process returns to s24.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a third example of the procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device of the radio communication system.
Here, a control process will be described in which the timing of channel transition control is determined while channel monitoring is performed without setting an upper limit for steady traffic.
In this example, the upper limit traffic rate set during communication in the first example shown in FIG. 5 and the second example shown in FIG. 7 is not set.

Therefore, the maximum transmittable traffic can be handled momentarily. On the other hand, if such a state continues, if communication continues, the total transmission time on the current channel will exceed the limit. Controlled to wait.

First, similarly to s21, the setting unit 10a of the radio communication control apparatus 10 sets the channel used in the BBS and the next channel transition timing in the control program for use in the subsequent channel transition schedule. , the timer 17 starts counting (s31). In this setting, as in s21, multiple channels used for channel transition are registered.
Also, the count value by the timer 17 is used for determining the monitoring period by the channel monitoring unit 10e.

Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information and starts monitoring the transmission time of the transmitting terminal as in s24 (s32).
During this monitoring, as in s24, communication continues until the value counted by the timer 17 reaches the value at which the monitoring period ends (s33).
However, as in s25, there may be a transmission terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel stipulated by law, that is, the duty ratio. If determined by the determination unit 10b (Yes in s34), the determination unit 10b further determines that the transmission time on the current channel is the upper limit of the total transmission time per two channels stipulated by law. It is determined whether or not the transmission terminal is expected to exceed a certain duty ratio (s35).

When the determination in s35 is Yes, the communication control unit 10d suspends communication between AP1 and the corresponding expected transmission terminal until the count related to the next monitoring period is started. continues communication with the terminal (s36).

In addition to terminals whose communication has been suspended as described above, the transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel stipulated by law. If it is determined by the determining unit 10b that there is STA2, which is a terminal (Yes in s37), the channel to be used should be changed instead of stopping transmission as described above, similarly to s26, The channel transition processing unit 10c starts the above channel transition (s38).

In addition, after it is determined as Yes in s35, the transmission time is expected to exceed the Duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per two channels per two channels, and the transmission time is 2 When it is determined by the determining unit 10b that there is a transmission terminal expected to exceed the Duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel stipulated in accordance with laws and regulations, the communication is stopped in s38 without stopping in s36. may be performed.

For the transition of s38, for example, "the transmission time in the current channel exceeds the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel" against the "risk of temporary communication interruption due to channel transition""Risk of transmission being stopped" is compared so as not to let the terminal that is expected to communicate until the next monitoring period, and the transmission time on the current channel exceeds the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel This is executed when the determination unit 10b determines that channel transition should be performed rather than stopping transmission by a predicted terminal.
When the transition to the new channel is completed in s38, the process returns to s31 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

On the other hand, as in s27, when the count value of the timer 17 reaches the value at which the monitoring period ends while the transmission time on the current channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time (s39 Yes), returning to s33, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information and restarts monitoring of the transmission time. If the determination in s39 is No, the process returns to s33.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a fourth example of the procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device of the radio communication system. Here, a control process will be described in which the timing of channel transition control is determined while channel monitoring is performed without setting an upper limit for steady traffic for some channels.

In the third example shown in FIG. 8 above, there is a risk of transmission stoppage after burst transmission.
In order to avoid this transmission stop, in this fourth example, as in the third example, the total transmission time in the transition destination channel is set after burst transmission is performed without setting the upper limit traffic rate. The traffic is restricted so as not to exceed the upper limit of the transmission time, and when the monitoring period ends, the traffic restriction is removed again and transmission is performed.

In the fourth example, first, the setting unit 10a of the radio communication control device 10 uses the channel used in the BBS and the timing of the next channel transition for the subsequent channel transition schedule, as in s31. is set in the control program to start counting by the timer 17 (s41). In this setting, as in s31, multiple channels used for channel transition are registered.
Also, as in the third example, the count value by the timer 17 is used for determining the monitoring period by the channel monitoring unit 10e.
Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information and starts monitoring the transmission time of the transmitting terminal (s42), as in s32.

Next, the determination unit 10b determines whether or not the current channel is a channel that requires setting of the upper limit traffic rate (s43).
The criterion for the decision in s43 is, for example, after the current channel has already reached the upper limit of the total transmission time per hour for a short period of time, such as 30 minutes or less, on another channel. It is whether or not it is the channel after the previous transition.

When the determination unit 10b determines that the current channel is a channel requiring setting of the upper limit traffic rate (Yes in s43), the setting unit 10a sets the upper limit traffic rate of each terminal, and the communication control unit 10d sets the upper limit traffic rate. starts communication (s44).
At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set according to the law of the frequency band used so that transmission is not interrupted.

For example, when another channel has already been transmitting 10% of the total transmission time in 10 minutes, the current channel is set so that the total transmission time is 10% in 50 minutes. A ceiling traffic rate is set.

During the monitoring started in s42, similarly to s33, communication continues until the value counted by the timer 17 reaches the end timing of the monitoring period (s45). However, terminals for which communication stop processing, which will be described later, has been taken, remain in communication stop until the next monitoring period.

However, as in s25, it is determined that there is a transmission terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel stipulated by law, that is, the duty ratio. If the determination is made by the unit 10b (Yes in s46), the determination unit 10b determines whether the terminal can perform communication stop processing until the next monitoring period. (s47).

When the determination in s47 is made based on the priority of the communication content, for example, when the content of communication by the terminal is video transmission that is inappropriate for interruption, the communication stop processing is not possible. be judged. In addition, in s47, when the content of communication by the terminal is file transmission for which temporary interruption is permitted, it is determined that the communication stop processing is possible.

If the determination in s47 is Yes, the communication control unit 10d performs the communication stop processing between AP1 and the terminal, and stops the communication between AP1 and other terminals until the count for the next monitoring period is started. continue communication between them (s48). If s47 returns No, that is, if the communication stop processing is not possible until the next monitoring period, the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the channel transition (s49).
When the transition to the new channel is completed in s49, the process returns to s41 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

On the other hand, when the transmission time on the current channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time and the count value of the timer 17 reaches the value indicating the end timing of the monitoring period (Yes in s50), Returning to s42, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information and restarts monitoring of the transmission time. In s42 after returning, the communication control unit 10d restarts the communication of the transmission terminal for which the communication stop processing has been performed. If the determination in s50 is No, the process returns to s45.

As described above, in the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication, and the wireless communication control device controls the wireless communication. monitoring the transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in the wireless communication channel currently used between the station device and the plurality of station devices, and the monitored transmission time among the plurality of station devices is set in advance When there is a device that is expected to reach the upper limit value, the currently used wireless communication channel is switched to the transition destination wireless communication channel. Capacity can be increased.

In addition, the method described in each embodiment can be applied to a program (software means) that can be executed by a computer (computer), for example, a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk) etc.), optical discs (CD-ROM, DVD, MO, etc.), semiconductor memory (ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.) and other recording media, or transmitted and distributed via communication media can be The programs stored on the medium also include a setting program for configuring software means (including not only execution programs but also tables and data structures) to be executed by the computer. A computer that realizes this device reads a program recorded on a recording medium, and optionally constructs software means by a setting program, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation by this software means. The term "recording medium" as used herein is not limited to those for distribution, and includes storage media such as magnetic disks, semiconductor memories, etc. provided in computers or devices connected via a network.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, each embodiment may be implemented in combination as appropriate, in which case the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, various inventions are included in the above embodiments, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments, if the problem can be solved and effects can be obtained, the configuration with the constituent elements deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 … AP (access point device)
2-1 to 2-N ... STA (station equipment)
10, 20-1 to 20N... Wireless communication control device 11... Control circuit 12... Memory 12a... Control program area 12b... Management information area 13... Disk drive 13a... Storage medium 14... User interface 15... Wired communication module 16... Wireless communication Module 17... Timer

Claims

A wireless communication system in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication, and has a wireless communication control device for controlling the wireless communication,
The radio communication control device,
a monitoring unit for monitoring a transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices;
a radio to which a currently used radio communication channel is to be transitioned when there is a device, among the plurality of station devices, for which the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value; a transition processing unit that performs switching processing to a communication channel;
A wireless communication system comprising:
The radio communication control device,
When, among the plurality of station devices, there is a device for which the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit within a predetermined time period is predicted to reach a preset upper limit per wireless communication channel. and when the device is expected to reach a preset upper limit value for the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit per two wireless communication channels, communication with the device Further comprising a communication control unit to stop,
A wireless communication system according to claim 1 .
The transition processing unit
When the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit among the plurality of station devices is predicted to reach a preset upper limit per wireless communication channel, the device is When the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is expected to reach a preset upper limit per two wireless communication channels, and among the station devices other than the device, the monitoring to the wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is transitioned when there is a device whose transmission time monitored by the unit is expected to reach a preset upper limit per wireless communication channel. perform the switching process of
A wireless communication system according to claim 2.
The radio communication control device,
a determining unit that determines whether or not the currently used wireless communication channel should be a wireless communication channel for which an upper limit of communication speed is set, based on the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit;
a setting unit for setting an upper limit of communication speed for a wireless communication channel when the determining unit determines that the currently used wireless communication channel should be a wireless communication channel for which an upper limit of communication speed is set; ,
When a transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit among the plurality of station devices is predicted to reach a preset upper limit, communication with the device can be stopped. a communication control unit that stops communication with the device at a certain time;
further comprising
The transition processing unit
When the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit among the plurality of station devices is predicted to reach a preset upper limit, communication with the device cannot be stopped. Sometimes, perform switching processing to a wireless communication channel that is a transition destination of the currently used wireless communication channel,
A wireless communication system according to claim 1 .
A wireless communication method in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication, and the wireless communication is controlled by a wireless communication control device,
monitoring a transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a radio communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices by the radio communication control device;
Transition of the currently used wireless communication channel when the wireless communication control unit predicts that, among the plurality of station devices, the monitored transmission time will reach a preset upper limit value. performing switching processing to the wireless communication channel that is the previous one;
A wireless communication method comprising:
An access point device of a wireless communication system that performs wireless communication with a plurality of station devices,
a monitoring unit for monitoring a transmission time with each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the plurality of station devices;
a radio to which a currently used radio communication channel is to be transitioned when there is a device, among the plurality of station devices, for which the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value; a transition processing unit that performs switching processing to a communication channel;
access point device.
When, among the plurality of station devices, there is a device for which the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit within a predetermined time period is predicted to reach a preset upper limit per wireless communication channel. and when the device is expected to reach a preset upper limit value for the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit per two wireless communication channels, communication with the device Further comprising a communication control unit to stop,
The access point device according to claim 6.
A program that causes a processor to function as each part of the access point device according to claim 6 or 7.