Wireless LAN terminal, control method for wireless LAN terminal, and control program for wireless LAN terminal

Abstract

To provide a wireless LAN terminal, etc. capable of selecting a WAP to which communication is unlikely to be disconnected from among a plurality of connectable WAPs.SOLUTION: The wireless LAN terminal has connection information receiving means, communication means, and WAP selection means. The connection information receiving means receives first connection information about the connection between a WAP to which another wireless LAN terminal in the vicinity of its own terminal among a plurality of WAPs is connected and the other wireless terminal from the other wireless LAN terminal. The communication means connects and communicates with one of the plurality of WAPs. The WAP selection means selects a WAP to which the communication means connects on the basis of the first connection information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless LAN terminal and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, many terminals such as smartphones and notebook computers are equipped with wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication functions such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). In the following description, such terminals will be referred to as wireless LAN terminals. A wireless LAN terminal can connect to a wireless access point (WAP) and connect to the Internet via the WAP.

[0003] When there are multiple WAPs, the wireless LAN terminal can monitor the communication quality and select the WAP with the best communication quality. The communication quality can be evaluated, for example, by measuring the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or the error rate in communication. Many wireless LAN terminals are equipped with a scanning function for searching for a connectable WAP. Such wireless LAN terminals perform scanning when the communication quality becomes worse than a predetermined level. When the wireless LAN terminal finds a WAP with better communication quality, it can perform a roaming process to switch the connection to the WAP. Here, the roaming process refers to a process of switching the connection destination from one WAP to another WAP. The term roaming can also refer to receiving the service of another communication carrier outside the service area of ​​the contracted communication carrier, but here it also includes the process of simply switching the WAP.

[0004] In a wireless LAN, the same ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) ​​is generally set for multiple WAPs, and a wireless LAN terminal may have a roaming function for automatically switching between WAPs having the same ESSID.

[0005] An example of a wireless LAN terminal equipped with the above-mentioned roaming function and a control method thereof is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a wireless LAN terminal transmits a PING (Packet INternet Groper) to a WAP to detect a WAP that can communicate with a higher-level device, and switches the connection destination to the WAP with the strongest signal among the detected WAPs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-124113 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Since wireless LAN communication enables communication with a stable connection in proportion to the strength of the radio wave intensity, as in the method described in Patent Document 1, a wireless LAN terminal can select and connect to a WAP with the strongest radio wave to achieve communication with a more stable connection. However, when another WAP is present in the vicinity of one WAP and the channel used by the two WAPs overlaps, the radio waves of the two WAPs interfere with each other. When radio wave interference occurs between the two WAPs, the connection between the wireless LAN terminal and the WAP becomes unstable. For this reason, there are cases in which the wireless LAN terminal selects the WAP with the strongest received radio wave, but this does not necessarily mean selecting the WAP with the most stable connection.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a wireless LAN terminal etc. that can select a WAP that is less likely to experience communication interruptions from among multiple WAPs to which it can be connected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the wireless LAN terminal of the present invention has a connection information receiving means for receiving from another wireless LAN terminal among a plurality of WAPs to which another wireless LAN terminal located in the vicinity of the terminal is connected first connection information regarding a connection between the other wireless terminal and a WAP among the plurality of WAPs to which the other wireless terminal is connected, a communication means for connecting to and communicating with one of the plurality of WAPs, and a WAP selection means for selecting a WAP to which the communication means will connect based on the first connection information.

[0010] In addition, the control method for a wireless LAN terminal of the present invention receives first connection information from another wireless LAN terminal present in the vicinity of the own terminal regarding a connection between the other wireless LAN terminal and a WAP among multiple WAPs to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected, and selects a WAP to which the communication means of the own terminal will connect based on the first connection information.

[0011] In addition, the control program of a wireless LAN terminal of the present invention causes the wireless LAN terminal to execute a process of receiving, from another wireless LAN terminal present in the vicinity of the terminal, first connection information regarding a connection between the other wireless LAN terminal and a WAP among multiple WAPs to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected, and a process of selecting a WAP to which the communication means of the terminal will connect based on the first connection information. Effect of the Invention

[0012] An effect of the present invention is to provide a wireless LAN terminal or the like that can select a WAP with which communication is unlikely to be interrupted from among a plurality of connectable WAPs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless LAN terminal according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a wireless LAN system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless LAN terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4]4 is a table showing an example of first connection information according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless LAN terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of a wireless LAN terminal according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are limited in a technically preferable manner for carrying out the present invention, but the scope of the invention is not limited to the following. Note that the same components in each drawing are given the same numbers, and the description may be omitted.

[0015] (First embodiment) Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless LAN terminal 100 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless LAN system 1000 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless LAN terminal 100 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 4 is a table showing an example of the first connection information according to the first embodiment.

[0016] 1, the wireless LAN terminal 100 has a communication means 110, a communication quality monitoring means 120, a connection information receiving means 130, a connection information transmitting means 140, a WAP scanning means 150, and a WAP selecting means 160. The hardware of the wireless LAN terminal 100 may include, for example, a wireless communication device, a microcomputer having a processor and a memory, an input / output interface, and a housing.

[0017] The communication means 110 connects to one of the multiple WAPs and performs communication. This wireless communication is performed in compliance with the WiFi (registered trademark) standard, for example.

[0018] The communication quality monitor 120 monitors the communication quality of wireless communication with the WAP. The communication quality indicators may include, for example, RSSI (received signal strength indicator) and an error rate.

[0019] The connection information receiving means 130 receives, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information relating to a connection between a WAP among a plurality of WAPs to which another wireless LAN terminal is connected and the other wireless LAN terminal. The first connection information relates to a connection between the WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity is connected. The first connection information is received, for example, using short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0020] The connection information transmitting means 140 has a beacon transmission function, and transmits, to other nearby wireless LAN terminals, second connection information regarding communication with the WAP to which the communication means 110 is connected. The second connection information can be transmitted using, for example, short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0021] In order to prevent information about each wireless LAN terminal 100 from being identified, the first connection information and the second connection information may be configured not to include information about the wireless LAN terminal.

[0022] The WAP scanning means 150 performs a WAP scan to search for connectable WAPs.

[0023] The WAP selection means 160 selects a WAP to which the communication means 110 of the wireless LAN terminal 100 is to connect, based on the first connection information received by the connection information receiving means 130.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless LAN system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a wireless LAN system 1000 including a plurality of wireless LAN terminals 101 and 102, which are examples of the wireless LAN terminal 100, and three WAPs, WAP1_201, WAP2_202, and WAP3_203. WAP1_201 and WAP2_202 are, for example, WAPs whose locations are fixed, and WAP3_203 is a mobile WAP. Here, it is assumed that the wireless LAN terminal 101 is connected to WAP1_201, and the wireless LAN terminal 102 is connected to WAP2_202. It is also assumed that WAP3_203 uses the same channel as WAP2_202 and is approaching WAP2_202. In this case, the approach of WAP3_203 causes radio interference in the channel used by WAP2_202, making communication unstable.

[0025] Furthermore, the wireless LAN terminals 101 and 102 transmit second connection information regarding the connection between the communication means 110 and the WAP to the nearby wireless LAN terminals 100, for example, using Bluetooth (registered trademark). Each wireless LAN terminal 100 also receives first connection information regarding the connection between each wireless LAN terminal 100 and the WAP from another nearby wireless LAN terminal 100. That is, the wireless LAN terminals 101 and 102 transmit and receive the first connection information and the second connection information to each other.

[0026] 2, communication between the wireless LAN terminal 102 and WAP2_202 becomes unstable due to radio wave interference from WAP3_203. This is detected as a decrease in communication quality by the communication quality monitoring means of the wireless LAN terminal 102. Then, the WAP selection means 160 of the wireless LAN terminal 102 determines that the communication of WAP1_201 is stable based on the first connection information received from the wireless LAN terminal 101. Then, the WAP selection means 160 of the wireless LAN terminal 102 performs roaming processing to switch the connection destination from WAP2_202, whose communication is unstable, to WAP1_201, whose communication is stable.

[0027] Next, the operation shown in the above specific example will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless LAN terminal of the first embodiment. First, the communication quality monitoring means 120 monitors the communication quality in communication with the WAP (S101). If there is no problem with the communication quality (S102_No), the wireless LAN terminal 100 ends this operation without roaming. On the other hand, if there is a problem with the communication quality (S102_Yes), the wireless LAN terminal 100 refers to the first connection information received from the surrounding wireless LAN terminal (S103). Then, the wireless LAN terminal 100 judges whether there is a WAP with stable communication in the first connection information (S104). If a WAP with stable communication is found (S104_Yes), the wireless LAN terminal 100 performs roaming processing to switch the connection destination to the WAP (S105). If there are multiple applicable WAPs, for example, the communication qualities can be compared to select the WAP with the higher communication quality. On the other hand, if there is no WAP with stable communication in the first connection information (S104_No), the wireless LAN terminal 100 uses the WAP scanning means 150 to perform a scan to search for a connectable WAP (S106). Then, the WAP selection means 160 selects, for example, the WAP with the strongest signal (S107). As described above, since a WAP with the strongest signal does not necessarily have stable communication, the process returns to S101 via the route indicated by A, and the communication quality is monitored.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of the first connection information of the first embodiment. As shown in the table of FIG. 4, the first connection information holds WAP_No, BSSID (MAC address) for identifying each WAP, radio wave strength and connection duration in connection with the source wireless LAN terminal. Here, BSSID stands for Basic Service Set Identifier, and MAC stands for Media Access Control. In addition, the MAC Media Access Control address of the WAP is generally used as it is for the BSSID. The WAP selection means 160 selects a WAP with a stable connection in the first connection information. Here, if there are multiple WAPs with stable connections, the WAP selection means 160 can select, for example, a WAP with a large radio wave strength (WAP3 in FIG. 4). Alternatively, the WAP selection means 160 can select the one with the longest connection time. In addition, the WAP selection means 160 may score these indicators and make a judgment based on the total value.

[0029] The wireless LAN terminal and the like according to the first embodiment have been described above.

[0030] The wireless LAN terminal 100 in the first embodiment of the present invention has a communication means 110, a connection information receiving means 130, and a WAP selecting means 160. The connection information receiving means 130 receives, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal, first connection information regarding a connection between the WAP and another wireless terminal when another wireless LAN terminal is connected to one of the multiple WAPs. The communication means 110 connects to one of the multiple WAPs and communicates with it. The WAP selecting means 160 selects a WAP to which the communication means 110 will connect from among the multiple WAPs based on the first connection information. In this configuration, the WAP selecting means 160 selects a WAP that has a stable connection with another wireless LAN terminal from among the multiple WAPs in the first connection information, so that the wireless LAN terminal 100 can select a WAP that is less likely to be disconnected.

[0031] In one embodiment, the first connection information includes the received radio wave strength of the radio wave received from the WAP to which another wireless LAN terminal is connected. The WAP selection means 160 can select the WAP to which the communication means 110 connects based on the received radio wave strength. With this configuration, the wireless LAN terminal 100 can select a WAP with high received radio wave strength and stable connection.

[0032] In one embodiment, the first connection information includes a connection time with a WAP currently connected to another wireless LAN terminal, and the WAP selection means 160 can select a WAP to which the communication means 110 connects based on the connection time. With this configuration, a WAP with stable communication over a long period of time can be selected.

[0033] In one embodiment, the communication means 110 of the wireless LAN terminal 100 has a communication quality monitoring means for monitoring the communication quality with the currently connected WAP. The WAP selection means 160 can be configured to reselect a WAP to connect to when the communication quality falls below a predetermined threshold. With this configuration, when communication with the currently connected WAP becomes unstable, a WAP with stable communication can be selected to perform stable communication.

[0034] In one embodiment, the communication means 110 of the wireless LAN terminal 100 has a WAP scanning means 150 that performs a WAP scan to search for a connectable WAP. Then, the WAP selecting means 160 selects a WAP to which the communication means 110 will connect based on the result of the WAP scan and the first connection information. With this configuration, it is possible to select a WAP that is less likely to be disconnected from among both the WAP indicated in the first connection information and the WAP found by the WAP scan.

[0035] In one embodiment, the wireless LAN terminal 100 includes a connection information transmitting means 140 that transmits second connection information related to the connection with the WAP to which the communication means 110 is connected, to another wireless LAN terminal present in the vicinity of the terminal. With this configuration, the second connection information related to the communication with the WAP to which the communication means 110 is connected can be transmitted to the surrounding wireless LAN terminals.

[0036] Furthermore, the control method of the wireless LAN terminal 100 in the first embodiment of the present invention receives, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information relating to a connection between a WAP among a plurality of WAPs to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected and the other wireless LAN terminal. Then, based on the received first connection information, the communication means 110 of the terminal itself selects a WAP to which the communication means 110 connects. In this configuration, the WAP selection means 160 selects a WAP that has a stable connection with the other wireless LAN terminal from among the plurality of WAPs in the first connection information. Therefore, the control method of the wireless LAN terminal can select a WAP with which communication is unlikely to be interrupted from among the plurality of connectable WAPs.

[0037] The control program of the wireless LAN terminal 100 in the first embodiment of the present invention causes the wireless LAN terminal 100 to execute a process of receiving first connection information related to a connection between another wireless LAN terminal and a WAP from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself. Here, the first connection information is information related to a connection between a WAP to which another wireless LAN terminal is connected among a plurality of WAPs and the other wireless LAN terminal. Then, the wireless LAN terminal 100 can execute a process of selecting a WAP to which the communication means 110 of the terminal itself will connect based on the first connection information. In this configuration, the WAP selection means 160 selects a WAP that has a stable connection with another wireless LAN terminal from among the plurality of WAPs in the first connection information. Therefore, the control program of the wireless LAN terminal can cause the wireless LAN terminal 100 to execute a process of selecting a WAP with which communication is unlikely to be interrupted from among a plurality of WAPs that can be connected.

[0038] Second embodiment The configuration of the wireless LAN terminal 10 of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless LAN terminal 10 of the second embodiment. Also, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless LAN terminal 10 of the second embodiment. The wireless LAN terminal 10 has connection information receiving means 1, communication means 2, and WAP selection means 3. The wireless LAN terminal 100 of the first embodiment is a specific example of the wireless LAN terminal 10 of this embodiment. Also, the connection information receiving means 130, communication means 110, and WAP selection means 160 of the first embodiment are each a specific example of the connection information receiving means 1, communication means 2, and WAP selection means 3 of this embodiment.

[0039] The connection information receiving means 1 receives, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information relating to a connection between the WAP and another wireless terminal when another wireless LAN terminal is connected among a plurality of WAPs.

[0040] The communication means 2 connects to one of the multiple WAPs and performs communication.

[0041] The WAP selection means 3 selects a WAP to which the communication means 2 connects based on the received first connection information. At this time, the WAP selection means 3 selects a WAP in the first connection information that has a stable connection with another wireless LAN terminal that is the sender. In this configuration, the WAP selection means 3 selects a WAP that has a stable connection with another wireless LAN terminal from among the multiple WAPs in the first connection information. Therefore, the wireless LAN terminal 10 can select a WAP that is unlikely to be disconnected from among the multiple WAPs to which it can connect.

[0042] Next, the operation of the wireless LAN terminal 10 of the second embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless LAN terminal 10. First, the wireless LAN terminal 10 receives, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information relating to a connection between the other wireless LAN terminal and a WAP (S201). Next, based on the received first connection information, the WAP to which the communication means 2 will connect is selected from among multiple WAPs (S202).

[0043] As described above, the wireless LAN terminal 10 of this embodiment receives the first connection information from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, and is therefore able to grasp the WAP with which the wireless LAN terminal has a stable connection. Then, the WAP selection means 3 selects a WAP with which communication with another terminal is stable, so the wireless LAN terminal 10 can select a WAP with which communication is unlikely to be interrupted from among a plurality of connectable WAPs.

[0044] The scope of the present invention also includes a program for causing a computer to execute the processes of the first and second embodiments described above, and a recording medium storing the program. As the recording medium, for example, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc. can be used.

[0045] The present invention has been described above by taking the above-mentioned embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. That is, the present invention can be applied in various aspects that can be understood by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1, 130 Connection information receiving means 2, 110 Means of communication 3. 160 WAP selection method 10, 100 Wireless LAN terminals 120 Communication quality monitoring means 140 Connection information transmission means 150 WAP Scan Methods 1000 Wireless LAN System

Claims

1. a connection information receiving means for receiving first connection information relating to a connection between a WAP to which another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal is connected among a plurality of WAPs and the other wireless LAN terminal from the other wireless LAN terminal; A communication means for connecting to and communicating with one of the plurality of WAPs; a WAP scanning means for performing a WAP scan to search for a WAP to which the communication means can connect when the first connection information does not include first connection information regarding a WAP with stable communication; a WAP selection means for selecting a WAP to which the communication means is to connect based on a result of the WAP scan and the first connection information, The WAP selection means: selecting a WAP with stable communication as a WAP to be connected to by the communication means when the first connection information includes first connection information regarding a WAP with stable communication; the first connection information includes at least one of a received radio wave intensity of a radio wave received from a WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected and a connection time between the other wireless LAN terminal and the WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected; determining whether the first connection information includes first connection information about a WAP with stable communication, based on at least one of the received radio wave intensity and the connection time included in the first connection information; A wireless LAN terminal comprising:

2. the first connection information includes the received radio wave intensity, the WAP selection means selects a WAP to which the communication means is to connect based on the received radio wave intensity; 2. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1.

3. The first connection information includes the connection time, the WAP selection means selects a WAP to which the communication means is to connect based on the connection time; 3. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the communication means has a communication quality monitoring means for monitoring the quality of communication with the WAP currently being connected; The WAP selection means includes: When the communication quality falls below a predetermined threshold, the WAP selection means reselects a WAP to connect to.

4. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless LAN terminal comprises:

5. The wireless LAN terminal has a connection information transmission means for transmitting second connection information regarding a connection with a WAP to which the communication means is connected, to the other wireless LAN terminal in the vicinity of the terminal.

5. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 1, wherein the wireless LAN terminal comprises:

6. receiving, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information regarding a connection between the other wireless LAN terminal and a WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected among a plurality of WAPs; When the first connection information includes first connection information about a WAP with stable communication, the WAP with stable communication is selected as a WAP to which the communication means of the terminal is to be connected; When the first connection information does not include first connection information regarding a WAP with stable communication, the communication means performs a WAP scan to search for a connectable WAP; selecting a WAP to which the communication means is to connect based on a result of the WAP scan and the first connection information; the first connection information includes at least one of a received radio wave intensity of a radio wave received from a WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected and a connection time between the other wireless LAN terminal and the WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected; determining whether the first connection information includes first connection information about a WAP with stable communication, based on at least one of the received radio wave intensity and the connection time included in the first connection information; A method for controlling a wireless LAN terminal comprising the steps of:

7. A process of receiving, from another wireless LAN terminal existing in the vicinity of the terminal itself, first connection information regarding a connection between the other wireless LAN terminal and a WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected among a plurality of WAPs; a process of selecting a WAP with stable communication as a WAP to be connected to by the communication means of the terminal itself when the first connection information includes first connection information regarding a WAP with stable communication; a process of performing a WAP scan to search for a WAP that can be connected by the communication means when the first connection information does not include first connection information regarding a WAP with stable communication; The wireless LAN terminal executes the above. a WAP to which the communication means is to connect is selected based on the result of the WAP scan and the first connection information; the first connection information includes at least one of a received radio wave intensity of a radio wave received from a WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected and a connection time between the other wireless LAN terminal and the WAP to which the other wireless LAN terminal is connected; determining whether the first connection information includes first connection information about a WAP with stable communication, based on at least one of the received radio wave intensity and the connection time included in the first connection information; A control program for a wireless LAN terminal comprising:

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