Wireless communication method, wireless base station, and wireless communication system

Abstract

This wireless communication method includes: a transmission step for broadcasting, from a wireless base station, a connection condition of the wireless base station; a management step for managing a connection with the wireless station, requesting a connection to the wireless base station on the basis of the connection condition, by using a blockchain shared by a plurality of the wireless base stations; and a changing step for acquiring information on a wireless station connecting to another wireless base station from the blockchain, and changing the connection condition of the wireless base station on the basis of the information on the wireless station connecting to the other wireless base station.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication method, a wireless base station, and a wireless communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a wireless communication system that performs distributed processing of connection control between a wireless base station and a wireless station by using a block chain technology (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] X. Ling, et al., "Blockchain Radio Access Network (B-RAN): Towards Decentralized Secure Radio Access Paradigm", IEEE Access, Volume: 7, 2019, p.9714 9723 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional technology, a wireless station (user terminal) autonomously determines a wireless base station to connect to, which can lead to a bias in wireless stations connecting to a specific wireless base station (e.g., a wireless base station with a low connection cost), resulting in a decrease in the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and improves the utilization efficiency of radio resources in a radio communication system in which a radio station determines a radio base station to connect to. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a transmission step in which a wireless base station broadcasts connection conditions of the wireless base station, a management step in which a blockchain shared by multiple wireless base stations is used to manage connections with wireless stations that request connection to the wireless base station based on the connection conditions, and a change step in which information about wireless stations connecting to other wireless base stations is obtained from the blockchain, and the connection conditions of the wireless base station are changed based on the information about wireless stations connecting to the other wireless base stations. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a wireless communication system in which a wireless station determines a wireless base station to connect to, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a blockchain network according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a radio base station according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a wireless station according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by the wireless base station according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the wireless station according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by a wireless base station according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by a wireless base station according to a third embodiment. [Figure 9] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a radio base station and a radio station according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10]FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the processing of a wireless communication system using a blockchain. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining issues in a wireless communication system using a blockchain. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0010] <Summary> First, an overview of a wireless communication system using a blockchain, which is the premise of this embodiment, will be described. The wireless communication system is a system that can connect wireless stations to wireless base stations without centralized management by performing connection processing in a distributed manner using blockchain technology when connecting wireless base stations and wireless stations (user terminals).

[0011] (Processing Overview) 10 is a diagram for explaining an overview of processing in a wireless communication system using a blockchain. In the wireless communication system, in a connection process in which the wireless station 20 connects to the wireless base station 10, transaction data 2 is created between the wireless base station 10 and the wireless station 20 (step S1). For example, the wireless station 20 receives connection conditions broadcast by the wireless base station 10 and checks the communication quality and connection cost of the wireless communication network provided by the wireless base station 10. Meanwhile, the wireless base station 10 checks whether the wireless station 20 has sufficient payment capacity, etc. In addition, when an agreement on the connection conditions is reached between the wireless base station 10 and the wireless station 20, the wireless base station 10 records the agreement in the transaction data 2.

[0012] The communication quality of the wireless communication network provided by the wireless base station 10 includes, for example, throughput or total data volume. The wireless station 20 may agree to the connection conditions when the communication quality provided by the wireless base station 10 satisfies all of the communication qualities required by the wireless station 20. Alternatively, the wireless station 20 may agree to the connection conditions when the communication quality provided by the wireless base station 10 satisfies a part of the communication qualities required by the wireless station 20.

[0013] The wireless base station 10 distributes the transaction data 2 created in the connection process to the nodes participating in the blockchain network 30 (step S2). The blockchain network 30 includes a plurality of nodes that collectively record the transaction data 2 in block units and share a blockchain (distributed ledger) in which a plurality of blocks are recorded in chronological order. The plurality of nodes includes a plurality of wireless base stations 10 that constitute a wireless communication system. Note that the plurality of nodes may include nodes other than the wireless base stations 10 (computers, wireless stations, etc.).

[0014] When the transaction data 2 is notified to the blockchain network 30, some of the nodes participating in the blockchain network 30 (e.g., the wireless base station 10x) generate block 3 together with other transaction data (step S3). After generating block 3, the blockchain network 30 adds the generated block 3 to the blockchain 40 held by each node included in the blockchain network 30 (step S4).

[0015] The blockchain 40 of each node reserves the added block, and after a predetermined number of blocks (verification blocks) are further added to the blockchain, the contract is concluded by accepting the reserved block (step S5). After the contract is concluded, the wireless base station 10 starts communication with the wireless station 20 (step S6).

[0016] By the above process, the wireless communication system can execute connection processing between the wireless base station 10 and the wireless station 20 by distributed control, without relying on a control station or the like that centrally controls the wireless communication system.

[0017] (About the assignment) In the above wireless communication system, the wireless station 20 checks connection conditions transmitted from one or more wireless base stations 10 and determines which wireless base station 10 to request connection to, which is a control procedure led by the wireless station (user terminal) 20.

[0018] However, in a control procedure led by the wireless station 20, the wireless stations 20 may be biased in connecting to a particular wireless base station 10, which may result in a decrease in the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system.

[0019] Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the problem of a wireless communication system using a blockchain. In the example of Fig. 11, a wireless communication system 1 includes, as an example for explanation, a plurality of wireless base stations 10a, 10b, and 10c. Note that the wireless base stations may (or may not) include an indoor wireless base station 10c.

[0020] 11, it is assumed that the wireless base station 10a forms a network cell 11a and can communicate with wireless stations 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20f in the network cell 11a. The wireless base station 10b forms a network cell 11b and can communicate with wireless stations 20b and 20e in the network cell 11b. The wireless base station 10c forms a network cell 11c and can communicate with wireless stations 20c and 20d in the network cell 11c.

[0021] In this state, if each wireless station 20 autonomously determines the wireless base station 10 to which it is to connect, the wireless stations 20a, 20b, and 20c may be concentrated at a specific wireless base station 10a, as shown in Fig. 11. Furthermore, when the wireless station 20f newly starts communication, for example, if it connects to the closer wireless base station 10a, the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 1 may be further reduced.

[0022] In this embodiment, a wireless communication method, a wireless base station, and a wireless communication system that improve the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in a wireless communication system in which a wireless station determines a wireless base station to connect to will be described.

[0023] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a wireless communication system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 1 includes a plurality of wireless base stations 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, and so on that form different network cells. For example, the wireless base station 110a forms a network cell 111a and can communicate with a wireless station 120b in the network cell 111a. Furthermore, the wireless base station 110b forms a network cell 111b and can communicate with a wireless station 120a in the network cell 111b. Similarly, the wireless base station 110c forms a network cell 111c and can communicate with wireless stations 120b, 120c, and 120d in the network cell 111c. Furthermore, the wireless base station 110d forms a network cell 111d, and the wireless base station 110e forms a network cell 111e.

[0024] In the following description, any one of the wireless base stations 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, ... will be referred to as "wireless base station 110". Similarly, any one of the wireless stations 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d will be referred to as "wireless station 120". The numbers of wireless base stations 110 and wireless stations 120 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and may be other numbers.

[0025] In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless base stations 110 also function as nodes participating in a blockchain network 130, and the wireless base stations 110 share the same blockchain. Here, the blockchain network 130 is a P2P (Peer-to-Peer) network (distributed network) in which each node can transmit and receive data to and from other nodes on an equal footing without going through a server or the like. A blockchain is a distributed ledger in which multiple nodes participating in a P2P network record transactions between two parties in a verifiable and permanent manner. Note that the blockchain network 30 may include nodes other than the wireless base stations 110 (e.g., other computers, wireless stations, etc.).

[0026] Each radio base station 110 manages connections with radio stations (user terminals) 120 by using a blockchain. For example, each radio base station 110 records and manages transaction data 2 described in Fig. 10 and the like in a blockchain shared by the multiple radio base stations 110. This allows the radio base station 110 to obtain information on the other radio base stations 110 (for example, the number of radio stations 120 connected to the other radio base stations 110, etc.) by referring to the blockchain.

[0027] (Processing Overview) Returning now to FIG. 1, an overview of the processing of the wireless communication system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0028] Each wireless base station 110 broadcasts connection conditions for connecting to the wireless station 110 to the wireless stations 120 within the network cell 111 of the wireless station. The connection conditions include information such as the communication quality to be provided and the connection cost (connection fee) for connecting to the wireless base station 110.

[0029] A wireless station 120 that starts communication receives connection conditions transmitted by a nearby wireless base station 110, and determines a wireless base station 110 to request connection to based on the connection conditions. For example, the wireless station 120 determines, from among the one or more wireless base stations 110 from which the wireless station 120 has received the connection conditions, the wireless base station 110 that satisfies the communication quality required by the wireless station 120 and has the lowest connection cost, as the wireless base station 110 to request connection to.

[0030] However, with this method alone, traffic may be concentrated at a specific wireless base station 110, as in the wireless communication system 1 described in Figures 10 and 11. For example, in Figure 1, it is assumed that the wireless station 120a is connected to the wireless base station 110, and the wireless stations 120c and 120d are connected to the wireless base station 110c.

[0031] In this state, when the wireless station 120b starts new communication, it is difficult with the conventional technology to control the wireless station 120b to connect to the wireless base station 110a with less traffic in order to avoid traffic concentration at the wireless base station 110c. For example, in the wireless communication system 1 described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11, it is not possible to preferentially connect the wireless station 120b to the wireless base station 110a with less traffic.

[0032] Furthermore, controlling the optimal connection destination for all wireless stations 120 through centralized control by a control station that oversees the wireless communication system 1 is not realistic because the amount of processing becomes enormous as the number of wireless base stations 110 and wireless stations 120 increases.

[0033] Therefore, the radio base station 110 according to this embodiment has a function of controlling (changing) the connection conditions that the radio base station 110 uses for connecting to the radio station 120, based on the usage status of other surrounding radio base stations 110.

[0034] As an example, the wireless base station 110a acquires information on the wireless stations 120 connected to the surrounding wireless base stations 110b and 110c from a blockchain shared by the multiple wireless base stations 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, and 110e. In addition, when traffic is concentrated in the surrounding wireless base stations 110b and 110c, the wireless base station 110a reduces the connection cost of the wireless base station 110a.

[0035] For example, the radio base station 110a may determine that traffic is concentrated at the surrounding radio base stations 110b and 110c when the number of radio stations 120 connected to the surrounding radio base station 110b or radio base station 110c is greater than the number of radio stations 120 connected to the radio base station 110a. Alternatively, the radio base station 110a may determine that traffic is concentrated at the surrounding radio base stations 110b and 110c when the number of radio stations 120 connected to the surrounding radio base station 110b or radio base station 110c is greater than a threshold value.

[0036] As a result, the wireless communication system 100 can control the wireless station 120b that is about to start communication to preferentially select the wireless base station 110a, which has a lower connection cost than the wireless base station 110c, as a connection destination. By each wireless base station 110 performing similar control, the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 1 can be improved.

[0037] As another example, the wireless base station 110c acquires information on the wireless stations 120 connected to the surrounding wireless base stations 110a, 110b, and 110e from a blockchain shared by the wireless base stations 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, and 110e. In addition, when traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station 110c, the wireless base station 110c increases the connection cost of the wireless base station 110c.

[0038] For example, the radio base station 110c may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the number of radio stations 120 connected to the own station is greater than the number of radio stations 120 connected to the surrounding radio base stations 110a, 110b, and 110e. Alternatively, the radio base station 110c may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the number of radio stations 120 connected to the own station is greater than a threshold value.

[0039] In this way, the wireless communication system 100 can control the wireless station 120b that is about to start communication to preferentially select the surrounding wireless base stations 110a, 110b, and 110e, which have a lower connection cost than the wireless base station 110c, as a connection destination. By each wireless base station 110 performing a similar control, the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 1 can be improved.

[0040] <Functional configuration> Next, the functional configurations of the radio base station 110 and the radio station 120 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0041] (Functional configuration of wireless base station) 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a wireless base station according to this embodiment. The wireless base station 110 includes, for example, a computer configuration, and the computer executes a predetermined program to realize a wireless communication unit 301, a transmission unit 302, a management unit 303, a change unit 304, a calculation unit 305, a storage unit 306, a wired communication unit 307, and the like. At least a part of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0042] The wireless communication unit 301 forms a network cell 111 capable of wireless communication with the wireless base station 110 , and executes wireless communication processing for performing wireless communication with the wireless station 120 connected to the wireless base station 110 .

[0043] The transmitter 302 executes a transmission process of broadcasting connection conditions for connecting to the wireless base station 110 to the wireless stations 120 within the network cell 111 of the wireless base station 110. The connection conditions include information such as the communication quality to be provided and the connection cost (connection fee) for connecting to the wireless base station 110.

[0044] The management unit 303 executes a management process for managing information on the wireless stations 120 that connect to the wireless base station 110 based on the connection conditions transmitted by the transmission unit 302, using a block chain shared by the multiple wireless base stations 110. For example, the management unit 303 executes a series of processes described in steps S1 to S6 of Fig. 10 with the wireless station 120 that requests connection to the wireless base station 110, thereby recording connection information with the wireless station 120 in the block chain 320 shared with the other wireless base stations 110.

[0045] Furthermore, the management unit 303 executes various processes for managing the blockchain as a node of the blockchain shared by multiple radio base stations 110. By executing similar processes in the other radio base stations 110, information on the radio stations 120 connected to each radio base station 110 in the wireless communication system 100 is recorded in the blockchain 320. Therefore, the radio base station 110 can obtain information on the radio stations 120 connected to the other radio base stations 110 by referring to the blockchain 320.

[0046] The change unit 304 executes a change process for changing the connection conditions of the radio base station (local station) 110 based on information of the radio stations 120 connected to the other radio base stations 110. For example, in FIG. 1, the change unit 304 of the radio base station 110a reduces the connection cost of the radio base station 110a when traffic is concentrated at the other adjacent radio base stations 110b and 110c. Alternatively, the radio base station 110c may increase the connection cost of the radio base station 110c when traffic is concentrated at the radio base station 110c more than at the other adjacent radio base stations 110a, 110b and 110e.

[0047] Here, the connection cost is the cost (e.g., connection fee) for the wireless station 120 to connect to the wireless base station 110, and the wireless station 120 preferentially connects to the wireless base station 110 with the lowest connection cost among the wireless base stations 110 that satisfy the required communication quality, for example.

[0048] When the distance between the radio base station 110 and the radio station 120 is short, the transmission power can be reduced, and when the communication speed between the radio base stations 110 and 120 is fast, the communication time can be shortened. Therefore, the radio station 120 may determine the radio base station 110 to connect to by taking into account the received signal strength from the radio base station 110, the communication speed, etc. in addition to the connection cost.

[0049] The calculation unit 305, for example, acquires information on the wireless stations 120 connected to other wireless base stations 110 from the block chain 320 managed by the management unit 303, and calculates the number of wireless stations 120 connected to other wireless base stations 110. Alternatively, the calculation unit 305 calculates a transition probability, which is the probability that a wireless station 120 transitions to its own station among multiple wireless base stations 110 that share a block chain.

[0050] The transmitting unit 302, the managing unit 303, the changing unit 304, the calculating unit 305, etc. are included in a communication control unit 310 that controls wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 301, for example.

[0051] The memory unit 306 performs a storage process to store various data, information, programs, etc., including the blockchain 320, in a storage device provided in the wireless base station 110, for example.

[0052] The wired communication unit 307 connects the wireless base station 110 to, for example, a wired communication network, and performs communication related to the blockchain network 130 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0053] (Functional configuration of radio station) 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a wireless station according to this embodiment. The wireless station 120 has, for example, a computer configuration, and the computer executes a predetermined program to realize a wireless communication unit 401, a receiving unit 402, a determining unit 403, a connection control unit 404, a storage unit 405, and the like. At least a part of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0054] The wireless communication unit 401 connects to the wireless base station 110 via wireless communication and executes wireless communication processing for transmitting and receiving data. The receiving unit 402 uses the wireless communication unit 401 to execute reception processing for receiving connection conditions transmitted by the wireless base station 110.

[0055] The determination unit 403 determines the radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 requests connection, based on the connection conditions received by the receiving unit 402. For example, the radio station 120 preferentially connects to the radio base station 110 with the lowest connection cost among the radio base stations 110 that satisfy the required communication quality. Note that the radio station 120 can reduce transmission power when the distance between the radio station 120 and the radio base station 110 is short, and can shorten communication time when the communication speed between the radio base station 110 and the radio station 120 is fast. Therefore, it is desirable for the radio station 120 to determine the radio base station 110 to connect to based on the communication quality of the radio base station 110 and the connection cost.

[0056] The connection control unit 404 executes a connection process for connecting to the destination wireless base station 110 determined by the determination unit 403. For example, in the connection process described in step S1 of Fig. 10, the connection control unit 404 transmits a connection request to the destination wireless base station 110 and makes an agreement on the wireless communication service to be provided.

[0057] The receiving unit 402, the determining unit 403, the connection control unit 404, and the like are included in a communication control unit 410 that controls wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 401, for example.

[0058] The storage unit 405 executes a storage process for storing various data, information, programs, and the like required for wireless communication in a storage device or the like included in the wireless station 120, for example.

[0059] <Processing flow> Next, the process flow of the wireless communication method according to the present embodiment will be described by taking a number of examples as examples.

[0060] [Example 1] (Radio base station processing) 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing by the wireless base station according to the embodiment 1. This processing illustrates an example of processing executed by the wireless base station 110 described with reference to FIG.

[0061] In step S501, the change unit 304 of the radio base station 110 identifies one or more other radio base stations 110 to which the radio station 120 may transition to its own station (radio base station 110). For example, the change unit 304 acquires transition information of the radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 is connected from the block chain 320, and identifies the other radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 has transitioned to its own station.

[0062] 1, if the wireless station 120 connects to the wireless base station 110a after connecting to the wireless base station 110b, the change unit 304 of the wireless base station 110a determines that the wireless base station 110b is the wireless base station 110 to which the wireless station 120 may transition. By this process, in the example of FIG. 1, the change unit 304 of the wireless base station 110a can identify the other wireless base stations 110b and 110c that are adjacent (or close to) the wireless base station 110a, from among the multiple wireless base stations 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, ...

[0063] In step S502, the calculation unit 305 calculates the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S501, using the block chain 320. In the example of Fig. 1, the calculation unit 305 of the wireless base station 110a calculates the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the wireless base station 110b and the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the wireless base station 110c.

[0064] In step S503, the change unit 304 determines whether or not traffic is concentrated in the other radio base station 110 identified in step S501, based on the calculation result by the calculation unit 305. For example, when the number of radio stations 120 connected to the other radio base station 110 identified in step S501 is greater than the number of radio stations 120 connected to the own station, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated in the other radio base station 110. Alternatively, when the accommodation rate of the radio stations 120 of the other radio base station 110 identified in step S501 is higher than the accommodation rate of the radio stations 120 of the own station, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated in the other radio base station 110.

[0065] As another example, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated at another radio base station 110 when the number of radio stations 120 (or the accommodation rate of the radio stations 120) connected to the other radio base station 110 identified in step S501 exceeds a threshold.

[0066] If the traffic is concentrated in another wireless base station 110, the change unit 304 shifts the process to step S504. On the other hand, if the traffic is not concentrated in another wireless base station 110, the change unit 304 shifts the process to step S505.

[0067] When the process proceeds to step S504, the change unit 304 lowers the connection cost of the own station (wireless base station 110). As one example, the change unit 304 may manage a normal connection cost (normal) and a connection cost (low) that is lower than the normal connection cost, and set the connection cost to (low). As another example, the change unit 304 may manage a plurality of connection costs that are lower than the connection cost (normal), and lower the connection cost by one step. In this case, the minimum value of the connection cost may be set in advance.

[0068] On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S505, the change unit 304 sets the connection cost of the local station to a default value. For example, if the current connection cost is not the connection cost (normal), the change unit 304 sets the connection cost to the connection cost (normal). On the other hand, if the current connection cost is the connection cost (normal), the current connection cost is maintained.

[0069] In step S506, the transmitting unit 302 broadcasts the connection conditions using the wireless communication unit 301. For example, the transmitting unit 302 periodically transmits, via wireless communication, a notification message including the connection conditions, which include information such as the communication quality of the wireless communication provided by the own station (wireless base station 110) and the connection cost.

[0070] In step S507, the management unit 303 determines whether or not the wireless communication unit 301 has received a connection request from the wireless station 120, and if a connection request has been received, executes the processes in and after step S508.

[0071] In step S508, the management unit 303 uses the block chain 320 to execute the connection processing described in steps S1 to S6 of FIG.

[0072] In step S509, the management unit 303 determines whether or not a connection contract has been established with the wireless station 120, and if a connection contract has been established, the management unit 303 shifts the process to step S510. On the other hand, if a connection contract has not been established, the management unit 303 returns the process to step S506.

[0073] In step S510, the wireless base station 110 starts communication with the wireless station 120 that has transmitted the connection request, and when the communication is completed in step S511, the process returns to step S506.

[0074] It should be noted that the change unit 304 executes the process of step S512 in parallel with the processes of steps S507 to S511, for example.

[0075] In step S512, the change unit 304 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the process of steps S501 to S505 was last executed. Here, the predetermined time is a preset update interval for the connection cost. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the change unit 304 executes the process of steps S501 to S505 again. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the change unit 304 returns the process to step S506 and waits until the predetermined time has elapsed.

[0076] By the above process, the radio base station 110 reduces its own connection cost when traffic is concentrated at another nearby radio base station 110. For example, in Fig. 1, the radio base station 110a determines that traffic is concentrated at another nearby radio base station 110c, and reduces the connection cost of the radio base station 110a. This makes it possible to control the radio station 120b that is about to start communication to connect to the radio base station 110a, which has a lower connection cost.

[0077] Furthermore, by each of the multiple wireless base stations 110 included in the wireless communication system 100 executing the process in FIG. 5, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 100.

[0078] (Radio Station Processing) Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing performed by the wireless station according to the embodiment 1. This processing illustrates an example of processing performed by the wireless station 120 described with reference to Fig. 4 when starting wireless communication.

[0079] In step S601, the receiving unit 402 receives connection conditions broadcast by the wireless base station 110. As described above, the connection conditions include information such as the communication quality of wireless communication provided by the wireless base station 110 and the connection cost.

[0080] In step S602, the determination unit 403 determines the radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 requests connection, based on the connection conditions received by the receiving unit 402. For example, the determination unit 403 may determine the radio base station 110 with the lowest connection cost as the radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 requests connection, among the radio base stations 110 that satisfy the required communication quality. Furthermore, when there are multiple radio base stations 110 with the same connection cost, the determination unit 403 may determine the radio base station 110 with the highest communication quality as the radio base station 110 to which the radio station 120 requests connection.

[0081] In step S603, the connection control unit 404 transmits a connection request for requesting a wireless communication connection to the wireless base station 110 determined by the determination unit 403. The wireless base station 110 that receives this connection request executes, for example, the process of step S508 in FIG.

[0082] In step S604, the connection control unit 404 determines whether or not a connection contract with the wireless base station 110 has been established, and if the connection contract has been established, the process proceeds to step S605. On the other hand, if the connection contract has not been established, the wireless station 120 ends the process in FIG.

[0083] In step S605, the wireless station 120 starts communication with the connected wireless base station 110, and when the communication is completed in step S606, the process in FIG. 6 ends.

[0084] Through the above process, the wireless station 120 can preferentially connect to a wireless base station 110 with a lower connection cost among the wireless base stations 110 in the vicinity.

[0085] If the communication quality deteriorates during communication, the wireless station 120 may execute the process in Fig. 6 again to switch the connection destination to a new wireless base station 110. If the connection cost of the wireless base station 110 increases during communication, the wireless station 120 may execute the process in Fig. 6 again to switch the connection destination to a new wireless base station 110.

[0086] As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the wireless communication system 100 in which the wireless station 120 autonomously determines the wireless base station 110 to connect to, the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 100 can be improved by the processes in FIGS.

[0087] [Example 2] (Radio base station processing) Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a process performed by the wireless base station according to the second embodiment. This process illustrates another example of the process performed by the wireless base station 110 described in Fig. 5. Among the processes illustrated in Fig. 7, the processes of steps S503 to S512 are similar to the processes performed by the wireless base station according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 5, and therefore will not be described here.

[0088] In step S701, the calculation unit 305 of the wireless base station 110 refers to the block chain 320 to calculate the transition probability between the wireless base stations 110. For example, the calculation unit 305 calculates the transition probability P i,j Calculate.

[0089]

number

[0090] In step S702, the change unit 304 changes the transition probability P i,j For example, the change unit 304 determines another radio base station 110 that is more closely related to the own station based on the transition probability P i,j The other radio base station 110 having a higher correlation with the own station than the threshold is determined to be the other radio base station 110 having a higher correlation with the own station. As a result, for example, in FIG. 1, the radio base station 110a can identify the radio base stations 110b and 110c adjacent to the radio base station 110a as the other radio base stations 110 having a higher correlation with the own station.

[0091] In step S703, the calculation unit 305 uses the block chain 320 to calculate the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S702.

[0092] As described above, the wireless base station 110 may calculate the number of wireless stations connected to other nearby wireless base stations 110 by performing the processes of steps S701 to S703 in Fig. 7 instead of the processes of steps S501 and S502 in Fig. 5. Note that the process of the wireless station 120 according to the second embodiment may be similar to the process of the wireless station 120 according to the first embodiment.

[0093] [Example 3] (Radio base station processing) Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a process performed by the wireless base station according to the third embodiment. This process illustrates another example of the process performed by the wireless base station 110 described in Fig. 5. Among the processes illustrated in Fig. 8, the processes of steps S501, S502, and S506 to S512 are similar to the processes performed by the wireless base station according to the first embodiment described in Fig. 5, and therefore will not be described here.

[0094] In step S801, the change unit 304 determines whether or not traffic is concentrated at the own station based on the calculation result by the calculation unit 305. For example, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S501 is smaller than the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the own station. Similarly, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the own station is greater than the number of wireless stations 120 connected to the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S501.

[0095] Alternatively, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the accommodation rate of the wireless stations 120 of the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S501 is lower than the accommodation rate of the wireless stations 120 of the own station. Similarly, the change unit 304 may determine that traffic is concentrated at the own station when the accommodation rate of the wireless stations 120 of the own station is higher than the accommodation rate of the wireless stations 120 of the other wireless base station 110 identified in step S501.

[0096] If the traffic is concentrated in the own station, the change unit 304 shifts the process to step S802. On the other hand, if the traffic is not concentrated in the own station, the change unit 304 shifts the process to step S803.

[0097] When the process proceeds to step S802, the change unit 304 increases the connection cost of the local station (wireless base station 110). As one example, the change unit 304 may manage a normal connection cost (normal) and a connection cost (high) that is higher than the normal connection cost, and set the connection cost to (high). As another example, the change unit 304 may manage a plurality of connection costs that are higher than the connection cost (normal), and increase the connection cost by one step. In this case, the maximum value of the connection cost may be set in advance.

[0098] On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S803, the change unit 304 sets the connection cost of the local station to a default value. For example, if the current connection cost is not the connection cost (normal), the change unit 304 sets the connection cost to the connection cost (normal). On the other hand, if the current connection cost is the connection cost (normal), the current connection cost is maintained.

[0099] By the above process, when traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station 110, the wireless base station 110 increases the connection cost of the wireless base station. For example, in Fig. 1, the wireless base station 110c determines that traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station 110c and increases the connection cost of the wireless base station 110c. This makes it possible to control the wireless station 120b, which is about to start communication, to connect to the wireless base station 110a, which has a lower connection cost.

[0100] Furthermore, by each of the multiple wireless base stations 110 included in the wireless communication system 100 executing the process in FIG. 8, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of wireless resources in the entire wireless communication system 100.

[0101] It is to be noted that the wireless base station 110 may execute the processes of steps S701 to S703 in FIG. 7, instead of the processes of steps S501 and S502 in FIG.

[0102] <Hardware configuration example> Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a wireless base station and a wireless station according to this embodiment. The wireless base station 110 and the wireless station 120 have, for example, the configuration of a computer 900 as shown in Fig. 9. In the example of Fig. 9, the computer 900 has a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage device 903, a communication device 904, an input device 905, an output device 906, a bus B, etc.

[0103] The processor 901 is, for example, an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that realizes various functions by executing a predetermined program. The memory 902 is a storage medium readable by the computer 900, and includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The storage device 903 is a computer-readable storage medium, and may include, for example, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), various optical disks, and magneto-optical disks, etc.

[0104] The communication device 904 includes one or more pieces of hardware (communication devices) for communicating with other devices via a wireless or wired network. For example, the communication device 904 of the computer 900 included in the wireless base station 110 includes a communication device for performing wireless communication and a communication device for performing wired communication. Also, the computer 900 included in the wireless station 120 includes a communication device for performing wireless communication.

[0105] The input device 905 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 906 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 905 and the output device 906 may be integrated into one device (e.g., an input / output device such as a touch panel display).

[0106] The bus B is commonly connected to the above components and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals, etc. The processor 901 is not limited to a CPU, and may be, for example, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc.

[0107] (supplement) The radio base station 110 and the radio station 120 in this embodiment are not limited to being realized by dedicated devices, but may be realized by a general-purpose computer. In this case, a program for realizing the functions may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the functions. Note that the "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0108] Additionally, the term "computer-readable recording medium" includes various storage devices such as portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically hold a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and devices that hold a program for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system that serves as a server or client in such cases.

[0109] Furthermore, the above program may be for realizing part of the functions described above, or may be capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system, or may be realized using hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0110] <Effects of the embodiment> According to the wireless communication system 100 of the present embodiment, in the wireless communication system 100 in which the wireless station 120 determines the wireless base station 110 to which the wireless station 120 is to connect, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of wireless resources of the entire wireless communication system 100. For example, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the number of wireless stations 120 that can be accommodated in the entire wireless communication system 100.

[0111] For example, when traffic is concentrated at other nearby radio base stations 110, the radio base station 110 in the wireless communication system 100 can control the connection cost of the local station to be lowered so that the nearby radio stations 120 can more easily connect to the local station.

[0112] Alternatively, when traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station 110 of the wireless communication system 100, the wireless base station 110 can increase the connection cost of the wireless base station to make it easier for surrounding wireless stations 120 to connect to other surrounding wireless base stations 110.

[0113] In addition, a radio base station 110 in the wireless communication system 100 can use the blockchain 320 shared with the other radio base stations 110 to identify other radio base stations 110 in its vicinity and easily grasp the number of radio stations 120 connected to the other radio base stations 110.

[0114] <Summary of the embodiment> This specification discloses at least the following wireless communication methods and wireless communication systems. (Section 1) A wireless base station a transmitting step of broadcasting the connection conditions of the wireless base station; a management step of managing connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by a plurality of radio base stations; a change step of acquiring information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changing a connection condition of the radio base station based on the information on radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; A wireless communication method comprising: (Section 2) 2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the changing step reduces a connection cost of the other wireless base station when traffic is concentrated at the other wireless base station. (Section 3) 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the changing step increases a connection cost of the wireless base station when traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station. (Section 4) The wireless communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the other wireless base station includes one or more wireless base stations among a plurality of wireless base stations sharing the blockchain, the wireless base station having a higher transition probability for a wireless station to transition to the wireless base station. (Section 5) The wireless communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the other wireless base station includes one or more wireless base stations adjacent to the wireless base station among a plurality of wireless base stations sharing the blockchain. (Section 6) a transmitter that broadcasts connection conditions of the wireless base station; a management unit that manages connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by a plurality of radio base stations; a change unit that acquires information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changes connection conditions of the radio base station based on the information on the radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; A wireless base station having the above configuration. (Section 7) A wireless communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations and a wireless station, The wireless base station A transmitter that broadcasts a connection condition of the wireless base station; a management unit that manages connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by the plurality of radio base stations; a change unit that acquires information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changes connection conditions of the radio base station based on the information on the radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; having The radio station, A receiving unit that receives the connection conditions; a determination unit that determines the wireless base station to which the wireless station requests connection based on the connection condition; having Wireless communication system.

[0115] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 100 Wireless communication system 110, 110a~110e Wireless base station 120, 120a~120d wireless station 302 Transmitter 303 Management Department 304 Changes 305 Calculation Department 306 Storage section 320 Blockchain

Claims

1. A wireless base station a transmitting step of broadcasting the connection conditions of the wireless base station; a management step of managing connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by a plurality of radio base stations; a change step of acquiring information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changing a connection condition of the radio base station based on the information on radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; A wireless communication method comprising:

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the changing step reduces a connection cost of the other wireless base station when traffic is concentrated in the other wireless base station.

3. 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the changing step increases a connection cost of the wireless base station when traffic is concentrated at the wireless base station.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the other wireless base stations include one or more wireless base stations having a higher transition probability for a wireless station to transition between the other wireless base stations and the wireless base station.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the other radio base stations include one or more radio base stations adjacent to or close to the radio base station.

6. a transmitter that broadcasts connection conditions of the wireless base station; a management unit that manages connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by a plurality of radio base stations; a change unit that acquires information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changes connection conditions of the radio base station based on the information on the radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; A wireless base station having the above configuration.

7. A wireless communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations and a wireless station, The wireless base station A transmitter that broadcasts a connection condition of the wireless base station; a management unit that manages connections with radio stations that request connection to the radio base station based on the connection conditions, using a blockchain shared by the plurality of radio base stations; a change unit that acquires information on radio stations that connect to other radio base stations from the blockchain, and changes connection conditions of the radio base station based on the information on the radio stations that connect to the other radio base stations; having The radio station, A receiving unit that receives the connection conditions; a determination unit that determines the wireless base station to which the wireless station requests connection based on the connection condition; having Wireless communication system.

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