JP2017046227A - Radio communication system, terminal device, access point, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communication system, a terminal device, an access point, and a program that can determine an access point which should be a connection destination before radio connection.SOLUTION: A terminal device 1 includes a terminal radio communication unit 15 capable of communicating with a plurality of access points 2 each identified by their specific identification information, a terminal control unit 11, a display unit 14, and an operation unit 13. The terminal control unit 11 obtains the identification information on access points 2 in a communication available state, generates a list of the obtained pieces of identification information, and has the display unit 14 display it. The terminal device transmits a packet including a notification instruction to an access point 2 identified by identification information selected by operation to the operation unit 13 from the displayed list before an authentication process with the access point 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a terminal device, an access point, and a program.

  In recent years, wireless communication systems such as a wireless LAN have been widely used. For example, wireless LAN devices are often installed in school classrooms.

  In school classrooms, many students gather in one classroom and communicate all at once. In such cases, multiple access points may be placed in the classroom. This is because the access points of the communication destinations of the terminal devices possessed by each student are distributed. Also, if the distance between a room (classroom) and a room adjacent to the room is short (or if the shielding of electromagnetic waves is not sufficient due to the structure of the walls separating these rooms) as in a school, Communication with distributed access points may be possible.

JP 2001-274802 A

  Therefore, when many terminal device owners gather in a relatively large room and perform wireless LAN communication at the same time, each terminal owner has an access point (or a room where the terminal owner is currently located) closest to him / herself. However, it may be difficult to select which access point to communicate with. Generally, each access point used in a wireless LAN or the like has unique identification information (SSID: Service Set IDentifier) set, and the terminal owner can select an access point for communication by selecting the SSID. It is not always possible to identify which access point is suitable for the self connection by referring to the SSID.

  In Patent Document 1, a light emitting element is provided in each wireless communication device so that a device in the network to which the device is connected can be identified from among a plurality of networks connecting a plurality of devices. An example of performing processing such as synchronizing the blinking interval of the light emitting element in a wireless communication device connected to a wireless network to which the device itself is connected is disclosed.

  However, in the above conventional technique, it is necessary to connect to a wireless network once, and it is impossible to specify an access point suitable as a connection destination before wireless connection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication system, a terminal device, an access point, and a program capable of specifying an access point to be a connection destination before wireless connection. One.

  The present invention for solving the problems of the conventional example is a wireless communication system including a terminal device and an access point identified by unique identification information, the terminal device including a terminal wireless communication unit, a terminal A control unit, a display unit, and an operation unit, wherein the terminal control unit acquires identification information of an access point in a communicable state; and the acquired access point in a communicable state A means for generating a list of identification information and displaying the list on the display unit, and including a notification instruction for the access point identified by the identification information selected by operating the operation unit from the displayed list And the access point includes a wireless communication unit, a control unit, and a notification unit, and the control unit includes a packet including the notification instruction from the terminal device. It means for receiving, based on the announcement instructions contained in the received packet, and controls the notification unit, in which it was decided to have a means for notifying its own position.

  In this way, the notification instruction from the terminal device and the corresponding processing at the access point are performed, so that the notification instruction is included in the packet exchanged before authentication with the access point, before wireless connection, The access point to be connected can be specified.

  A terminal device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a terminal wireless communication unit, a terminal control unit, a display unit, and an operation unit that can communicate with a plurality of access points identified by unique identification information. The terminal control unit acquires identification information of an access point in a state where communication is possible, a unit for generating the acquired list of identification information and displaying the list on the display unit, A packet including a notification instruction is transmitted to the access point identified by the identification information selected by the operation on the operation unit from the displayed list before the authentication process with the access point. Means.

  In this way, since the notification instruction from the terminal device is sent to the access point, by including the notification instruction in the packet exchanged before authentication with the access point, the access point to be the connection destination before wireless connection Can be identified.

  Here, when there is only one piece of identification information of an access point in a state where communication is possible, acquired by the identification information acquisition means, the terminal control unit does not generate or display the list, A packet including a notification instruction may be transmitted to the access point identified by the acquired identification information. This simplifies the operation and improves convenience.

  Further, the access point includes a light emitting means or a sounding means, and the notification instruction is an instruction for light emission or sounding by the light emitting means or the sounding means provided in the access point, and the notification instruction specifies a light emitting mode or a sounding mode. May be included. As a result, it is possible to make notifications in such a manner that each user can easily identify himself / herself.

  Further, the terminal control unit accepts designation of an access point as a connection destination from a list of identification information of the access point displayed on the display unit by an operation on the operation unit, and is connected to the designated access point. Means for executing authentication processing, means for storing the identification information of the access point that has performed the authentication processing, and means for inhibiting and controlling switching of connection to an access point different from the access point identified by the stored identification information And may be provided. According to this, for example, after connecting to the access point confirmed by notification, communication with the access point can be maintained.

  Further, an access point according to one aspect of the present embodiment includes a wireless communication unit that performs communication with a terminal device, a control unit, and a notification unit, and the control unit receives pre-authentication from the terminal device. And a means for receiving a packet including a notification instruction, and a means for controlling the notification section based on the notification instruction included in the received packet to notify the user's own position. .

  Furthermore, a program according to another aspect of the present invention provides a computer that is communicably connected to a plurality of access points, the means for acquiring the identification information of an access point in a communicable state, and the acquired A means for generating a list of identification information of access points in a communicable state and displaying them on the display unit, and for an access point identified by the identification information selected from the displayed list It functions as a means for sending a packet including an instruction.

  According to the present invention, an access point to be a connection destination can be specified before wireless connection.

1 is a configuration block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram showing the example of the terminal control part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the content of the flame | frame transmitted / received by the terminal device and access point which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the example of the content of the notification instruction | indication which the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention sends out. It is a flowchart figure showing the example of operation of the radio communications system concerning an embodiment of the invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention is a wireless LAN system based on a predetermined wireless communication system such as IEEE802.11. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a terminal device 1, a plurality of access points 2, and It has.

  The terminal device 1 is, for example, a tablet PC, and includes a terminal control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an operation unit 13, a display unit 14, and a terminal wireless communication unit 15. Each access point 2 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a wireless communication unit 23, and a notification unit 24.

  Here, the terminal control unit 11 is a program control device such as a CPU, and operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 12. Specifically, the terminal control unit 11 executes processing of various application programs (for example, a web browser and presentation software) stored in the storage unit 12.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal control unit 11 is configured so that the terminal control unit 11 at the timing to establish communication with the access point 2 (when receiving an instruction from the user to establish communication with the access point 2). The identification information of the access point 2 that is within the communicable range (in a state where communication is possible) with the terminal wireless communication unit 15 is acquired via the wireless communication unit 15. In this acquisition method, for example, if each access point 2 within a communicable range from the terminal device 1 periodically transmits a beacon frame (including identification information), the identification information included in the beacon frame is stored. You can get it by keeping it. Alternatively, the user of the terminal device 1 may obtain the identification information of the access point 2 by operating the operation unit 13 and inputting the identification information of the access point 2.

  The terminal control unit 11 generates a list of the identification information (information identifying the access point 2 such as SSID, BSSID, and IP address) of each access point 2 acquired here, and displays the list on the display unit 14. The user operates the operation unit 13 to select the identification information of the access point 2 that executes the notification operation from the list of identification information displayed on the display unit 14. The terminal control unit 11 then accepts the selected identification information, and gives a notification instruction (instructing to shine or sound in some manner) to the access point 2 identified by the identification information. Send the included packet. Specifically, this packet may use a probe request defined by IEEE802.11 or a management frame. Detailed contents of this packet will be described later.

  Further, the user operates the operation unit 13 to select the identification information of the access point 2 to be a communication partner from the identification information list displayed on the display unit 14. The terminal control unit 11 accepts the selected identification information, requests authentication for the access point 2 identified by the identification information, and executes processing for starting communication. Then, after communication is started, communication is performed with a server or the like connected via the access point 2 on the network. The operation of these terminal control units 11 will be described later.

  The storage unit 12 is a memory device or the like, and holds a program executed by the terminal control unit 11. The storage unit 12 also operates as a work memory for the terminal control unit 11. The operation unit 13 is a touch panel (in the case of a tablet PC), a mouse, a keyboard, and the like, accepts a user's instruction operation, and outputs the content of the instruction to the terminal control unit 11. The display unit 14 is a display or the like, and displays and outputs information in accordance with an instruction input from the terminal control unit 11.

  The terminal wireless communication unit 15 is a wireless LAN interface, communicates wirelessly with the access point 2, and outputs various information received from the access point 2 to the terminal control unit 11. The terminal wireless communication unit 15 sends the instructed information to the access point 2 in accordance with the instruction input from the terminal control unit 11.

  The control unit 21 of the access point 2 is a program control device such as a CPU, and operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 22. Specifically, the control unit 21 realizes a function as a wireless LAN access point according to a program stored in the storage unit 22. In the function as the wireless LAN access point, the control unit 21 may repeatedly transmit a beacon frame signal including identification information (SSID) for identifying itself at every predetermined timing.

  In the present embodiment, when receiving a packet including a notification instruction from the terminal device 1, the control unit 21 controls the notification unit 24 based on the notification instruction included in the received packet to notify its own position. . The specific operation of the control unit 21 will be described later.

  The storage unit 22 is a memory device or the like, and holds a program executed by the control unit 21. The storage unit 22 also operates as a work memory for the control unit 21. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 22 may store setting information such as identification information (SSID) for identifying the access point 2. In this case, when sending the response including the identification information, the control unit 21 reads the identification information with reference to the setting information stored in the storage unit 22 and transmits the response including the read identification information to the wireless communication. Send out via the unit 23.

  The wireless communication unit 23 is a wireless LAN interface, performs wireless communication with the terminal device 1, and outputs various information and requests received from the terminal device 1 to the control unit 21. The wireless communication unit 23 broadcasts (sends without designating a destination) or sends the designated information to a designated destination (for example, the terminal device 1) according to an instruction input from the control unit 21. And send it out. Note that the number of destinations specified here may not be one, and a plurality of destinations may be specified using a multicast address.

  The notification unit 24 includes light emitting means such as an LED and sounding means such as a speaker (any one of these may be used). For example, when the notification unit 24 includes a light emitting unit such as an LED, the LED as the light emitting unit is turned on or blinked according to an instruction input from the control unit 21.

  Here, the operation of the terminal control unit 11 of the terminal device 1 will be described. The terminal control unit 11 according to the present embodiment operates in accordance with a program stored in the storage unit 12 and, as illustrated in FIG. 2, an identification information acquisition unit 31, a list display unit 32, a notification instruction unit 33, The selection receiving unit 34 and the communication start control unit 35 are functionally realized.

  The identification information acquisition unit 31 receives a beacon frame including each identification information periodically transmitted from each access point 2 within a communication range from the terminal device 1 and is included in the received beacon frame. Identification information (information identifying the access point 2 such as SSID, BSSID, IP address, etc.) is included in the list of identification information of the access point 2 and stored in the storage unit 12. If the identification information included in the received beacon frame is already stored in the storage unit 12, the identification information acquisition unit 31 overwrites the identification information included in the received beacon frame with the identification information stored in the storage unit 12. And remember. As a result, a list of identification information of each access point 2 within the communicable range from the terminal device 1 is acquired without duplication.

  Further, the identification information acquisition unit 31 includes information for identifying an access point such as a BSSID (Basic Service Set IDentifier) and an IP address included in the beacon frame, and information such as a signal strength (RSSI and the like) of the beacon frame. May be stored together with the corresponding SSID.

  The list display unit 32 reads the list of identification information of the access point 2 stored in the storage unit 12 by the identification information acquisition unit 31 and displays the list on the display unit 14. Here, when the signal strength of the beacon frame that includes each piece of identification information is stored together, the list display unit 32 may display the descending order from the signal strength that is strong.

  When the user operates the operation unit 13 and selects the identification information of the access point 2 that executes the notification instruction from the identification information list displayed by the list display unit 32, the notification instruction unit 33 selects the selected identification information. And a packet including a notification instruction is transmitted to the access point 2 identified by the identification information via the terminal wireless communication unit 15. At this stage, the access point 2 has not authenticated the terminal device 1.

  For example, the packet transmitted here is a MAC frame defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard, and is realized as a management frame corresponding to a probe request or a packet including a predetermined management frame. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the MAC frame defined in the IEEE802.11 standard includes a frame control unit (FC), a duration / ID unit (D), and first to third addresses each including a destination address and the like. It includes an information part (A1 to A3), a sequence control part (SC), a fourth address information part (A4), a frame body part (FB), and a frame check sequence part (FCS).

  The frame control unit (FC) includes frame type information (Type) and subtype information (Subtype). This type information is set to one of predetermined values such as “00” for a management frame and “01” for a control frame. Also, the subtype information is, for each value of type information, for example, if the type information is a management frame, “0100” for probe requests, “0101” for probe responses, “1000” for beacons, etc. It is set to a predetermined value.

  The notification instruction unit 33 sends out a packet including a notification instruction using, for example, a probe request. In this example, the notification instruction unit 33 generates a MAC frame with the type information “00” (management frame) and the subtype information “0100” (probe request). In a probe request packet, the frame body (FB) generally includes the SSID of the access point 2 and information indicating the support rate. In the present embodiment, the frame body (FB) ) In addition, notification instructions are included.

  The notification instruction may be, for example, 1-bit information (flag) indicating the necessity of notification. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the notification instruction includes instruction information (Inst) indicating whether the notification instruction is a notification start instruction or a notification end instruction, and information (Pattern) indicating a notification mode. It may be included. Further, the notification instruction may include terminal identification information for identifying the terminal device 1 (for example, the MAC address of the terminal wireless communication unit 15 of the terminal device 1).

  Further, the notification instruction unit 33 newly determines subtype information indicating that the packet is for notification, not a predetermined subtype information as in the probe request, and generates a packet including the subtype information. The notification instruction may be included in the packet. For example, the notification instructing unit 33 sets the type information to “00” (management frame), sets the subtype information to a value that is not currently determined in advance, such as “0111”, and then sets, for example, the frame main body (FB) A packet including a notification instruction may be generated. This notification instruction may be the same as that illustrated in FIG.

  The notification instructing unit 33 sends the packet including the notification instruction generated in this way to the access point 2 identified by the identification information selected as the target for executing the notification instruction (that is, the destination of the packet). , The address is set to the address of the access point 2 identified by the identification information selected as the target for executing the notification instruction), and transmitted via the terminal wireless communication unit 15.

  As described above, in the case where the notification instruction includes instruction information indicating whether the notification start instruction or the notification end instruction is included and information indicating the notification mode, the notification instruction unit 33 is used by the user. When the identification information of the access point 2 that executes the notification instruction is selected, a notification instruction including an instruction to start the notification is sent, and then notification is made regardless of whether the user has performed an explicit operation after a predetermined time has elapsed. A notification instruction including a termination instruction may be transmitted. In this case, the notification operation at the access point 2 is stopped when a certain time has elapsed, whether or not the user performs an operation.

  In addition, as described above, when the user selects the identification information of the access point 2 that executes the notification instruction, the notification instruction unit 33 sends out a notification instruction including an instruction to start notification, and then the access point 2 notifies It is also possible to display on the display unit 14 to the effect that the user has performed, and wait until the user operates the operation unit 13 to instruct the end of notification. In this case, when the user instructs the end of the notification, the notification instructing unit 33 sends out a notification instruction including an instruction to end the notification through the terminal wireless communication unit 15 at that time.

  The selection receiving unit 34 receives from the user the selection of the identification information of the access point 2 to be connected among the identification information included in the list displayed by the list display unit 32. Specifically, the selection receiving unit 34 accepts selection of identification information to be connected by a user operation on the operation unit 13. The selection receiving unit 34 outputs the identification information selected as the connection target to the communication start control unit 35.

  The communication start control unit 35 makes a connection start request to the access point 2 identified by the identification information input from the selection receiving unit 34. This connection start request is an association request or authentication process in a general wireless LAN system, and is widely known, so detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 21 of the access point 2 will be described. When the control unit 21 receives a packet including a notification instruction from the terminal device 1, the control unit 21 controls the notification unit 24 based on the notification instruction included in the received packet to notify its own position. As already described, in the example of the present embodiment, the notification instruction is received in a probe request or received in a management frame determined by predetermined subtype information.

  For example, when a notification request is included in the probe request, when the probe request is received, the control unit 21 checks whether or not the notification request is included in the probe request packet. If no notification instruction is included, a probe response to the received probe request is returned in the same manner as the general access point 2.

  When a notification instruction is included in the received probe request packet, the notification instruction is taken out and a probe response to the received probe request is returned in the same manner as the general access point 2. In this case, the notification unit 24 is controlled in accordance with the extracted notification instruction.

  For example, when the notification instruction is 1-bit information (flag) indicating the necessity of notification, the control unit 21 determines that the notification unit 24 has information indicating that the notification is “necessary”. Light is emitted in a predetermined manner for a predetermined period or a predetermined sound is generated. When this notification instruction includes instruction information (Inst) and information (Pattern) indicating a notification mode, the control unit 21 indicates that the instruction information included in the extracted notification instruction is “instruction to start notification”. Or “instruction to end notification”.

  If the instruction information included in the extracted notification instruction is “instruction to start notification”, the control unit 21 causes the notification unit 24 to emit light according to the information indicating the notification mode included in the extracted notification instruction. Or according to the information showing the said notification aspect, a sound is sounded. As an example, if the information representing the notification mode here is an instruction to cause the LED in the notification unit 24 to blink (that is, blink) every other second, the control unit 21 controls the notification unit 24 to control the notification unit 24. The LED included in 24 is blinked every second.

  Also, if the instruction information included in the extracted notification instruction is “instruction to end notification”, the control unit 21 controls the notification unit 24 to turn off the LED or stop sounding. To the finished state.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the terminal identification information is included in the notification instruction, the control unit 21 of the access point 2 may determine the notification mode based on the terminal identification information. Specifically, when the terminal identification information is the MAC address of the terminal wireless communication unit 15, the last n digits of 12-digit hexadecimal number (n is an integer from 1 to 12) constituting the MAC address are Morse code. It may be expressed by a predetermined code such as light emission or sound according to the code (representing the number of the last n digits of the MAC address by blinking light or intermittent sound like the Morse code).

  The wireless communication system of the present embodiment has the above configuration and operates as follows. In the following example, there are a plurality of access points 2a, 2b,... Within the communication area with the terminal device 1 possessed by the user, and the identification information (SSID) is “APa”, “APb”. It is assumed that ... is set.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, each of the access points 2a, 2b,... Repeatedly transmits a beacon frame including identification information at each predetermined timing (S1). The terminal device 1 receives this beacon frame, acquires the identification information of each access point 2, generates a list thereof, and stores it in the storage unit 12 (S2).

  Although the so-called passive scan has been described here as an example, the terminal device 1 may broadcast a probe request to acquire identification information of each access point 2, generate a list thereof, and store the list in the storage unit 12. Good (so-called active scan).

  Here, when the user of the terminal device 1 instructs the operation unit 13 to send a notification instruction to the access point 2, the terminal device 1 displays the list generated in the process S2 on the display unit 14. Display (S3). When the user selects the identification information of the access point 2 that is the destination of the notification instruction from the list by operating the operation unit 13 (S4), the terminal device 1 is selected as the destination of the notification instruction. A probe request addressed to the access point 2 is sent out together with a notification instruction (S5).

  It is assumed that the notification instruction here includes, for example, instruction information that is an instruction to start notification and information that indicates a notification mode that an 880 Hz sound should be sounded every second.

  When receiving the probe request, the access point 2 returns a probe response to the probe request (S6). Then, the access point 2 determines whether or not a notification instruction is included in the probe request (S7). Here, since the notification instruction is included (because Yes), the access point 2 takes out the notification instruction (S8). Note that when it is determined in the process S7 that the notification instruction is not included (No), the access point 2 ends this process.

  When the access point 2 retrieves the notification instruction in step S8, the access point 2 controls the notification unit 24 according to the retrieved notification instruction (S9). Specifically, here, the instruction information which is an instruction to start notification and the information indicating the notification mode that the sound of 880 Hz should be sounded every other second are included in the notification instruction extracted in step S8. The notification unit 24 is controlled to sound a sound of 880 Hz every second.

  Thereafter, when the user of the terminal device 1 instructs to send a notification instruction that the notification at the access point 2 should be ended, the terminal device 1 displays the notification instruction including the instruction information that is an instruction to end the notification last time. The notification instruction is transmitted to the access point 2 (sent to the access point 2 that is the destination of the notification instruction in step S5). Specifically, the terminal device 1 includes this notification instruction in the probe request and sends it out (S10).

  In the access point 2, the probe request is received, and the processing from step S6 is repeated. That is, the access point 2 returns a probe response to the probe request (S6), and determines whether or not a notification instruction is included in the probe request (S7). Again, since the probe request includes a notification instruction (because it is Yes), the access point 2 takes out the notification instruction (S8).

  The access point 2 controls the notification unit 24 according to the extracted notification instruction (S9). Specifically, since the instruction information that is an instruction to end the notification is included here, the control unit 21 of the access point 2 controls the notification unit 24 to generate a notification operation (sound at 880 Hz every second). Operation).

  By this operation, the user of the terminal device 1 sends a notification instruction to any access point 2a, 2b,... Without connecting to the access point 2, and notifies at the destination access point 2. The action can be performed. Then, by finding the access point 2 performing the notification operation, the identification information of the access point 2 and the access point 2 actually installed can be associated with each other, for example, the access point closest to the self It is possible to find the identification information 2 and operate the terminal device 1 to send a connection request to the access point 2 of the identification information.

[Notification instructions from multiple devices]
In an example of the present embodiment, the access point 2 accepts notification instructions from a plurality of terminal devices 1. In this example, the access point 2 associates information (such as the IP address of the terminal device 1) that identifies the terminal device 1 that has issued the notification instruction with the notification instruction in the order in which the notification instruction is extracted, and stores the information in the storage unit 22. The stored notification instructions are read out in the order of acceptance (the order in which they are taken out), and the notification unit 24 is controlled in accordance with the read notification instructions. The access point 2 deletes the read notification instruction from the storage unit 22.

  Specifically, when the access point 2 accepts the notification instruction without controlling the notification unit 24 in accordance with the notification instruction, the access point 2 specifies information (such as the IP address of the terminal device 1) that identifies the terminal device 1 that has performed the notification instruction. ) And the accepted notification instruction are stored in the storage unit 22, and the stored notification instruction is read out, and the notification unit 24 is controlled according to the read out notification instruction.

  Further, when the access point 2 receives another notification instruction while controlling the notification unit 24 according to the notification instruction, the access point 2 specifies information (the IP address of the terminal apparatus 1) that identifies the terminal device 1 that has performed the notification instruction. And the received notification instruction are stored in the storage unit 22 in association with each other. Then, after the control of the notification unit 24 performed at this time is completed, a process for controlling the notification unit 24 is performed according to the next received notification instruction.

  In this way, the access point 2 accepts a notification instruction (for distinction) that has been received prior to the accepted new notification instruction B when it accepts a new notification instruction (hereinafter referred to as a notification instruction B for distinction). When the notification unit 24 is controlled in accordance with the notification instruction A), the control of the notification unit 24 based on the other notification instruction (notification instruction A) is currently performed on the terminal device 1 that has performed the new notification instruction B. It is good also as notifying that it is in.

  In this example, the terminal device 1 that has received the notification may display “the access point is in the process of notification based on another notification instruction” based on the received notification.

  Further, in this example, the access point 2 associates with the notification instruction B when the control of the notification section 24 based on the notification instruction B after the control of the notification section 24 based on the notification instruction A is completed. A notification that the control of the notification unit 24 based on the notification instruction B is to be started may be made to the terminal device 1 specified by the information stored in. The terminal device 1 that has received this notification may display that the access point starts the notification process based on the notification instruction instructed by the user based on the received notification.

  In this example, when both of the notification mode instructions included in the notification instruction A (the notification instruction received in advance) and the notification instruction B (the notification instruction received later) are the same notification mode, Information that identifies the terminal device 1 that has given the notification instruction B is stored in association with the notification instruction A (therefore, information that identifies the terminal device 1 that has given the notification instruction A and the notification instruction B are stored in the notification instruction A) And the information specifying the terminal device 1 may be associated with each other).

[When there is a single access point]
In the above example of the present embodiment, the identification information acquisition unit 31 has only one piece of identification information of the access point 2 that is in a communicable range (in a communicable state) from the terminal device 1. In some cases, the list display unit 32 does not need to display the identification information as a list.

  Also, in this case, the notification instruction unit 33 selects the identification information of the only access point 2 acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 31 without any manual operation as the notification instruction target, and is identified by the selected identification information. A packet including a notification instruction may be transmitted to the access point 2.

[Operation after authentication]
In the present embodiment, as described above, when the identification information of the access point 2 to be connected is selected or input by an instruction operation from the user, the terminal device 1 uses the selected or input identification information. The access point 2 to be identified is requested to authenticate and a process for connection is performed.

  Similarly to a general wireless LAN communication device, the terminal device 1 is connected to a certain access point 2 and, after completing the connection to the access point 2, the status of signals related to communication with the connected access point 2 (signals determined from RSSI and others) When the predetermined state satisfies the predetermined condition, a process of switching (roaming) to a connection with another access point 2 different from the currently connected access point 2 is performed.

  The terminal device 1 in the present embodiment stores and stores the identification information of the access point 2 that has performed the authentication process in the storage unit 12, and is different from the access point 2 that is identified by the stored identification information. The switching of connection to 2 may be suppressed. This deterrence control may be performed when the terminal device 1 is connected to the access point 2 that is selected as the destination of the notification instruction and is connected thereafter.

  In this example, the terminal device 1 stores the identification information selected in the past (for example, last) as the transmission destination of the notification instruction, and stores the identification information selected by the user as the connection target. The identification information selected by the user may be stored as information for identifying the access point 2 to be subject to connection switching suppression when the identification information matches the identification information selected as the transmission destination of the notification instruction. Note that the terminal device 1 keeps the information for identifying the access point 2 to be subject to connection switching inhibition from being deleted even when the terminal device 1 is restarted (in the storage unit 12 by a method that is not deleted by restarting). It may be stored). Although the method for storing information so that it is not deleted at the time of restart in this way varies depending on the model of the terminal device 1, various well-known methods can be adopted, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In this case, the terminal device 1 determines whether or not the switching condition from one access point 2 to another access point 2 is in communication with the access point 2 that is the target of connection switching suppression. And make it different. Specifically, when communication is being performed with an access point 2 that is subject to connection switching suppression, the condition for switching to another access point 2 is when there is an explicit switching instruction from the user. Alternatively, it is assumed that the terminal device 1 is restarted (in this case, information identifying the access point 2 that is the target of connection switching suppression is deleted by the restart). When communication is being performed with an access point 2 that is subject to connection switching inhibition, a signal is exchanged with the connected access point 2 as a condition for switching to another access point 2. The condition that the incapable state continues for a predetermined time T may be included.

  On the other hand, when communication is being performed with an access point 2 that is not subject to connection switching suppression, the condition for switching to another access point 2 is that the signal strength (RSSI) has a predetermined threshold value as in the conventional case. It is set as a condition such as when it falls below or when a state in which a signal cannot be exchanged with the connected access point 2 continues for a predetermined time t (generally t <T).

[An example of another method for acquiring access point identification information]
In the above description of the present embodiment, as a method for the terminal device 1 to obtain a list of identification information of the access point 2, it is assumed that a beacon frame transmitted from the access point 2 is received. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of users each have the terminal device 1, one of the users (for example, a teacher when used in a classroom in a school) is first assigned to a teacher in advance. The identification information corresponding to the access point 2 that sends out the notification instruction is selected from the list of identification information of the access point 2 that has been notified, the notification instruction is sent out, and the desired access point 2 is confirmed. In addition, the access point 2 to be connected is selected from the identification information list of the access point 2 (for example, after confirmation by a notification instruction), and the BSSID of the access point 2 that has been selected and connected is notified to other users (here The notification method may be written on the board or verbally, and the terminal device 1 of the user connected as the representative uses a packet that does not require authentication, such as a Bluetooth (registered trademark) advertisement packet, or The BSSID may be notified by infrared communication or the like, and the terminal device 1 of another user may receive the notified BSSID).

[Another example of the Notification Department]
Further, in the present embodiment, the notification unit 24 of the access point 2 has been described as being an LED, a speaker, or the like. There may be. In this case, the access point 2 may display the MAC address of the terminal wireless communication unit 15 of the terminal device 1 included in the notification instruction on the display. In addition, as the notification unit 24, various types can be adopted as long as the position can be notified to the user.

[Effect of the embodiment]
In this embodiment, a notification instruction is included in a management frame or the like transmitted before authentication, and is sent to a specific access point 2, so that the access point 2 notifies its own position in a manner based on the notification instruction. Therefore, the user can easily confirm which access point 2 should be connected to, and can specify the access point to be connected before wireless connection.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device, 2 Access point, 11 Terminal control part, 12 Storage part, 13 Operation part, 14 Display part, 15 Terminal wireless communication part, 21 Control part, 22 Storage part, 23 Wireless communication part, 24 Notification part, 31 Identification Information acquisition unit, 32 list display unit, 33 notification instruction unit, 34 selection reception unit, 35 communication start control unit.

Claims (7)

A wireless communication system comprising a terminal device and an access point identified by unique identification information,
The terminal device includes a terminal wireless communication unit, a terminal control unit, a display unit, and an operation unit,
The terminal control unit is
Means for obtaining identification information of an access point in a communicable state;
Means for generating a list of identification information of the acquired access points in a communicable state and displaying the list on the display unit;
Means for sending a packet including a notification instruction to the access point identified by the identification information selected by the operation on the operation unit from the displayed list;
The access point includes a wireless communication unit, a control unit, and a notification unit,
The control unit is
Means for receiving a packet including the notification instruction from the terminal device;
Based on a notification instruction included in the received packet, means for controlling the notification unit to notify its own position;
A wireless communication system. A terminal wireless communication unit capable of communicating with a plurality of access points each identified by unique identification information, a terminal control unit, a display unit, and an operation unit;
The terminal control unit is
Identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of an access point in a state where communication is possible;
Means for generating the acquired list of identification information and displaying the list on the display unit;
From the displayed list, a packet including a notification instruction is transmitted to the access point identified by the identification information selected by the operation on the operation unit before the authentication process with the access point. A terminal device. The terminal device according to claim 2,
When there is only one piece of identification information of an access point that can be communicated, acquired by the identification information acquisition unit, the terminal control unit acquires the information without generating or displaying the list. A terminal device that transmits a packet including a notification instruction to an access point identified by the identified information. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3,
The access point comprises a light emitting means or a sounding means,
The notification instruction is a light emission or ringing instruction by a light emitting unit or a ringing unit provided in the access point, and the notification instruction includes a designation of a light emission mode or a ringing mode. The terminal device according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The terminal control unit
Means for accepting designation of an access point as a connection destination from a list of access point identification information displayed on the display unit by performing an operation on the operation unit, and executing an authentication process with the designated access point; ,
Means for storing identification information of the access point that has undergone the authentication process, and for suppressing and controlling switching of connection to an access point different from the access point identified by the stored identification information;
A terminal device comprising: A wireless communication unit that communicates with a terminal device, a control unit, and a notification unit,
The controller is
Means for receiving a packet including a notification instruction from the terminal device before the authentication;
Based on a notification instruction included in the received packet, means for controlling the notification unit to notify its own position;
With an access point. A computer that is communicably connected to multiple access points
Means for acquiring identification information of an access point in a state capable of communication;
Means for generating a list of identification information of the acquired access points in a state where communication is possible, and displaying the list on the display unit;
Means for sending a packet including a notification instruction to an access point identified by identification information selected from the displayed list;
Program to function as.

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