JP2001007752A - Wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a wireless communication system capable of performing uniform wireless communication and ensuring wireless communication in a wireless base station. A terminal (1) communicating with a radio base station (1).
The terminal 13 which can also communicate with the wireless base station 2 among 0, 11, 12 and 13 monitors the traffic, and when the traffic volume exceeds a predetermined traffic volume, the infrared wireless base station 1 other than the infrared wireless base station 1 currently communicating is used. The base station 2 is selected, and switching control of the infrared wireless base station is performed so as to communicate with the selected infrared wireless base station 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication system capable of performing more reliable and high-quality data communication in a wireless network to which a computer or the like can be connected, and more particularly to a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver. The present invention relates to a wireless communication system for performing infrared wireless communication between a station and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via respective infrared transceivers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional wireless communication system supports only one of infrared communication and RF communication, and there is no system capable of performing both infrared communication and RF communication.

Further, in the conventional infrared communication system, even when a plurality of wireless base stations are installed, there is no method for monitoring traffic and selecting an optimum wireless base station.
In the initial stage, a radio base station that is closer in distance is selected or a radio base station is selected at random, and obstacles such as humans, animals, and objects are placed between the terminal and the radio base station. When it enters, it switches to another wireless base station.

[0004]

In a conventional radio communication system, when a terminal can communicate with two radio base stations, the traffic at one radio base station increases and the traffic at the other radio base station increases. Even if the number is small, as described above, the terminal selects a wireless base station that is close in distance, or randomly selects a wireless base station, so that the terminal selects a wireless base station whose traffic is increasing, and as a result, In addition, there is a problem that the traffic volume between the wireless base stations becomes unbalanced, and efficient communication cannot be performed.

[0005] The infrared wireless communication system has a higher probability of communication failure due to shielding by an obstacle than an RF wireless communication system. There is no switch to wireless communication, and there is a problem that the probability of communication failure due to an obstacle is high.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system capable of performing uniform wireless communication in a wireless base station and performing reliable wireless communication.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication system comprising: a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver; and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver. A wireless communication system that performs infrared wireless communication via an infrared transmitting / receiving unit, wherein the terminal has a selection unit that selects the infrared wireless base station so as to communicate with the infrared wireless base station with less traffic. Make a summary.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the terminal selects to communicate with the infrared wireless base station having less traffic among the plurality of infrared wireless base stations, the traffic amount of the whole wireless communication system is reduced. It can be balanced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, infrared wireless communication is performed between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via the respective infrared transceivers. Wireless communication system, wherein the terminal stores a plurality of communicable wireless base stations, a congestion degree monitoring means for monitoring communication traffic with the wireless base station, and the congestion degree When the traffic monitored by the monitoring means exceeds a predetermined amount of traffic, the radio communication unit communicates with a radio base station other than the radio base station currently communicating from among the plurality of radio base stations stored in the storage means. And a selection unit for selecting a base station.

[0010] According to the present invention, the terminal monitors the traffic of the communication with the radio base station, and when the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined traffic volume,
Since communication is performed by selecting a radio base station other than the currently communicating radio base station from the plurality of radio base stations, the traffic volume can be balanced in the entire radio communication system.

Further, according to the present invention, infrared wireless communication is performed between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via the respective infrared transceivers. A wireless communication system, wherein the wireless base station is capable of communicating with monitoring means for monitoring the traffic between the terminal and the terminal, if the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined amount of traffic, Notifying means for notifying all terminals, the terminal storing a plurality of communicable wireless base stations, and, when receiving the notification, the wireless base station stored in the storing means And selecting communication means for selecting and communicating with another wireless base station capable of communicating from among the above.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the radio base station monitors traffic between the terminal and the terminal. If the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined traffic amount, the radio base station can communicate the fact. If the terminal receives the above communication from the radio base station, the terminal selects another communicable radio base station to perform communication, so that the traffic volume of the entire radio communication system is balanced. Can be

The present invention described in claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In the invention described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the gist is that the predetermined traffic amount is determined based on the number of collisions within a predetermined unit time.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, infrared wireless communication is performed between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via the respective infrared transceivers. A wireless communication system, wherein the terminal has a unique address notifying unit for notifying the wireless base station of a unique address, and the wireless base station stores the unique address notified from the terminal. Terminal number detecting means for detecting the number of terminals that have notified the unique address, and, when the number of detected terminals reaches a predetermined number, when a new terminal notifies the unique address, Command notifying means for notifying a terminal of a command to perform communication with another radio base station, and a unique address of a terminal having no communication for a predetermined period of time. And summarized in that and a deleting means for deleting from the storage means.

According to the present invention, the terminal notifies the wireless base station of the unique address, and the wireless base station stores the unique address notified by the terminal and notifies the unique address. If the new terminal notifies a unique address after the detected number of terminals reaches a predetermined number, the terminal communicates with another wireless base station. Since the command to be executed is notified and the unique address of the terminal without communication during the predetermined time is deleted from the storage means, the traffic volume of the entire wireless communication system can be balanced.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided at least one infrared wireless base station having an infrared transceiver, at least one RF wireless base station having an RF transceiver, the infrared wireless base station, A wireless communication system having a plurality of terminals capable of performing wireless communication with the RF wireless base station, wherein the terminal transmits and receives information to and from the infrared wireless base station, an infrared transmitting and receiving unit, and the RF wireless base station An RF transceiver for transmitting and receiving information; monitoring means for monitoring whether communication with the infrared wireless base station is normally performed; and, as a result of this monitoring, communication with the infrared wireless base station is normally performed. The gist of the present invention is to include a switching unit that switches communication with the infrared wireless base station to communication with the RF wireless base station when detecting that the communication has not been performed.

According to the present invention, each terminal monitors whether or not communication with the infrared radio base station is normally performed. If communication is not performed normally, communication with the infrared wireless base station is switched to communication with the RF wireless base station, so communication with the infrared wireless base station is blocked by an obstacle and communication becomes impossible. Even if this happens, the communication can be properly continued by switching to the RF wireless base station.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication system shown in FIG.
Attached to a plurality of infrared wireless base stations 1 and 2 having an infrared transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting and receiving information using infrared and various electric devices such as a television, a video recorder, and a personal computer, and eliminating complicated wiring for these. And a plurality of terminals 1 each having an infrared transmitting / receiving unit for performing infrared wireless communication with the infrared transmitting / receiving units of the infrared wireless base stations 1 and 2 so as to simplify the installation and handling of the electric equipment.
0, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

Each of the terminals 10 to 14 stores the positions of a plurality of infrared wireless base stations 1 and 2 in addition to an infrared transceiver for transmitting and receiving information to and from the infrared wireless base station using infrared light. A radio base station storage unit, a congestion degree of communication with the radio base station, that is, a traffic congestion degree, that is, a traffic congestion degree monitoring unit that outputs a detection signal when a predetermined amount of traffic is detected; When the detection signal indicating that the traffic equal to or more than the traffic amount is detected is supplied, from among the plurality of wireless base stations stored in the wireless base station storage unit, other than the infrared wireless base station currently communicating. And a radio base station selecting unit for controlling to select the infrared radio base station and to communicate with the selected infrared radio base station.

In the wireless communication system configured as described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
The terminals 12 and 13 are installed at positions where they can communicate with the infrared wireless base station 1, and the terminals 13 and 14 are installed at positions where they can communicate with the infrared wireless base station 2. That is, the terminal 13
It can communicate with both infrared wireless base stations 1 and 2. It is assumed that each infrared wireless base station and each terminal are connected by the most standard Ethernet in computer communication.

The terminals 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 communicate with the infrared radio base station as needed. Four terminals 10, 11, 12, and 13 are connected to the infrared radio base station 1. Only the terminal 14 is connected to the infrared wireless base station 2. Therefore, the traffic volume on the infrared wireless base station 1 side is usually higher than the traffic volume on the infrared wireless base station 2 side. Therefore, the terminal 13 monitors the traffic with the congestion degree monitoring unit, and when detecting that the traffic amount exceeds a predetermined traffic amount in a unit time, supplies a detection signal to the wireless base station selecting unit. When the detection signal is supplied from the congestion degree monitoring unit, the wireless base station selecting unit of the terminal 13 selects the infrared wireless base station currently used from among the plurality of infrared wireless base stations stored in the wireless base station storage unit. An infrared wireless base station other than the station 1, that is, the infrared wireless base station 2 is selected, and switching control of the infrared wireless base station is performed so as to communicate with the selected infrared wireless base station 2. As a result, the terminal 13 communicates with the infrared wireless base station 2 as shown in FIG. 2, and as a result, the traffic volume of the entire wireless communication system can be balanced.

In the above embodiment, the traffic volume can be determined by the number of collisions within a predetermined unit time.

Further, in the above embodiment, each infrared radio base station monitors traffic with each terminal, and if the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined traffic amount, each radio base station informs it. The terminal may be configured to notify all terminals that can communicate with the terminal, and upon receiving the notification, each terminal may select and communicate with another wireless base station that can communicate. The traffic volume can be balanced in the communication system as a whole.

Further, in the above embodiment, each terminal 1
Each of the infrared wireless base stations 1, 0, 11, 13, and 14 has a unique address notifying unit that notifies each infrared wireless base station 1 and 2 of a unique address.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a storage unit for storing the unique addresses notified from the terminals 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, a terminal number detection unit for detecting the number of terminals that have notified the unique addresses, and the number of detected terminals. When a new terminal notifies a unique address after reaching a predetermined number, a command notification unit for notifying the terminal of a command to perform communication with another infrared wireless base station, and a predetermined time It is also possible to have a deletion unit that deletes the unique address of the terminal that has no communication during the storage from the storage unit, and in this case also, the traffic volume is balanced in the entire wireless communication system. be able to.

Next, a radio communication system according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The wireless communication system according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 transmits and receives information using RF in addition to one or more infrared wireless base stations 3 having an infrared transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting and receiving information using infrared light. One or more Rs with RF transceivers for
A plurality of terminals 20 and 21 having the F wireless base station 4 and performing wireless communication with each of the wireless base stations are respectively provided with an infrared transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting / receiving information to / from the infrared wireless base station 3 and an RF transmitting / receiving unit. In addition to having an RF transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from the wireless base station, it also detects whether or not communication with the infrared wireless base station 3 is normally performed, and performs normal communication. When it is detected that the communication has not been performed, a communication system selection unit for switching the communication system from the infrared communication system to the RF communication system is provided.

In the wireless communication system configured as described above, the terminals 20 and 21 are both installed at positions where they can communicate with the infrared wireless base station 3. In such an installation state, the terminals 20 and 21 are installed not only at the infrared wireless base station 3 but also at a position where they can communicate with the RF wireless base station 4. Since it is cheaper than the RF wireless system and can construct a high-speed transfer system, the infrared wireless base station 3 constituting the infrared wireless system is selected and communicates with each terminal.

Here, the terminal 21 moves from the position shown in FIG. 3 and moves out of the communicable range with the infrared radio base station 3 as shown in FIG. If, for example, an obstacle such as a human, an animal, or an object enters the space between the two, the communication method selection unit of the terminal 21 detects that communication with the infrared wireless base station 3 is not performed normally. Then, the communication system of the terminal 21 is switched from the infrared communication system to the RF communication system, thereby attempting to communicate with the RF base station 4 of the RF communication system. As a result, R
When the F communication is possible, the wireless base station is switched from the infrared wireless base station 3 to the RF wireless base station 4, and communication with the RF wireless base station 4 is continued. Here, as a method of detecting that the communication with the infrared wireless base station 3 is not normally performed by the terminal 21 in the communication method selection unit, for example, a reference signal using infrared light has been continued for a predetermined time or more. In such a case, a method of detecting that communication by the infrared wireless system is impossible is conceivable.

When the terminal 21 is in a position where it can communicate with the infrared wireless base station 3 or in a state where it can communicate,
The communication system selection unit of the terminal 21 detects such a situation,
Switch the communication method to the infrared communication method and set the wireless base station to R
The F radio base station 4 is switched to the infrared radio base station 3, and even if communication with the infrared radio base station is blocked by an obstacle and communication becomes impossible,
By switching to the F radio base station, communication can be properly continued.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the terminal selects to communicate with the infrared wireless base station with less traffic among the multiple infrared wireless base stations,
The traffic volume can be balanced in the entire wireless communication system, and efficiency can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the terminal monitors the traffic of communication with the radio base station, and when the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined traffic amount, the terminal selects the current traffic from among the plurality of radio base stations. Since communication is performed by selecting a radio base station other than the communicating radio base station, the traffic amount can be balanced in the entire radio communication system, and efficiency can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the radio base station monitors traffic with the terminal, and if the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined amount of traffic, all the terminals capable of communicating to that effect. When the terminal receives the communication from the radio base station, the terminal selects another communicable radio base station and performs communication, so that the traffic amount can be balanced in the entire radio communication system. it can.

According to the present invention, the terminal notifies the wireless base station of the unique address, and the wireless base station stores the unique address notified from the terminal and also stores the number of terminals that have notified the unique address. After the number of detected terminals reaches a predetermined number, if a new terminal notifies a unique address, the terminal is notified of a command to perform communication with another wireless base station. Since the unique address of the terminal that has not communicated during the predetermined time is deleted from the storage means, the traffic volume can be balanced in the entire wireless communication system.

Further, according to the present invention, each terminal monitors whether or not communication with the infrared wireless base station is normally performed, and confirms that communication with the infrared wireless base station is not normally performed. If detected, communication with infrared wireless base station
Since the communication is switched to the communication with the wireless base station, even if the communication with the infrared wireless base station is blocked by an obstacle and communication becomes impossible, the communication can be properly continued by switching to the RF wireless base station.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation of the wireless communication system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation of the wireless communication system shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,2,3 Infrared wireless base station 4 RF wireless base station 10-14,20,21 Terminal

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Saiichiro Saito 2-16-16 Chuo-Rinma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Hits Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Reference) 5K002 AA01 AA03 DA91 EA05 FA03 GA06 5K067 AA12 DD17 DD51 EE10 EE12 EE37 FF03 FF16 GG01 GG11 HH23 JJ11 JJ37 JJ38 JJ73 JJ76 LL01

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A wireless communication system for performing infrared wireless communication between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via respective infrared transceivers. A wireless communication system, wherein the terminal includes a selection unit that selects the infrared wireless base station so as to communicate with the infrared wireless base station with less traffic. 2. A wireless communication system for performing infrared wireless communication between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via respective infrared transceivers. The terminal includes: a storage unit that stores a plurality of communicable wireless base stations; a congestion degree monitoring unit that monitors traffic of communication with the wireless base station; and a traffic monitored by the congestion degree monitoring unit. And selecting means for selecting the wireless base station from among the plurality of wireless base stations stored in the storage means to communicate with a wireless base station other than the wireless base station currently communicating when the traffic amount exceeds the traffic amount. A wireless communication system comprising: 3. A wireless communication system for performing infrared wireless communication between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via the respective infrared transceivers. A wireless base station, a monitoring unit that monitors traffic between the terminal and a notifying unit that, when the monitored traffic exceeds a predetermined traffic amount, notifies all communicable terminals of the fact; The terminal comprises: a storage unit for storing a plurality of communicable radio base stations; and, when receiving the notification, another communicable radio base station from among the radio base stations stored in the storage unit. And a selection communication means for selecting and communicating with a base station. 4. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined traffic amount is determined based on the number of collisions within a predetermined unit time. 5. A wireless communication system for performing infrared wireless communication between a plurality of infrared wireless base stations having an infrared transceiver and a plurality of terminals having an infrared transceiver via respective infrared transceivers, The terminal has a unique address notifying unit for notifying the wireless base station of the unique address, and the wireless base station notifies the storage unit for storing the unique address notified from the terminal and the unique address. Terminal number detecting means for detecting the number of detected terminals, and, when the number of detected terminals reaches a predetermined number, when a new terminal notifies a unique address, the other radio base station is notified to the terminal. Command notifying means for notifying a command to perform communication with a station, and deleting a unique address of a terminal having no communication for a predetermined time from the storage means. Wireless communication system, comprising a stage. 6. One or more infrared radio base stations having an infrared transceiver, and one or more RF base stations having an RF transceiver.
A wireless communication system having a wireless base station and a plurality of terminals capable of performing wireless communication with the infrared wireless base station and the RF wireless base station, wherein the terminal transmits and receives information to and from the infrared wireless base station. An infrared transmitting and receiving unit, an RF transmitting and receiving unit that transmits and receives information to and from the RF wireless base station, and a monitoring unit that monitors whether communication with the infrared wireless base station is normally performed,
As a result of the monitoring, when it is detected that the communication with the infrared wireless base station is not performed normally, there is provided switching means for switching the communication with the infrared wireless base station to the communication with the RF wireless base station. Wireless communication system.