Wireless LAN Handover Using Pre-Stored Route-Based Access Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless LAN systems face challenges in efficiently switching between access points during handover, particularly when multiple candidates are available, leading to prolonged handover times.
Innovation Solution
A wireless communication device and system that includes a control unit to monitor radio signal strength, retrieve and determine a connection destination access point based on pre-stored travel route information, and execute connection processing when the signal strength falls below a threshold, utilizing a server device for additional information storage and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If information on switching destination access points is collected and stored for multiple candidates, then handover time can be reduced, but device complexity and information storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by collecting and storing information on switching destination access points in advance, before handover is actually needed. The wireless communication device pre-acquires BSS information (including BSSID, channel, and SSID) of multiple candidate access points along the travel route and stores them in a table structure. This allows the device to quickly determine a suitable target access point during handover without performing time-consuming searches, thus reducing handover time while managing complexity through structured pre-computation.
2Reliability
If the wireless communication device performs comprehensive searching for access points during handover, then connection reliability is improved, but handover time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by performing the comprehensive search and evaluation work in advance. During normal operation, the device continuously collects BSS information from surrounding access points and pre-evaluates them based on signal strength and other criteria. When handover becomes necessary, the device simply selects from the pre-evaluated candidates stored in memory, ensuring both reliable connection selection (through comprehensive pre-evaluation) and fast execution (by avoiding real-time searching).
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless communication device serves itself by maintaining its own table of candidate access points and autonomously determining the target access point without requiring external assistance during the critical handover moment. The device uses its stored information and built-in evaluation criteria to self-determine the best target, eliminating the need for time-consuming external queries or complex real-time coordination with network controllers.
3Reliability
If multiple candidate access points are evaluated during handover, then connection quality is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-evaluating multiple candidate access points and storing their metrics (signal strength, BSSID, channel information) in a structured table before handover is needed. This allows the device to quickly compare and select the best candidate during handover without performing time-consuming real-time evaluations, thus maintaining connection quality through thorough evaluation while minimizing processing time during the actual handover event.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless communication device according to the disclosure includes a communication unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The control unit includes a monitoring section that monitors strength of a radio signal transmitted by a currently-connected access point, a determination section that retrieves information indicating correspondence between information on a travel route of the wireless communication device and a candidate for a switching destination access point from the storage unit and determines a connection destination access point based on the information retrieved, and a connection section that executes connection processing to the connection destination access point determined, when the strength of the radio signal transmitted by the currently-connected access point falls outside a threshold value.