Wireless terminal connection control method

Abstract

In this wireless terminal connection control method, QoE is evaluated before wireless terminals are connected to a wireless LAN, and connection to the wireless LAN is permitted when a QoE equal to or higher than a predetermined level can be guaranteed. In a QoE reception step, a QoE value representing the wireless communication quality experienced by a user is received from each of wireless terminals connected to a wireless LAN access point. In an overall QoE calculation step, an overall QoE value is calculated on the basis of the received QoE values. In a connection permission step, connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminals unconnected to the wireless LAN access point is permitted when there is a connection request to the wireless LAN access point from the unconnected wireless terminals and the overall QoE value is greater than or equal to a threshold.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless terminal connection control method, and more particularly to a technique for providing wireless services to a wireless terminal having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless LAN access points are installed in train stations and convenience stores. Recent wireless terminals have wireless interfaces for both wireless LAN and public mobile communication networks. In hopes of reducing the amount of communication on the public mobile communication network and improving the quality of wireless communication, wireless terminals are connected to wireless LAN access points. Technologies for automatically switching connections from the public mobile communication network to wireless LAN have been under consideration for some time. An access point controls whether or not to permit a connection to a wireless terminal that attempts to connect to it. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an access point rejects connections from wireless terminals with an electric field level below a certain level. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Panasonic AP (EA-7HW03AP1) Instruction Manual (Settings) Commercial Wi-Fi Base Station, 4.3.4 Terminal Connection Control Settings [Non-Patent Document 2] Toshiko Tominaga, Kanako Sato, Noriko Yoshimura, Masatake Masuda, Hitoshi Aoki, Takanori Hayashi, “Web-Browsing QoE Estimation Model”, IEICE Trans. On Communications, Vol. E100.B, No.10, pp.1837-1845, 2017. [Non-Patent Document 3] Okamoto, Hayashi, "Latest Trends in Video Media Quality Assessment Technology," Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Fundamentals Reviews, 276-284, 2013 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional wireless interface switching technology has a problem that usability may be deteriorated after switching to wireless LAN. Usability is the same as the quality experienced by the user (Quality of Experience: QoE). A wireless terminal connection control method that allows wireless terminal connection based on QoE is desired.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a wireless terminal connection control method that evaluates QoE prior to connecting a wireless terminal to a wireless LAN, and allows connection to the wireless LAN if a QoE of a predetermined level or higher can be guaranteed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first perspective is, A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising the steps of: a QoE receiving step of receiving a QoE (Quality of Experience) value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QoE calculation step of calculating an overall QoE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with Preferably, said overall QoE value is an exponential moving average of each of said received QoE values. The second viewpoint is, A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising the steps of: a QoE receiving step of receiving a QoE (Quality of Experience) value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QoE calculation step of calculating an overall QoE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with The overall QoE value is preferably an exponential moving average of the proportion of QoE values ​​equal to or greater than a specified value among the received QoE values. The third viewpoint is, A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising the steps of: a QoE receiving step of receiving a QoE (Quality of Experience) value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QoE calculation step of calculating an overall QoE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with The threshold value is preferably a value obtained by multiplying a first threshold value related to the overall QoE value by a function whose value decreases as the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of the wireless terminal in the unconnected state increases. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a wireless LAN access point evaluates the QoE of an already connected wireless terminal before connecting a new wireless terminal to the wireless LAN access point. If the wireless LAN access point can guarantee a QoE of a predetermined level or higher, the wireless LAN access point allows the new wireless terminal to connect to the wireless LAN access point. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the usability of the wireless terminal experienced by the user after the wireless terminal is connected to the wireless LAN access point. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 5 is a flowchart for explaining a process of an overall QoE calculation unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a connection permission unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a timing chart for explaining a specific example according to each embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of an overall QoE calculation unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a connection permission unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 13 is a graph of a function f(rssi) according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart for explaining a connection permission unit 22 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9]1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless terminal 1 and an access point 2 according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that elements common to the various drawings are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0010] Embodiment 1 (1) Wireless communication system Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an overview of a wireless communication system according to embodiment 1. The wireless communication system shown in Fig. 1 includes a plurality of wireless terminals 1 and an access point 2. In Fig. 1, a first wireless terminal 1a, a second wireless terminal 1b, and an N-th wireless terminal 1n are illustrated as examples of the wireless terminals 1.

[0011] (2) Wireless terminal Each wireless terminal 1 has wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, and can switch between the wireless LAN and the public wireless communication network. Each wireless terminal 1 includes a quality measurement unit 10, a QoE calculation unit 11, and a QoE transmission unit 12.

[0012] The quality measurement unit 10 measures the Web latency (the time from the start of loading a Web page to the end of loading the Web page). The Web latency is obtained by obtaining the values ​​of "loadEventEnd" and "navigationStart" via the Navigation Timing API, which is a standard API for browsers, and subtracting "navigationStart" from "loadEventEnd". The calculated Web latency is notified to the QoE calculation unit 11.

[0013] The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates a Degradation Mean Opinion Score (DMOS), which is a QoE value, from the notified Web latency by the following formula (1) described in Non-Patent Document 2. Here, t is the Web latency. The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the QoE transmission unit 12 of the calculated QoE value.

[0014]

number

[0015] The quality evaluation value indicated by the QoE(DMOS) value is classified into the following five stages (Non-Patent Document 3). 5: No deterioration observed (Imperceptible) 4: Deterioration is noticeable but not bothersome (Perceptible, but not annoying) 3: Deterioration is observed and is slightly annoying. 2: Deterioration is observed and is of concern (Annoying) 1: Deterioration is observed and is very annoying

[0016] The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value to the access point 2 .

[0017] (3) Access points The access point 2 is a wireless LAN access point, and includes a QoE receiving unit 20, an overall QoE calculating unit 21, and a connection permitting unit 22.

[0018] The QoE receiving unit 20 receives a QoE value from each wireless terminal 1 connected to the wireless LAN (access point 2), and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0019] The process of the overall QoE calculation unit 21 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates an overall QoE value based on each received QoE value. In the first embodiment, the overall QoE value is an exponential moving average (EMA) of each received QoE value. The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) where α is a constant between 0 and 1.

[0020]

number

[0021] 2 is a flowchart for explaining the overall QoE calculation unit 21 according to the embodiment 1. The flow shown in FIG.

[0022] In step S100, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 receives the QoE value from the QoE reception unit 20.

[0023] In step S110, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 judges whether or not the QoE value has been received for the first time. If the QoE value has been received for the first time, the process of step S120 is executed. On the other hand, if the QoE value has been received for the second or subsequent times, the process of step S130 is executed.

[0024] In step S120, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) with the first received QoE value.

[0025] In step S130, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) to update the

[0026] After that, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the overall QoE value.

[0027] The process of the connection permission unit 22 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. When a connection request is made from a wireless terminal 1 that is not connected to an access point 2 to the access point 2 and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold, the connection permission unit 22 permits connection between the access point 2 and the wireless terminal 1 that is not connected to the access point 2.

[0028] 3 is a flowchart for explaining the connection permission unit 22 according to the embodiment 1. The flow shown in FIG.

[0029] In step S200, the connection permission unit 22 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold THa. The threshold THa is a quality evaluation value with five levels from 1 to 5 as described above. For example, setting the threshold THa to 3 means that a new connection is permitted only when the exponential moving average of the QoE of the wireless terminal 1 connected to the access point 2 is equal to or greater than normal (THa=3).

[0030] Overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is equal to or greater than the threshold THa, a QoE of a predetermined level or higher can be guaranteed for the wireless terminal 1 connecting to the access point 2. Therefore, the connection permission unit 22 permits a new connection in step S210. After that, the wireless terminal 1 is newly connected to the access point 2.

[0031] On the other hand, the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is less than the threshold THa, a QoE of a predetermined level or higher cannot be guaranteed for the wireless terminal 1 connecting to the access point 2. Therefore, the connection permission unit 22 does not permit a new connection in step S220.

[0032] (4) Specific examples A specific example of the above-mentioned QoE-based connection process in the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] In the example shown in FIG. 4, there is one access point 2. A first wireless terminal 1a and a second wireless terminal 1b are connected to the access point 2. The first wireless terminal 1a and the second wireless terminal 1b receive web traffic as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, at time t3, a third wireless terminal 1c is not connected to the access point 2 and is connected to the public mobile communication network. The third wireless terminal 1c attempts a new connection to the access point 2 at time t3. In this specific example, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 follows the flowchart in FIG. 2, and the connection permission unit 22 follows the flowchart in FIG. 3.

[0034] At time t1 (5 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the first wireless terminal 1a notifies the Web waiting time (5 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows. QoE = 4.179×exp((-5) / 9.524)+1.000 = 3.47

[0035] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=3.47) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=3.47) to the access point 2.

[0036] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=3.47) from the first wireless terminal 1, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0037] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of Fig. 2. Since the overall QoE calculation unit 21 has received the QoE value for the first time, it substitutes the received QoE value (= 3.47) for the overall QoE value (step S120). The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (= 3.47).

[0038] At time t2 (8 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the second wireless terminal 1b notifies the Web waiting time (3 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows: QoE = 4.179×exp((-3) / 9.524)+1.000 = 4.05

[0039] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=4.05) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=4.05) to the access point 2.

[0040] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=4.05) from the first wireless terminal 1, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0041] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of Fig. 2. Since the overall QoE calculation unit 21 has received the second QoE value, it calculates the overall QoE (QoE _EMA ) is updated (step S130). Here, α in equation (2) is set to 0.2. QoE _EMA = α×QoE+(1-α)×QoE _EMA = 0.2 x 4.05 + (1 - 0.2) x 3.47 = 3.59

[0042] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (=3.59).

[0043] At time t3 (10 seconds after time t0), it is assumed that a connection request to access point 2 is made from third wireless terminal 1c, which is connected to the public mobile communications network, in order to switch the connection destination to access point 2.

[0044] The connection permission unit 22 judges whether or not to permit the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c according to the flowchart of Fig. 3. Here, the threshold THa in Fig. 3 is 3. In this case, since the overall QoE value (=3.59) is judged to be equal to or greater than the threshold THa (=3), the connection permission unit 22 permits the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c (step S210). That is, when there is a connection request from the third wireless terminal 1c to the access point 2 and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold THa, the connection permission unit 22 permits the third wireless terminal 1c to switch its connection destination from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0045] Thereafter, the connection destination of the third wireless terminal 1c is switched from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0046] (5) Effects As described above, in the system of this embodiment, the wireless LAN access point evaluates the QoE of an already connected wireless terminal before connecting a new wireless terminal to the wireless LAN access point. If the wireless LAN access point can guarantee a QoE of a predetermined level or higher, it allows the new wireless terminal to connect to the wireless LAN access point. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the usability of the wireless terminal experienced by the user after the wireless terminal is connected to the wireless LAN access point.

[0047] Embodiment 2 Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The wireless communication system according to the second embodiment is similar to that according to the first embodiment, except that some of the processes performed by the overall QoE calculation unit 21 and the connection permission unit 22 of the access point 2 are different.

[0048] (1) Access points The process of the overall QoE calculation unit 21 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates an overall QoE value based on each received QoE value. The overall QoE value is an exponential moving average of the proportion of QoE values ​​equal to or greater than a specified value (threshold THb) among each received QoE value.

[0049] 5 is a flowchart for explaining the overall QoE calculation unit 21 according to the embodiment 2. The flow shown in FIG.

[0050] In step S100, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 receives the QoE value from the QoE reception unit 20.

[0051] In step S110, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 judges whether or not the QoE value has been received for the first time. If the QoE value has been received for the first time, the process of step S320 is executed. On the other hand, if the QoE value has been received for the second or subsequent times, the process of step S350 is executed.

[0052] First, the case where the QoE value is received for the first time (steps S320 to S340) will be described. In step S320, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 judges whether the QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold value THb. The threshold value THb is a quality evaluation value on a five-level scale from 1 to 5 as described above. If the QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold value THb, the overall QoE value (QoE EMA On the other hand, if the QoE value is less than the threshold THb, the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is assigned the value 0 (step S340).

[0053] Next, the case where the QoE value is received for the second or subsequent time (steps S350 to S370) will be described. In step S350, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 determines whether the QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold value THb. The threshold value THb is a quality evaluation value on a five-level scale from 1 to 5 as described above.

[0054] When the QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold value THb, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMAOn the other hand, if the QoE value is less than the threshold THb, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 updates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is updated (step S370), where α is a constant between 0 and 1. The overall QoE value calculated by equations (3) and (4) is the exponential moving average of the proportion of QoE values ​​that are equal to or greater than a specified value (threshold THb) among the received QoE values.

[0055]

number

[0056]

number

[0057] After that, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the overall QoE value.

[0058] The process of the connection permission unit 22 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal 1 that is not connected to the access point 2 to the access point 2, and when the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is equal to or greater than a threshold value THc, the access point 2 permits connection to the unconnected wireless terminal 1.

[0059] 6 is a flowchart for explaining the connection permission unit 22 according to the embodiment 2. The flow shown in FIG.

[0060] The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 described above, except that step S200 is replaced by step S400.

[0061] In step S400, the connection permission unit 22 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold THc. The threshold THc is a value between 0 and 1. For example, setting the threshold THc to 0.7 means that a new connection is permitted only if the exponential moving average of the proportion of QoE values ​​that are equal to or greater than a specified value (threshold THb in FIG. 5) among all received QoE values ​​is equal to or greater than 70%.

[0062] Overall QoE value (QoE EMA If ) is equal to or greater than the threshold THc, a communication quality equal to or greater than a predetermined level can be guaranteed to the wireless terminal 1 connecting to the access point 2. Therefore, the connection permission unit 22 permits a new connection in step S210. After that, the wireless terminal 1 is newly connected to the access point 2.

[0063] On the other hand, the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is less than the threshold THc, a communication quality equal to or higher than a predetermined level cannot be guaranteed to the wireless terminal 1 connecting to the access point 2. Therefore, in step S220, the connection permission unit 22 does not permit a new connection.

[0064] (2) Specific examples With reference to FIG. 4, a specific example of the above-mentioned QoE-based connection process in the wireless communication system according to the second embodiment will be described.

[0065] In the example shown in FIG. 4, there is one access point 2. A first wireless terminal 1a and a second wireless terminal 1b are connected to the access point 2. The first wireless terminal 1a and the second wireless terminal 1b receive web traffic as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, at time t3, a third wireless terminal 1c is not connected to the access point 2 and is connected to the public mobile communications network. The third wireless terminal 1c attempts a new connection to the access point 2 at time t3. In this specific example, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 follows the flowchart in FIG. 5, and the connection permission unit 22 follows the flowchart in FIG. 6.

[0066] At time t1 (5 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the first wireless terminal 1a notifies the Web waiting time (5 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows. QoE = 4.179×exp((-5) / 9.524)+1.000 = 3.47

[0067] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=3.47) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=3.47) to the access point 2.

[0068] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=3.47) from the first wireless terminal 1a, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0069] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of Fig. 5. The overall QoE calculation unit 21 judges whether the QoE value received for the first time is equal to or greater than the threshold THb (step S320). Here, the threshold THb is set to 3. In this case, since the QoE value (=3.47) is judged to be equal to or greater than the threshold THb (=3), the overall QoE calculation unit 21 assigns 1 to the overall QoE value (step S340). The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (=1).

[0070] At time t2 (8 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the second wireless terminal 1b notifies the Web waiting time (3 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows: QoE = 4.179×exp((-3) / 9.524)+1.000 = 4.05

[0071] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=4.05) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=4.05) to the access point 2.

[0072] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=4.05) from the second wireless terminal 1b, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0073] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of FIG. 5. The overall QoE calculation unit 21 judges whether the QoE value received for the second time is equal to or greater than the threshold THb (step S350). Here, the threshold THb is set to 3. In this case, since the QoE value (=4.05) is judged to be equal to or greater than the threshold THb (=3), the overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE _EMA ) is updated (step S360). Here, α in the formula (3) is set to 0.2. QoE _EMA = α×1+(1-α)×QoE _EMA = 0.2×1+(1-0.2)×1 = 1

[0074] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (=1).

[0075] At time t3 (10 seconds after time t0), it is assumed that a connection request to access point 2 is made from third wireless terminal 1c, which is connected to the public mobile communications network, in order to switch the connection destination to access point 2.

[0076] The connection permission unit 22 judges whether or not to permit the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c according to the flowchart of Fig. 6. Here, the threshold THc in Fig. 6 is 0.7. In this case, since the overall QoE value (=1) is judged to be equal to or greater than the threshold THc (=0.7), the connection permission unit 22 permits the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c. That is, when there is a connection request from the third wireless terminal 1c to the access point 2 and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold THc, the connection permission unit 22 permits the connection destination of the third wireless terminal 1c to be switched from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0077] Thereafter, the connection destination of the third wireless terminal 1c is switched from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0078] (3) Effects As described above, according to the system of this embodiment, the wireless LAN access point evaluates the QoE of an already connected wireless terminal before connecting a new wireless terminal to the wireless LAN access point. The wireless LAN access point allows the connection of a new wireless terminal only when the exponential moving average (total QoE value) of the proportion of QoE values ​​that are equal to or greater than a specified value (threshold THb) among the received QoE values ​​is equal to or greater than a predetermined proportion (threshold THc). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the usability of the wireless terminal experienced by the user from deteriorating after the wireless terminal is connected to the wireless LAN access point.

[0079] Embodiment 3 Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The wireless communication system according to the third embodiment is similar to that according to the first embodiment, except that some processing of the connection permitting unit 22 of the access point 2 is different.

[0080] (1) Access points The connection permission unit 22 according to the third embodiment realizes connection control taking into consideration not only QoE but also a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). When a connection request is made from the wireless terminal 1 not connected to the access point 2 to the access point 2 and the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold, the connection permission unit 22 permits the connection between the access point 2 and the wireless terminal 1 not connected. Here, the threshold is a value obtained by multiplying a threshold THa for the overall QoE value by a function f(rssi) whose value decreases as the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the wireless terminal not connected is higher. That is, the connection permission unit 22 judges whether the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a value obtained by multiplying the threshold THa by the function f(rssi), and permits the connection if the judgment condition is satisfied, and does not permit the connection if the judgment condition is not satisfied. The function f(rssi) is expressed by the following formula (5).

[0081]

number

[0082] Fig. 7 is a graph of the function f(rssi). As shown in Fig. 7, f(rssi) is a function that takes the value 1 when rssi is r1 or less, takes the value 0 when rssi is r2 or more, and takes the value determined by formula (5) when rssi is between r1 and r2. f(rssi) is a function whose value decreases as rssi increases, and wireless terminals 1 with higher RSSI tend to satisfy the judgment conditions and therefore are more likely to connect.

[0083] The process of the connection permission unit 22 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the connection permission unit 22 according to the third embodiment. The flow shown in Fig. 8 is executed every time the access point 2 receives a connection request signal from the wireless terminal 1. The RSSI can be obtained from the received signal strength when the access point 2 receives the connection request signal from the wireless terminal 1.

[0084] The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 described above, except that step S200 is replaced by step S500.

[0085] In step S500, the connection permission unit 22 calculates the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) is equal to or greater than the value obtained by multiplying a predetermined threshold THa by f(rssi) shown in formula (5). As described above, the threshold THa is a quality evaluation value on a scale of 1 to 5. f(rssi) is a function whose value decreases as the rssi increases, and the higher the RSSI of a wireless terminal 1, the more likely it is that the judgment condition in step S500 will be met.

[0086] Overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) satisfies the determination condition in step S500, the connection permission unit 22 permits a new connection in step S210. After that, the wireless terminal 1 is newly connected to the access point 2.

[0087] On the other hand, the overall QoE value (QoE EMA ) does not satisfy the determination condition in step S500, the connection permission unit 22 does not permit a new connection in step S220.

[0088] (2) Specific examples A specific example of the above-mentioned QoE-based connection process in the wireless communication system according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0089] In the example shown in FIG. 4, there is one access point 2. A first wireless terminal 1a and a second wireless terminal 1b are connected to the access point 2. The first wireless terminal 1a and the second wireless terminal 1b receive web traffic as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, at time t3, a third wireless terminal 1c is not connected to the access point 2 and is connected to the public mobile communication network. The third wireless terminal 1c attempts a new connection to the access point 2 at time t3. In this specific example, the overall QoE calculation unit 21 follows the flowchart in FIG. 2, and the connection permission unit 22 follows the flowchart in FIG. 8.

[0090] At time t1 (5 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the first wireless terminal 1a notifies the Web waiting time (5 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows. QoE = 4.179×exp((-5) / 9.524)+1.000 = 3.47

[0091] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=3.47) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=3.47) to the access point 2.

[0092] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=3.47) from the first wireless terminal 1, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0093] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of Fig. 2. Since the overall QoE calculation unit 21 has received the QoE value for the first time, it substitutes the received QoE value (= 3.47) for the overall QoE value (step S120). The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (= 3.47).

[0094] At time t2 (8 seconds after time t0), the quality measurement unit 10 of the second wireless terminal 1b notifies the Web waiting time (3 seconds) to the QoE calculation unit 11. The QoE calculation unit 11 calculates the QoE value according to the above-mentioned formula (1) as follows: QoE = 4.179×exp((-3) / 9.524)+1.000 = 4.05

[0095] The QoE calculation unit 11 notifies the calculated QoE value (=4.05) to the QoE transmission unit 12. The QoE transmission unit 12 transmits the notified QoE value (=4.05) to the access point 2.

[0096] The QoE receiving unit 20 of the access point 2 receives the QoE value (=4.05) from the first wireless terminal 1, and notifies the overall QoE calculating unit 21 of the value.

[0097] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 calculates the overall QoE value according to the flowchart of Fig. 2. Since the overall QoE calculation unit 21 has received the second QoE value, it calculates the overall QoE (QoE _EMA ) is updated (step S130). Here, α in equation (2) is set to 0.2. QoE _EMA = α×QoE+(1-α)×QoE _EMA = 0.2 x 4.05 + (1 - 0.2) x 3.47 = 3.59

[0098] The overall QoE calculation unit 21 notifies the connection permission unit 22 of the calculated overall QoE value (=3.59).

[0099] At time t3 (10 seconds after time t0), it is assumed that a connection request to access point 2 is made from third wireless terminal 1c, which is connected to the public mobile communications network, in order to switch the connection destination to access point 2.

[0100] The connection permission unit 22 determines whether or not to permit the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c according to the flowchart of Fig. 8. Here, the thresholds THa = 3, r1 = -80, r2 = -30, and rssi = -50. The connection permission unit 22 calculates f(rssi) according to the above-mentioned formula (5) as follows: f(rssi) = (-rssi+r2) / (r2-r1) = (50-30) / (-30+80) = 0.4

[0101] In this case, the value obtained by multiplying the threshold THa by f(rssi) is "3 x 0.4 = 1.2". Since the overall QoE (= 3.59) is determined to be equal to or greater than this value (= 1.2), the connection permission unit 22 permits the connection of the third wireless terminal 1c (step S210). That is, when there is a connection request from the third wireless terminal 1c to the access point 2 and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than the value obtained by multiplying the threshold THa by f(rssi), the connection permission unit 22 permits the third wireless terminal 1c to switch its connection destination from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0102] Thereafter, the connection destination of the third wireless terminal 1c is switched from the public mobile communication network to the access point 2.

[0103] (3) Effects As described above, the system of this embodiment has the same effects as those of embodiment 1. In particular, in the system of this embodiment, the threshold value (THa×f(rssi)) for the overall QoE value can be dynamically changed according to the RSSI, and a wireless terminal with a higher RSSI is more likely to be permitted to connect to a wireless LAN access point.

[0104] (4) Variations The connection permission unit 22 according to the third embodiment may be applied to the connection permission unit 22 according to the second embodiment. In this case, the threshold value THa in step S500 is replaced with the threshold value THc.

[0105] (Hardware configuration example) 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the wireless terminal 1 and the access point 2 according to this embodiment. The wireless terminal 1 and the access point 2 each include a transmission / reception interface 91 and a processing circuit 92. The transmission / reception interface 91 transmits and receives signals to and from the outside.

[0106] The processing circuit 92 performs various information processing. For example, the processing circuit 92 includes a processor 93 and a memory 94. The processor 93 performs various information processing. For example, the processor 93 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 94 stores various information required for processing by the processor 93. Examples of the memory 94 include a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the like.

[0107] The processing circuit 92 may be realized using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0108] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the above-mentioned embodiments, when the number, quantity, amount, range, etc. of each element is mentioned, the present invention is not limited to the mentioned numbers, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle. Furthermore, the structures, etc. described in the above-mentioned embodiments are not necessarily essential to the present invention, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1. Wireless terminal 1a First wireless terminal 1b Second wireless terminal 1c Third wireless terminal 1n Nth wireless terminal 2. Access Points 10 Quality measurement department 11 QoE calculation section 12 QoE Transmitter 20 QoE Receiver 21 Overall QoE calculation unit 22 Connection permission section 91 Transmitting and Receiving Interface 92 Processing Circuit 93 Processor 94 Memory THa, THb, THc thresholds

Claims

1. A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising: a QoE (Quality of Experience) receiving step of receiving a QoE value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QOE calculation step of calculating an overall QOE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with the overall QoE value is an exponential moving average of each of the received QoE values; A wireless terminal connection control method comprising the steps of:

2. A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising: a QoE (Quality of Experience) receiving step of receiving a QoE value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QOE calculation step of calculating an overall QOE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with The overall QoE value is an exponential moving average of the ratio of QoE values ​​equal to or greater than a specified value among the received QoE values; A wireless terminal connection control method comprising the steps of:

3. A wireless terminal connection control method between a wireless LAN access point and a plurality of wireless terminals having wireless interfaces for both a wireless LAN and a public mobile communication network, comprising: a QoE (Quality of Experience) receiving step of receiving a QoE value indicating a communication quality of the wireless LAN experienced by a user from each of the wireless terminals connected to the wireless LAN access point; an overall QOE calculation step of calculating an overall QOE value based on the received QoE values; a connection permission step of permitting a connection between the wireless LAN access point and the wireless terminal in an unconnected state when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than a threshold; Equipped with the threshold value is a value obtained by multiplying a first threshold value related to the overall QoE value by a function whose value decreases as an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the wireless terminal in an unconnected state increases; A wireless terminal connection control method comprising the steps of:

4. The QoE value is a Degradation Mean Opinion Score (DMOS) calculated based on the time from the start of loading a web page to the end of loading the web page; 4. The wireless terminal connection control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

5. the wireless terminal in an unconnected state is in an unconnected state to a wireless LAN access point and is in a connected state to the public mobile communication network, the connection permission step includes, when a connection request is made from the wireless terminal in an unconnected state to the wireless LAN access point and when the overall QoE value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, permitting a switching of a connection destination of the wireless terminal in an unconnected state from the public mobile communication network to the wireless LAN access point; 5. The wireless terminal connection control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

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