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

Abstract

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

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a wireless communication method, an access point device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A wireless communication system configured with a base station and a terminal is known. A representative example of a wireless communication system is a public wireless local area network (LAN). In a public wireless LAN, a use case is assumed in which data is transmitted from a base station to a public computer terminal and a public smartphone terminal. Furthermore, with the recent spread of IoT (Internet of Things) terminals, the number of use cases in which data is transmitted from the terminal side is increasing.

[0003] Wireless communication systems that use the Sub-1 GHz band, an unlicensed frequency band that does not require a radio station license, have been institutionalized in various countries around the world for wireless communication for the IoT. In Japan, the 920 MHz band has been allocated as a frequency band for electronic tag systems. Among these, so-called LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) wireless communication systems, such as LoRa (Long Range) or WiSUN (Wireless Smart Utility Network), are being used as active electronic tag systems. The use of IEEE 802.11ah, one of the wireless LAN standards, is also being considered.

[0004] In order to allow different wireless communication systems to coexist by sharing the same frequency band, several restrictions are imposed on the transmitting terminal. One of these restrictions is the restriction on the total transmission time.

[0005] This total transmission time limit specifies the upper limit of the time during which data signals can be transmitted in one hour. For example, in the 920MHz band, which is the frequency band used in Japan, the total transmission time limit is 360 seconds per hour. This limit is converted into a time rate, that is, the ratio of the time during which data signals can be transmitted to the total time, and is 10%.

[0006] Furthermore, this total transmission time restriction is stipulated to be relaxed to 720 seconds per hour only when a transmitting device switches between multiple different, i.e. non-overlapping, radio channels (sometimes called radio frequency channels, or simply channels), provided that the total transmission time, which is the sum of the transmission times on each channel, is kept within 360 seconds per hour. This relaxation of the total transmission time limit is a measure to address the increased communication load on the parent station and on terminals relaying the communication network, which arise as the number of terminals that are the destinations of communication increases.

[0007] In addition, IEEE 802.11ah, a wireless LAN standard for IoT, was developed by improving wireless LAN originally intended for large-volume data communication for IoT, and is expected to be used in use cases with high traffic loads even when the number of terminals is small. In the above-mentioned IEEE 802.11ah, technology that supports relaxation of the total transmission time limit is expected from the perspective of increasing communication capacity. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0008] [Non-Patent Document 1] ARIB STD-T108 1.3 edition, "920MHz-BAND TELEMETER, TELECONTROLAND DATA TRANSMISSION RADIO EQUIPMENT ARIB STANDARD", April 12, 2019 [Non-Patent Document 2] IEEE Std 802.11ah TM-2016 (IEEE Standard for Information technology - Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks - Specific requirements, Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, Amendment 2: Sub 1 GHz License Exempt Operation, IEEE Computer Society, 7 December 2016 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] If the time rate of the total transmission time limit is set to 20%, control is required so that different channels are switched and used while limiting the time rate of each channel to 10% of the total transmission time limit.

[0010] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object to provide a wireless communication system device, a wireless communication method, an access point device, and a program that are capable of making the most of the total transmission time of wireless signals and increasing communication capacity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A wireless communication system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an access point device and a plurality of station devices. under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices. Wireless communication stomach a wireless communication control device for controlling the wireless communication, the wireless communication control device including a monitoring unit for monitoring a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices; The above When a device is predicted to reach a preset upper limit, a process of switching the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is to be transitioned is performed. cormorant A transition processing unit.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication method comprising: an access point device and a plurality of station devices; under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices. Wireless communication stomach A wireless communication method in which the wireless communication is controlled by a wireless communication control device, Surveillance Department monitoring a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices; The transition section Thus, among the plurality of station devices, the monitored transmission time is The above When a device is predicted to reach a preset upper limit, a process of switching the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is to be transitioned is performed. cormorant And, it is equipped with.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an access point device that performs wireless communication with a plurality of station devices. cormorant, An access point device of a wireless communication system, the wireless communication is performed under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices,a monitoring unit monitoring a transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the plurality of station devices, and when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach the preset upper limit value, a switching process is performed to switch the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is to be transitioned. cormorant A transition processing unit. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, the total transmission time of a wireless signal can be utilized to the maximum extent possible, thereby increasing communication capacity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the radio communication control device 10 in the radio communication system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a total transmission time of a wireless frame depending on a channel transition in a wireless communication system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first example of a control function according to a wireless communication control program of the wireless communication control device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a first example of a procedure of a control process by the wireless communication control device of the wireless communication system. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of the control function according to the wireless communication control program of the wireless communication control device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second example of the procedure of the control process by the wireless communication control device of the wireless communication system. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a third example of a procedure of control processing by the wireless communication control device of the wireless communication system. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a fourth example of a procedure of control processing by the wireless communication control device of the wireless communication system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, a wireless communication system, a wireless communication method, an access point device, and a program according to the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the present invention of 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system of the embodiment includes an AP (access point device) 1, which is a parent device of a wireless LAN, and multiple STAs (station devices) 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N, and one or multiple STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N are connected to the AP 1 for communication. Hereinafter, the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N may be collectively referred to simply as STA2. Here, a cell consisting of AP1 and STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N is called a Basic Service Set (BSS).

[0017] In this embodiment, the channel transition of the BBS, that is, the process of switching the currently used wireless communication channel to another wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is to be transitioned, relaxes the total transmission time limit.

[0018] The AP1 and the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N are connected to wireless communication control devices 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-N, respectively, via a wired or wireless communication network. Hereinafter, the wireless communication control devices 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-N may be collectively referred to simply as the wireless communication control devices 20. The wireless communication control devices 10, 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-N each have a function of exchanging wireless environment information and control commands. It should be noted that the wireless communication control apparatus 10 connected to the AP 1 does not need to be connected to the AP 1 as an external device of the AP 1 when the wireless communication control program is installed in the AP or STA. Furthermore, if the STA is a relatively sophisticated device and has relatively ample computing capabilities, a wireless communication control device and its wireless communication control program may be installed in the STA rather than in the AP.

[0019] In addition, the control for determining the timing of channel transition includes the monitoring of the total transmission time. When the monitoring of the total transmission time and the control of the channel transition timing are performed together, the wireless communication control programs corresponding to the AP1 and each of the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N may operate independently while synchronizing between the wireless communication control devices 10, 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-N, or when the wireless communication control programs are loaded in the AP1 and each of the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N, they may operate independently while synchronizing between the AP1 and each of the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N.

[0020] Also, the wireless communication control device 10 connected to the AP 1 may operate so as to collectively manage and control even the total transmission time of each of the STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N. In addition, when the wireless communication control device 10 connected to AP1 collectively monitors the wireless communication system and judges and decides the timing of channel transition (change), it controls the judgment and decision taking into account the transmission status of STAs and APs of other BBSs.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the wireless communication control device 10 in the wireless communication system. The wireless communication control device 10 includes a processor 11 . Connected to the control circuit 11 via a system and a data bus are a memory 12 such as a flash ROM, a hard disk drive 13 including a storage medium 13a such as a magnetic disk, a user interface 14 including keys, switches, and an external input terminal for a user to operate from the outside, a wired communication module 15 and / or a wireless communication module 16 for communicating with the outside, and a timer 17 that manages the time for which a channel is scanned, i.e., the channel transition time.

[0022] The control circuit 11 controls the operation of each part of the wireless communication control device 10 in accordance with a wireless communication control program stored in a control program area 12a of the memory 12, and based on management information stored in or read from a management information area 12b of the memory 12.

[0023] The wireless communication control devices 20-1, 20-2, . . . , 2-N paired with the STAs 2-1, 2-2, . . . , 2-N can also be configured with the same hardware as the wireless communication control device 10 of the AP1 shown in FIG.

[0024] In addition, AP1 and STA2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N can basically be configured with hardware including a control circuit, memory, a user interface, a wired communication module and / or a wireless communication module, similar to the wireless communication control device 10 of AP1 shown in Figure 2.

[0025] When the wireless communication control program of the wireless communication control device 10 of the AP1 is installed in the AP1, the wireless communication control program may be stored, for example, together with an AP control program for executing a predetermined operation as the AP (access point device) 1, which is stored in advance in a control program area of ​​the memory in the AP1. In this case, the AP1 independently has the function of the wireless communication control device 10.

[0026] In addition, when the wireless communication control programs of the wireless communication control devices 20-1, 20-2, ..., 20-N corresponding one-to-one to the STAs 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N are installed in the STAs, the wireless communication control programs may be stored, for example, together with the STA control programs for executing predetermined operations as the STAs (station devices) 2, which are stored in advance in a control program area of ​​the memory in the STAs 2. In this case, the STAs 2 will independently have the functions of the wireless communication control device 20.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a total transmission time of wireless frames depending on a channel transition in a wireless communication system. Channel transitions are necessary to avoid heavily used channels, to avoid interference with other radio signals, and to satisfy hourly transmission time limitations imposed by radio wave regulations.

[0028] Here, it is assumed that there are channels "1" and "2" as different non-overlapping channels, and that AP1 and STA2 perform a channel transition to switch the currently used channel to channel "1" or "2."

[0029] First, AP1 and STA2 communicate by exchanging wireless frames using channel "1." During this time, each wireless communication terminal transmits so that the total transmission time per hour does not exceed the limit value specified for one channel. However, if transmission above the limit is required and a channel transition is required, and it is decided to use channel "2" for transmission, communication on channel "1" will be stopped and communication will be transitioned to channel "2" for communication. After that, communication on channel "2" must be performed so as not to exceed the limit value stipulated for channel 1. Furthermore, control must be performed so that the total transmission time per hour transmitted on the two channels for each wireless communication terminal does not exceed the limit value.

[0030] This makes it possible to reduce the total transmission time per hour that the channel is used, but there is a period of time during which communication is not possible from the start of the channel transition (switching) until STA2 completes its connection to AP1 (channel transition time Tc).

[0031] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first example of a control function according to a wireless communication control program of the wireless communication control apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the wireless communication control device 10 includes a setting unit 10a, a determining unit 10b, a channel transition processing unit 10c, and a communication control unit 10d as functions executed by a control circuit 11 according to the wireless communication control program.

[0032] The setting unit 10a, in cooperation with the AP1, performs processing for setting management information required for determining a channel transition schedule, such as available channels, timing for determining whether or not a channel transition is necessary (e.g., time and communication state), a reference value for determining whether or not a channel transition is necessary, and timing for starting channel switching (e.g., time), in response to an operation from the user interface 14. This setting includes a default.

[0033] The determining unit 10b performs a determination process including determining whether a channel transition is necessary, determining the timing of channel switching, and determining the connection state with the STA2, based on the management information set by the setting unit 10a, for example. The channel transition processing unit 10c performs channel transition processing in cooperation with the processing in the setting unit 10a and the determination unit 10b, for example. The operation of the communication control unit 10d will be described later.

[0034] In the wireless communication system configured in this manner, the control circuit of the wireless communication control device 10 controls the operation of each part in cooperation with AP1 and STA2 in accordance with instructions written in the wireless communication control program, and the software and hardware operate in cooperation to realize the channel switching function described in the operation explanation below.

[0035] Next, the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment will be described, which is related to the determination of the channel switching timing. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a first example of a procedure of control processing by the radio communication control device 10 in the radio communication system. Here, a control process for determining the timing of periodic channel transition control will be described. In the following, the control will be described as being performed by each unit of the wireless communication control device 10, but when the functions of each unit of the wireless communication control device 10 are incorporated into the AP1, the control may be performed by the AP1.

[0036] First, the setting unit 10a of the wireless communication control device 10 sets the channel to be used in the BSS and the timing of the next channel transition, which is a transition to a predetermined channel, in the control program for use in scheduling subsequent channel transitions, and starts counting by the timer 17 (s11).

[0037] Next, the setting unit 10a sets an upper limit traffic rate between each terminal, i.e., STA2, and then the communication control unit 10d starts communication with each terminal (s12). This upper limit traffic rate is the upper limit of the data rate of transmission data, and the wireless communication control device 10 restricts transmission and sets the data rate so that packets are not transmitted at a data rate higher than this. At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set in accordance with the laws and regulations of the frequency band to be used. For example, if the total transmission time rate on multiple channels is 20%, this 20% is set as the upper limit traffic rate. However, taking into consideration that a certain amount of time is required for channel transition of a BSS, the above time rate may be set to less than 20% in order to reduce the frequency of channel transition.

[0038] In this state, communication continues until the timer 17 notifies the above-mentioned set timing for the next channel transition (s13). Then, when the determination unit 10b determines that the timer 17 has notified the next channel transition timing (Yes in s14), the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the above channel transition processing (s15). When the transition to the new channel is completed by this processing, the process returns to s11, and the timer 17 starts counting again.

[0039] The channel transition timing must be set so that the total transmission time on one channel does not exceed a limit. For example, if the limit on the total transmission time on one channel is 360 seconds per hour, i.e., if the time rate of the total transmission time on one channel is 10%, and the time rate of the total transmission time is raised to 20% by switching between two channels with a fixed upper traffic rate, the time that one channel can be used continuously will be limited to 30 minutes.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a second example of the control function according to the wireless communication control program of the wireless communication control apparatus 10. In FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the wireless communication control device 10 includes a setting unit 10a, a judgment unit 10b, a channel transition processing unit 10c, a communication control unit 10d, and a channel monitoring unit 10e as functions executed by the control circuit 11 in accordance with the wireless communication control program.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second example of the procedure of the control process by the radio communication control apparatus 10 in the radio communication system. Here, a control process will be described in which the timing of channel transition control is determined while channels are monitored.

[0042] First, the setting unit 10a of the wireless communication control device 10 sets the channel to be used in the BBS and the timing of the next channel transition in the control program for use in the schedule of the subsequent channel transition, and starts counting by the timer 17 (s21). of In the setting, multiple channels to be used for channel transition are registered. The count value of the timer 17 is used by the channel monitoring unit 10e to determine the monitoring period. The monitoring period is a unit of time for monitoring whether the total transmission time of a transmitting terminal complies with laws and regulations. For example, if the total transmission time stipulated by law is "per hour," then this one hour will be the monitoring period.

[0043] Next, the setting unit 10a sets the upper limit traffic rate between each terminal, i.e., STA2, and the communication control unit 10d starts communication (s22). At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set according to the laws and regulations of the frequency band to be used. For example, if the time rate of the total transmission time in multiple channels is 20%, the upper limit traffic rate is set based on this 20%.

[0044] Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information, that is, the count value of the timer 17 and the record of past transmission times, and starts monitoring the transmission times of the transmitting terminals (s23). During this monitoring, communication continues until the count value of timer 17 from the start of monitoring reaches a value indicating the end of the monitoring period (s24). However, if the judgment unit 10b judges that there is a transmitting terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the legally stipulated upper limit of total transmission time per channel, i.e., the duty ratio (Yes in s25), the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the above-mentioned channel transition (s26). When the transition to the new channel is completed by this process, the process returns to s21 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

[0045] On the other hand, when the transmission time on the current channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time, and the count value of the timer 17 reaches the value indicating the end of the monitoring period (Yes in s27), the process returns to s23, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information, and monitoring of the transmission time is restarted. If the result in s27 is No, the process returns to s24.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a third example of a procedure of control processing by the wireless communication control device of the wireless communication system. Here, a control process will be described in which no upper limit on steady traffic is set, and the timing of channel transition control is determined while channels are monitored. In this example, the upper limit traffic rate that is set during communication in the first example shown in FIG. 5 and the second example shown in FIG. 7 is not set.

[0047] Therefore, the maximum traffic that can be transmitted can be handled momentarily. On the other hand, if such a state continues, the total transmission time will exceed the limit if communication continues, so the transmission is temporarily stopped and controlled to wait until the next available timing.

[0048] First, the setting unit 10a of the wireless communication control device 10 sets the channel to be used in the BBS and the timing of the next channel transition in the control program for use in the schedule of the subsequent channel transition, as in s21, and starts counting by the timer 17 (s31). In this setting, as in s21, a plurality of channels to be used for the channel transition are registered. The count value of the timer 17 is used by the channel monitoring unit 10e to determine the monitoring period.

[0049] Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information in the same manner as in s24, and starts monitoring the transmission time of the transmitting terminal (s32). During this monitoring, similarly to s24, communication continues until the count value of timer 17 reaches the value indicating the end of the monitoring period (s33). However, similarly to s25, if the judgment unit 10b judges that there is a transmitting terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the legally stipulated upper limit of the total transmission time per channel, i.e., the duty ratio (Yes in s34), the judgment unit 10b further judges whether or not the transmitting terminal is a transmitting terminal whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the duty ratio, which is the legally stipulated upper limit of the total transmission time per two channels (s35).

[0050] If the answer is Yes in s35, the communication control unit 10d stops communication between AP1 and the expected transmitting terminal and continues communication between AP1 and other terminals until the count for the next monitoring period begins (s36).

[0051] Furthermore, if the judgment unit 10b judges that, in addition to the terminal for which communication has been stopped as described above, there is a transmitting terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel set by law (Yes in s37), then rather than stopping transmission as described above, the channel being used should be transitioned, and the channel transition processing unit 10c initiates the above channel transition (s38), as in s26.

[0052] In addition, after s35 is judged as Yes, when judgment unit 10b judges that, in addition to the transmitting terminal whose transmission time is expected to exceed the duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per two channels determined in accordance with laws and regulations, there is another transmitting terminal whose transmission time is expected to exceed the duty ratio, which is the upper limit of the total transmission time per two channels determined in accordance with laws and regulations, a channel transition in s38 may be performed without stopping communication in s36.

[0053] The transition in s38 is performed, for example, when the "risk of a temporary interruption of communication due to a channel transition" is compared with the "risk of transmission being stopped so that a terminal whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel is not allowed to communicate until the next monitoring period," and the decision unit 10b decides that the channel should be transitioned rather than stopping transmission by the terminal whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time per channel. When the transition to the new channel is completed in s38, the process returns to s31 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

[0054] On the other hand, similarly to s27, if the count value of the timer 17 reaches the value indicating the end timing of the monitoring period without the transmission time on the current channel exceeding the upper limit of the total transmission time (Yes in s39), the process returns to s33, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information, and monitoring of the transmission time is restarted. If the result in s39 is No, the process returns to s33.

[0055] 9 is a flowchart showing a fourth example of a procedure of a control process by a wireless communication control device of a wireless communication system. Here, a control process is described in which an upper limit of steady traffic is not set for some channels, and the timing of channel transition control is determined while monitoring the channels.

[0056] In the third example shown in FIG. 8, there is a risk of transmission stopping after a burst of transmission has been performed. To avoid this transmission stop, in this fourth example, as in the third example, after a burst of transmission is performed with no upper limit traffic rate set, the traffic is limited so that the transmission time in the destination channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time, and when the monitoring period ends, the traffic limit is removed again and transmission is performed.

[0057] In the fourth example, first, the setting unit 10a of the radio communication control device 10 sets the channel to be used in the BBS and the timing of the next channel transition in the control program for use in the schedule of the subsequent channel transition, similar to s31, and starts counting by the timer 17 (s41). In this setting, similar to s31, multiple channels to be used for the channel transition are registered. As in the third example, the count value of the timer 17 is used by the channel monitoring unit 10e to determine the monitoring period. Next, the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information in the same manner as in s32, and starts monitoring the transmission time of the transmitting terminal (s42).

[0058] Next, the decision unit 10b decides whether or not the current channel is a channel for which the setting of an upper limit traffic rate is required (s43). The criterion for the judgment in s43 is, for example, whether the current channel is the channel after a previous transition after a short transmission time, e.g., 30 minutes or less, on another channel has reached the upper limit of the total transmission time per hour.

[0059] When the judgment unit 10b judges that the current channel is a channel for which the setting of the upper limit traffic rate is required (Yes in s43), the setting unit 10a sets the upper limit traffic rate for each terminal, and the communication control unit 10d starts communication (s44). At this time, the upper limit traffic rate is set in accordance with the laws and regulations of the frequency band being used so that transmission is not interrupted.

[0060] For example, if a transmission equivalent to 10% of the total transmission time has already been performed in 10 minutes on another channel, the upper limit traffic rate is set so that the time rate of the total transmission time on the current channel will be 10% for 50 minutes.

[0061] During the monitoring started in s42, communication continues until the count value of timer 17 reaches the end of the monitoring period, as in s33 (s45). However, a terminal for which a communication stop process, which will be described later, has been performed will keep communication stopped until the next monitoring period.

[0062] However, similarly to s25, if the judgment unit 10b judges that there is a transmitting terminal STA2 whose transmission time on the current channel is expected to exceed the legally stipulated upper limit of total transmission time per channel, i.e., the duty ratio (Yes in s46), the judgment unit 10b judges whether or not the terminal is capable of stopping communication until the next monitoring period, for example, based on whether or not the terminal is currently communicating or the priority of the content of the communication by the terminal (s47).

[0063] When the determination in s47 is made based on the priority of the communication contents, for example, if the communication contents of the terminal are video transmissions that are inappropriate for interruption, it is determined that the communication stop process is not possible. Also, in s47, if the communication contents of the terminal are file transmissions that are permitted to be temporarily interrupted, it is determined that the communication stop process is possible.

[0064] If s47 is judged as Yes, the communication control unit 10d performs a process of stopping communication between the AP1 and the terminal until the count for the next monitoring period starts, and continues communication between the AP1 and the other terminal (s48).If s47 is judged as No, that is, if the communication stopping process until the next monitoring period is not possible, the channel transition processing unit 10c starts the above channel transition (s49). When the transition to the new channel is completed in s49, the process returns to s41 and the timer 17 starts counting again.

[0065] On the other hand, when the transmission time on the current channel does not exceed the upper limit of the total transmission time, and the count value of the timer 17 reaches the value indicating the end of the monitoring period (Yes in s50), the process returns to s42, where the channel monitoring unit 10e resets the monitoring information and restarts monitoring of the transmission time. Also, in this return to s42, the communication control unit 10d resumes communication with the transmitting terminal for which communication has been stopped. If the determination in s50 is No, the process returns to s45.

[0066] As described above, in a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention, an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication, and a wireless communication control device is provided for controlling the wireless communication, and the transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices on a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices is monitored, and when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose monitored transmission time is predicted to reach a predetermined upper limit value, a switching process is performed to switch from the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to which it is to be transitioned, thereby making it possible to make maximum use of the total transmission time of wireless signals and increase communication capacity.

[0067] The methods described in each embodiment may be stored as a program (software means) that can be executed by a computer on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disc (CD-ROM, DVD, MO, etc.), or a semiconductor memory (ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.), and may be distributed by transmitting the program via a communication medium. The programs stored on the medium include a setting program that configures the software means (including not only execution programs but also tables and data structures) that the computer executes. The computer that realizes the present device reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and in some cases, configures the software means by the setting program, and executes the above-mentioned processing by controlling the operation of the software means. The recording medium in this specification is not limited to a recording medium for distribution, but also includes a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or semiconductor memory provided inside the computer or in a device connected via a network.

[0068] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. The embodiments may be combined as appropriate, and in that case, the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiment includes various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from the multiple components disclosed. For example, if the problem can be solved and the effect can be obtained even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the configuration from which the components are deleted can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1...AP (Access Point Device) 2-1~2-N…STA (Station Equipment) 10, 20-1 to 20N... Wireless communication control device 11...Control circuit 12…Memory 12a…Control program area 12b…Administrative Information Area 13...Disk drive 13a...Storage medium 14. User Interface 15...Wired communication module 16...Wireless communication module 17...Timer

Claims

1. 1. A wireless communication system comprising an access point device and a plurality of station devices, performing wireless communication under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices, and a wireless communication control device for controlling the wireless communication, The wireless communication control device includes: a monitoring unit that monitors a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices; a transition processing unit that performs a switching process of the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to be a transition destination when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach the preset upper limit value; A wireless communication system comprising:

2. The wireless communication control device includes: a communication control unit that, when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit within a predetermined time is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value per one wireless communication channel and when the device is a device whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach preset upper limit values ​​per two wireless communication channels, stops communication with the device.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1.

3. The transition processing unit: performing a switching process to a wireless communication channel to which the currently used wireless communication channel is to be transitioned when there is a device among the plurality of station devices, the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit of which is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value per wireless communication channel, the device being a device whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit of which is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value per two wireless communication channels, and when there is a device among the station devices other than the device among which there is a device whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit of which is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value per wireless communication channel; 3. The wireless communication system according to claim 2.

4. The wireless communication control device includes: a determination unit that determines whether or not a currently used wireless communication channel should be a wireless communication channel for which an upper limit of communication speed is set based on the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit; a setting unit that sets an upper limit of a communication speed for a wireless communication channel when the determining unit determines that the currently used wireless communication channel should be a wireless communication channel for which an upper limit of a communication speed is to be set; a communication control unit that stops communication with a device when the transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value among the plurality of station devices and communication with the device can be stopped; Further equipped with The transition processing unit: performing a switching process for switching the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to be a transition destination when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value and when it is not possible to stop communication with the device; 2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1.

5. 1. A wireless communication method in which an access point device and a plurality of station devices perform wireless communication under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and the plurality of station devices, and the wireless communication is controlled by a wireless communication control device, monitoring, by a monitoring unit of the wireless communication control device, a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices; a transition processing unit of the wireless communication control device, when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose monitored transmission time is predicted to reach the preset upper limit value, performing a switching process to a wireless communication channel which is a transition destination of the currently used wireless communication channel; A wireless communication method comprising:

6. An access point device of a wireless communication system that performs wireless communication with a plurality of station devices, the wireless communication is performed under an upper limit of communication speed based on a preset upper limit value of a transmission time between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the access point device and each of the plurality of station devices, a monitoring unit that monitors a transmission time between each of the plurality of station devices in a wireless communication channel currently used between the plurality of station devices; a transition processing unit that performs a switching process of the currently used wireless communication channel to a wireless communication channel to be a transition destination when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach the preset upper limit value; An access point device comprising:

7. a communication control unit that, when there is a device among the plurality of station devices whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit within a predetermined time is predicted to reach a preset upper limit value per one wireless communication channel and when the device is a device whose transmission time monitored by the monitoring unit is predicted to reach preset upper limit values ​​per two wireless communication channels, stops communication with the device. The access point device according to claim 6 .

8. A program that causes a processor to function as each unit of the access point device according to claim 6 or 7.

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