Communication device, communication method, and communication program

Abstract

Considering the required characteristics, which are the communication characteristics required by the packets to be transmitted, a method of allocating packets to each communication line suitable for the packets to be transmitted is realized. [Solution] A communication device 100 capable of communicating with a counterpart device connected to a destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit packets containing data received from a source device to a destination device, the communication device 100 comprises: a receiving unit 101 that receives packets from the source device; a required characteristics determination unit 103 that determines the required characteristics required for communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet; a strategy determination unit 105 that determines a strategy, which is a combination of one or more communication lines to be used for communication, based on the required characteristics; a transmission control unit 106 that distributes packets to each communication line based on the strategy; and multiple transmission units 107 that are connected to each communication line and transmit packets.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device that transmits data using one or more communication lines, and more particularly to a communication device that transmits application data to a server using one or more communication lines from a communication device mounted on a mobile object such as an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] When transmitting data from a communication device, if a multi-link communication device that simultaneously uses multiple lines is used, the data transmission time can be shortened.

[0003] With the aim of improving this speed, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a multi-link communication device that allocates communications according to the effective transmission speed of each line, thereby realizing efficient multi-link communication with low overall delay without causing excessive delay or placing excessive load on each line. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-216815 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, the present inventors have found the following problem. According to Patent Document 1, since it does not take into consideration the characteristics of the communication path other than the effective transmission speed of each line, it is not possible to deal with cases where other characteristics take priority over the priority of the data transmission time. For example, when transmitting data that is sensitive to packet loss, it is more desirable to use a line with a low packet loss rate than a line with a high communication speed.

[0006] The present invention aims to realize a method of allocating packets to communication lines suitable for the packets to be transmitted, taking into consideration required characteristics, which are communication characteristics required by the packets to be transmitted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A communication device (100) according to the present disclosure is a communication device (100) capable of communicating with a counterpart device connected to a destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit a packet including data received from a source device to the destination device, a receiving unit (101) that receives the packet from the source device; a required characteristic determination unit (103) that determines required characteristics for the communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet; a policy determination unit (105) that determines a policy, which is a combination of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication, based on the required characteristics; a transmission control unit (106) that distributes the packets to each communication line based on the policy; a plurality of transmitting units (107) connected to the respective communication lines and transmitting the packets; Equipped with.

[0008] It should be noted that the claims and the numbers in parentheses attached to the constituent elements of the invention described in this section indicate the correspondence between the present invention and the embodiments described below, and are not intended to limit the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] With the above-described configuration, the communication device etc. disclosed herein determines the required characteristics for communication based on source device information and destination device information, and allocates packets to each line based on these required characteristics, thereby enabling multi-link communication suitable for the type of packet, the type of data contained in the packet, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration including a communication device 100 according to each embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the arrangement of a communication device 100 according to each embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication device 100 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method for determining required characteristic information and its contents according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of required characteristic information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of policy characteristic information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating vector calculations by a strategy decision unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a counterpart device 200 according to a first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining required characteristics of the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a strategy of the communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of required characteristic information according to a first modification of the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating vector calculations by the strategy determination unit of the first modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating vector calculations by the strategy determination unit of the second modified example of the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] The present invention refers to the inventions described in the claims or in the Summary of the Invention section, and is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, at least the words in quotation marks refer to the words described in the claims or in the Summary of the Invention section, and are not limited to the following embodiments.

[0013] The configurations and methods recited in the dependent claims are optional configurations and methods in the inventions recited in the independent claims. The configurations and methods of the embodiments corresponding to the configurations and methods recited in the dependent claims, as well as the configurations and methods recited only in the embodiments without being recited in the claims, are optional configurations and methods in the present invention. The configurations and methods recited in the embodiments when the recitation of the claims is broader than the recitation of the embodiments are also optional configurations and methods in the present invention, in the sense that they are examples of the configurations and methods of the present invention. In either case, by being recited in the independent claims, they become essential configurations and methods of the present invention.

[0014] The effects described in the embodiments are effects obtained when the configurations of the embodiments are provided as examples of the present invention, and are not necessarily effects that the present invention has.

[0015] When there are multiple embodiments (including examples and modifications; the same applies in this paragraph), the configurations disclosed in each embodiment are not limited to each embodiment, but can be combined across the embodiments. For example, a configuration disclosed in one embodiment may be combined with another embodiment. Also, configurations disclosed in multiple embodiments may be collected and combined.

[0016] The problem described in the section on the problem to be solved by the invention is not a publicly known problem, but was discovered independently by the inventor, and this fact, together with the configuration and method of the present invention, affirms the inventive step of the invention.

[0017] 1. Configuration underlying the embodiment (overall configuration and arrangement of communication devices) The arrangement of the communication device 100 of each embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, an example of the overall configuration including the communication device 100 of each embodiment will be described using Fig. 1. This example shows a case where data is transmitted from a first terminal device 10(N) (N: an integer assigned to each first terminal device) to a second terminal device 20(M) (M: an integer assigned to each second destination device). The first terminal device 10(N) (corresponding to a "source device") divides data generated or acquired by the first terminal device 10(N) into multiple packets and outputs them to a client device. The client device (corresponding to a "communication device") distributes the multiple packets received from the first terminal device 10(N) to one or multiple communication lines (1 to L) (L: the total number of communication lines) and transmits them to a server device (corresponding to a "counterparty device"). The server device rearranges multiple packets received from one or more communication lines so as to restore the original data, and transmits them to a second terminal device 20(M) (corresponding to the "destination device"), which is the destination specified by the first terminal device 10(N).

[0018] Packets transmitted from a client device are assigned a first sequence number, which is a number incremented in the order of packets transmitted for each communication line, and a second sequence number, which is a number incremented in the order of packets constituting the data for each data flow. The data flow is identified based on, for example, the IP address and port number of the first terminal device 10(N) that is the source (together corresponding to "source device information") and the IP address and port number of the second terminal device 20(M) that is the destination (together corresponding to "destination device information"). In addition, a line number that identifies the line and a flow identification number that identifies the flow may be included. This allows the server device to restore the data order of packets received from the client device based on the second sequence number, etc., and transmit them to the second terminal device 20(M).

[0019] The multiple communication lines may be communication lines with the same communication method or communication lines with different communication methods. For example, examples of wireless communication lines include IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), HSPA (High Speed ​​Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (Long Term Evolution Advanced), 4G, 5G, etc., or DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication). In each embodiment, it is assumed that all of the multiple communication lines are wireless communication lines, but some or all of them may be wired communication lines. Examples of wired communication lines include a LAN (Local Area Network) such as Ethernet (registered trademark), the Internet, an optical fiber line, and a fixed telephone line.

[0020] Specific examples of the first terminal device 10(N) and the second terminal device 20(M) will be described later in the embodiment using Figure 4. The term "terminal" for the first terminal device 10(N) and the second terminal device 20(M) refers to the starting point and the ending point with respect to the generation and use of data, and does not limit the form of the device. For example, even a large-scale server device can be called a terminal device with respect to the generation or use of data. The client device distributes and transmits a plurality of packets to one or more communication lines, and the method of distribution will be described in each embodiment.

[0021] The first terminal device 10(N) and the client device may be integrated. In this example, the first terminal device 10(N) divides data into multiple packets and outputs them to the client device, but the client device may receive data from the first terminal device 10(N) and divide it into multiple packets. Furthermore, the second terminal device 20(M) and the server device may also be integrated.

[0022] When data is transmitted from a client device to a server device using an uplink as in this example, the client device corresponds to the communication device 100 in each embodiment, and the server device corresponds to the counterpart device 200. In this case, the first terminal device 10(N) corresponds to the source device in each embodiment, and the second terminal device 20(M) corresponds to the destination device in each embodiment. Conversely, when data is transmitted from a server device to a client device using a downlink, the server device corresponds to the communication device 100 in each embodiment, and the client device corresponds to the counterpart device 200. In this case, the second terminal device 20(M) corresponds to the source device in each embodiment, and the first terminal device 10(N) corresponds to the destination device in each embodiment. In either case, the communication device 100 and the counterpart device 200 together constitute the communication system 1 of each embodiment. In the following description, an example will be described in which an uplink is used. In each embodiment described below, the first terminal device 10(N) will be referred to as a transmission source device, and the second terminal device 20(M) will be referred to as a transmission destination device.

[0023] Next, a case where the communication device 100 is mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The communication device 100 is included in an electronic control system S consisting of multiple electronic control units (ECUs) "mounted" on a vehicle, which is a "mobile body," and is a device responsible for communication inside and outside the vehicle. The communication device 100 stores data generated by an application running on the ECU or data acquired by a sensor in multiple packets and transmits the packets to a counterpart device 200 outside the vehicle. In this case, the ECU or sensor corresponds to the "transmission device." Note that the communication device 100 itself may also be in the form of an ECU, such as a communication ECU or TCU (Telematics Control Unit) having a communication module. where: "Mobile object" refers to an object that can move at any speed. It also includes cases where the object is stationary. Examples include, but are not limited to, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, ships, aircraft, and objects mounted on these. "Mounted" includes not only cases where the device is directly fixed to the mobile body, but also cases where the device is not fixed to the mobile body but moves with the mobile body. For example, cases where the device is carried by a person riding on the mobile body, or cases where the device is mounted on cargo placed on the mobile body, are included.

[0024] The counterpart device 200 transmits the received data to, for example, an application server (corresponding to a "destination device"), and the application server then executes various applications using the received data.

[0025] In each embodiment, the communication device 100 can perform communication in parallel using, for example, multiple 5G lines operated by different communication carriers, or can perform communication in parallel using communication lines of wireless communication methods including 5G, 4G, and Wi-Fi. Of course, the types and number of communication lines are arbitrary.

[0026] Examples of data transmitted from communication device 100 to counterpart device 200 include, but are not limited to, image information acquired by an in-vehicle camera and location information acquired by a GPS sensor. In addition, the object to be transmitted may be software or a program itself, in addition to data.

[0027] 2 illustrates a case where the communication device 100 is mounted on a vehicle and the counterpart device 200 is installed outside the vehicle, but the locations where the communication device 100 and the counterpart device 200 are installed are not limited to this. That is, the communication device 100 may not be mounted on a vehicle, but may be installed, for example, inside a building or outdoors. The counterpart device 200 may also be mounted on a vehicle. Of course, the communication device 100 and the counterpart device 200 do not have to both be mounted on vehicles, and may be mounted on different vehicles, or may be mounted on the same vehicle. When mounted on different vehicles, the communication device 100 and the counterpart device 200 may communicate with each other using, for example, vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

[0028] 2. Embodiment 1 (1) Configuration of the communication device 100 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication device 100 according to this embodiment. The communication device 100 includes a first receiving unit 101, a required characteristic information storage unit 102, a required characteristic determination unit 103, a policy characteristic information storage unit 104, a policy determination unit 105, a transmission control unit 106, second transmitting units 107-1 to 107-L, second receiving units 108-1 to 108-L, a reception control unit 109, a first transmitting unit 110, a policy characteristic information update unit 111, and a policy characteristic information change unit 112.

[0029] Communication device 100 is a device capable of communicating with counterpart device 200 "connected" to a destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit packets including data received from a source device to the destination device. With regard to packets that communication device 100 transmits to counterpart device 200, data received from the source device may be stored in multiple packets by communication device 100 or another device, or data may be stored in multiple packets by the source device. Here, "connected" includes not only direct connection but also indirect connection via some devices.

[0030] The communication device 100 can be configured with a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit), volatile memory such as RAM, non-volatile memory such as ROM, flash memory, or hard disk, various interfaces, and an internal bus connecting these. The communication device 100 can be configured to perform the functions of each functional block shown in Figure 3 by executing software on this hardware.

[0031] The first receiving unit 101 (corresponding to the "receiving unit") receives a packet from the source device. When packets are generated within the communication device 100 rather than within the source device, data received from the source device is stored in a packet in a packet storage unit (not shown) provided before the first receiving unit 101, and the packet output from the packet storage unit is received by the first receiving unit 101. Even in this case, from the perspective of the first receiving unit 101, it can be said that a packet has been received from the first terminal device 10(N).

[0032] The required characteristic information storage unit 102 stores required characteristic information that links source device candidates and destination device candidates with required characteristic candidates. The required characteristic information storage unit 102 may be a volatile memory such as a RAM, or a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a hard disk.

[0033] The method and content of the required characteristic information will be explained using FIG. Generally, there may be multiple types of data used by a destination device, in which case the type of data can be identified by the combination of the source device and the destination device. For example, if a remote driving application that controls a vehicle in real time while viewing camera footage from a remote location is running on a server device, video data and location information are sent from the vehicle to the server device. In this case, the destination device for the video data and location information is the server device, while the source device for the video data is the camera or an ECU that manages the camera footage, and the source device for the location information is a GPS or an ECU that manages the location information.

[0034] For example, suppose a remote driving application primarily uses camera footage for control, with location information used as supplementary information to complement the camera footage. In this case, video data is large and requires real-time performance, so wide bandwidth and low latency are desirable, but packet loss is acceptable as long as it does not distort the screen. Therefore, the candidate required characteristics are a speed of 15 Mbps, a latency of 120 ms, and a success rate of 90%. The success rate is the probability of successful transmission and reception, calculated by subtracting the packet loss rate from 100%. In contrast, location information is small in size, so a low communication speed is not a problem. However, since it complements the camera footage, it requires real-time performance similar to that of video data. Since small data is generally more susceptible to data loss, packet loss should be kept as low as possible. Therefore, the candidate required characteristics are a speed of 2 Mbps, a latency of 120 ms, and a success rate of 95%.

[0035] Using yet another example, the method for determining the required characteristic information and its contents will be described. For example, in the case of a remote conference system, video data and audio data are transmitted from the terminal devices of participants in a conference to a server device, and the server device running the remote conference system receives the data and forwards it to the terminal devices of other participants. In this case, the destination device for the video data and audio data is the server device or the terminal devices of other participants, such as personal computers or smartphones, while the source device for the video data is the camera or the personal computer or smartphone of the participant that manages the video data, and the source device for the audio data is the microphone or the personal computer or smartphone of the participant that manages the audio data.

[0036] A remote conference system shares the same commonality as the remote driving application in the previous example in that it uses camera footage, but the video data in a remote conference system can be less real-time than that of a remote driving application, and some degree of screen disturbance is acceptable. Therefore, the candidate required characteristics are set to 10 Mbps speed, 200 ms latency, and 85% success rate. On the other hand, audio data is smaller in size than video data, so a lower communication speed is not a problem, but due to the nature of conferences, real-time performance is required to ensure smooth conversation, and audio interruptions are unacceptable. However, a lack of synchronization with the video does not pose a major problem. Therefore, the candidate required characteristics are set to 4 Mbps speed, 100 ms latency, and 95% success rate.

[0037] Another example is a big data analysis application that collects various sensor data and logs from a vehicle and performs statistical processing. In this case, the destination device for the logs is a server device, and the source device for the logs is a security sensor or an ECU that manages the logs. Since logs and other data are used for statistical processing, the requirements for speed and latency can be relaxed, but packet loss should be small because it affects the results of the statistical processing. Furthermore, since a huge amount of data needs to be transmitted, the communication cost should be as low as possible. Therefore, the candidate required characteristics are set as follows: a speed of 7 Mbps, a latency of 300 ms, a success rate of 95%, and a communication cost of 2 yen / GB or less.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the content of required characteristic information. In FIG. 5, the required characteristic candidates are stored in association with predetermined source device candidates and destination device candidates, as in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, the source device candidate is recorded with the address and port of the source device, the destination device candidate is recorded with the address and port of the destination device, and protocol candidates, which are protocols used in communication. Then, the required characteristic candidates, which indicate required characteristics required for communication between the source device candidate and the destination device candidate, are recorded in association with the source device candidate and the destination device candidate. In FIG. 5, speed (Mbps), delay (ms), success rate (%), and other indices are recorded as indicators of the required characteristic candidates. Of course, this is merely an example, and other indices may be recorded as the required characteristic candidates. Instead of the success rate (%), a packet loss rate (%) may be recorded.

[0039] In Fig. 5, in accordance with the example described at the beginning of Fig. 4, the address (xxxx) and port number (100) of the ECU that manages the camera video (the source device), the address (aaaa) and port number (100) of the server device that is the destination device, and the required characteristics required by the protocol (TCP) are recorded, including speed (15 Mbps), delay (120 ms), and success rate (90%). Also recorded are the address (yyyy) and port number (100) of the ECU that manages the location information (the source device), the address (aaaa) and port number (200) of the server device that is the destination device, and the required characteristics required by the protocol (TCP) are recorded, including speed (2 Mbps), delay (120 ms), and success rate (95%).

[0040] Although Figure 5 shows an example in which both source device candidates and destination device candidates are recorded, if the required characteristics can be determined using only the source device candidates or only the destination device candidates, it is also possible to record only either the source device candidates or the destination device candidates.

[0041] In Fig. 5, the source device candidates, destination device candidates, protocol candidates, and required characteristic candidates defined as in Fig. 4 are recorded, but in addition, rows recording only protocol candidates and required characteristic candidates, and rows recording only required characteristic candidates, are included, as shown in the bottom three rows of Fig. 5. How to use this will be described later in the section on required characteristic determination unit 103.

[0042] 5 indicate ideal values. In this embodiment, a measure having a measure characteristic closest to the ideal value is adopted, as will be described later. In addition, in the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the required characteristic candidate indicates a limit value.

[0043] The required characteristics determination unit 103 determines required characteristics required for communication to transmit a packet to the counterparty device 200, based on the packet received by the first receiving unit 101. More specifically, the required characteristics required for communication are determined based on source device information indicating a source device "identified" from the packet received by the first receiving unit 101 and destination device information indicating a destination device "identified" from the packet. Furthermore, the required characteristics may be determined based on a protocol "identified" from the packet. One method for obtaining source device information and destination device information from a packet is to use, for example, information indicating the source device or the destination device contained in the received packet. Furthermore, the protocol may be obtained using information indicating the protocol contained in the received packet. Alternatively, the source device information and destination device information may be estimated from the type of data contained in the packet, the protocol used, the packet frame structure, and the packet transmission and reception time. Here, "identified" includes not only cases where the information contained in the packet is identified as a result of directly or indirectly using the information contained in the packet, but also cases where the information is identified as a result of using information other than the information contained in the packet, such as the packet structure or the time the packet was sent or received.

[0044] According to this embodiment, the required characteristics determination unit 103 determines required characteristics using required characteristics information stored in the required characteristics information storage unit 102 as shown in Fig. 5. For example, if the source device information included in the packet is an address (xxxx) and a port number (100), the destination device information is an address (aaaa) and a port number (100), and the protocol is TCP, these match the source device candidate, destination device candidate, and protocol candidate of ID (1) in Fig. 5, so the required characteristics determination unit 103 determines the corresponding required characteristics candidates, namely, speed (15 Mbps), delay (120 ms), and success rate (90%), as the required characteristics.

[0045] If the required characteristic information does not contain a combination of source device candidate and destination device candidate that matches the combination of source device information and destination device information, one of the required characteristic candidates ID(101) to ID(103) is used. For example, if the protocol can be identified from the packet, the required characteristic candidate ID(101) or ID(102) is determined as the required characteristic. If the protocol cannot be identified either, the required characteristic candidate ID(103) is determined as the required characteristic.

[0046] The policy characteristic information storage unit 104 stores policy characteristic information that links multiple policy candidates with policy characteristic candidates that can be realized by each of the policy candidates. Like the requirement characteristic information storage unit 102, the policy characteristic information storage unit 104 may be either a volatile memory such as RAM or a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a hard disk.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of the contents of the policy characteristic information. FIG. 6 shows a case where there are two multiple communication lines. In FIG. 6, the candidate policies are candidate communication methods using one or multiple communication lines. When using one or multiple communication lines, there are three possible combinations of control methods: simple transmission, bandwidth synthesis transmission, and redundant transmission. Simple transmission is a control method for transmitting packets using one of multiple communication lines. Bandwidth synthesis transmission is a control method for allocating packets to two or more of multiple communication lines for transmission. Redundant transmission is a control method for transmitting the same packet using two or more communication lines.

[0048] In the example in Figure 6, the candidate measures are defined by the dependency rate of each communication line. The dependency rate is an index that indicates what proportion of the data volume to be transmitted is left to that communication line. For example, if the packets to be transmitted are generated at 5Mbps and the dependency rate of a certain communication line is 50%, then transmission will be limited to 2.5Mbps over that communication line. The dependency rate can also be expressed as the reliability of each line.

[0049] In the case of Figure 6, there are two communication lines, so in the case of simple transmission, there are two candidate policies, #1 and #2. In the case of redundant transmission, there is only one candidate policy, #6. In the case of bandwidth synthesis transmission, the number of policies changes depending on the granularity of the dependency rate. For example, if the granularity is 50%, there are three candidate policies, #3 to #5. Then, candidate policy characteristics that can be achieved by using the communication lines with each candidate policy are recorded. The candidate policy characteristics can be calculated if the speed, delay, success rate, and other indicators when each communication line is used alone are known. 6 indicates expected values ​​of policy characteristics, but actual values ​​may be shown instead. Also, when the line usage rate is uniquely determined, expected values ​​and actual values ​​at that usage rate may be shown.

[0050] It is also possible to use three or more communication lines. In this case, some of the communication lines can be used for bandwidth synthesis transmission, and the rest can be used for redundant transmission.

[0051] In addition, although the policy characteristic information in Fig. 6 classifies the policy candidates by dependency rate, they may also be classified by utilization rate. In this case, in the case of bandwidth synthesis transmission, the policy candidates may be set at the granularity of the number of communication lines to be used and the utilization rate of each communication line.

[0052] The policy determination unit 105 determines a policy, which is a "combination" of one or more communication lines to be used for communication, based on the required characteristics determined by the required characteristics determination unit 103. Alternatively, the policy determination unit 105 may determine a policy, which is a "combination" and "proportion" of one or more communication lines to be used for communication, based on the required characteristics determined by the required characteristics determination unit 103. The proportion may be either the proportion of packets to be distributed to each communication line, or the proportion of resources used for each communication line. According to this embodiment, the policy determination unit 105 determines, as a policy, a policy candidate linked to a policy characteristic candidate having the smallest "distance" from the required characteristics, using policy characteristic information stored in the policy characteristic information storage unit 104 as shown in FIG. 6. where: "Combination" includes the use of a single communication line as well as a combination of two or more communication lines. "Percentage" includes 0% and 100%. The "distance" indicates the degree of deviation between the required characteristic and the policy characteristic candidate, and can be defined, for example, by a norm that is the length of a geometric vector on a plane or in space.

[0053] 7 is a diagram illustrating the calculation for determining the inter-vector distance performed by the policy determination unit 105 of this embodiment. When the required characteristic and the policy characteristic candidates are treated as vectors, the policy determination unit 105 of this embodiment determines the policy characteristic candidate having the smallest inter-vector distance. For example, in FIG. 7, the policy characteristic candidate indicated by #3 has the smallest inter-vector distance from the required characteristic, so the policy candidate corresponding to #3 is determined as the policy. If the required characteristic is Cr and the policy characteristic candidate is C(#), the distance d(Cr,C(#)) between the required characteristic Cr and the policy characteristic C(#) is d(Cr,C(#))=||Cr-C(#)|| ||Cr-C(#)|| may be calculated by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of Cr and C(#), or by using other calculations.

[0054] The policy decision unit 105 may notify the source device if the distance d between the required characteristic Cr and the policy characteristic C(#) linked to the policy is greater than a predetermined distance. In such a case, there is a possibility that packets cannot be transmitted in a stable manner. Therefore, by notifying the source device in advance, it is possible to trigger the source device to take measures. where: The "predetermined distance" may be a constant value or a variable value that varies depending on conditions. "Greater than" includes both the case where the objects to be compared are equal (≦) and the case where they are not equal (<).

[0055] Transmission control unit 106 distributes packets to be transmitted to each communication line based on the policy decided by policy decision unit 105. Then, multiple second transmission units 107-1 to 107-L (L: number of communication lines) (corresponding to "transmission unit") are connected to each of communication lines 1 to L, and transmit the packets distributed to each unit to counterparty device 200. When the policy determined by the policy determination unit 105 is simple transmission, packets are not distributed to unused communication lines, and the second transmission unit 107 connected to the unused communication lines does not transmit packets.

[0056] The second receiving units 108-1 to 108-L receive actual measurement values ​​of communication characteristics measured and transmitted by the counterpart device 200. In this embodiment, the actual measurement values ​​include a speed (Mbps), a delay (bps), and a success rate (%). In addition, the second receiving units 108-1 to 108-L also receive data transmitted from the destination device to the source device.

[0057] The reception control unit 109 outputs the actual measurement values ​​of communication characteristics received by the second reception units 108-1 to 108-L to the policy characteristic information update unit 111. In addition, the reception control unit 109 rearranges the packets received by the second reception units 108-1 to 108-L and outputs them to the first transmission unit 110.

[0058] The first transmitting unit 110 transmits the packets rearranged by the reception control unit 109 to the source device.

[0059] The policy characteristic information update unit 111 updates the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information by using the actual measurement values ​​of the communication characteristics received from the counterpart device 200. For example, the policy characteristic information update unit 111 periodically receives the communication speed (Mbps), delay (ms), and success rate (%) from the counterpart device 200 and updates the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information by calculating a moving average for each. Alternatively, the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information are updated by filtering each of them taking into account an observation error.

[0060] The policy characteristic information changing unit 112 changes the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information based on at least one input of the vehicle speed, the vehicle position, and the current time. For example, a set of multiple policy characteristic candidates is prepared in advance for one policy candidate, and the set of policy characteristic candidates is changed by appropriately switching based on the input information.

[0061] For example, the faster the vehicle speed, the lower the success rate of the policy characteristic candidate is switched to. The vehicle speed can be obtained by inputting the vehicle speed detected by a wheel speed sensor or the position information measured using GNSS. For example, when a vehicle moves to a specific location, the system switches to a policy characteristic candidate with a slower communication speed. The vehicle's location can be determined by inputting location information measured using GNSS. For example, when it is a time period when there is a high traffic congestion of vehicles on the road, the system switches to a policy characteristic candidate with a slow communication speed. The current time can be obtained by inputting the current time measured using a clock installed in the vehicle or GNSS. Alternatively, when a connection is made using a specific communication standard, the policy characteristic candidate may be switched to one with a slower communication speed.

[0062] The policy characteristic information update unit 111 and the policy characteristic information change unit 112 are of optional configuration in this embodiment.

[0063] (2) Configuration of the Counterpart Device 200 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of counterparty device 200 in this embodiment. Counterpart device 200 has receiving units 201-1 to 201-L, communication characteristics measuring unit 202, transmitting units 203-1 to 203-L, and alignment unit 204.

[0064] Receiving units 201-1 to 201-L receive packets transmitted from second transmitting units 107-1 to 107-L of communication device 100 via the respective communication lines.

[0065] Communication characteristics measurement unit 202 measures the communication characteristics of each communication line based on packets received by receiving units 201-1 to 201-L. For example, communication characteristics measurement unit 202 measures a communication speed (Mbps) based on the amount of data of packets received in a predetermined period, a packet delay (ms) based on transmission time information included in the packet and the reception time at which the packet was received, and a success rate (%) based on the number of packets transmitted from communication device 100 and the number of packets received by receiving units 201-1 to 201-L. The number of packets transmitted from communication device 100 can be found using the first sequence number and the second sequence number included in the packet.

[0066] Transmitting sections 203-1 to 203-L transmit the actual measured values ​​of communication characteristics measured by communication characteristics measuring section 202 to communication device 100. For example, the actual measured values ​​of communication characteristics are stored in packets and transmitted. In addition, the transmitting units 203-1 to 203-L also transmit data received from a destination device by a receiving unit (not shown) and transmitted from the destination device to the source device.

[0067] Alignment unit 204 rearranges the packets received by receiving units 201-1 to 201-L based on the second sequence number etc. included in each packet, and then transmits the packets from a transmitting unit (not shown) to a destination device.

[0068] (3) Operation of the communication device 100 Next, the operation of communication device 100 will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. Figures 9 to 11 not only show a communication method executed by communication device 100, but also show the processing procedure of a communication program executable by communication device 100. These processes are not limited to the order shown in Figures 9 to 11. In other words, the order may be changed as long as there are no constraints, such as a relationship in which a certain step uses the result of the previous step.

[0069] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating the overall operation of the communication device 100. The first receiving unit 101 receives a packet from a source device (S101). The required characteristics determination unit 103 determines the required characteristics required for communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet received in S101 and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet received in S101 (S102). The policy determination unit 105 determines a policy, which is a combination of one or more communication lines to be used for communication, based on the required characteristics determined in S102 (S103). The transmission control unit 106 distributes the packets to each communication line based on the policy determined in S103 (S104). Second transmitting units 107-1 to 107-L transmit the packets allocated in S104 using the respective communication lines (S105).

[0070] 10 is a flow diagram illustrating in detail the operation of S102, which is the operation of the required characteristic determining unit 103. Note that the numbers in parentheses of the required characteristic candidates indicate the IDs in FIG. The required characteristics determining unit 103 identifies the source device, the destination device, and the protocol from the packet received in S101 (S111). The required characteristic determination unit 103 reads the required characteristic information from the required characteristic information storage unit 102 (S112). The required characteristic determination unit 103 determines whether the required characteristic information read in S112 includes all of the source device, destination device, and protocol identified in S111 (S113). If included, the required characteristic determination unit 103 uses the required characteristic information to determine the required characteristic candidates (1 to) corresponding to the source device, destination device, and protocol as required characteristics Cr (S114). If not included, the process proceeds to S115. The required characteristic determination unit 103 determines whether the protocol identified in S111 is included in the required characteristic information read in S112 (S115). If included, the required characteristic determination unit 103 uses the required characteristic information to determine the required characteristic candidate (101, 102) corresponding to the protocol as the required characteristic Cr (S116). If not included, the required characteristic determination unit 103 determines the required characteristic candidate (103) as the required characteristic Cr (S117).

[0071] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the operation of S103, which is the operation of the strategy determination unit 105. The policy decision unit 105 assigns an initial value of a policy candidate as a policy p (S121), and calculates the distance d between the policy characteristic candidate C(p) of the policy p and the required characteristic Cr (S122). The policy determination unit 105 determines the distance d(i) between the first (i=1) policy characteristic candidate C(i) and the required characteristic Cr (S123, S124). If the distance d(i) is equal to or greater than the distance d (S125: No), i is incremented (S129) and the process returns to S124. If the distance d(i) is smaller than the distance d (S125: Yes), the policy candidate p(i) is set as the policy p (S126), and the distance d(i) is set as the distance d (S127). If i has not reached the number N of all the policy candidates (S128: No), i is incremented (S129) and the process returns to S124. If i has reached the number N of all the policy candidates (S128: Yes), the policy p and the distance d between the policy characteristic candidate C(p) of the policy p and the required characteristic Cr are determined, and the process ends.

[0072] (4) Summary As described above, according to the communication device 100 of this embodiment, the required characteristics for communication are determined based on the source device information and the destination device information, and packets are distributed to each line based on these required characteristics, so that multi-link communication suitable for the type of packet, the type of data contained in the packet, etc. can be performed. According to the communication device 100 of this embodiment, the required characteristics required for communication are determined based on the protocol identified from the packet, so that more accurate required characteristics can be determined. According to the communication device 100 of this embodiment, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate that is closest to the required characteristic is determined as the policy, so that it is possible to identify the combination and ratio of communication lines that realizes the characteristic closest to the required characteristic, and to transmit packets with the communication characteristic closest to the required characteristic.

[0073] (5) Modification 1 of the First Embodiment The required characteristic candidates in the first embodiment are ideal values, for example, as shown in Fig. 5. Therefore, the measure determination unit 105 determines, as a measure, the policy characteristic candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate having the smallest distance from the required characteristic. However, if the required characteristic candidate is not an ideal value but a limit value, the determination method of the measure determination unit 105 of embodiment 1 may determine as the measure a measure candidate linked to the measure characteristic candidate that is below the limit value. Therefore, in this modification, a case where the required characteristic candidate is a limit value will be described.

[0074] The communication device 100 of this modification has the same configuration as the communication device 100 of the first embodiment, so Fig. 3 and the description of the first embodiment will be cited. Below, the configuration and processing that differ from the first embodiment will be described.

[0075] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a specific example of the content of the required characteristic information of this modified example. The difference from Fig. 5 is that the required characteristic candidate index in Fig. 12 indicates a limit value, so in addition to a predetermined value, information on whether it is above or below the limit is added.

[0076] Then, the policy decision unit 105 uses the policy characteristic information stored in the policy characteristic information storage unit 104 as shown in Figure 6 to determine as the policy the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate that has the smallest "distance" from the required characteristic among the policy candidates linked to the policy characteristic candidates that satisfy the required characteristic as the limit value.

[0077] 13 is a diagram illustrating the calculation performed by the policy determination unit 105 of this modified example to determine the inter-vector distance. As in the first embodiment, the policy determination unit 105 of this modified example determines the policy characteristic candidate with the smallest inter-vector distance. However, since the required characteristic Cr is a limit value, even if the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #3 has the smallest inter-vector distance from the required characteristic Cr, the vector of the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #3 is in the NG region and does not satisfy the required characteristic as the limit value. In this modified example, the policy candidate that satisfies the required characteristic Cr as the limit value and is linked to the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #1 with the smallest inter-vector distance from the required characteristic Cr is determined as the policy.

[0078] As in the first embodiment, the required characteristics may be set as ideal values, and a threshold value may be set as a limit value. In this case, the threshold value may also be considered as part of the required characteristics.

[0079] As described above, according to the communication device of this modified example, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate that is closest to the required characteristic among the policy characteristic candidates that satisfy the required characteristic as the limit value is determined as the policy, so that packets can be transmitted with the communication characteristics required for transmitting the packets, and communication failures due to packet loss or congestion can be avoided.

[0080] (6) Modification 2 of Embodiment 1 In embodiment 1, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate with the smallest distance from the required characteristic was determined as the policy, assuming that the required characteristic is an ideal value. However, in addition to this condition, it is also possible to limit the policy candidate by similarity.

[0081] That is, the measure determination unit 105 uses the measure characteristic information stored in the measure characteristic information storage unit 104 as shown in Figure 6 to determine, as a measure, the measure candidate linked to the measure characteristic candidate with the smallest "distance" from the required characteristic among the measure candidates linked to the measure characteristic candidate whose similarity to the required characteristic is within a predetermined range. If the required characteristic is Cr and the policy characteristic candidate is C(#), the similarity cosθ is cosθ=Cr·C(#) / ||Cr||·||C(#)|| It can be calculated as follows.

[0082] 14 is a diagram illustrating the calculation performed by the policy determination unit 105 of this modified example to determine the inter-vector distance. As in the first embodiment, the policy determination unit 105 of this modified example determines the policy characteristic candidate having the smallest inter-vector distance. However, even if the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #2 has the smallest inter-vector distance from the required characteristic Cr, the vector of the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #2 is in the NG region, so the similarity is outside the predetermined range and does not satisfy the required characteristic. In this modified example, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate corresponding to #1, whose similarity to the required characteristic Cr is within the predetermined range and whose inter-vector distance from the required characteristic Cr is smallest, is determined as the policy.

[0083] As described above, according to the communication device of this modified example, among the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate whose similarity to the required characteristic is within a predetermined range, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate that is closest to the required characteristic is determined as the policy.Therefore, packets can be transmitted with the communication characteristics required for transmitting the packets, and communication failures due to packet loss or congestion can be avoided.

[0084] 3. Summary The features of the communication devices and the like in each embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

[0085] The terms used in each embodiment are merely examples and may be replaced with synonymous terms or terms having the same functions.

[0086] The block diagrams used to explain the embodiments classify and organize the device configuration by function. The blocks representing each function can be realized by any combination of hardware or software. Furthermore, because they represent functions, the block diagrams can also be understood as disclosures of method inventions and program inventions that realize the methods.

[0087] The order of the functional blocks that can be understood as the processes, flows, and methods described in each embodiment may be changed as long as there are no constraints, such as one step utilizing the results of another step that precedes it.

[0088] The terms first, second, through Nth (N is an integer) used in each embodiment and in the claims are used to distinguish between two or more configurations or methods of the same type, and do not limit the order or superiority or inferiority.

[0089] The following are examples of the configuration of the communication device and the counterpart device of the present invention. Examples of the component include semiconductor elements, electronic circuits, modules, and microcomputers. Examples of semi-finished products include an electronic control unit (ECU) and a system board. Finished product forms include mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, personal computers (PCs), workstations, and servers. Other examples include devices with communication functions, such as video cameras, still cameras, and car navigation systems.

[0090] Furthermore, necessary functions such as an antenna and a communication interface may be added to the communication device.

[0091] The communication device of the present invention is expected to be used, particularly on the server side, to provide various services, and the communication device of the present invention, the method of the present invention, and / or the program of the present invention will be used in providing these services.

[0092] In addition, the present invention can be realized not only by dedicated hardware having the configuration and functions described in each embodiment, but also by a combination of a program for realizing the present invention recorded on a recording medium such as a memory or hard disk, and general-purpose hardware having a dedicated or general-purpose CPU and memory that can execute the program.

[0093] A program stored in a non-transitory physical recording medium (for example, an external storage device (hard disk, USB memory, CD / BD, etc.) or an internal storage device (RAM, ROM, etc.)) of dedicated or general-purpose hardware can be provided to the dedicated or general-purpose hardware via a recording medium, or via a communication line from a server without using a recording medium. This makes it possible to always provide the latest functions through program upgrades. [Industrial Applicability]

[0094] The communication device of the present invention may be used in a mobile phone or smartphone that supports multiple SIMs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 100 communication device, 101 first receiving unit, 102 required characteristic information storage unit, 103 required characteristic determination unit, 104 policy characteristic information storage unit, 105 policy determination unit, 106 transmission control unit, 107-1 to L second transmitting units, 108-1 to L second receiving units, 109 reception control unit, 110 first transmitting unit, 111 policy characteristic information update unit, 112 policy characteristic information change unit, 200 opposite device, 10 first terminal device, 20 second terminal device

Claims

1. A communication device (100) capable of communicating with a counterpart device connected to a destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit a packet including data received from a source device to the destination device, a receiving unit (101) for receiving the packet from the source device; a required characteristic determination unit (103) that determines required characteristics for the communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet; a policy decision unit (105) that decides a policy, which is a combination of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication, based on the required characteristics; a transmission control unit (106) that distributes the packets to each communication line based on the policy; a plurality of transmitting units (107) connected to the respective communication lines and transmitting the packets; A communication device (100).

2. the required characteristics determination unit further determines the required characteristics based on a protocol identified from the packet. The communication device according to claim 1.

3. The device further includes a required characteristic information storage unit (102) for storing required characteristic information linking source device candidates and destination device candidates with required characteristic candidates, the required characteristic determination unit determines, as the required characteristic, the required characteristic candidate corresponding to the source device information and the destination device information, using the required characteristic information. The communication device according to claim 1.

4. The system further includes a policy characteristic information storage unit (104) for storing policy characteristic information linking a plurality of policy candidates with policy characteristic candidates that can be realized by each of the policy candidates, the measure determination unit determines, as the measure, the measure candidate linked to the measure characteristic candidate having the smallest distance from the required characteristic, using the measure characteristic information; The communication device according to claim 1.

5. the policy decision unit, using the policy characteristic information, decides, as the policy, the policy candidate linked to the policy characteristic candidate that has the smallest distance from the required characteristic among the policy candidates linked to the policy characteristic candidate that satisfies the required characteristic as a limit value; 5. The communication device according to claim 4.

6. the measure determination unit, using the measure characteristic information, determines, as the measure, the measure candidate linked to the measure characteristic candidate having the smallest distance from the required characteristic among the measure candidates linked to the measure characteristic candidate having a similarity to the required characteristic within a predetermined range; 5. The communication device according to claim 4.

7. the measure determination unit notifies the transmission source device when a distance between the required characteristic and the measure candidate linked to the measure is greater than a predetermined distance; The communication device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

8. the policy determination unit determines the policy from among simple transmission in which the packet is transmitted using a single communication line, bandwidth synthesis transmission in which the packet is distributed to a plurality of communication lines and transmitted, and redundant transmission in which the same packet is transmitted using a plurality of communication lines. The communication device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

9. the policy determination unit determines the policy, which is a combination and ratio of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication, based on the required characteristics. The communication device according to claim 1.

10. Further, a policy characteristic information update unit (111) is provided for updating the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information using actual measurement values ​​of communication characteristics received from the counterpart device. The communication device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

11. The communication device is mounted on a mobile object, The information processing device further includes a policy characteristic information changing unit (112) that changes the policy characteristic candidates of the policy characteristic information based on at least one of the speed of the moving body, the position of the moving body, and the current time. The communication device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

12. A communication method executed by a communication device (100) capable of communicating with a counterpart device connected to a destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit a packet including data received from a source device to the destination device, comprising: Receive the packet from the source device (S101); determining required characteristics for the communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet (S102); Based on the required characteristics, a strategy is determined, which is a combination of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication (S103); Based on the policy, the packets are distributed to each communication line (S104); Transmitting the packet using each of the communication lines (S105). Communication method.

13. A communication program executable by a communication device (100) capable of communicating with a counterpart device connected to a transmission destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit a packet including data received from a transmission source device to the transmission destination device, The communication program is for the communication device: Receive the packet from the source device (S101); determining required characteristics for the communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet (S102); Based on the required characteristics, a strategy is determined, which is a combination of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication (S103); Based on the policy, the packets are distributed to each communication line (S104); Transmitting the packet using each of the communication lines (S105), and executing the process. Communications program.

14. A communication system (1) comprising a communication device (100) and a counterpart device (200) that communicates with the communication device, the communication device is a communication device capable of communicating with the other device connected to the destination device using one or more communication lines in order to transmit a packet including data received from the source device to the destination device, a receiving unit (101) for receiving the packet from the source device; a required characteristic determination unit (103) that determines required characteristics for the communication based on source device information indicating the source device identified from the packet and destination device information indicating the destination device identified from the packet; a policy decision unit (105) that decides a policy, which is a combination of one or more of the communication lines to be used for the communication, based on the required characteristics; a transmission control unit (106) that distributes the packets to each communication line based on the policy; a plurality of transmitting units (107) connected to the respective communication lines and transmitting the packets; The counterpart device is A receiving unit (201) that receives the packet; a communication characteristics measurement unit (202) for measuring communication characteristics of each of the communication lines based on the received packets; a transmitting unit (203) that transmits the communication characteristics to the communication device, Communication system (1).

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