JP5792670B2 - COMMUNICATION TERMINAL DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing wireless communication using a plurality of wireless communication systems simultaneously.

  Conventionally, techniques for integrating different wireless media such as a wireless LAN and a mobile phone have been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for integrating heterogeneous wireless systems having different cell sizes such as pico cells, micro cells, and macro cells using cognitive base stations and cognitive terminals. The cognitive base station and the cognitive terminal include a switch, a plurality of wireless modules, and a wireless environment recognition unit. The wireless environment recognition unit recognizes the wireless environment, and based on the recognition result, the link frame is transmitted to the switch. Instructs switching of a wireless module as a distribution destination. The link frame is transmitted / received via the designated wireless module.

In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses that a wireless resource control method for existing wireless media is not modified, and a plurality of wireless media are integrated by a switch to ensure a transmission rate that satisfies a QoS requirement. A technique for dynamically selecting and communicating with a wireless medium is disclosed so as to avoid communication that must be at a low rate.
The

JP 2008-085759 A JP 2008-283146 A

  However, conventionally, when communication is performed using a plurality of wireless communication systems, it is necessary to place a terminating device facing the network side, and for packet control techniques when actually communicating, for high speed and stability There was no mention of any specific method. For example, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is possible to adaptively control communication according to radio conditions using a plurality of radio communication systems, but it is also necessary to deal with devices on the network side. There is.

  That is, in the conventional wireless terminal device, even if a plurality of wireless communication systems (Wi-Fi, WiMAX, CDMA, LTE, etc.) are provided, any one of which is determined to be optimal for communication Communication has been limited to only wireless communication systems. In addition, there are some proposals for realizing communication using a plurality of wireless communication systems, but since a device facing a network or the like is required, it is necessary to modify the system.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a communication terminal device capable of performing wireless communication simultaneously using a plurality of wireless communication systems without revising opposing devices or network side nodes, An object is to provide a communication method and a program.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures. That is, the communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication using mutually different wireless communication methods, and detecting the connection state of each wireless communication device and executing an application A wireless / communication state recognition unit that measures throughput in each wireless communication device, a communication condition setting unit that accepts setting of communication conditions by a user and an application, a connection state of each detected wireless communication device, and the measurement And a communication data control unit that determines a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used at the same time according to the throughput of each wireless communication device set or the set communication condition.

  As described above, since a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously are determined according to the connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition, the terminal device can independently operate a plurality of wireless communication devices. High-speed communication can be realized using the communication system, and communication can be performed in response to changes in the wireless / communication environment.

  (2) Further, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the communication condition setting unit accepts a setting of a priority of a wireless communication device to be used or a minimum throughput in the wireless communication device, and the communication data control unit is set to the setting The wireless communication device to be used at the same time is determined based on the priority or the minimum throughput.

  With this configuration, it is possible to select a wireless communication system according to priority or minimum throughput and realize high-speed communication.

  (3) Further, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the communication data control unit allocates a data communication amount to each wireless communication device according to a throughput ratio of each wireless communication device. .

  As described above, since the data communication amount is allocated to each wireless communication device according to the throughput ratio of each wireless communication device, when performing communication using a plurality of wireless communication systems simultaneously, Even if there is a difference (delay difference) in the arrival time of data packets due to differences in standards, wireless / communication conditions, etc., it is possible to eliminate this effect and realize high-speed and stable communication. Become.

  (4) Moreover, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the communication data control unit establishes a plurality of sessions with a wireless communication device to be used, and acquires the amount of data acquired in one request according to the measured throughput. It is characterized by updating.

  In this way, the wireless communication device to be used establishes a plurality of sessions and updates the amount of data acquired in one request according to the measured throughput, so there is no waiting time between acquired packets and data division It is possible to reduce the throughput drop due to the above. Also, by updating the amount of data acquired in a single request according to the measured throughput, it becomes possible to adaptively change the packet size and finely control the amount of communication.

  (5) Further, in the communication terminal device according to the present invention, the communication data control unit, when a total sum of throughputs in a wireless communication device in communication falls below a preset total sum of lower limit throughputs, It is characterized by starting to use a wireless communication device.

  In this way, when the total throughput in the wireless communication device in communication is lower than the preset lower limit throughput total, the use of the unused wireless communication device is started at that time, so it is fast and stable. Communication can be realized.

  (6) Further, in the communication terminal device of the present invention, the wireless / communication state recognition unit recognizes a propagation path state, and the communication data control unit uses simultaneously according to the recognized propagation path state. A wireless communication device is determined.

  As described above, since the wireless communication device to be used at the same time is determined according to the recognized propagation path state, it is possible to always maintain a constant communication quality.

  (7) Further, the communication method of the present invention is a communication method of a communication terminal apparatus having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication with mutually different wireless communication methods, and detects a connection state of each wireless communication device. A step of measuring throughput in each of the wireless communication devices that are executing an application, a step of receiving setting of communication conditions by a user and an application, a connection state of each of the detected wireless communication devices, and each of the measured wireless Determining at least a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously according to the throughput in the communication device or the set communication condition.

  As described above, since a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously are determined according to the connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition, the terminal device can independently operate a plurality of wireless communication devices. High-speed communication can be realized using the communication system, and communication can be performed in response to changes in the wireless / communication environment.

  (8) The program of the present invention is a program for a communication terminal apparatus having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication using mutually different wireless communication methods, and a process for detecting a connection state of each of the wireless communication devices. Processing for measuring throughput in each wireless communication device during application execution, processing for receiving setting of communication conditions by a user and an application, connection state of each detected wireless communication device, and each measured wireless communication device The computer is caused to execute a series of processes of determining a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously according to the throughput in the above or the set communication conditions.

  As described above, since a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously are determined according to the connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition, the terminal device can independently operate a plurality of wireless communication devices. High-speed communication can be realized using the communication system, and communication can be performed in response to changes in the wireless / communication environment.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used at the same time are determined according to the connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication conditions, a plurality of terminal devices can be used independently. High-speed communication can be realized using the wireless communication system, and communication can be performed in response to changes in the wireless / communication environment.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a communication terminal device 1. FIG. It is a sequence chart which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless / communication state recognition part 1d and the communication data control part 1f. It is a sequence chart which shows operation | movement of the communication data control part 1f and the radio | wireless / communication state recognition part 1d. It is a sequence chart which shows operation | movement of the communication data control part 1f and the communication condition setting part 1e. It is a figure which shows the communication time in each radio | wireless system. It is a figure which shows the communication time in each radio | wireless system. It is a figure which shows the communication time in each radio | wireless system. It is a flowchart which shows the operation control at the time of download. It is a figure which shows the concept of the conventional download method. It is a figure which divides received data and shows the concept of a download method. It is a figure which shows the concept of the download method of this embodiment.

  Preconditions (prerequisite environment) for the operation of the communication terminal device according to the present embodiment will be described.

  (1-1) In the present embodiment, communication such as download, streaming, and the like that specifies data and a data range from a wireless communication device to acquire a file or the like is targeted.

  (1-2) Acquisition of a file by specifying a range is implemented and used in a standard manner on WEB servers and streaming servers generally used at the present time, and realizes the contents of this embodiment. Above all, there is no need for server-side modification. Here, the communication by range specification is acquired by partially specifying the target file, such as “from what byte to what byte of data is the target data for download etc.” It is possible communication.

[Configuration of this embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to take special measures on the network side, the same communication terminal device 1, first wireless system 2, and second wireless system as those used in general wireless communication are used. 3, the Internet 4, and the application server 5. For convenience of explanation, in this specification, a case where a wireless communication device corresponding to two wireless systems is mounted on the communication terminal device 1 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same applies to a case where three or more wireless communication devices are installed.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the communication terminal device 1. The communication terminal device 1 includes a first wireless communication device 1a that performs communication using a first wireless system, a second wireless communication device 1b that performs communication using a second wireless system, and an application 1c that executes download and streaming. The function of the conventional communication terminal device generally used by the user is provided. Furthermore, the communication terminal device 1 includes a wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d, a communication condition setting unit 1e, and a communication data control unit 1f.

  The wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d has a function of detecting the wireless / communication state in each wireless communication device in real time and notifying the result in accordance with an instruction from the communication data control unit 1f.

(2-1) Communicable Radio Interface Detection / Notification The radio / communication status recognition unit 1d detects a connection status (whether or not a link is established in a communicable status) with each base station apparatus in each radio communication device. It has the function to do. This function detects which wireless communication device (wireless system) can communicate before data communication and during communication.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence chart showing operations of the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d and the communication data control unit 1f. The wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d requests the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d to confirm a communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) (step S1). The wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d detects a change of a communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) (step S2), and confirms a communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) with respect to the communication data control unit 1f. Notification is performed (step S3). If the communication has not ended, the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d proceeds to step S2, and continues the operation of step S2 until the communication ends (step S4). That is, until the communication of the service targeted by the present embodiment is completed, if a change in the communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) is detected, the result is automatically notified.

  In addition, there may be a situation where it is not necessarily optimal in data packet transmission / reception only by detecting the presence / absence of connection between the communication terminal apparatus and the base station apparatus. For this reason, the wireless quality between the communication terminal device and the wireless communication system, such as Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Carrier to Interference and Noise Ratio (CINR), is monitored in real time. Judge as eligible.

  This quality judgment method is as follows. When the result of the quality determination is “NG”, it is determined that the quality is not sufficient for executing the data communication and is determined to be unqualified, and notification as a communicable wireless interface is not performed.

[Quality judgment example]
Quality judgment: OK (threshold value according to each judgment index) <(various judgment indices)
Quality judgment: NG (threshold value according to each judgment index) ≥ (various judgment indices)
(2-2) Throughput Measurement / Notification During Service Execution During service execution targeted by this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the throughput of each wireless interface at time intervals according to user settings or instructions of the application being executed And a function of notifying the communication data control unit of the result. FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing operations of the communication data control unit 1f and the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d. When the service starts (step S10), the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d measures the throughput (step S11). Then, the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d notifies the communication data control unit 1f of confirmation of a communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) (step S12). Next, the “Wait Timer” is operated for x seconds, and the operation is performed from step S11 every x seconds until the service ends (step S14).

  The communication condition setting unit 1e has a function of managing communication conditions specified by a user and an application, and notifying setting contents in response to a request from the communication data control unit 1f. FIG. 5 is a sequence chart showing operations of the communication data control unit 1f and the communication condition setting unit 1e. The communication data control unit 1f makes a communication condition confirmation request to the communication condition setting unit 1e (step S20). The communication condition setting unit 1e sends a communication condition confirmation response to the communication data control unit 1f (step S21).

  Parameters to be managed and notified in the communication condition setting unit 1e are as follows.

(3-1) System priority This parameter indicates the priority of the wireless system used during communication execution. This parameter is set by the user or application. As for the priority, the same priority can be set for a plurality of wireless interfaces (wireless communication devices). When the priorities are the same, it means that communication is performed using them at the same time when they are in a state where they can be used simultaneously.

上記の表において、優先度の順位は、“高い １＞２・・・＞０ 低い”、である。

In the above table, the priority order is “high 1>2...> 0 low”.

(3-2) Lower limit value in each wireless system This parameter specifies the minimum throughput during communication. This parameter is set by the user and application. This parameter is used to stably secure the lower limit throughput when a plurality of wireless communication systems can be used. In particular, “0” is set when bandwidth guarantee is unnecessary.

  The communication data control unit 1f determines a wireless communication system (wireless communication device) to be used and performs communication in each wireless communication system based on information notified from the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d and the communication condition setting unit 1e. It has a function to determine and control the traffic in case.

(4-1) Detection of Communicating Wireless Interface A wireless interface (wireless communication device) used at the start of communication and during communication based on the information acquired by the communicable wireless interface confirmation of FIG. 3 and the communication condition confirmation of FIG. decide. The wireless interface (wireless communication device) to be used basically conforms to the conditions specified by the user or application settings acquired from the communication condition setting unit 1e. However, since not all wireless communication systems can be used in an arbitrary place, the information of the communication condition setting unit 1e and the communicable wireless interface (wireless communication device) detected by the wireless / communication state recognition unit 1d It is assumed that a wireless interface (wireless communication device) that matches the “and condition” and that has a high priority is selected for communication.

  In addition, when the lower limit throughput is set for the wireless interface (wireless communication device) used for communication, and the total throughput during communication is less than the lower limit throughput, the communication throughput is the total lower limit throughput. It is assumed that it has a function of performing communication by adding an available wireless system in descending order of priority until it exceeds the limit.

(4-2) Control of communication data amount of each wireless interface When communication is performed using a plurality of wireless interfaces simultaneously, the difference in the standard of the wireless communication system, the wireless / communication state of each wireless system at an arbitrary communication location, The difference (delay difference) occurs in the arrival time of the data packet due to the difference between the client-server paths (client-server distance). If this delay difference is large, communication with a single wireless system with a small delay time may result in a shorter communication time. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, when there are two wireless systems (A, B) having different communication speeds, when half of the data to be acquired is simply downloaded using each wireless system, It is dragged by a wireless system with a low communication speed, and is slower than when all data is downloaded with a wireless system with a high communication speed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the wireless system A has a communication speed that is about three times that of the wireless system B. That is, when data is downloaded using only the wireless system B, it takes three times as long as when data is downloaded using only the wireless system A.

  Here, if the data to be transmitted is halved and each is downloaded using the wireless systems A and B, as shown in FIG. 6B, the download time is the time required to complete the wireless system B that takes a long download time. If the entire data amount is downloaded only by the wireless system A, the download is completed earlier.

  In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 6C, high-speed and stable communication can be realized by allocating the amount of data communication according to the throughput ratio of each wireless interface (wireless communication device). Hereinafter, the operation in the case of performing actual communication will be described by taking the case of executing file download as an example.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation control during download. In this flowchart, by detecting and controlling the wireless / communication state and the wireless system state before starting communication and during communication, the wireless communication state is tracked to realize high-speed and stable communication. In FIG. 7, when a download request is made by an input from a user or an application (step S30), a wireless interface (wireless communication device) to be used is determined (step S31). Next, the number of sessions is determined (step S32). When a session between the communication (wireless) terminal device and the server is established (step S33), an initial range value and an update interval are determined (step S34).

  Here, “determination of the number of sessions” in step S32 will be described. This embodiment is characterized in that it can cope with a difference in communication speed of each wireless interface (wireless communication device) and a change in communication speed accompanying a change in wireless / communication environment. In order to realize this, if a change in the wireless / communication environment is detected, first, the amount of data to be acquired is divided by an arbitrary amount so that the amount of data to be acquired can be adaptively changed (divided) The packet is hereinafter referred to as “acquired packet”). By dividing the data to be acquired into acquisition packets, the acquisition number of acquisition packets can be changed according to wireless / communication conditions, and the amount of data can be easily controlled. FIG. 8A shows a conventional method, and FIG. 8B shows a case where received data is obtained by being divided.

  However, as shown in FIG. 8B, it is necessary to issue a request signal for each acquired packet, and the acquired packets cannot be acquired continuously, leading to a decrease in throughput. In order to solve this, as shown in FIG. 8C, in communication of one wireless communication system, by establishing a plurality of sessions with the server and performing communication at the same time, there is no waiting time between acquired packets, It is possible to reduce throughput reduction due to data division.

  For the reasons described above, in the present embodiment, it is necessary to set the number of sessions in order to establish a plurality of sessions between the communication terminal device and the server in communication in one wireless system. Note that the number of sessions is set by the user or application before communication is performed, and this value is used. The minimum number of sessions is 2.

  In FIG. 7, when downloading is started (step S35), range update determination is performed, and if necessary, update is performed (step S36). Here, “Range value [byte]” will be described. Range value means the amount of data to be acquired in one request (data amount of “acquired packet”), and is temporarily set as a fixed value in the communication terminal device as an initial value before starting communication. Shall. At the start of download, the Range value is updated by the following formula according to the session establishment time of each wireless interface to be used and the throughput of each wireless communication system that performs measurement periodically during communication. However, if any of the connections cannot be established due to a timeout or the like, the value is not updated.

[Before downloading]
(Range) = (sum of Range initial values of each wireless interface) × (1−ratio of session establishment time in each wireless communication system)
[Downloading]
(Range) = (sum of range initial values of each wireless interface) × (1−throughput ratio in each wireless communication system)
In addition to the above-mentioned “control of communication volume by dividing data”, the packet size of “acquired packet” is also adaptively changed, and finer control of the communication volume realizes higher speed and stability. doing.

  Next, regarding “Range update interval [ms]”, in this embodiment, an interval for updating the Range is set. The range update interval is set by the user or application before communication is performed, and this value is used.

  Next, “lower limit throughput [KB / s]” will be described. The lower limit throughput is a value for determining whether to download another wireless interface (wireless communication device) during communication. When the sum of the wireless interfaces (wireless communication devices) in communication falls below the sum of the lower limit throughputs, another wireless communication interface (wireless communication device) is added. Even if the communication status is improved and the number of wireless interfaces (wireless communication devices) to be used is reduced, if it is determined that the total throughput exceeds the total of the lower limit throughputs, the use is stopped from the wireless interface with the lower priority. Thereafter, no data request is made using the wireless interface (wireless communication device) for which use has been suspended.

  In FIG. 7, the update determination of the available wireless interface (wireless communication device) is performed, and if necessary, the update is performed (step S37). Next, it is determined whether or not the download is complete (step S38). If the download is not complete, the process proceeds to step S36. If the download is complete, the process is terminated (step S39).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously are determined according to the connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition. The terminal device can realize high-speed communication by using a plurality of wireless communication systems independently, and can perform communication corresponding to changes in the wireless / communication environment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication terminal device 2 1st radio | wireless system 3 2nd radio | wireless system 4 Internet 5 Application server 1a 1st radio | wireless communication apparatus 1b 2nd radio | wireless communication apparatus 1c Application 1d Radio | wireless / communication state recognition part 1e Communication condition setting part 1f Communication data control unit

Claims (7)

A communication terminal apparatus having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication using mutually different wireless communication methods,
A wireless / communication state recognition unit for detecting a connection state of each wireless communication device and measuring throughput in each wireless communication device during application execution;
A communication condition setting unit for receiving communication condition settings by a user and an application;
A communication data control unit for determining a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously according to the detected connection state of each wireless communication device, the measured throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition; , equipped with a,
The communication data control unit establishes a plurality of sessions with a wireless communication device to be used, and updates a data amount acquired in one request according to the measured throughput . The communication condition setting unit accepts a setting of a minimum throughput which is a priority of a wireless communication device to be used or a minimum throughput necessary for communication set by a user and an application ,
The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication data control unit determines a wireless communication device to be used simultaneously based on the set priority or minimum throughput.   The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication data control unit allocates a data communication amount to each wireless communication device in accordance with a throughput ratio of each wireless communication device. The communication data control unit, when the sum of the throughput in the wireless communication device in communication is lower than the sum of the lower limit throughput used when determining whether to add another wireless communication device during communication, 2. The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein use of an unused wireless communication device is started at the time . The wireless / communication state recognition unit recognizes a propagation path state,
The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication data control unit determines a wireless communication device to be used simultaneously according to the recognized propagation path state . A communication method for a communication terminal apparatus having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication using mutually different wireless communication methods,
Detecting a connection state of each wireless communication device;
Measuring the throughput in each wireless communication device during application execution;
Receiving a communication condition setting by a user and an application;
Determining a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used at the same time according to the detected connection state of each wireless communication device, the measured throughput in each wireless communication device, or the set communication condition,
A communication method comprising: establishing a plurality of sessions with a wireless communication device to be used; and updating a data amount acquired in one request according to the measured throughput . A communication terminal device program having a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication with mutually different wireless communication methods,
Processing for detecting a connection state of each wireless communication device;
Processing for measuring the throughput of each wireless communication device during application execution;
A process of accepting communication condition settings by a user and an application;
A process of determining a plurality of wireless communication devices to be used simultaneously according to the detected connection state of each wireless communication device, the throughput in each measured wireless communication device, or the set communication condition;
A feature of causing a computer to execute a series of processes of establishing a plurality of sessions with a wireless communication device to be used and updating a data amount acquired in one request according to the measured throughput. Program to do.

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