Wireless lan system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a mechanism for controlling the operation of an access point in order to realize efficiency of data communication and power saving of the system in a wireless LAN system.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

In order for a terminal that communicates using wireless LAN to connect to a backbone network, it must first connect to an access point. When there are a plurality of access points that can be selected from the terminal within the range where the radio wave can reach from the terminal, the terminal receives the beacon from the access point and measures the radio wave strength. It is common for terminal users to select an access point to connect to by referring to the radio field strength, from the viewpoint of communication speed and communication quality. In the example of FIG. 1 (a), the access point AP2 having the strongest signal strength represented by the bar is selected. The access point continues to allow the connection of terminals up to the preset maximum number of connectable terminals. When a plurality of terminals are connected to one access point, the amount of communication with each terminal is allocated by time division.

【0003】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In an environment where a large number of people perform wireless communication such as in an office, many access points are required. However, even if a large number of access points are installed, when the number of connected people is small, useless access points operate and power is wasted. Furthermore, if connections are concentrated on a specific access point as shown in Fig. 1 (b), the amount of communication allocated to each terminal in a time-division manner will decrease, and the communication speed for each terminal will decrease. In addition, some access points will not be used effectively.

【0004】

[Means for solving problems]

The wireless LAN system of the present invention has a first access point capable of issuing an ON state / OFF state transition instruction to another access point through the network on the backbone network, and by accepting the instruction. Prepare a second access point that can be migrated between the ON state and the OFF state. Here, the ON state of the access point is the state of operating in the normal state of emitting a beacon and accepting the connection of the terminal, and the OFF state is the state of operating in the normal state of accepting the connection of the terminal, and the OFF state is the power supply of the part that communicates with the terminal without emitting the beacon. It means that it is in the OFF state.

【0005】

A first predetermined value is set in advance for the first access point, and when the number of connected terminals exceeds the first predetermined value, the surrounding second access point in the OFF state is set. The second access point that receives this signal shifts to the ON state.

【0006】

When the second access point that was in the OFF state turns ON, one or more terminals are notified to that effect. The user of the terminal who receives this notification knows that the access point is newly activated and can switch the access point.

【0007】

The second access point shifts to the OFF state when there are no more terminals to connect to.

【0008】

With the above configuration, the number of terminals connected to one access point can be kept below a certain number without operating an extra access point, so power saving of the entire system is achieved while ensuring communication speed. can do.

【0009】

In addition, it is also possible to deploy an access point that does not shift to the power saving state, that is, always operates, so that all terminals are within the range where radio waves can reach from at least one ON state access point. It is valid. By doing so, it is possible to avoid a state in which all access points shift to a power saving state and the wireless LAN system itself does not operate.

【0010】

At the terminal, the communication speed with the access point can be measured. Therefore, regarding the issuance of the ON instruction, the lower limit of the communication speed (hereinafter referred to as the second predetermined value) is set in advance in the terminal, and the communication speed is set to the second predetermined value during communication with the first access point. When it falls below, the terminal asks the first access point that is communicating to issue an instruction to move the second access point in the vicinity to the ON state, and the first access point that receives the request is in the vicinity. You may also issue an ON instruction to the second access point in.

【0011】

It is also effective to issue the ON instruction to multiple second access points. In this case, as to which second access point to issue the ON instruction, a priority is set in advance and the ON instruction is issued according to the priority, or all the preset second access points are issued. There is a method of issuing an ON instruction to the access point at the same time. This makes it possible to issue an ON instruction to the optimum second access point.

【0012】

If the number of terminals connected to the second access point is less than the preset third predetermined value, the second access point will connect to all the connected terminals. Request access point connection switching. When the user of the terminal receiving the request switches the connection to another access point and the connection from the terminal is lost, the second access point shifts to the OFF state.

【0013】

With the above configuration, the wireless LAN system can work more positively to operate only the minimum necessary access points.

【0014】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 of the wireless LAN system and the access point in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0015】

In the following description, the first access point is an instruction to shift another access point in the ON state to the OFF state or an access point in the OFF state to the ON state (hereinafter referred to as an ON / OFF instruction). ) Is an access point that can issue), and the second access point is an access point that can switch between the ON state and the OFF state in response to an instruction from the first access point. Here, the ON state is a state in which the beacon is emitted and the terminal is operating in a normal state of accepting the connection, and the OFF state is a state in which the power of the part that communicates with the terminal is turned off without emitting the beacon. It means being in a certain state. In addition, the first access point and the second access point are not necessarily separate access points, and there may be an access point that can issue an instruction to switch between the ON state and the OFF state, or can switch by itself. .. Such an access point shall correspond to both the case where it is described as the first access point and the case where it is described as the second access point in the following description.

【0016】

FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of the wireless LAN system and its control method in the present embodiment. The wired network 6 has a first access point 1 and a second access point 2. Access point 2 is normally in the OFF state, and one or more terminals 4 are connected to access point 1. When terminal 3 newly connects to this access point 1 (5), access point 1 compares the number of terminals currently communicating with the first predetermined value, and the number of terminals currently communicating. If is greater than or equal to the first predetermined value, it is determined that the terminal 3 should not communicate with the terminal 3. When the access point 1 determines that it should not communicate, it issues an instruction to shift the access point 2 which is in the OFF state to the ON state (7), and the access accepts the instruction. Point 2 shifts to the ON state. The access point 2 that has moved to the ON state notifies the terminal 3 to that effect (9), and the terminal 3 can switch the connection to the access point 2 (8).

【0017】

The first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. A first predetermined value K (K is a natural number) is preset in the access point 1. This first predetermined value K can be arbitrarily set between 2 and the maximum number of connectable terminals of the access point. When the terminal receives the beacon emitted by access point 1 and newly connects to this access point 1 (210), access point 1 adds 1 to the number of connections N (202), and the number of connections N and the first Comparison with the predetermined value K of (203). If N exceeds K, access point 1 determines to which second access point the ON instruction is issued according to a predetermined priority (204), and the selected second access. Issue a transition command to the ON state at point 2 (205). When the selected access point 2 receives the instruction to shift to the ON state (208), it shifts to the ON state and notifies the terminal that the operation has started (209). The terminal that receives the notification from the access point 2 (211) informs the user of the terminal (212). The terminal user can switch the connection to access point 2 after confirming that the new terminal has started operation (213).

【0018】

Next, using FIG. 4, the step of notifying the terminal user that the second access point 2 has started operation will be described with an example. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example when the access point notifies the terminal. When the access point 2 starts operating, the first access point 1 that issues the ON / OFF instruction receives the designation of the ID of the terminal 3, and sends a notification signal to the terminal 3. A new window 401 opens on the display of the user of the terminal 3 who has received the notification signal, and the user of the terminal 3 can know that the access point 2 has been turned on by looking at the window. Since the access point 2 should be emitting a beacon because the access point 2 is turned on, the access point 2 is newly added to the access point selection screen 402 (403). The user can switch the connection from access point 1 to access point 2 by reselecting the access point 2 newly turned on on this screen.

【0019】

If the access point 2 also has the elements of the first access point, if the number of terminals connected to the access point 2 exceeds the first predetermined value after the operation starts, the surrounding second access points It is also possible to issue an ON instruction to.

【0020】

Next, the configuration of the access point of the first embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configurations of the first and second access points and terminals in the present embodiment. The first access point 101 includes a wired transmission / reception unit 102 that performs wired communication with a backbone network, a control unit 103, and a wireless transmission / reception unit 106 that performs wireless communication with a terminal, and the control unit 103 is connected to a terminal. From the terminal connection control unit 104 that controls, the ON / OFF instruction control unit 105 that issues ON / OFF instructions to the second access point, and the connection upper limit value comparison unit 113 that monitors the number of terminals connected to the access point. It is composed. When the number of connected terminals exceeds the first predetermined value, the connection upper limit value comparison unit 113 issues a signal 112 to the ON / OFF instruction control unit 105. When the ON / OFF instruction control unit 105 receives the signal 112, it issues an ON instruction to the surrounding second access point 114. Like the first access point, the second access point 114 consists of a wired transmission / reception unit 115, a control unit 116, and a wireless transmission / reception unit 117, and the control unit 116 is a terminal connection control unit 118, ON / OFF, which controls the connection with the terminal. It further includes an ON / OFF control unit 119 that receives an instruction and executes switching between an ON state and an OFF state, and an operation state notification control unit 120 that notifies the terminal that the operation has started. The terminals 107 and 111 that communicate with the access point include a wireless transmission / reception unit 108 that communicates with the access point and a control unit 109 that controls the connection with the access point.

【0021】

In the present embodiment, it is also effective to notify all terminals within the range of radio waves that the new second access point 2 has started operation. In this case, the user of the terminal connected to the access point 1 or another access point knows that the access point 2 has been activated, so that the radio wave of the beacon from the access point currently connected to the access point 2 is emitted. You can compare the strengths and get the opportunity to reselect the best access point. Further, the access point 2 does not need to receive the ID of the terminal 3 that last connected to the access point 1 from the access point 1. When a user of a terminal connected to access point 1 or another access point switches the connection to access point 2, the communication speed of access point 1 or other access point decreases because the number of connected terminals decreases. Go up.

【0022】

Further, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to notify the terminal that the new second access point 2 has started operation. Even in this case, since the second access point emits a beacon, the user of the terminal can know the start of operation of the access point 2 by looking at the access point selection screen.

【0023】

When deciding which second access point to issue the ON instruction (204 in FIG. 3), there is a method of predetermining the priority in the access point 1. By setting priorities in order from the second access point closest to access point 1, issuing an ON instruction to the second access point suitable for communication with the terminal that newly requested the connection. Is possible. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, ON instructions may be issued to several second access points in order, or ON instructions may be issued to a plurality of second access points at the same time. In the latter case, the user of the terminal can connect to the optimum access point by referring to the radio field strength from among several connectable second access points.

【0024】

(Embodiment 2) The second embodiment of the wireless LAN system and the access point in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0025】

FIG. 7 shows a conceptual diagram of the wireless LAN system and its control method in the present embodiment. Similar to the case of the first embodiment, in the present embodiment as well, the terminal 4 communicating with the first access point 1 and the second access point 2 and the access point 1 in the OFF state in the wired network. And terminal 3 exists. In the description of this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal 3 is also connected to the access point 1 first. Each terminal measures the communication speed with the access point 1 at regular intervals. Here, when the communication speed with the access point of the terminal 3 is lower than the preset second predetermined value, the terminal 3 is connected to the access point 1 currently communicating with the second predetermined value around the access point 1. Request to issue an instruction to move the access point to the ON state. The access point 1 that receives the request issues an ON instruction to the second access point 2. The access point 2 that has received the ON instruction shifts to the ON state, and the terminal 3 switches the connection to the access point 2 that has turned ON.

【0026】

The second embodiment will be described in more detail using the flowchart of FIG. Terminal 3 is communicating with the first access point 1. A second predetermined value (unit: bps) is predetermined in the terminal 3. This second predetermined value is arbitrarily set depending on the type of application used in the terminal 3. The terminal 3 measures the communication speed (unit: bps) with the access point 1 at regular intervals, and compares the communication speed with the second predetermined value (215). Here, if the communication speed is lower than the second predetermined value, the terminal notifies the user. When the user receives a notification and tries to change the access point to connect to, he / she requests the communicating access point 1 to issue an ON instruction to the second access point in the OFF state (216). ). The access point 1 that receives the request from the terminal 3 decides which second access point to issue the ON instruction to, if there is a second access point that is in the OFF state in the vicinity (204), and selects it. Issue a transition command to the ON state to the second access point 2 (205). When the access point 2 in the OFF state receives the transition command (208), it shifts to the ON state and notifies the terminal 3 that it has started its operation (209). The user of the terminal 3 who received the notification can switch the connection to the access point 2.

【0027】

Further, if there is no second access point in the OFF state in the vicinity, the terminal 3 may be notified that the ON instruction cannot be issued.

【0028】

Next, the configuration of the access point and the terminal in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configurations of the first and second access points and terminals in the present embodiment. The first access point 101 is composed of a wired transmission / reception unit 102, a control unit 103, and a wireless transmission / reception unit 106, and the control unit receives a request from a terminal connection control unit 104 that controls communication with a terminal and a second terminal. It is composed of an ON / OFF instruction control unit 105 that issues an ON instruction to the access point of. The second access point 114 has the same configuration as the second access point 114 of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the terminal has a feature as compared with the first embodiment. The terminals 107 and 111 are provided with a transfer speed lower limit value comparison unit 121, and when the transfer speed falls below the set second predetermined value, the first access point currently communicating with the first access point is in the OFF state. You can request the issuance of ON instructions to 2 access points. In the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, since it is the terminal user who makes the ON request to the access point, there is little possibility that the user misses the notification. Even if the user is not notified that the communication speed is lower than the second predetermined value, the user can instruct the activation of the second access point by his / her own will. At this time, if there is an appropriate second access point in the OFF state within the reach of radio waves, the second access point is shifted to the ON state. If there is no suitable second access point in the OFF state within the reach of radio waves, the user may be notified to that effect.

【0029】

In this embodiment as well as in the first embodiment, the fact that the new access point 2 has started operation may be notified only to the terminals whose communication speed is lower than the second predetermined value, or within the reach of radio waves. You may notify all certain terminals. The notification method may be the same as in the first embodiment.

【0030】

Further, as in the first embodiment, when deciding which second access point to issue the ON instruction to, there is a method of predetermining the priority in the access point 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, ON instructions may be issued to several second access points in order, or ON instructions may be issued to a plurality of second access points at the same time.

【0031】

In the first and second embodiments, the second access point may automatically shift to the OFF state when there are no more terminals connected to it. As a result, it is possible to prevent unnecessary access points from operating.

【0032】

In this case, if the wireless LAN system is configured with only the access points that have both the configuration requirements of the first access point and the configuration requirements of the second access point, all the terminals are not communicating, etc. The access point of is turned off, and the next time communication is performed, it is possible that none of the access points to be connected are in operation. To avoid this, prepare a first access point that is always ON, and build a wireless LAN system so that all terminals are always within the range of radio waves from at least one ON access point. Is desirable.

【0033】

(Embodiment 3) The third embodiment of the wireless LAN system and the access point in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0034】

FIG. 10 shows a conceptual diagram of the wireless LAN system and its control method in the present embodiment. When the number of terminals connected to the second access point 2 is small, the access point 2 notifies all the connected terminals of the connection switching request to another access point. The user of the terminal that receives the connection switching request tries to switch the access point to be connected. If there are no terminals connected to access point 2 due to switching, access point 2 shifts to the OFF state.

【0035】

The third embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The terminal is communicating with the second access point 2. When one of the terminals connected to the access point 2 disconnects and the number of terminals connected to the access point 2 falls below a preset third predetermined value (217), the access point 2 is set. Issue a connection switching request to the terminal to be connected (222). The user of the terminal receiving the request (219) searches for another access point with which he / she can communicate by referring to the access point selection screen (FIG. 1 (a), FIG. 4 402). As a result, if a suitable access point is found, the terminal user switches the access point (221). As a result of the switching, if there are no terminals connected to the access point 2 (225), the access point 2 shifts to the OFF state.

【0036】

Next, the configuration of the access point in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second access point and a terminal in the present embodiment. The second access point 114 in the present embodiment further includes a connection lower limit value comparison unit 122 in the configuration of the second access point in the first embodiment. The connection lower limit comparison unit monitors the number of terminals connected to access point 2, and when the number of connected terminals falls below the third predetermined value L (L is a natural number), a signal is sent to the operation status notification control unit 120. Is issued, and the operation status notification control unit 120 that receives the signal notifies the terminal of the connection switching request. The user of the terminal who received the notification refers to the access point selection screen (402 in Fig. 1 (a) and Fig. 4), and if there is an access point in the appropriate ON state around it, that access point. Switch the connection to. When all the users of the terminals connected to the access point 114 switch the connection to another access point and there are no more terminals connected to the access point 114, the access point 114 shifts to the OFF state. If there is no suitable access point in the vicinity and a terminal connected to the access point 114 remains, the access point 114 remains ON. In this case, the second connection switching request may or may not be notified after an appropriate time has elapsed.

【0037】

The third embodiment can be implemented at the same time as the first embodiment or the second embodiment. In the first embodiment, since the access point measures the number of terminals connected to itself, if there are many terminals connected to itself, an instruction to shift the other second access point to the ON state is issued. However, when there are few terminals connected to itself, it is possible to more easily combine it with the third embodiment without adding an extra configuration by simply requesting the terminals to switch the connection.

【0038】

According to the present invention, the wireless LAN system tries to construct a system with low power consumption more positively.

【0039】

[Effect of the invention]

According to the present invention, by controlling the normal state and the power saving state of the access point, it is possible to realize the power saving of the access point while ensuring the communication speed even when a plurality of access points exist.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

(a) Conventional display diagram when selecting an access point (b) Conventional conceptual diagram of access points and terminals [Figure 2]

Conceptual diagram showing ON / OFF control according to an instruction from an access point in the first embodiment [Fig. 3]

A flowchart showing ON / OFF control according to an instruction from the access point in the first embodiment. [Fig. 4]

The figure which shows the display example at the time of notifying a terminal from an access point in Embodiment 1. [Fig. 5]

Configuration diagram for ON / OFF control according to the instruction from the access point in the first embodiment [Fig. 6]

Diagram showing the order in which the first access point chooses the second access point [Fig. 7]

Conceptual diagram showing ON / OFF control according to an instruction from a terminal in the second embodiment [Fig. 8]

Flow chart showing ON / OFF control by instruction from the terminal in the second embodiment [Fig. 9]

Configuration diagram for performing ON / OFF control by instructions from the terminal in the second embodiment [Fig. 10]

Conceptual diagram showing a request for connection switching from an access point in the third embodiment [Fig. 11]

Flow chart showing the request for connection switching from the access point in the third embodiment [Fig. 12]

Configuration diagram for requesting connection switching from the access point in the third embodiment [Explanation of symbols]

1 1st access point 2 Second access point 3 Terminal trying to switch connections 4 Terminals that do not switch connections 5 Connection between the terminal before the change and the access point 6 Wired network 7 ON instruction to the access point 8 Switching to an access point 9 Signal notifying that access point 2 has switched to the ON state 10 Connection between the changed terminal and access point 100 wired network 101 First access point 102 Wired transmitter / receiver of the first access point 103 Control unit of the first access point 104 Terminal connection control unit of the first access point 105 ON / OFF instruction control unit 106 Wireless transmitter / receiver of the first access point 107, 110, 111 terminals 108 Terminal wireless transmitter / receiver 109 Terminal control 113 Connection upper limit comparison unit 114 Second access point 115 Wired transmitter / receiver of the second access point 116 Control of the second access point 117 Wireless transmitter / receiver of the second access point 118 Terminal connection control unit of the second access point 119 ON / OFF control unit 120 Operation status notification control unit 121 Terminal transfer speed lower limit comparison unit 122 Connection lower limit comparison unit 401 Access point 2 operation start notification 402 Access point selection screen